Media theorists

Question 1

Strinati (1995)

Answer 1

Pluralism and postmodernism

Says that elements of popular culture have been incorporated into high culture and elements of high culture have been incorporated into popular culture

Rejects the traditional Marxist view as it assumes there is a single mass ‘audience’ and a single mass culture and instead highlights the diversity and choice within popular culture from which people select and critically respond to.

Question 2

Livingstone (1998)

Answer 2

Pluralist

Suggests they (soaps) present controversial social issues to inform and give insight e.g. racism, rape and homelessness.

Question 3

Flew (2002)

Answer 3

Pluralist

Suggests that the evolution of new media technologies such as satellite TV and the internet has developed a global popular culture

Question 4

Sklair (2012)

Answer 4

Hegemonist Marxist approach.

Suggests the media largely amercian based spread news, infomatino, ideas entertainment and popular culture to a global market.

Question 5

Mcluhan (1962)

Answer 5

Pluralist

Refers to the world as a global village due to the rapidly occurring changes.

Question 6

Ritzer

Answer 6

Hegemonist

Ritzer coined the term McDonaldization. He states that “the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as of the rest of the world”

Shows that companies and brands now operate on a global scale which can weaken local cultures as they promote the consumer lifestyle associated with them

Question 7

Frankfurt school

Answer 7

See mass culture as simply mass-produced manufactured products imposed on the masses by global media business for financial profit

It is a form of social control, giving an illusion of choice between a range of similar, dumbed down trivial and standardized infotainment for financial profit In the interest of big media owners for create false consciousness

Question 8

Curran and Seaton (2010)

Answer 8

found evidence which suggested media owners DID interfere and manipulate newspaper content to protect their own interests
They also supported or, alternatively, withheld criticisms of governments which defended those interests .

Question 9

Bagdikian (1998)

Answer 9

Described media corporations as lords of the global village
Media ownership is in the hands of the few media companies and moguls - there is a high concentration
Lords control the public by having contacts with people in power
Media corporations own every step of invention to distribution

Question 10

What are the four theorists for general features of representations of social class?

Answer 10

Jones (2011)
Lawler (2005)
McKendrick et al. (2008)
Weltman (2008)