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Sociology A Level > The Media > Flashcards

The Media Flashcards

1
Q
A
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2
Q

Topic 1 - The New Media

Traditional Media

A

Communicating uniform messages in a one-way, non-interactive process to very large mass audiences, assumed to be homogenous

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3
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

New Media

A

Interactive screen-based, digital technology with integration of images, text and sound + technology used for distribution and consumption; emerged in the late 20th and early 21st century

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4
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Digitalisation

A

Technological change coverting all information into binary code, making it easier to store and transmit (Boyle)

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5
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Technological Convergence

A

Convergence of different types of information into a single delivery system , allowing for information to be transmitted across a range of media platforms on a single device (Jenkins, Boyle)

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6
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Economic Convergence

A

Reduced boundaries between media sectors with large media and telecommunication industries providing packages of previously separate services (Jenkins, Boyle)

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7
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Cultural Convergence

A

Changes in local and popular culture caused by the flow of content across new media (Jenkins, Boyle)

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8
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Interactivity

A

Response in real-time to user input (Boyle, Jenkins)

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9
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Participatory Culture

A

Culture enabled by the new media, through convergence and interactivity; users actively collaborate with each other, blurring the line between producers and consumers (Jenkins)

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10
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Collective Intelligence

A

Alternative user-led source of information, constructed by new media users, through collaboration (Jenkins)

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11
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Digital Generation Divide

A

New media is used more by younger generations (Boyle)

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12
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Digital Class Divide

A

New media are used my by higher social income classes, with higher education levels; there is still a digital underclass (Helsper)

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13
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Digital Gender Divide

A

New media have been used more by men (Li & Kirkup)

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14
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Global Digital Divide

A

Access to the internet is wider in Europe (89%) and lower in Africa (40%) (World Economic Forum, WEF)

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15
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

What are the three characteristics that the new media consists of?

A

Covergence, compression & interactivity

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16
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

What are Neophiliacs?

A

People who support the growth of new media and believe it has a positive impact on society.

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17
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

What are the three main positives that neophiliacs draw from the new media?

A

-an e-commerce revolution
-revitalising democracy
-increased consumer choice

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18
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

What are cultural pessimists?

A

People who believe that the revolution of new media has been exaggerated and that it has a negative impact on society

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19
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

What are the three main negatives that cultural pessimists draw from the new media?

A

-domination by media conglomerates
-decline in quality
-reinforcing elite powers

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20
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

Globalisation

A

The increased interconnectedness of societies and decline in national borders.

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21
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What are some consequences of globalisation on the media?

A

-Increased choice = societies can be aided with development & different cultural styles are promoted globally
-Entertainment is global
-The internet = can communicate from different countries
-Advertising = universally recognisable brands, more recognised than religious symbols
-Disneyfication = the influence of American entertainment on the world
-Ownership of mass media = conglomerates

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22
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

Which sociologist perspectives could disagree about whether globalisation is having a positive or negative effect on the media?

A

Postmodernists and Marxists

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23
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What do Marxists argue about globalisation and the media ?

A

-argue it restricts choice
-local media and culture is being replaced by global culture which is dominated by a few poweful people
-allows for the spread of dominant ideologies to spread across the globe, so the bourgeoisie can keep their power over the working-clasd

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24
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What is this idea of cultural imperialism that Marxists discuss?

A

Where dominant countries flush out cultural traditions of non-western countries

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25
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What do Postmodernists argue about globalisation and the media?

A

-argue that it opens up more choice for people and creates more opportunities around the world
-local cultures are not swallowed up by dominant american culture, they adapt to global culture by taking elements of it and adding it to their culture
-this would create what they would call a pick and mix society
-globalisation makes the world a smaller place
-no longer part of ‘real’ communites but ‘proto-communities’ such as Facebook

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26
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What does McLuhan’s concept of the global village refer to?

A

-the interconnectedness of the world which is facilitated by electronic media

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27
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

According to Steger, what is globalisation?

A

A set of social processes leading to global interconnectedness

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28
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

How does Crothers describe the promotion of globalisation through economic, political and cultural factors?

A

-by increasing relationships beyond traditional nation-state borders

29
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What is high culture?

A

Aesthetically superior intellectual achievements according to society’s elite

30
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

How does Storey characterise popular culture?

A

Products mainly focused on entertainment with broad appeal.

31
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What has facilitated the globalisation of popular culture?

A

Advancements in mass communications and digital technology.

32
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

According to postmodernists, what is the role of the media in shaping personal identity and lifestyle?

A

Media are the primary influences in shaping personal identity and lifestyle, no longer traditional influences e.g.: family, religion

33
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What does the postmodernist perspective suggest about the distinction between high culture and popular culture?

A

High culture is assimilated into popular culture and vice versa

34
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

According to postmodernists, how does a media-saturated society affect the perception of knowledge?

A

It leads to a more critical understanding of knowledge.

35
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What happens to global media products when they reach local cultures, according to Thompson?

A

They are adapted and hybridised to fit local cultural contexts.

36
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What does the Marxist perspective on cultural imperialism suggest?

A

Popular culture is an ideological product aimed at distracting poorer groups from exploitation and inequality.

37
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

According to Marcuse, what are the three ways of thinking media audiences are encouraged to adopt?

A

-Commodity fetishism (the idea that products of pop culture have special powers that somehow enhance the life of the user)
-False needs (the idea that in order to conform to a modern life style, consumers need to have a specific product)
-Conspicuous consumption (where particular products of the media and popular culture it generates are presented as having more status than other items)

38
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What do Marxist sociologists such as Adorno and Marcuse argue about the role of global mass media?

A

That it is used to indoctrinate global consumers into the capitalist ideology and to produce a homogenised culture, therefore, creating a false consciousness that removes any criticism of the global capitalisy system

39
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

Why does Fenton suggest that the word ‘global’ rarely means ‘universal’?

A

Because the word global helps to disguise cultural imperialism

40
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What is cultural homogenisation?

A

The process of making the cultures of different countries become more alike and merged into one uniform culture.

41
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

According to Flew, what is one major effect of increasing technological capacity?

A

Homogenisation of cultural content.

42
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

Which sociologist talks about the ‘culture-ideology of consumerism’?

A

Sklair

43
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What is the cultural imperialism thesis?

A

A thesis that sees the globalisation of the media and American popular culture as aimed at replacing authenticity, vitality, and diversity of local cultures with homogenous, dumbed-down sterility of American culture.

44
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

Who coined the term ‘cola-colonisation’?

A

Hannerz

45
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What term does Ritzer use to describe the standardisation of cultural products globally?

A

‘McDonaldisation’

46
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

According to Barber, what extreme response has been provoked by American cultural imperialism?

A

Islamic fundamentalism & jihad

47
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

Who argues that social media promotes a “me-culture” and hinders social change?

A

Keen

48
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What do pluralists argue about popular culture?

A

That it doesn’t exist.

49
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What do pluralists argue about cultural diversity?

A

Global competition expands sources of information and entertainment (Compaine).

50
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

According to pluralists Held et al., what does the cultural imperialism perspective fail to acknowledge?

A

The ‘reverse cultural flows’ - this idea that Western countries may also become enriched by popular culture from other cultures.

51
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

What do Pluralists criticise cultural imperialists for?

A

Underestimating the strength and richness of local cultures.

52
Q

Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture

Which pluralist sociologist argues that the internet and modern media technology offer consumers a wide diversity of cultural choices?

A

Compaine

53
Q

Key Terms

McLuhan

A

Global village

54
Q

Key Terms

Barnett & Seymour

A

Candyfloss culture

55
Q

Key Terms

Baudrillard

A

Media-saturated society

56
Q

Key Terms

Strinati

A

Blurred boundary: high culture/popular culture

57
Q

Key Terms

Marcuse

A

Conspicuous consumption

58
Q

Key Terms

Fenton

A

Cultural imperialism

59
Q

Key Terms

Fenton

A

Cultural homogenisation

60
Q

Key Terms

Sklair

A

Culture-identity of consumerism

61
Q

Key Terms

Hannerz

A

Coca-colonisation

62
Q

Key Terms

Ritzer

A

McDonaldisation

63
Q

Key Terms

Keen

A

Cult of the amateur

64
Q

Key Terms

Turkle

A

‘Alone together’: civic disengagement

65
Q

ownership & control of the media

What is the term used to describe when large media companies own various types of media?

A

horizontal integration

66
Q

ownership & control of the media

… is where media companies sell their product in different formats

A

synergy

67
Q

ownership & control of the media

… is when companies branch out into new areas to spread their name/products. 

A

diversification

68
Q

ownership & control of the media

…is where media companies operate in the global market. E.g. producing newspapers in many countries.

A

global conglomeration

69
Q

ownership & control of the media

A

Sociology A Level (21 decks)

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