Theorists Flashcards
What is the main idea of Structuralism according to Claude Lévi-Strauss?
Texts can best be understood through an examination of their underlying structure
Structuralism focuses on understanding meaning through binary oppositions.
What role do binary oppositions play in Structuralism?
Meaning is dependent upon (and produced through) pairs of oppositions
Binary oppositions help in analyzing texts and their meanings.
How can the resolution of binary oppositions in Structuralism be significant?
It can have particular ideological significance
The way oppositions are resolved may reflect cultural or political ideologies.
In Postmodernism, what has happened to the boundaries between the ‘real’ world and the world of media?
They have collapsed
This concept suggests a blending of reality and media representation.
What does Jean Baudrillard mean by ‘hyperreality’?
Media images have come to seem more ‘real’ than the reality they supposedly represent
Hyperreality indicates a state where the distinction between reality and simulation is blurred.
What is the focus of Feminist theory according to Liesbet van Zoonen?
Gender is constructed through discourse, varying according to cultural and historical context
This theory emphasizes the social construction of gender roles.
What is a core element of western patriarchal culture according to Feminist theory?
The display of women’s bodies as objects to be looked at
This objectification is critiqued in feminist media studies.
How do the visual and narrative codes differ for male and female bodies in mainstream culture?
The codes used to construct the male body as spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body
This difference reflects gender biases in media representation.
Fill in the blank: The idea that in a postmodern age of simulacra we are immersed in a world of images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’ is known as _______.
[simulacra]
Simulacra refers to copies or representations that do not have an original.
What components are involved in the study of media language?
- Advertising and marketing
- Music video
- Newspapers
- Television
- Magazines
- Online
These components illustrate various forms of media through which language and representation are analyzed.
What is the core idea of feminist theory according to bell hooks?
Feminism is a struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination.
How does bell hooks define feminism in terms of political commitment?
Feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle.
What are some components related to representation in advertising and marketing?
Advertising and marketing, music videos.
What is Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity?
Identity is performatively constructed by the expressions that are said to be its results.
How is identity manufactured according to Judith Butler?
Identity is manufactured through a set of acts.
What are some components related to gender performativity in media?
Television (The Bridge, Humans, The Jinx), online (PointlessBlog, Zoella).
What is Paul Gilroy’s theory regarding ethnicity and postcolonial theory?
Colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era.
What concept does Paul Gilroy associate with civilizationism?
Civilisationism constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions based on notions of otherness.
What are some components related to ethnicity in representation?
Advertising and marketing, music videos.
What is the underlying struggle in recent UK regulation policy?
The struggle is between the need to protect citizens from harmful material and the need to further consumer interests by ensuring choice, value for money, and market competition.
What risks do global media corporations pose to traditional media regulation?
The increasing power of global media corporations and the rise of convergent media technologies have placed traditional approaches to media regulation at risk.
How do cultural industry companies minimize risk and maximize audiences?
They do this through vertical and horizontal integration and by formatting their cultural products using stars, genres, and serials.
What is the operational scope of the largest cultural industry companies?
The largest companies or conglomerates operate across a number of different cultural industries.
How has the radical potential of the internet been contained?
It has been contained by its partial incorporation into a large, profit-oriented set of cultural industries.