Theories Flashcards
What does Hesmondhalgh say about cultural industries?
The largest companies or conglomerates now operate across a number of different cultural industries to maximise chances of commercial success.
What does Hesmondhalgh suggest that produces do to minimise risk and maximise profit?
Ensuring the company is vertically and horizontally integrated - makes you more powerful.
Working across a variety of media platforms and technologies.
Focusing on popular genres/ formats/ stars.
Controlling release schedule - eg. film released all in one, reducing the possibility of it being pirated. Eg. release on AC Liberation on Ps Vita.
Detailing your marketing campaign. Eg. Guerilla marketing in ‘I,Daniel Blake’.
What are the components of Curran and Seaton’s theory?
Media industries are dominated by a small number of giant conglomerates. Eg. Disney in the film industry.
Media companies are mainly concerned about profit and power.
The result of the domination of large conglomerates results in a lack of choice and repetitive products. Eg. Woman’s Realm.
Independent, diverse ownership results in more choice, creativity and diverse products. Eg. Sixteen films and TCO London, Huck
How is regulation in the media hard according to Livingstone and Lunt?
Rules are often to do with protecting the audience from harm - regulators have to try and balance protecting people and offering them choice.
Technology has made regulation harder - downloading, streaming,piracy, Youtube means people can bypass controls like age certificates.
What do regulatory bodies have limited control over according to Livingstone and Lunt?
Regulatory bodies (BBFC, OFCOM, IPSO) have limited control over anything online - the vast nature of the internet makes it impossible to control.
What can powerful companies do according to Livingstone and Lunt?
Powerful and wealthy companies can avoid regulations. Eg. News Corp has broken rules and regulations - Phone hacking scandal.
What are the components of bell hook’s feminist theory?
Feminism is the struggle to end patriarchal oppression. Eg. Huck ‘Ocalan’s Angels’.
Feminism is a political commitment, not a lifestyle choice. Eg. Ocalan’s Angels are actively fighting for equality.
Women are not all discriminated against in the same way or to the same extent. There are levels to discrimination.
The oppression of women is therefore closely tied to ethnicity and class - women in lower classes or different ethnicities are more likely to be oppressed further. Eg. Front cover of Huck/ Ocalan’s Angels.
Where do we get ideas about gender from according to Van Zoonen?
We get our ideas about gender from discourse, this is communication from the media.
We learn what it means to be male and female from the media products we consume. Eg. BP rejects stereotypes as it portrays strong female characters - Queen Romanda.
What link does Van Zoonen make between historical events and gender?
Our ideas about gender have to be looked at alongside the historical and cultural contexts in which they sit in - these ideas change with certain contexts. Eg. Ideas about being a woman have changed since the era of Woman’s realm.
How are women viewed in the media according to Van Zoonen?
Women are objectified in the media - they are seen as objects to be looked at. Eg, KOTV - woman is in distress and wearing tight clothing, held by man.
This illustrates the fact that we live in a patriarchal culture.
What is the difference between how men are women are viewed in the media according to Van Zoonen?
Women are domestic - confine women.
Men are individuals and more suited to the workplace/ political sphere.
How are men’s bodies viewed in the media according to Van Zoonen?
Men‘s bodies are viewed as spectacles in the media - they should be admired and be a symbol of bravery and pride.
What are enigma codes (hermeneutic) according to Barthes?
A mysterious part of a media text that will engage an audience in some way and hook them in.
Example: KOTV - ‘Tide’s got what women want’ - enigma as audiences wonder what the product has and whether it is what women want - may have to buy product to find out.
What are symbolic codes according to Barthes?
Symbol - an image that represents something else.
Example: KOTV - bats are a symbolic code for vampires.
What are semantic codes according to Barthes?
The idea that there is a hidden meaning behind something/ something connotes another thing.
Example: KOTV - use of red and black are semantic codes for horror, links to death and blood.
Example: Tide - hugging tide is a semantic code implying that she loves the product.
What are action codes (proairetic) according to Barthes?
Elements of a media product that signify that something is going to happen as a result.
Example: KOTV - Woman holding man by his throat - action code that implies the woman in the film may be at moment of potentially killing the man.
What are cultural (referential) codes according to Barthes?
Parts of a media product that people will only understand if they are part of that culture.
Adds layers of meaning.
Example: Formation - cultural codes to the Antebellum era, audiences have to understand the context of slavery and the time period.
What are the three parts of Stuart Hall’s representation theory?
The media uses stereotypes - these are often negative.
These stereotypes reduce people down to oversimplified cliches.
Stereotypes result from an inequality of power - eg. ownership of white men.
What is a preferred reading of a text according to Stuart Hall?
Where audiences accept the encoded meaning of a product.
Example: Tide - intended meaning is that women should love the product and aspire to this lifestyle.
What is an oppositional reading of a text according to Stuart Hall?
Where audiences do not agree with the encoded meaning of a product.
Example: Tide - modern interpretation would deem the advert as sexist.
What is a negotiated reading of a text according to Stuart Hall?
Where audiences understand the producers intended meaning and accept parts of this and reject others.
Examples: Tide - audiences may understand the message and that Tide may be a good product yet they do not want to buy a product that is wholly aimed at women.
What is Levi-Strauss’ binary opposite theory?
Certain groups, thing or people are represented in opposite ways in a media product as this communicates meaning.
Example: Tide - ‘other washday product’ - represented in binary opposition to other wash day products in order to compare and realise that Tide is the best.
What is Gerbner’s cultivation theory?
The media tends to repeat certain representations that build up overtime and cultivates the minds of audiences.
These representations create an idea in society of whatis mainstream and dominant ideologies.
What is Galtung and Ruge’s news value theory?
News values - some events are seen as more or less important to producers.
Stories have values and this value depends on what the story offers.
Galtung and Ruge came up with a list of points in which if a media product had these, it would be seen as more relevant and important.
