MEDIA THEORISTS Flashcards
What is Barthes theory?
semiotics - texts communicate their meanings through a process of signs
Order of signs: denotation, connotation, myth, ideology
What is Neales theory?
Genre theory - genres change, develop, as they borrow from and overlap with one another.
Genres may be dominated by repetition, but are also marked by difference, variation and change.
What is Levi-strauss theory?
Structuralism - texts can be understood through examining their structure. Meaning is dependent upon binary oppositions; these binary oppositions have ideological significance.
What is baudrillards theory?
Postmodernism - the boundaries between the real world and the world of media are no longer distinguishable.
Simulacra = a world of images which aren’t ‘real’
Hyperreality = images more real than reality
What is Todorov’s theory?
Narratology - all narratives share a basic structure = equilibrium, disruption, new equilibrium
What is Propps theory?
Character theory - villain, hero, donor, helper, princess, father, dispatcher, false hero
What are all the theorists and theories for media language?
- Barthes - semiotics
- Neale - genre theory
- Levi-strauss - structuralism
- Baudrillard - postmodernism
- Todorov - Narratology
- Propp - character theory
What is Halls theory?
Representation - representation is the product of meaning through language and codes. Stereotyping reduces people to a few traits.
What is Gauntletts theory?
Identity - the media provides use with tools that we use to construct our identities
What is butlers theory?
Gender performativity - identity is constructed by the expressions that are said.
What is Mulveys theory?
The male gaze - the audience view characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male, the women are heavily sexualised.
What are the theorists for media representation?
- Hall - representation
- Gauntlett - identity
- Butler - gender performativity
- Mulvey - the male gaze
What is Gerbners theory?
Cultivation - exposure to repeated patterns of representation over long periods of time can shape and influence the way in which people percieve the world.
What is jenkins theory?
Fandom - fans are active participants in the construction and circulation of meanings.
Textual poaching: fans appropriate texts and read them in ways that aren’t authorisied by creators
Participatory culture: fans constrcut their social/cultural identities through mass culture images
What is Shirkys theory?
End of audience - the internet/digital technologies have had a profound effect on the relations between media and individuals.
Audience members as passive consumers of mass media is no longer tenable in the age of the internet.
What is banduras theory?
Media effects theory - the media can implant ideas in the mind of the audience directly as they are passive.
Audiences asquire attitudes, emotional responses and new conduct via modelling.
What is hall theory for audiences?
Reception theory - communication is a process of encoding by producers and decoding by audiences.
There are 3 hypothetical positions to decode meaning: dominant/hegemonic position, negotiatied postition, oppositional position
What are the theories for media audiences?
- Gerbner - cultivation
- Jenkins - fandom
- Shirky - end of audience
- Bandura - media effects
- Hall - reception
What is curran and seatons theory?
Power and media - the media is controlled by a small number of firms driven by profit and power.
Media limits variety, creativity and quality.
Diverse patterns of ownership = more adventurous productions
What is Livingstone and lunts theory?
Regulation - increasing power of global media and the rise of convergent techonolioges meants traditional regulation is at risk.
What is Hesmondhalghs theory?
Cultural industries - cultural industries minimise risk and maximise profit through vertical and horizontal integration.
Conglomerates operate across many industries.
What are the theories for media industry?
- Curran and seaton - power and media
- Livingstone and lunt - regulation
- Hesmondhalgh - cultural industries
