Theorist-Media Language Flashcards
Roland Barthes-Semiotics
Media products are decoded by their readers in 2 ways, both denotative reading and connotative reading
Denotative reading
Readers recognise the literal or physical content
Connotative reading
A deeper understanding of the text including emotional, symbolic or ideological significance
Enigma codes
Construct moments of mystery and intrigue for the readers
Action codes
Build interest or suspense which show that ‘something is about to happen’
Semantic codes
Understanding the messaging to have an extra layer of meaning or a hidden meaning
Symbolic codes
Any repeated symbol that conveys a deeper meaning
Cultural codes
Refer to material from beyond the text and relies on our wider knowledge of culture, might refer to proverbs, idioms, historical or scientific ideas or knowledge
Levi Strauss-Binary opposition
Meanings can be constructed upon pairs of opposition to help create narrative conflict and structure
Have particular ideological significance reinforcing certain cultural or societal values
Tzvetan Todorov-Narratology
Based on a 3 act structure
A state of equilibrium is being established
Then it’s being disrupted in some way (Takes up the majority of the narrative)
Concluding with a new equilibrium, returning to some sense of normality
Steve Neale-Genre theory
Genres may be dominated by repetition, but are also marked by difference, variation and change
Change, develop and vary, as they borrow from and overlap with one another
Exist within specific economic, institutional and industrial contexts
Jean Baudrillard-Postmodernism
In postmodernism culture the boundaries between the ‘real’ world and the world of media have collapsed
It’s no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation
Audiences are constantly bombarded with images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’
Media images have come to seem more real than the reality that they supposedly represent, referred as ‘hyperreality’
