Theorists Flashcards
(B) Semiology is the…
study of signs.
(B) Signs consist of…
a signifier; a word, an image, a sound, etc.) and its meaning - the signified.
(B) The denotation of a sign is its…
literal meaning (e.g. the word ‘dog’ denotes a mammal that barks)
(B) Connotations are the…
associations of the denotation
e.g. ‘dogness’ - the thoughts and feelings associated with dogs
(B) Denotations and Connotations are organised into…
myths - the ideological meaning. These make ideology seem natural.
e.g. a bulldog might activate myth of Britishness
(B) Barthes uses the word myths to describe the way…
connotations suggested by a sign have come to be seen as normal and natural
(B) The meanings created by myths often reflect…
dominant values and ideologies
(B) Define Anchorage
when a piece of media uses another piece of media to reduce the amount of connotations in the first, therefore allowing the audience to interpret it much more easily.
(B) Give an example of anchorage
in a newspaper, pictures are accompanies by a caption that allows us to understand what the picture is showing us
(T) All narratives share a…
basic structure that involves a movement from one state of equilibrium to another
(T) The two states of equilibrium (in a narrative) are separated by…
a period of imbalance or disequlibrium
(T) The way in which narratives are resolved can have…
a particular ideological significance
(T) Fill in the gaps:
Todorov identifies the different stages of a (1), moving from the everyday life of the characters (the (2) ), the disruption to that (the (3) ), and the resolution of that disruption into a new equilibrium.
(1) - narrative
(2) - equilibrium
(3) - disequilibrium
(T) Define Masterplot
A technique for creating a story that is recreated through plot and retold differently over time because of its cultural significance.
(T) Define Diegesis
A term used to name the story depicted on screen, as opposed to the story in real time that the screen narrative is about
(T) Diegesis may concern…
elements - such as characters, events, and things with the main or primary narrative
(N) Genre theory is about what…
genres are, and about how and why they are created, change endure or decline
(N) Neale argues that genre is a process by which…
genetic codes and conventions are shared by producers and audiences through repetition in media products
(N) Neale says that genres are not fixed, but…
constantly evolve with each new addition to the generic corpus
(N) Define Generic Corpus
The collection of texts or relating to or shared by a whole group of similar things
(N) What did Neale refer to as the ‘intertextual relay’?
Generic codes and conventions that are not just established in the media product but in the product that refers to it, e.g. critical writings, advertising and marketing material
(LS) Structuralism is the study of…
the hidden roles that govern a structure
(LS) Levi-Strauss thought that the human mind could be investigated by…
studying the fundamental structure underlying myths and fables from around the world
(LS) Binary opposition is the idea that…
the system of myths and fables was ruled by a structure of opposing terms
e.g. hot-cold, male-female, culture-nature, raw-cooked
(Bau) Postmodernism is the idea that…
society has moved beyond the movement of modernism
(Bau) Fill in the gaps:
Baudrillard argued that, as modern societies were organised around (1), postmodern society is organised around (2) - the play of (3) and (4).
(1) production of goods
(2) simulation
(3) images
(4) signs
(Bau) Hyperreality is the idea that…
representations are now more powerful and ‘real’ than reality
(Bau) Hyperreal representations don’t represent reality, instead they are…
representations of representations
(G) Gauntlett promotes the idea that media provides us with…
‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our identites
(G) Fill in the Gaps:
Gauntlett promotes the idea that whilst in the past media tended to convey (1) about ideal types of (2) identities, the media today offer us a more (3) range of (4) from whom we may pick and mix different ideas
(1) - singular, straightforward messages
(2) -male and female
(3) -diverse
(4) -stars, icons and characters
(B) What are the 5 codes in Barthes’ five code theory?
Hermeneutic Code Enigma Code Semantic Code Symbolic Code Cultural Code
(B) What does Barthes’ five code theory look at?
How we communicate meanings through the process of signification (signs and codes)
(B) What does Barthes’ hermenuetic code look at?
How the text avoids telling the whole truth
(B) What does Barthes’ enigma code look at?
How tension is built
(B) What does Barthes’ semantic code look at?
Different connotations/meanings
(B) What does Barthes’ symbolic code look at?
Ways symbolism is shown
(B) What does Barthes’ cultural code look at?
The Audience’s wider cultural knowledge
(T) What is Todorov’s theory of narratology?
That all narratives share a basic structure of equilibrium-disruption-resolution-equilibrium
(N) What is Neale’s genre theory?
That genres are created and sustained by repetition but are also marked by difference and variation.
Over time genres change and develop whilst borrowing elemets from each other
(LS) What is Levi-Strauss’ theory of structuralism?
Meaning is produced through binary oppositions, these are critical for a narrative in order to create conflict and disruption
(BA) What is Baudrillard’s theory of postmodernism?
In postmodern culture the boundaries between the ‘real world’ and the world of the media have collapsed and it is no longer possible to distinguish what is reality and what is simulation.
(SH) What is Hall’s theory of representation?
Stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few traits and characteristics.
This tends to occur when there are inequalities of power, constructing excluded groups of ‘other’
(G) What is Gauntlett’s theory of identity?
The media provides us with tools that we can use to construct our identities in the past there was straight forward messages about ideal gender stereotypes however now it is more diverse allowing us to pick and mix different ideals
(V) What is Van Zoonen’s feminist theory?
Women’s bodies are displayed as objects to be looked at as a core of western, patriarchal culture.
In mainstream culture, the visual and narrative codes used to construct the male body as a spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body
(bh) What is bell hooks’ feminist theory?
In the hierarchy of society, the sub group of women has it’s own hierarchy, white women being at the top
(JB) What is Butler’s theory of gender performativity?
Gender identity is constructed by the media, reinforcing ideals for each gender performativity is not a singular act but a repetition and a ritual
(PG) What is Gilroy’s theory of post-colonialism?
Colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the post-colonial era
Civilisationism constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions based on notions of otherness
(C&S) What is Curran and Seaton’s ‘power without responsibility’ theory?
The media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power
Media concentration generally limits creativity, variety and quality
More socially diverse patterns of ownership help top create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media productions
(L&L) What is Livingstone and Lunt’s theory of regulation?
Underlying struggle between the need to protect citizens and the need to further the interests of consumers
The rise of new technology has placed traditional approaches to media regulation at risk
(H) What is Hesmondhalgh’s cultural industries theory?
Cultural industry companies try to minimise risk and maximise audiences through vertical and horizontal integration
Larger companies now operate across a number of different cultural industries
(AB) What is Bandura’s media effects theory?
The media can implant ideas in the mind of the audience directly, audience acquire attitudes through modelling and identifying with someone they see in the media
(SH) What is Stuart Hall’s reception theory?
Communication is a process involving encoding by producers and decoding by the audiences
(J) What is Jenkins’ fandom theory?
Fans are active participants in the construction and the circulation of textual meanings
Fans appropriate texts and read them in any way they please
Fans construct identities through borrowing and inflecting mass culture images
(CS) What is Shirky’s ‘end of audience’ theory?
Internet and digital technologies have had a profound effect on the relations between media and individuals
Members are no longer passive as they now ‘speak now’ in various ways as well as creating and sharing content
(GG) What is Gerbner’s cultivation theory?
Exposure to television changes our perception of reality
What is the hypodermic needle model?
The idea that knowledge and information goes straight to your brain and changes the way you think
What is the two-step flow model?
The idea that knowledge and information from the media is interpreted by an influential person who tells you what to think
What is the uses and gratifications theory?
The idea that you select media and information based on your needs and wants; socially, entertainment, information you need to understand the world
You seek things to reinforce your views and ignore things that go against them
