theorists Flashcards
genre theory
what is steve neales genre theory
- Genres Are Not Fixed:
Neal argues that genres are not static or rigid categories. They are fluid and constantly changing. For example, a “horror movie” may evolve over time, as filmmakers mix in elements of comedy, science fiction, or drama. Genres can blend, hybridize, and transform as cultural tastes and social contexts change. - Genres Are Defined by Repetition and Difference:
A key idea in Neal’s theory is that genres rely on both repetition and difference. This means that:r epetition: Certain conventions are repeated within a genre. For example, in a romantic comedy, you might expect a love story with comedic situations.
Difference: Each individual work within a genre also brings something new or different. While it might follow certain genre conventions, it often has unique twists or variations that set it apart from others.
For instance, even though most action films involve high-energy scenes, explosions, and a clear hero vs. villain dynamic, each action movie might explore those elements in unique ways - Genres Are Cultural and Social:
Neal suggests that genres are shaped by cultural expectations and social contexts. This means genres reflect the values, fears, and desires of the society that creates and consumes them. For example, sci-fi movies might reflect cultural anxieties about technology or space exploration, while western films often explore themes of frontier justice and individualism, rooted in American history. - Genres Are Commercial and Institutional:
Genres are also influenced by the media industry and its need to market and sell content. Genres are used to help audiences quickly identify what kind of content they can expect. For film studios, TV networks, and streaming platforms, genres help them target specific audiences and create content that aligns with audience preferences. - Genres Are Audiences’ Expectations:
Neal emphasizes that genres are defined not only by the content producers but also by audiences’ expectations. When we watch a horror movie, for example, we expect certain conventions . Audiences bring their knowledge of previous films and media to each new film, which influences how they interpret it.
what is livingstone and lunts theory on regu;lation
Livingstone and Lunt’s theory on media regulation suggests:
There is a tension between public interest (protecting the public, ensuring diversity) and market freedom (promoting competition, innovation).
Traditional forms of regulation are becoming outdated due to the convergence of media and the rise of global digital platforms.
Regulation must adapt to deal with both the global nature of media and the local needs of society.
Media regulation now focuses more on market structure (fair competition, data privacy) rather than just content control.
Self-regulation by media companies and consumer choice also play a significant role in the evolving media landscape, but they might not always be enough.
Livingstone and Lunt argue that regulators need to strike a careful balance between these competing pressures to ensure that media serves both public good and economic growth in an increasingly digital world.
power and media industry theory
what is curran and seatons powe and media indusrty theory
Media plays a significant role in spreading ideologies that support existing power structures (e.g., capitalism, consumerism) and can contribute to social control by shaping how people perceive the world.
Curran and Seaton’s Power and the Media theory argues that:
Media ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few powerful corporations, which leads to a lack of diversity in media content and a narrowing of public debate.
Media companies are profit-driven, often prioritizing advertising revenue and sensationalist content over serving the public interest.
Content is shaped by the interests of owners and advertisers, leading to biased or ideologically driven media that reflects the perspectives of those in power.
Global media corporations reduce local diversity and shape global culture in a way that benefits multinational interests, rather than reflecting the needs and interests of local populations.
inn short, Curran and Seaton focus on how media ownership, profit motives, and commercial interests shape what people see, hear, and read in the media, and how this influences society and public opinion. They highlight the risks of having concentrated media power, which can limit diversity and distort public discourse.
stererytyyping
what is staurt halls representation theory
Representation is a Construction of Meaning:
Hall argues that media does not reflect reality but constructs it. This means that media creates representations of people, places, events, and ideas that are shaped by particular ideologies (sets of beliefs and values) and power structures in society.
These representations are the result of encoding and decoding—media producers encode (create) meanings, and audiences decode (interpret) them based on their own experiences and cultural contexts.
Language and Meaning:
Hall highlights that language—both verbal and visual—is the primary means by which media conveys meaning. For example, the way a person is portrayed in a film, the words they speak, or the images associated with them can influence how we understand them.
Signs are central to this process. A sign is anything that conveys meaning (e.g., words, images, sounds). Signifiers are the forms (such as words or images), and the signified is the meaning or concept they represent (e.g., an image of a man in a suit may signify “power” or “authority”).
Stereotypes and Power:
One of Hall’s key points is that media representations often reinforce stereotypes—simplified, overgeneralized images of groups of people (e.g., women, minorities, working-class people). These stereotypes are not neutral; they are used to convey particular social meanings, often serving the interests of dominant social groups.
For example, media might portray Black people in roles that emphasize criminality or athleticism, or women as passive, emotional, and dependent on men. These stereotypical images are not objective truths but constructed representations that can perpetuate social inequalities and power imbalances.
Encoding/Decoding Model:
Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model explains the process by which meaning is created and interpreted. He argues that media producers encode messages (intentionally or unintentionally) into their content, and audiences decode these messages when they consume media.
Audiences may interpret these messages in different ways:
Dominant reading: The audience fully accepts the intended meaning (e.g., a news broadcast presenting an event in a particular way).
Negotiated reading: The audience partly accepts the message but also questions or modifies it based on personal experiences.
Oppositional reading: The audience completely rejects the intended meaning and interprets it in a way that contradicts the original message.
Ideology and Media Representation:
Media representations are not neutral; they are shaped by ideological forces. Ideology refers to the system of beliefs and values that inform how we see the world and what we consider “normal” or “natural.”
For example, media might present a capitalist ideology by portraying success as being linked to wealth and individual achievement, or a patriarchal ideology by reinforcing traditional gender roles (e.g., women as caregivers, men as breadwinners).
These ideological representations help maintain the status quo by promoting beliefs that benefit dominant groups, often at the expense of marginalized communities.
Cultural Codes:
Hall also talks about cultural codes, which are the sets of signs and symbols that people from a particular culture understand and interpret. These codes vary from culture to culture and shape how we make sense of media messages. For example, a certain color or symbol might have a specific meaning depending on the cultural context (e.g., the color red might symbolize danger or love, depending on the situation).
In Simple Terms:
Stuart Hall’s Representation Theory argues that media doesn’t just reflect reality but creates meanings through the way people, events, and ideas are represented. These representations are shaped by the social and cultural values of the people who create them and often reflect the power structures in society.
Hall’s theory focuses on how media:
Constructs reality: Media creates meanings through language and images, which help us understand and interpret the world.
Reinforces stereotypes: Media often portrays people in oversimplified and stereotypical ways, which can reinforce social inequalities.
Is shaped by ideology: Media representations are influenced by ideologies (sets of beliefs) that support the interests of powerful groups in society.
Is decoded by audiences: When people consume media, they interpret it in different ways, depending on their personal experiences and cultural context.
In short, Hall’s theory helps us understand that what we see in the media is not a neutral or accurate representation of reality, but rather a constructed message shaped by cultural, political, and economic forces.
what is gerbners cultivation theory
- The Role of Media in Shaping Perceptions:
Cultivation Theory suggests that long-term exposure to media content influences people’s beliefs and perceptions about the world. Although War of the Worlds was a single, dramatic event, it nonetheless demonstrated how media can manipulate people’s perceptions of reality, even in the short term. The broadcast’s format (presenting a fictional alien invasion as a “live news report”) was designed to cultivate a realistic perception of the event, blurring the line between fiction and reality. This manipulation, whether intentional or not, shaped listeners’ immediate perceptions and caused some to panic, as they thought the Martian invasion was genuinely happening. - The Impact of Repetition and Credibility:
Cultivation Theory emphasizes that the repetition of certain themes in media over time cultivates particular worldviews. Though War of the Worlds was a one-off broadcast, the style of presentation—a news-like broadcast format—was designed to make the event feel real. When media repeats certain types of content, such as disasters, invasions, or crises, the audience can become more likely to believe that these events reflect reality. The more people are exposed to dramatic portrayals of destruction or alien invasions, even if fictional, the more they might begin to perceive the world as filled with threats or dangers.
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- Media as an Authority Figure:
Cultivation Theory highlights how media institutions (television, radio) act as authority figures in society, particularly in how they convey “facts” or construct a version of reality. In 1938, radio was seen as the most authoritative form of media. People trusted what they heard on the radio, which is why the War of the Worlds broadcast had such a profound effect. The format of “live updates” and “eyewitness reports” used in the broadcast gave it an air of authority and urgency that made it seem like an actual news event, rather than fiction. - Fear and Anxiety – The “Mean World Syndrome”:
One of Gerbner’s key ideas in Cultivation Theory is the idea of the “mean world syndrome,” where regular exposure to violent or frightening media causes people to view the world as more dangerous and threatening than it really is. While War of the Worlds was not about violence in the traditional sense, it was about the fear of a destructive alien invasion—an existential threat to humanity. - Short-Term vs. Long-Term Cultivation:
While Cultivation Theory primarily deals with long-term exposure, the War of the Worlds incident shows that media can have immediate, short-term effects on perception. Even though the broadcast was only an hour long, it cultivated fear in the short term, demonstrating that media exposure, especially when it’s believable and emotional, can alter perception quickly.
what is halls reception theory
Encoding and Decoding:
Hall’s theory builds on the idea that media messages are encoded by producers (the creators of media content) and then decoded by audiences (the consumers of media). Encoding refers to the way the producers shape or construct the message in a particular way, using language, symbols, and cultural cues. Decoding refers to the process by which audiences interpret and make sense of that message.
The key idea is that the same media message can be interpreted in different ways by different audiences, depending on their cultural background, personal experiences, and societal influences.
The Active Audience:
Reception Theory argues that the audience is not a passive entity that simply absorbs media messages. Instead, it is active and engaged in the process of meaning-making. This means that audiences don’t just accept messages at face value; they bring their own interpretations to the media they consume.
The theory challenges earlier models of media influence (like the hypodermic needle model or magic bullet theory), which assumed that media had a direct, uniform effect on all audiences. Hall’s theory recognizes the complexity of audience interpretations and suggests that there are multiple ways to decode a message.
Interpretive Framework:
Hall identifies that the way an audience decodes a message depends on their social position, which includes factors such as class, gender, race, age, education, and political beliefs. This means that different people will interpret the same media text differently based on these factors. For example, the way a news report about a political issue is interpreted might vary depending on whether the audience is from a working-class background or an upper-class background, or whether they hold certain political views.
People also decode messages through their cultural lens—the media they consume, the language they speak, their experiences, and their broader cultural context shape how they understand messages.
Three Types of Readings (Interpretations): According to Hall, there are three possible ways that audiences can decode (interpret) media messages:
Dominant or Preferred Reading:
This is the interpretation that aligns with the intended message that the producers or creators of the media intended to communicate. It reflects the dominant ideology or worldview. For example, if a news program broadcasts a story supporting a government policy, the dominant reading would be one where the audience accepts and agrees with that portrayal.
Negotiated Reading:
In a negotiated reading, the audience partly accepts the intended message but also modifies it based on their own personal beliefs, experiences, or social context. For example, a viewer might watch an advertisement for a luxury car and understand its message about status, but might also question or reject the idea that material possessions are a true measure of success, depending on their social or economic context.
Oppositional Reading:
In an oppositional reading, the audience completely rejects the intended message, decoding it in a way that directly contradicts the dominant meaning. For example, a person who opposes a political regime might watch a news report that supports that regime and interpret it in a critical, oppositional way, seeing the message as propaganda or manipulation.
Key Features of Hall’s Reception Theory:
Context Matters:
The theory emphasizes that audience interpretation is shaped by context—both the context of the media production (the way the media text is created and what it is meant to convey) and the social context of the audience (the experiences, backgrounds, and values the audience brings to their interpretation).
Negotiated Meaning:
Hall’s theory moves away from the idea that media messages have a single, fixed meaning. Instead, it suggests that meaning is negotiated and contingent on the audience’s interpretation. There’s an interaction between the message sent by the producer and the interpretation made by the audience.
Polysemy:
A central idea of Hall’s theory is that media texts are polysemic, meaning that they have multiple possible meanings. This is why different audiences can interpret the same media message in various ways. For example, a political speech can be interpreted as a call for unity, as a call for control, or even as an attempt to manipulate the public, depending on the audience’s perspective.
Media as a Site of Ideological Struggle:
Hall also suggested that media is not just a neutral platform for communication but a site of ideological struggle. Different groups in society might use media to promote their own values, beliefs, and interests, and the audience’s decoding process can either reinforce or challenge these dominant ideologies. Media texts, therefore, become arenas where competing ideologies are negotiated.
Example: Reception of a Political Speech
Imagine a politician giving a speech on a hot-button issue, such as climate change or immigration.
Dominant Reading: The majority of the audience (perhaps those who support the politician’s party or political views) will decode the message in the way it was intended by the speaker, accepting it at face value as a truthful and sincere statement.
Negotiated Reading: Some people in the audience may agree with the general message but feel that certain aspects of the speech don’t fully address their concerns or experiences. For example, an environmentalist may support the politician’s stance on climate change but feel that the proposed policies don’t go far enough.
Oppositional Reading: Others may completely reject the politician’s message, interpreting the speech as propaganda or an attempt to mislead the public. These listeners might be skeptical of the politician’s motivations and view the speech as part of a broader political agenda.
