COMS 371: Quiz #1

What is the primary purpose of critical media studies?

learn to ask questions and what questions to ask in order to understand what a media artifact means to an individual, to communities, and to societies more broadly

What is the definition of media?

plural form of "medium" referring to the channel or means of communicating OR the method or means through which a message and feedback is sent

What is the definition of mass media?

a means of communication intended to reach or influence people widely, as wide an audience as possible (mass)

What is false consciousness?

The misperception of dominant social relations as benefitting everyone, even subordinated classes

False consciousness is related to which form of ideology?

Ideology as masking, distorting, and concealing the social reality

Which political theory does false consciousness stem from?

Marxism: capitalism is inherently oppressive because it exploits the worker, but workers buy into the belief that capitalism is the best way to economically structure society and if they work hard enough, they can get ahead

What is the danger of false consciousness?

it defends the (unequal) status quo and allows an unjust society to persist

What are ideological forms?

media texts present a particular image of the world that either reinforces or contests the ideological status quo

Who believes that ideology is material practice?

French Marxist philosopher, Louis Althusser

What is the base in Marxism?

the economic foundation of society

What is the superstructure in Marxism?

the institutions of society: government, family, religion, education, culture and media

What defines our place in society according to Classical Marxism?

the dominant modes of production in a society at any given historical moment

Who developed the concept of hegemony?

Antonio Gramsci

What is the definition of hegemony?

the position of dominance held by some ideologies over others

When does an ideology become hegemonic?

when it holds sway as the agreed-upon set of ideas that govern/structure society, it is viewed as common sense, it is dominant

What is the political economy of the media?

critical examination of the means of production: the system in which media are made, circulated, and consumed are historically contingent and not ideologically neutral

What is critical theory?

the interdisciplinary study of society in order to understand power, oppression, identity, and resistance

What is the culture industry (Frankfurt School) thesis?

1. mass culture robs people of their imagination and in turn their individuality
2. a lack of individuality means a lack of independent critical thought about the systems that structure society
3. The above creates politically apathetic, passive consumers disempowered from challenging the status quo

What is the culture industry?

it makes a statement about the economic (capitalist) logic governing the realm of culture, it sees creative works as being subjected to the process of industrial production resulting in their commodification and standardization

What is the commodification of culture?

the transformation of culture into objects of monetary value

What is the standardization of culture?

culture made by mass production logics

What is technological rationality?

Marcuse argues that incorporating technological advancements into society based on rational decisions can, once that tech becomes all pervasive, change what is considered rational in that society

What is the uniformity of products?

culture industry produces commodities that present the illusion of newness to consumers

What is pseudo-individualization?

the culture industry masks the pre-digested quality of its products; the consumer believes they are making independent, personal choices that reflect their unique individuality, but they are only choosing from what has been given to them by the media industry

What is British Cultural Studies?

combines neo-Marxism theory with ideas and research methods derived from different disciplines, notably: Gramscian hegemony, literary criticism, and linguistics

What are the key tenants of Staurt Hall's theory?

1. meaning is not fixed or determined by the sender
2. the meaning of a message is never transparent
3. the audience is not a passive recipient of meaning

What is encoding?

the process by which something is represented

What is decoding?

the process the receiver goes through in trying to interpret the exact meaning of a message

How do audiences decode a message according to Hall?

1. working within the dominant code
2. using a negotiated code
3. operating with an oppositional code

Why is semiotics a structuralist theory?

1. it posits that language constructs reality
2. it posits that there is an underlying structure or system that governs language

What is langue?

the structure of language, such as rules and conventions

What is parole?

the way people use language or the preformace of language

What is a sign?

anything that conveys meaning

What is a signifier?

things that give meaning

What is the signified?

what is evoked in the mind, a mental concept

What is denotation?

the literal meaning of a sign, obvious, common sense

What is connotation?

a secondary associated meaning of a sign

What is Barthes meaning of myth?

the ideological message encoded in a text, a body of ideas and practices that promote the values and interests of dominate groups of society and defend the prevailing structures of power

What is differance?

the meaning of the signifier is always deferred because what is signified inevitably signifies something else

What is discourse analysis?

examines representation as a source for production of social knowledge

What is a discursive formation?

When discourses refer to the same topic appear across many different texts from an array of societal institutions

What is a regime of truth?

what we think we know to be true influences our values, behaviors, attitudes, actions, and social practices

What is panoptic power?

a model of social control based on the internalization of constant surveillance