Module C: More general statements Flashcards
Novels enable the reader to
develop their own subjective meaning of the text and to contemplate the ideas conveyed by the composer
Composers can represent single, common or competing views. This enables .
the audience to first engage with the view and then agree/disagree with it
authorial intention is influenced by
context
Reading a novel enables us to
imagine the situation in our heads, through our own contextual lens, so we may develop a subjective meaning of the text and the composer’s message.
When watching a film, however, the image
is presented to us and our engagement with the text is altered as a result. Through techniques in film we are pushed to see ideas often more explicitly than in texts.
What does politics involved?
Political discourse, power structures, propaganda, the desire to sway public opinion and the control public policy, power struggle, manipulating images and language.
Resisting and struggling against totalitarianism portrays
the powerlessness of individuals as well as their personal defiance.
How can power be achieved in 6 ways?
- Physical force
- Wealth
- State action, using law and beurocracy. In dictatorships power emerges from threat of force.
- Social norms
- Ideas can create vast amounts of power if it can motivate people to change their thinking & actions
- In numbers. Crowds count
what is power and what does it govern?
The ability to make others do what you would have them do.
governs all forms of government.
3 ways power operates
- Never static. If you aren’t taking action, you’re being acted upon.
- Power is a constant flow.
- Power compounds, so does powerlessness
In many cases, politics represents the complex relationship that stems from trying to provide a voice to a people whilst exercising power over them, so as to achieve stability and order.
This often results in the relinquishing of certain liberties, yet is essential in preventing anarchy.
The relationship between a government body and its citizens is dependent upon political discourse.
This is greatly influenced by the extent to which information is censored within a society.
Often politics is focussed on
how power and policy can impact on the individual and their society.
Whilst politics shape the society in which people live, it must not be forgotten
that the individual also forms an intrinsic part of the political landscape.
Past political events can
instil fear in individuals or motivate them to engage in necessary political discourse.
In representing the multifaceted relationship between people and politics, composers
are ultimately guided by the political and social agendas of their contemporary context.
In representing the multifaceted relationship between people and politics, composers are ultimately guided by the political and social agendas of their contemporary context.
In this way the meaning and reality conveyed through these representations is inherently subjective.
Major powers are quick to silence dissenting political perspectives in order to maintain their leadership.
Diverse political perspectives, however, are essential to strengthening the political (and democratic) backbone of a society, and in silencing these perspectives, major powers in fact weaken their political framework.
