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Sociology A Level > The Media > Flashcards

The Media Flashcards

1
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A
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2
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Topic 1 - The New Media

Traditional Media

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

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3
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Topic 1 - New Media

New Media

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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

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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

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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
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Topic 1 - New Media

Economic Convergence

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

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7
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Topic 1 - New Media

Cultural Convergence

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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

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

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9
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Participatory Culture

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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
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Topic 1 - New Media

Collective Intelligence

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

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11
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Topic 1 - New Media

Digital Generation Divide

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New media is used more by younger generations (Boyle)

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12
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Topic 1 - New Media

Digital Class Divide

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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
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Topic 1 - New Media

Digital Gender Divide

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

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14
Q

Topic 1 - New Media

Global Digital Divide

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

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15
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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?

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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

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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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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What do Postmodernists argue about globalisation and the media?
-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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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What does McLuhan's concept of the global village refer to?
-the interconnectedness of the world which is facilitated by electronic media
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture According to Steger, what is globalisation?
A set of social processes leading to global interconnectedness
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture How does Crothers describe the promotion of globalisation through economic, political and cultural factors?
-by increasing relationships beyond traditional nation-state borders
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What is high culture?
Aesthetically superior intellectual achievements according to society's elite
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture How does Storey characterise popular culture?
Products mainly focused on entertainment with broad appeal.
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What has facilitated the globalisation of popular culture?
Advancements in mass communications and digital technology.
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture According to postmodernists, what is the role of the media in shaping personal identity and lifestyle?
Media are the primary influences in shaping personal identity and lifestyle, no longer traditional influences e.g.: family, religion
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What does the postmodernist perspective suggest about the distinction between high culture and popular culture?
High culture is assimilated into popular culture and vice versa
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture According to postmodernists, how does a media-saturated society affect the perception of knowledge?
It leads to a more critical understanding of knowledge.
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What happens to global media products when they reach local cultures, according to Thompson?
They are adapted and hybridised to fit local cultural contexts.
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What does the Marxist perspective on cultural imperialism suggest?
Popular culture is an ideological product aimed at distracting poorer groups from exploitation and inequality.
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture According to Marcuse, what are the three ways of thinking media audiences are encouraged to adopt?
-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)
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What do Marxist sociologists such as Adorno and Marcuse argue about the role of global mass media?
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
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture Why does Fenton suggest that the word 'global' rarely means 'universal'?
Because the word global helps to disguise cultural imperialism
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What is cultural homogenisation?
The process of making the cultures of different countries become more alike and merged into one uniform culture.
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture According to Flew, what is one major effect of increasing technological capacity?
Homogenisation of cultural content.
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture Which sociologist talks about the 'culture-ideology of consumerism'?
Sklair
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What is the cultural imperialism thesis?
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.
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture Who coined the term 'cola-colonisation'?
Hannerz
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What term does Ritzer use to describe the standardisation of cultural products globally?
'McDonaldisation'
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture According to Barber, what extreme response has been provoked by American cultural imperialism?
Islamic fundamentalism & jihad
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture Who argues that social media promotes a "me-culture" and hinders social change?
Keen
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What do pluralists argue about popular culture?
That it doesn't exist.
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What do pluralists argue about cultural diversity?
Global competition expands sources of information and entertainment (Compaine).
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture According to pluralists Held et al., what does the cultural imperialism perspective fail to acknowledge?
The 'reverse cultural flows' - this idea that Western countries may also become enriched by popular culture from other cultures.
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture What do Pluralists criticise cultural imperialists for?
Underestimating the strength and richness of local cultures.
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# Topic 2 - Globalisation & popular culture Which pluralist sociologist argues that the internet and modern media technology offer consumers a wide diversity of cultural choices?
Compaine
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# Key Terms McLuhan
Global village
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# Key Terms Barnett & Seymour
Candyfloss culture
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# Key Terms Baudrillard
Media-saturated society
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# Key Terms Strinati
Blurred boundary: high culture/popular culture
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# Key Terms Marcuse
Conspicuous consumption
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# Key Terms Fenton
Cultural imperialism
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# Key Terms Fenton
Cultural homogenisation
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# Key Terms Sklair
Culture-identity of consumerism
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# Key Terms Hannerz
Coca-colonisation
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# Key Terms Ritzer
McDonaldisation
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# Key Terms Keen
Cult of the amateur
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# Key Terms Turkle
'Alone together': civic disengagement
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# ownership & control of the media What is the term used to describe when large media companies own various types of media?
horizontal integration
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# ownership & control of the media ... is where media companies sell their product in different formats
synergy
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# ownership & control of the media ... is when companies branch out into new areas to spread their name/products. 
diversification
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# ownership & control of the media ...is where media companies operate in the global market. E.g. producing newspapers in many countries.
global conglomeration
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# ownership & control of the media
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# Theories of active audiences Which sociologists talk about the two-step flow model?
Katz & Lazarsfeld
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# Theories of active audiences Who do Katz & Lazarsfeld say influence people's opinions in the two-step flow model? | two-step flow model
opinion leaders, these are people with influence and have strong opinions
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# Theories of active audiences What are the two steps Katz & Lazarsfeld suggest that media content goes through before having an 'effect'? | two-step flow model
1) opinion leader is exposed to the content 2) the opinion leader gives their interpretation and those who respect the opinion leader are influenced by this, media audiences aren't directly influenced therefore by the media, they are active not passive
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# Theories of active audiences What are some criticisms of the two-step flow model? | two-step flow model
-there are probably more than 2 steps -with the rise of the new media, opinion leaders may become less influential -assumes people are vulnerable to the views of opinion leaders
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# Theories of active audiences What sociological perspective supports the cultural effects model?
Neo-marxists
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# Theories of active audiences What do the neo-marxists see the cultural effects model as being concerned with/doing? | cultural effects model
they are mainly concerned with transmitting capitalist norms and values, whilst having a powerful ideological influence
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# Theories of active audiences How does the cultural effects model suggest that audiences are influenced? | cultural effects model
They are influenced gradually over a period of time; the drip drip effect
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# Theories of active audiences What do Philo & the GMG suggest about audiences? | GMG
-critical of the idea that the audience can make their own assumptions of media texts, the messages are polysemic (have multiple meanings), accept that audiences are active, social background has an influence -believe that the media have power in shaping audiences views, the media contains strong ideological messages -TV content is dumbed down, audiences don't think about that state of the world -capitalist values are unconsiously accepted by audiences -agenda setting
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# Theories of active audiences What does Curran argue about the frequent reading of newspapers? | GMG
it means the immersion of the reader into a particular ideological way of seeing the world, this ideology may become common sense to certain readers
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# Theories of active audiences What is the reception analysis model?
-the analysis of how audiences receive and interpret media texts, and what effects they have on the audience -the theory suggests that audiences are not passive, they act in multiple subcultural ways, for this reason media content is polysemic
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# Theories of active audiences What does Hall suggest, from a neo-marxist perspective, about media texts? | Reception analysis model
-they are encoded by those who create them with an intended meaning (the dominant hegemonic viewpoint), reflects market competition and influences news values, hierarchy of credibility -suggest audiences decode this message in a way that was intended, people from different backgrounds can interpret messages differently
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# Theories of active audiences What are the three ways Morley suggests that audiences decode messages? | Reception analysis model
-Preferred reading: agree with dominant views, decode messages in the way it was intended by media owners -Negotiated reading: accept the dominant views but adapting it to fit their beliefs -Oppositional reading: rejecting the dominant meaning
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Sociology A Level (20 decks)

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