theories Flashcards
(media languge) roland barthes: semiotics
the idea that texts communicate their meanings through a process of signification.
the idea that signs can function at the level of denotation, which involves the ‘literal’ or straight forward meaning of the sign, and at the level of connotation which involves the meanings associated with or suggested by the sign.
the idea that constructed meanings can come to seem self-evident, achieving the status of myth through a process of naturalisation.
(action, enigma, semantic, symbolic and referential)
(media language) jean baudrillard: postmodernism
the idea that in postmodern culture the boundaries between the ‘real’ world and the world of the media have collapsed and that it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation.
the idea that in a postmodern age of simulacra we are immersed in a world of images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’.
the idea that media images have come to seem more ‘real’ than the reality they supposedly represent (hyperreality).
(media language) tzvetan todorov: narratology
the idea that all narratives share a basic structure that involves a movement from one state of equilibrium to another.
the idea that these two states of equilibrium are separated by a period of imbalance or disequilibrium.
the idea that the way in which narratives are resolved can have particular ideological significance.
(equilibrium, disruption, recognition, attempt to repair and new equilibrium)
(media language) steve neale: genre
the idea that genres may be dominated by repetition, but are also marked by difference, variation and change
the idea that genres change, develop, and vary, as they borrow from and overlap with one another
the idea that genres exist within specific economic, institutional & industrial contexts
(media language) claude levi-srauss: structuralism
the idea that texts can be best understood through an examination of their underlying structure.
the idea that meaning is dependent upon (and produced through) pairs of oppositions.
the idea that the way in which these binary oppositions are resolved can have particular ideological significance.
(representations) bell hooks: feminism
the idea that feminism is a struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination.
the idea that feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice.
the idea that race and class as well as sex determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed.
(representations) liesbet van zoonen: feminism
the idea that gender is constructed through discourse, and that its meaning varies according to cultural & historical context.
the idea that the display of women’s bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture.
the idea that in mainstream culture the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body as spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body.
(representations) judith butler: gender
the idea that identity is performatively constructed by the ‘expressions’ that are said to be its results (it is manufactured through a set of acts).
the idea that there is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender.
the idea that performativity is not a singular act, but a repetition and a ritual.
(representations) paul gilroy: ethnicity and postcolonialism
the idea that colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era.
the idea that ‘civilisationism’ constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions based on notions of otherness.
(representations) stuart hall: construction
the idea that representation is the production of meaning through language, with language defined in its broadest sense as a system of signs.
the idea that the relationship between concepts & signs is governed by codes.
the idea that stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits.
the idea that stereotyping tends to occur where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or ‘other’ (e.g. through ethnocentrism).
(representations) david gauntlett: identity
the idea that the media provide us with ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our identities.
the idea that whilst in the past the media tended to convey singular, straightforward messages about ideal types of male and female identities, the media today offer us a more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from whom we may pick and mix different ideas.
the idea that some of these icons and celebrities become Role Models for an audience. In this instance a Role Model is not someone who the audience wants to be, but someone with whom they may share an ideological outlook.
(industry) james curran and jean seaton: power
the idea that the media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power.
the idea that media concentration generally limits or inhibits variety, creativity and quality.
the idea that more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media productions.
(industry) sonia livingstone and peter lunt: regulation
the idea that there is an underlying struggle in recent UK regulation policy between the need to further the interests of citizens (by offering protection from harmful or offensive material), and the need to further the interests of consumers (by ensuring choice, value for money and market competition).
the idea that the increasing power of global media corporations, together with the rise of convergent media technologies and transformations in the production distribution and marketing of digital media, have placed traditional approaches to media regulation at risk.
(industry) david hesmondhalgh: cultural industries
the idea that cultural industry companies try to minimise risk and maximise audiences through vertical and horizontal integration, and by formatting their cultural products (e.g. through the use of stars, genres, franchises etc.).
the idea that the largest companies or conglomerates now operate across a number of different cultural industries.
the idea that the radical potential of the internet has been contained to some extent by its partial incorporation into a large profit orientated set of cultural industries.
(audiences) stuart hall: reception theory
the idea that communication is a process involving encoding by producers and decoding by audiences.
the idea that there are three hypothetical positions from which messages and meanings may be decoded.
(preferred, oppositional and negotiated readings)
