Theory Evaluation

Question 1

Semiotics strengths

Answer 1

Can be used to unearth meanings of media text
Meaning is created by a media producer
Myths are easily recognisable and create meanings between groups
Meaning is easily denoted and can be extensive

Question 2

Semiotics weaknesses

Answer 2

ignores the possibility for audience to have different readings (Hall)
- ignores the intentions of the producer in creating specific myths which influence audience understanding
- ignores the intentions of the producer in creating semiotics for power
- ignores the different ways audiences may use the text for pleasure

Question 3

Binary oppositions strengths

Answer 3

• oppositions can help audience recognise genre
• oppositions can help audiences choose preferred uses and gratifications of media products
• oppositions can help the audience recognise the dominant hegemony in society and the message of the product

Question 4

Binary oppositions weakness

Answer 4

ignores the possibility for the audience to have different readings (Hall)
- western media predominantly and consistently favours white over non-white causing damaging stereotypes (Gilroy)
- binary oppositions are reductive and can cause stereotyping (Hall) and reinforce patriarchal values (Van Zoonen)
- western gender binaries mask the complex nature of sexuality

Question 5

Neale strengths

Answer 5

• understanding genre can help audiences determine specific uses, pleasures and gratifications of a media product (Katz and Blumler)
• genre can help an audience understand the binary opposition and position themselves
  genre can help audiences decode meaning

Question 6

Neale weaknesses

Answer 6

genres can influence audience ideologies through stereotyping and repeated representations
- media concentration has led to fewer experimental forms as producers rely on tried and tested formulas to garner mass appeal (Curran and Seaton)
- repeated mainstream genre tropes reflect the dominant hegemonic ideologies and these can exclude marginalised people

Question 7

Postmodernism strengths

Answer 7

recognises the fluidity of current society and how the influx of media content is moving reality further away
- helps the audience consider the ‘larger than life’ constructions of reality on the media and if these are reflections of reality
- Hall - all reality is ‘re-presented’ and mediated in a way to promote the ideals of the dominant hegemony, which does not reflect the true state of being

Question 8

Postmodernism weaknesses

Answer 8

media products have a clear relationship with reality as media texts represent and naturalise the world view of those who have power in society
- the contemporary digital world does not just result in hyperreal inertia, but can make a positive difference in the real world through the use of participatory culture (Jenkins)
- the use of the media for audiences to represent themselves ignores the choices audiences have made in their own representations and the choices audience make in engaging with this content to form their own identities

Question 9

Todrov strengths

Answer 9

helps the audience recognise the social and cultural context and ideologies of the media product and how the problems are presented and then resolved
- allows the audience to understand the story and position themselves behind what is the ‘expected norm’
- helps confirm the genre of the narrative and proved the audience pleasure as the expected ‘resolution’ is achieved by the characters

Question 10

Hall strengths

Answer 10

• audiences are able to recognise social groups and better understand the narrative
• representations reflect the dominant hegemony and intention of the media producer
• stereotypes help audiences understand characters, build character relatability and reinforce genre expectations

Question 11

Hall weaknesses

Answer 11

ignores the fact that audiences may decode representation and codes in different ways
Gilroy - racial stereotypes are framed by cultural/social/historical aspects so it is harder to contest black stereotypes as they are so deeply entrenched into British cultural psyche
- the internet is allowing audiences to create their own representations which may subvert stereotypes/dominant hegemonies

Question 12

Gilroy strengths

Answer 12

-the media reflects simplified representations and stereotypes of black communities which nurture fear and reinforce the dominant hegemony
- media organisations are predominantly white and western and will reflect this dominant hegemony, which will then influence the world (Gerbner)

Question 13

Gilroy weaknesses

Answer 13

• ignores the fact that audiences can use a variety of media to create their own identities
• the internet allows audiences to create a wider array of representations than only those in the dominant hegemony
• new technology allows audiences to engage in participatory fan culture and form online communities

Question 14

Van zoonen strengths

Answer 14

• representations of women can help position our understanding of historical/cultural context
• representations of women can help determine genre and influence audience’s pleasure/use of a product
• representations of women can help audiences understand the ideologies of the creator

Question 15

Van zoonen weaknesses

Answer 15

• contemporary media products give audiences a much wider diversity of gender based identities to shape their identities and resist the ideological pull of the patriarchy (Gauntlett)
• the use of labels like ‘male’ and ‘female’ mask the complex nature of sexuality (Butler)
• audiences may read texts in a different wat than the original encoding (Hall)
• marginalised women will always be represented as less powerful than their white counterparts (hooks)

Question 16

Bell hooks strengths

Answer 16

• helps audiences to consider unrepresented groups with less of a voice
• helps audiences consider social groups who may be extended from movements (eg. feminism focusing on white women)
• intersectional media celebrated diversity and gives a voice to social groups, influencing how they then see themselves (Gauntlett, Gerbner)

Question 17

Bell hooks weaknesses

Answer 17

• contemporary media products allow unheard voices to have platforms and develop their own representations BUT these can sometimes still be controlled by dominant powers (eg. shadow bans - Curran and Seaton)

Question 18

Judith butler strengths

Answer 18

• audiences are able to recognise gender stereotypes and use them to recognise genre/audience pleasures from a specific text
  meaning about a text is immediately implied
  meaning reflects the patriarchal dominant hegemony of western culture
  meanings of gender subversion are clear

Question 19

Judith butler weaknesses

Answer 19

• contemporary media means that heteronormativity does not completely dominate and audiences can create their own version of identity (Gauntlett)
• modern media means that audiences can create new understandings of gender (Shirky, Jenkins)
  ignores the impact that gendered positioning can have - women internalise male power and their own on-screen passivity (Van Zoonen)

Question 20

Gauntlett strengths

Answer 20

• highlights the audiences’ ability to be active in their identities and emphasises the changing nature of media representations
• helps understand what audience may engage with a product, but also who might be explicitly targeted through specific representations and identity conventions

Question 21

Gauntlett weaknesses

Answer 21

• the contemporary media landscape is not diverse but saturated with stereotypical portrayals the reflect wider social inequalities - leads to problematic portrayals of minority groups (Hall)
• portrayals of black women are are largely absent from the media and when they are they are prone to overly sexualise portrayals (hooks)
• British media narratives don’t offer diversity but they are stuck within a colonial mindset that position non-whites as threatening, primitive or uncivilised (Gilroy)
• repetitions of these problematic stereotypes may influence audiences beyond what they choose (Gerbner)

Question 22

Curran and seaton strengths

Answer 22

• highlights the shift towards commodification of content and the repetition seen in much media content
• emphasises the changing nature of media production in a globalised and digitalised world where conglomerates can exist across multiple platforms

Question 23

Fandom strengths

Answer 23

-recognises changing culture of media production and consumption and move towards active audience and their involvment in prduction and dstibution
-allows audience to engage with community with similr interests
-coniders ability for audiences to enforce change

Question 24

fandom weaknesses

Answer 24

-dominated by larger commercial companies
-internet resulted in prosumers but still heavily reliant of traditional marketing (owned by conglomerates)
-media makers engage in fan based listening activities to construct or adapt products
-global nature of internet make regulation difficult - open to potential abuse

Question 25

Hesmondhalgh strengths

Answer 25

-highlights shift towards commodification of content and the repetition
-explains similarities of media content
-emphasis changing nature where conglomerates can exist across multiple platforms

Question 26

Hesmondhalgh weaknesses

Answer 26

-digital media landscape allows themselves to express themselves in a positive and creative manner
-large scale media providers may be replaced by products made by everyday users = content controlled by audience
-always adapting and refining recognisable tropes based on genre-driven model and genres audiences like
-audiences have power to choose

Question 27

Regulation strengths

Answer 27

acknowledges how media bodies must improve lives of citizens but highlights the shift to free-choice consumerism

Question 28

Regulation weaknesses

Answer 28

-digital media landscape has benefits = consumers make own products, better connection, societal change
-globalisation has brought audiences into contact with a wide range of identities (audiences see fluidity of identity)