Theoretical Explanations Of The Media Flashcards
What are the 2 social groups in a capitalist society that Marx believed in?
A ruling class identity and a working class
Ruling class
Those who own factories and businesses
Working class
Those who work in factories and businesses
Marx
Critical of the capitalist system and believes that the extremes in rich and poor are unjust
What do Marxists argue?
There is still an unequal relationship and based on conflict because the bourgeoisies exploit the proletariat
What is the superstructure?
Refers to the institutions of society e.g media, family, education, religion
Milliband
Marxism
Book = ‘The State in a Capitalist Society’
The ruling class use the media to control society by creating a false picture of reality that presents capitalism in a positive way
Said the impact of the media was ‘the opium of the people’
Media has replaced religion and stated that institutions act like a drug to numb the senses and produce an illusion of happiness that is not real.
Media takes the Proletariat’s attention away from exploitation and oppression of the capitalist system and allows the ruling class to control and dominate them
Bagdikian
Marxism
1983= 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all news media in the USA but by 2004 media ownership was concentrated in 7 corporations
Curran
Marxism
Evidence of owners directly manipulating media content. E.g Rupert Murdock - politicians clearly believe media moguls have a great deal of control over media content because they try to get on the right side of them. E.g tony Blair flew to Australia to meet Rupert Murdoch and rewarded with the support of the sun
Doyle
Marxism
Examination of ownership and control patterns 1. All points of view need to be heard if society is to be truly democratic
2. Abuses of power and influence by elites need to be monitored by a free media.
Too much concentration of media ownership is dangerous and unhealthy because the media have the power to make or break political careers and have a considerable influence over public opinion
Gilroy
Neo-Marxist
Black crime was a form of political resistance against a repressive, racist state. He denies that there was greater criminality amongst black people than white people and stated that the media created a folk devil surrounding black people with generated deviancy amplification (supported by Hall)
Hall
Neo-Marxist
3 stereotypes of black people in the media
-natives
-entertainers
-slaves
Glasgow media group
Neo Marxist
Migrants and immigrants presented as ‘other’. They are a burden on welfare and the job market, the number of people migrating to the uk is being exaggerated, there’s a mixing of forced and economic immigration
Pluralism meaning
Consumers are in control of the media, not the ruling class. What we see in the media is what consumers want : supply and demand
Contemporary examples of aspects of the media that offers audience with choice
-blocking people
-liking posts to filter feed
-following certain people
-ratings on netflix
-what you choose to download
Whale
Pluralists
What we see in the press / news is determined by it’s reader/audiences
Fourth Estate of Democracy
We have access to a number of different media portrayals which is seen as an essential part of democracy
What types of media provide us with information that allows informed decision making
News channels, social media, broad sheets (formal and objective)
Williams
Pluralism
Journalists are vital in a democratic society as they provide the general public with the information required to participate in political and cultural life. Free press is vital for democracy to work effectively as censorship’s can lead to biased, uncritical view of politicians and policies
E.g Matt Hancock’s affair, party during lockdown
Liberal feminists
-march of progress view
-aims to achieve gender equality through social policy reforms within the system
-gender differences are due to the result of gender role socialisation
Radical feminists
-men are the enemy
-they believe that women are exploited for the benefit of men and women and used to maintain dominant position in society
-patriarchy is an inevitable feature of all institutions in society
-all women share a common interest against men to take down patriarchy
Marxist feminists
-capitalism structures patriarchy, revolting and bringing down capitalism is the main goal
-working class females are the most marginalised in society
Black feminism
-white feminists have ignored the position of ethnic minority women
-such women have a double disadvantage as they are oppressed by racism in white society and patriarchy
Post feminism
-challenges around gender identities suggest that there are now a range of identities from which women and men can choose from
-acknowledges that the experience of women varies according to their class, ethnicity and age
Mulvey
Feminism
-‘male gaze’
Carried out a semicolons to study representation of women in films
E.g wolf o Wall Street
Wolf
Feminism
-‘Beauty myth’, contemporary media takes these images and presents them as the ‘ideal’. This is a backlash against the women’s movement.
-women develop a ‘false consciousness’ that distracts them from seeking to improve their position in within society
Whelehan
Feminism
-study on men’s magazines such as FHM, Maxim and Loaded and claimed that these magazines override the message of feminism.
-these magazine promoted ‘laddish culture’ where women are objectified and changes in gender role can be dismissed as an ‘ironic joke’/
McRobbie
Feminism
-looks at women and girls magazines and states that they do have an impact on the identity of their readers
-a ‘discourse of western enlightened values’ is present throughout magazines = western version of femininity is presented as ‘ideal’
-magazines focus on fashion, lifestyle, love and beauty which promotes hegemonic femininity
Postmodernity
Describes society as how it is now, in its present state
Features of society that are changing
-power of media and growth of celebrity culture
-development of new technologies and social networking
-flexibility people have over their identities
Changes in the workplace
-move away from factory production
-increase in temporary short term contracts
-more flexible working
Type of culture important in a postmodern world
-society is dominated by the media
-culture is based around consumer goods and advertising
-culture is a mix of different styles from present and past and from different cultures (hybrid identities)
How do people form an identity and what influences it?
-influenced by the media and advertising
-people buy into it : hair extensions, fake tan
-identities are more flexible, np longer based on traditional class, gender, ethnic and age categories
Mc Luhan
Postmodernism
-‘global village’ : information would eventually be passed electronically due to it ‘moving at the speed of light’
-post modern world creates a new pattern of communication and social interactions
-globalisation has had a distinct impact on media representations as it provides access to a broader range of lifestyles and identities and offers people choice
Strinati
Post modernism
-due to diversity offered by the media there are no traditional representations of social groups, there has bee an ‘erosion identity’ - people no longer use the media as a reference on which to develop aspects of their identity / self
-identity is no longer constrained
Baudrillard
Post modernism
-influenced by McLuhan
-media has altered reality and this has negative impacts on society, people find it difficultto disguise wha is reality and what is fiction
-people are engulfed by communication and this has lead to a state of hyper-reality
-‘fake news’ e.g covid vaccine implanting a micro chip
-‘simulacara’ - when discussing virtual reality - can lead to a more satisfying version of the physical world e.g Sims
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