Media studies a level

Representation theory

• Stuart hall

• focused on how culture is represented and constructed by media producers

• media representations can affect how people are viewed, leading to stereotypes and narrowed mindsets

Binary Opposition theory

• suggests that meaning in language and culture is constructed through juxtaposition of contrasting pairs of concepts

binary oppositions can be used to

• structure a narrative

• convey ideological meaning

Hesmondhalgh’s cultural industries theory

• media industries seek to maximise profit and minimise risk

• done through vertical and horizontal integration

• diversifies product through variety of platforms

• focuses on popular genres/stars and make more of same product

• controlled release schedule

Curran and Seaton: Power and Media Industries Theory

• most media industries are dominated by small number of giant conglomerates, results in similar products

• not a lot of variety

• media companies are all about profit and power

Hypodermic Needle Theory

• suggest audience passively consumes media

• leads to uniform and immediate effects on thoughts and behaviors

• outdated

end of audience theory

• Clay shirky

• suggests traditional media consumers are now active

• happened due to improving technology

Fandom theory

• henry jenkins

• participatory culture, fans shaping how media is produced, shaping narratives and influencing industries

Past Lives (2023) budget

12 million USD

Past Lives world wide total

41.2 million dollars

Zeistgeist -

the defining of a mood during a particular period of history

Horizontal integration involves

a company acquiring or merging with

competitors or similar businesses at the same stage of the value chain to increase market share, eliminate competition, or expand its product offerings

Vertical integration is

a strategy where a company expands by acquiring businesses at different stages of its value chain, controlling more of the supply or production process

Semiology theory 

Roland Barthes – signifiers and signified

Objects are used as symbols, representing different meanings

Propp’s archetypes:

• Villain

• Helper - sidekick

• The donor - gives something to the hero

• Princess - damsel in distress

• Dispatcher - sends heroes off on a mission

• False hero - ends up betraying the hero

• The hero 

end of audience theory

Clay Shirky

suggests that traditional media consumers are now active participants

may have happened due to evolving/improving of technology

Challenges the notion of a passive audience.

- Fandom theory

Henry Jenkins

Theory of fandom/participatory culture, fans are shaping how media is produced.

Fans collaborate online, shaping narratives and influencing industries

Male Gaze Theory - Objectification/sexualisation

Laura Mulvey

States that gender power asymmetry is a controlling force in media

constructed for the pleasure of the male viewer

which is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideologies and discourses

Means that male viewers are the target audience

therefore their needs are met first and that this problem stems from an old fashioned, male-driven society

The Bechdel Test

Simple way to gauge the active presence of female characters in Hollywood films.

Have at least two named female characters

Who talk to eachother

About something besides a man

IF a text subverts male gaze a female may have

Agency (controlling the story)

Challenging the male perspective

May not conform to beauty standards

May pass the bechdel test

Clothing

Hair

Disability

how does laura mulvey male gaze affect male portrayal

portrayals of men as invulnerable, heroic, rational, and emotionally restrained, reinforcing traditional toxic masculinity

camera avoids lingering shots that might feminize men

female gaze

reframes male representation, showing men as emotionally complex or as objects of desire themselves

Uses and gratification theory

Why people watch media:

Escapism

Identity (tied to media consumed)

Relationships (allows people to have conversations and build relationships)

surveillance

—

contrasts with older theories that viewed audiences as passive recipients of media messages

Cruella (2021) budget

around 100 million (according to impd)

Cruella (2021) worldwide box office

Earned 234 million

Cruella (2021) marketing and merchandise

• Synergy with Disney's media ecosystem, including promotions on Disney+ and features on its official fan club site, D23.

• Merchandise and brand partnerships, like a makeup collection with MAC Cosmetics, helped extend the film's presence beyond the screen

Cruella target audeince

PG-13 rating and rebellious tone aimed to attract young adults, and nostalgic adults who grew up with the 101 Dalmatians franchise.

Cruella Hesmondhalgh's Theory of Cultural Industries:

risk minimization and profit maximization. By creating a prequel to a globally recognized piece of media, Disney minimized the risk associated with a new products

use of star actors (Emma Stone, Emma Thompson) and the hybrid release model (theatrical and streaming) further minimized risk while creating new revenue streams to maximize profit.

Cruella Curran & Seaton's Theory of Media Ownership:

demonstrates the concentration of power in the media industry because

film benefits from and reinforces Disney's dominant position as it allowed Disney to use its various platforms to promote and monetise the films.

Shows how large corporations control the production and distribution of media to maintain their power.

Moonlight A24 budget

4 million dollars (according to impd)

Moonlight A24 worldwide box office

66.8 million dollars (according to IMPD)

the little mermaid budget

355.1 million USD

the little mermaid worldwide box office total

569 million USD

what makes a box office success

makes 2.5x their budget

Parasite budget

11.4 million USD

parasite world wide box office total

262 million USD

lady bird budget

10 million USD

lady bird worldwide gross

79 million USD

director of pastlives

celine song

director of hereditary

ari aster

hereditary budget

10 million USD

hereditary worldwide gross

90 million USD

disney’s acquisitons

Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox

fox news currant and seaton theory

• operates within a concentrated media ownership structure,

• controlled by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp conglomerate which also owns The Wall Street Journal and The Sun.

• argues that most media industries are dominated by a small number of conglomerates that prioritise profit and political influence over diversity of output

• business model depends on maximising audience loyalty and engagement, not necessarily delivering balanced journalism

fox news Hesmondhalgh’s cultural industries principle

• Reproducing formulaic, emotionally charged content (e.g. recurring coverage of immigration, patriotism, “culture-war” issues).

• Employing recognisable presenters (Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity) who function like stars to build brand loyalty.

• Using cross-platform promotion across cable, YouTube, and social media (vertical + horizontal integration)

• exemplifies how ownership concentration encourages sensational, click-driven production strategies that prioritise profit and ideological reinforcement over journalistic diversity

• clips are optimised for YouTube, Instagram, and short-form media, allowing the brand to dominate multiple channels.

fox news stuart hall

• constructs reality through selective framing, portraying events like protests, migration, or social justice movements using loaded language and imagery. shapes audience ideology, influencing how groups are perceived.

• Example: coverage of Black Lives Matter often juxtaposed peaceful protests with images of fire or crime, encoding meanings of “danger” or “disorder.”

• Hall argues that media representations don’t reflect reality but construct it, leading audiences to internalise stereotypes

binary opposition theory fox news

frequently structures narratives as “us vs them”:

• Conservative values vs liberal “chaos.”

• Patriots vs immigrants.

• oppositions simplify complex political issues into emotionally resonant binaries, making the content easier to digest, share, and monetise

fox news hypodermic theory

Passive audiences injected with ideologies via repeated exposure, explaining how consistent narratives can shape public opinion (e.g. vaccine hesitancy, election distrust)

fox news uses and gratification theory

• Modern audiences actively select Fox News to satisfy psychological needs:

• Surveillance: gaining information (though ideologically filtered)

• Identity: affirming political or national identity

• Social interaction: belonging to a community

• Escapism: emotional reassurance through predictable narratives

united states cable tv big three

Fox News, CNN, and MSNB

fox news viewership

Averaged 3.28 million viewers in weekday prime

ahead of ABC (3.25 million viewers), CBS (3.1) in 2025 according to Forbes

Clash royale 

Curran & Seaton’s Power and Media Industries theory

• Supercell is owned by Tencent, a global tech conglomerate that also owns stakes in Riot Games and Epic Games

• a handful of conglomerates dominate, producing repetitive yet safe content to sustain profit and power rather than diversity

Clash royale Hesmondhalgh’s Cultural Industries theory

• minimises risk and maximises profit by:

• Re-skinning and re-balancing existing game mechanics (e.g. “Evolution” cards) rather than innovating entirely new systems.

• Cross-platform integration: linking Clash Royale promotions to Clash of Clans and YouTube campaigns.

• Controlled scarcity: releasing time-limited “evolution” cards to create FOMO and drive microtransactions.

• cycle—introduce → paywall → nerf

maximises short-term revenue while maintaining long-term engagement. media industries recycle proven formulas to reduce financial uncertainty, privileging monetisation over originality

clash royale semiology

chests, crowns, and gold function as signifiers of achievement and status

Comments on consumerism as a natural extension of competition, aligning in-game success with economic power and reflecting capitalist values embedded in modern media text

clash royale binary opposition theory

victory/defeat, pay-to-win/free-to-play, mastery/luck

reinforcing the idea that spending confers superiority

clash royale end of audience theory 

• YouTubers and TikTok creators (e.g. Jynyxi, Ian77, and Ryley CR) have transformed the audience into co-producers of meaning

• They critique nerfs, expose paywalls, and influence perceptions of balance.

• Their algorithm-optimised videos double as marketing for Supercell—free promotion that also pressures the company to respond.

clash royale fandom theory

Communities create memes, tier lists, and “no-pay” challenge series

fan practices that resist the corporate model while sustaining the game’s visibility

participation lets fans reshape narratives and hold producers accountable.

factors that would influence production for a new company

• ownership and market concentration (curran and seaton Power and Media Industries Theory), conglomerates are big competitors to new companies

• Technological developments (multi-platform distribution, Digital access can globalise visibility)

• Cultural and representational factors (new companies often distinguish themselves through inclusive narratives)

• Regulation and ethical factors

•  audience participation and digital fandoms

Todorov Theory

Five stages:

- Equilibrium: normal and  stable routine.

- Disruption: A force or an event disturbs the initial equilibrium, causing a conflict.

- Recognition: Characters realise a disruption has occurred and figures out how to restore balance.

- (Attempted) Repair: Climax of the narrative, where characters try to solve the problem/defeat the disruption and repair the damage.

- New Equilibrium (Reinstatement): Story reaches to an ending when the resolution is reached and stability is established. involves an improved version of the original as characters have been changed by the events

Sub Rosa

indie niche game

multiplayer FPS built around intense negotiations, double-crosses, and high-speed car chases

development of sub rosa

Developer: Cryptic Sea (Alex Austin)

Publisher: Devolver Digital

Distributor: Devolver Digital / Steam

launched on Steam Early Access in 2021, available in early access in 2012

Status: Indefinite "Early Access" (Effectively Abandoned)

why sub rosa built such a strong fandom

unique concept

social unpredictability. Every session could produce different outcomes because the real appeal came from how players interacted: trust, deception, negotiation, teamwork, and betrayal. That made the game highly memorable and very shareable. It also helped the game build a cult following through gameplay clips, YouTube videos, and community stories, because the audience were not just consuming content but actively creating it through play.

how did sub rosa grow

grew through word of mouth