theories

Question 1

What’s Barthes semiotics theory ?
Usefulness ?
Limitations

Answer 1

focuses on how signs create meaning.
1. Denotation - The literal meaning
2. Connotation - The deeper cultural / emotional meaning

Usefulness :
• Spotlights how headlines, photos & layout influence audience perception

Limitations :
•Different audiences interpret the same signs differently
•Doesn’t take audience demographics & audience engagement in online news into account

Question 2

What’s Van zoonens theory ?
Usefulness ?
Limitations ?

Answer 2

argues : gender is constructed through media representations and is shaped by cultural / historical contexts.
🔑 :
🎭Gender as Performance - Media uses stereotypes of men and women to reinforce traditional gender roles

🤦‍♂️Patriarchal Ideology - in Mainstream media
|> supports male-dominated perspective - men portrayed as active & authoritative, while women as passive / sexualised / emotional.

Usefulness :
• Identifies Gender Bias - exposes the different framings of men and women
[- e.g., discusses female politicians appearance vs. male’s policy ]

• Reveals Objectification - women sexualised in images / descriptions, -especially in tabloids / online clickbait.

Limitations :
•Doesn’t account for race or class
•Overlooks role of audience interaction [ social media comments ] in complicating representations beyond traditional journalism.

Question 3

What’s bella hooks theory ?
Usefulness ?
Limitations ?

Answer 3

argues : feminism must be intersectional (address race, class & gender, together not separately)
🔑 :
1. gender equality must include diverse voices - not just white, middle-class women.
2. Intersectionality - Women experience oppression differently based on race, class, and sexuality
3. Media Perpetuates Oppression -
reinforce stereotypes that marginalise Black women and underrepresented groups.

Usefulness :
• Exposes Intersectional Bias - [ Black women stereotyped as “aggressive” or “exotic” ]
• Reveals who controls the news narrative
• Challenges Stereotypes - can critique how news reinforces harmful representations [e.g., victim-blaming in crime reports involving women of color]

Limitations :
• Can Be Subjective - Interpretation of bias vary between analysts.

• Doesn’t consider how profit-driven media impacts representation [sensationalist headlines for clicks]

Question 4

What’s bandura’s theory ?
Usefulness ?
Limitations ?

Answer 4

🔐people learn behaviors through observations and imitate them.
🔑
1. Audiences copy behaviours (PASSIVE) in media, particularly when they’re rewarded or normalised.
2. Exposure to violence leads to increased aggression / desensitisation.

Usefulness :
• explores Influence of Negative News
•Encourages ethical journalism - questions how news outlets frame violence.
• supports arguments for regulation.

Limitations :
• People process media differently based on personality, critical thinking, & life experiences.
• prioritises effect on audience rather than audiences effect on curation of media
• Ignores Active Audiences who engage critically rather than passively absorbing messages.
• audiences challenge content through comments

Question 5

What’s Gerbner’s theory ?
Usefulness ?
Limitations ?

Answer 5

suggests that long-term exposure to media, shapes audiences’ perceptions of reality.
🔑
1. Mean World Syndrome - Heavy consumption of violent content, makes audiences believe the world is more dangerous than it actually is.

2. Repeated exposure to similar media narratives leads to a shared worldview among audiences.

Usefulness :
• Helps analyse how constant exposure to crime/disaster news creates public anxiety.
•repeated framing of certain groups [immigrants, protestors] in negative ways reveals political bias & shapes public opinion.

Limitations :
• Doesn’t account for Active Audiences -
assumes people don’t critically engage & passively absorb media

• Ignores how Real-world experiences, education, and social interactions also shape perceptions, not just media.

Question 6

What’s Hall’s reception theory ?
Usefulness ?
Limitations ?

Answer 6

🔐how audiences interpret media texts differently based on demographics
🔑
1. Encoding & Decoding - producers encode messages but audiences decode them in different ways.

2. Three Readings:
   • Dominant Reading -audience fully accepts intended meaning.
   • Negotiated Reading - audience partly agrees & disagree w/ some aspects.
   • Oppositional Reading - Audience rejects the intended message

Usefulness :
• Helps understand why people interpret same news in different ways [political bias]
• Shows audiences are active & challenge mainstream media narratives.

Limitations :
• Doesn’t Address Media Influence
unlike “effects” theories [ Bandura, Gerbner ] - doesn’t explain how media shapes behavior.

• Ignores Economic and political influences on media production.

Question 7

HALL’s representation theory ?
Usefulness ?
Limitations ?

Answer 7

explores how media constructs meaning and reinforces power structures.
🔑
1. Media as a Construct - Media doesn’t show reality but instead shapes representations through language/images/ narratives.
2. Stereotypes oversimplifies people & reinforces power hierarchies.

Usefulness :
• reveals how groups are misrepresented/underrepresented in news
• Shows how repeated portrayals [immigrants as threats, women as victims] shape public perception.

• Challenges “Neutral” Reporting &
highlights how news is always constructed with specific framing and agendas.

Limitations :
• Unlike Hall’s reception theory, it doesn’t explore how audiences resist or representations.
• Doesn’t consider how economic/technological factors influences media creation.
• Can Be Subjective - Identifying bias and stereotypes depends on individual perspectives.