Theorists- representations Flashcards
7
Stuart Hall -
Theory: Media Representations
Reception Theory
. Encoding/Decoding
. Dominant Ideologies
. 3 Effects of Stereotypes (63-64)
Countertypes
Sterotypes reduce people to a few simple characteristics or traits. Tends to occur when there is a disparity of power, with excluded groups being “different”.
. Distortion
Reception Theory
Stuart Hall - Encoding/Decoding
Theory: Media Representations
encoding: when producers use media products to construct a message.Decoding: the process in which audiences interpret meaning behind codes used by producers of media products.
Reception Theory
Stuart Hall - Dominant Ideologies
Theory: Media Representations
e.g men are stronger then women
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Reception Theory
Stuart Hall - countertype
Theory: Media Representations
The definition of a countertype is a positive stereotype and emphasises the positive features about a person.
Focuses on the positive elements of a group that are traditionally represented as bad
Oversimplification of the diversity in the group
Reception Theory
Stuart Hall - distortion
Theory: Media Representations
when the audience does not know what the encoded meaning could be implying so creates their own decoded meaning
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Reception Theory
Stuart Hall - 3 Effects of Stereotypes
pages (63-64)
Theory: Media Representations
Reinforcing dominant power structures
Limits individual representation
Creates “otherness”
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David Gauntlett
Theory: Media Representations
**Theory of Identity **
Types of Identity (123)
.Identity (4 Types) (Media helps give us the tools and resources to shape our identity)
Fluidity,Constructed,Negotiated, and Collective.
Theory of Identity
David Gauntlett- Types of Identity (123)
Theory: Media Representations
Identity is often separated into cultural identity e.g Race and personal identity e.g Music
Theory of Identity
David Gauntlett - 4 types of identity
Theory: Media Representations
Fluidity of identity
Over time our identity changes and adapts to our environment and influences.
We can more freely choose what we identify with than we could in the past
Constructed identity
We can pick and choose what identity we want
We can select parts of different identities and make our own
Negotiated identity
The negotiation between what you would like to be and what different media/identity inputs your experience in the world
Collective identity
Broad frameworks that you either fit in with or you don’t. E.g. Race
Some are more relevant to you than others
bell hooks
Theory: Media Representations
Also feminist theory
. 5 Reasons Why Intersectional Feminism Exists (98-99)
. 3 Negative Black Stereotypes (96-96) :
jezebels, Aunt Jemimas and Sapphires.
. Feminism a political choice rather then a lifestyle
.The intersection of Race and class (as well as sex) determine the extent to which individuals are exploited and oppressed.
‘Smash the Patriarchy’
feminist theory
bell hooks: 3 Negative Black Stereotypes (96-96) :
Theory: Media Representations
3 Negative Black Stereotypes (96-96) :
1. jezebels: Overly sexualzied women which is common in hip-hop culture. Hooks argues that this stereotype has been internalized by black women themselves.
2. Aunt Jemimas: Women in a domestic role and subservient to men.
3. Sapphires: Comedic depiction of black women in talk shows and reality TV. Usually shown as angry and unable to control their emotions.
Feminist Theory
Liesbet Van Zoonen
Theory: Media Representations
. Female Body as A Spectacle: 5 Effects (83)
. Patriarchy
. Objectification
. Voyeurism
. The male gaze :
How men look at women
How women look at themselves
How women look at other women.
.’raunch culture’
A culture which promotes overtly sexual representations of women, as through the acceptance of pornography, stripping, nudity in advertising, etc, esp when this is encouraged by women.
western patriarchal culture displays women as a spectacle to be looked at. Subjected to the male gaze.
The widespread practice of objectifying women degrades and dehumanises females, while giving male viewers, for whom women are sexualised, an unspoken exploitative power that spills into the real world relations.
Believed that the media’s portrayal of femininity has a profound effect on male and female understandings of our gendered identities.
Liesbet Van Zoonen - Voyeurism
Audiences are encouraged to desire peasure from watching women as passive, sexualised objects.
Theories of Gender performativity
Judith Butler
Theory: Media Representations
. 3 Principles (103-104)
. Gender Performance (105-106)
.Your gender is not fixed from birth but a social construct we subconsiously perform, because society expects it from us.
Theories of Gender performtivity
Judith Butler - Gender Performance (105-106)
page: (105-106)
Theory: Media Representations
Judith Butler challenges this idea with her work on gender. She believes that gender isn’t fixed from birth. You are not born to be masculine if you male, as well as you are not born with feminine traits if you are female. These are forced upon us by society, culture and the media and therefore we subconsciously perform these traits when we live our lives because they are what society expects us to do.
Butler referred to this as Gender Performativity.
Our genders are not stable but are constructed through repeated actions. These rituals and performative acts reinforce our identity. For example, the act of wearing makeup for instance fosters an illusion that we have a seamless identity.
Theories of Gender performativity
Judith Butler - Heteronormative
Media representation
Butler highlights that most media is biased to heterosexual relationships which is the dominant identity mode in western cultures and do not consider other relationships that exist in society, and that subversion is so difficult because hetronormative ideals are so deeply entrentched within the fabric our language and cultural practises.
Theories around Ethnicity and Post-colonial Theory
Paul Gilroy
Theory: Media Representations
Racial Otherness
4 Civilisationism Effects (77)
Postcolonial Effects: Albionic Nostalgia, Postcolonial Melancholia (81)
civilisation constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions based on notions of “otherness”
Theories around Ethnicity and Post-colonial Theory
Paul Gilroy: Postcolonial Effects: Albionic Nostalgia, Postcolonial Melancholia
Theory: Media Representations
“Albionic Nostalgia”:
Represents a romanticized view of a homogenous, pre-colonial Britain, often used to justify resistance towards cultural diversity and immigration.
“Postcolonial Melancholia”:
A psychological state where a society, unable to fully confront its colonial past, experiences a deep-seated unease and negativity towards those considered “other” within its borders.
Relevance to contemporary issues:
Gilroy argues that this melancholic sentiment can contribute to contemporary issues like racial profiling, xenophobia, and a resistance to multiculturalism within British society.
Paul Gilroy- name the 4 Civilisationism Effects
- constructs a binary world view
- Has a racial subtext
- nurtures cultural incompatibility
- nutures fear
