All theorists for Media

What does Richard Dyer say are the four components to his representation theory?

1. Appearance

2. Behaviour

3. Constructed to fit into a particular medium

4. Comparison with normal behaviour

What does Dyer suggest about stereotypes?

That they are used as a shortcut for the producer to convey their ideology.

That they are reference points for the audience and an expression of dominant societal values.

What does Dyer say that stereotypes do?

Legitimise inequality.

What does Judith Butler say about gender?

That gender is something that is culturally formed and that there is no innate truth to this binary.

What does Butler say about the effect of society on the individual?

She states that if you are a “sissy” boy or a tom boy you will be influenced by society to change.

What does Butler think that the media assists in?

Marginalisation of non- heteronormative identities through absent representations, abjection (focusing on the negative) or parody.

How does Laura Mulvey think that male gaze occurs?

When the audience is put into the perspective of a heterosexual man.

What does Laura Mulvey’s theory suggest?

That women can more often than not watch a film from a secondary perspective and only view themselves from a man’s perspective.

What does Laura Mulvey state about the function of female characters in a narrative?

1. An erotic object for the characters within the narrative to view.

2. An erotic object for the spectators within the cinema to view.

What does bell hooks believe about who is in control of the media?

That white, upper class males control the media. And that their values and beliefs are the ones we see in the vast majority of media products.

What does bell hooks believes happens to marginalised groups?

The media can create prejudice and discrimination towards these groups. She also believes that black women specifically are seen as the lowest status.

What is the oppositional gaze?

It is a “gesture of resistance” to not only the male gaze but also the oppression of minority groups.

What does Paul Gilroy’s theory state?

That blackness or “otherness” is perceived to be a threat to cultural purity.

What is the African diaspora and what has it created?

Diaspora is the community of people that migrated from their homeland.

It has now constructed a transatlantic culture that is simultaneously African, American, Caribbean and British.

What does Gilroy believe to have had an effect on current media products?

Colonialism

What does Gilroy think we should focus on in order to counter the racism in society?

Pay more attention to the 20th Century “histories of suffering”. By recognising previous acts of racism we will be able to move to a better place without prejudice.

What is the idea of “double consciousness” in Gilroy’s theory?

The idea of not feeling a sense of belonging and suggests that black people have to view themselves through the eyes of others.

What does Gauntlett suggest about modern representations of masculinity?

That they are “about men finding a place for themselves in the modern world”.

What does Gauntlett say about identity?

That it is fluid and can change over time. It is also consciously constructed and the media provides some tools to help us construct our identities.

How does Gauntlett think the media and its consumers influence eachother?

By being engaged in a dialogue in which neither overpowers the other.

Eg. The media benefits from eyewitness accounts and footage, the consumer benefits because they can share an event which is important to them.

How does Hall say we view things?

As a “re-presentation” of something, not the thing itself. And that we can interpret a representation of something in similar ways to those who we share our cultural background with.

What does Hall say is the definition of a stereotype?

A preconceived idea of what people are like, could be based on culture, religion, race etc.

What does Van Zoonen believe about the media?

It informs audiences of the gender based roles that they ought to assume.

What are “patriarchal ideals” in Van Zoonen’s theory?

The dominant ideological force that shapes gender expectations.

What does Van Zoonen believe is the dominant representation of women in Western media?

One that objectifies womanhood/ the female body.

How does Van Zoonen believe woman are objectified?

• Male gaze invites

• Restricting females to secondary roles

• Woman as passive participants

• Framing women differently (editing etc)

• Reinforcing narrow beauty ideals

What are the 4 key themes in black representations according to Alvardo?

1. Exotic

2. Dangerous

3. Humorous

4. Pitied

What does Alvardo state about the four stereotypes in his theory?

They are examples of otherness and were drawn from other media texts rather than reality.

What does Hesmondhalgh believe about the existence of media products?

They exist as a result of their economic context.

Why does Hesmondhalgh think media content is manufactured?

Manufactured to make profit.

What does Hesmondhalgh argue in terms of the media making decisions?

They are guided by the needs of commerce as opposed to creativity.

What does Hesmondhalgh believe regarding risk in the media industry?

Very high risk

Why does Hesmondhalgh believe making commercially successful media is very difficult?

Because of the impossibility of predicting audience tastes. As well as the high cost of production and the effects of mass competition.

Why should the media maximise profits and minimise risk?

• Audience tastes continually adapt

• Media industry is reliant on marketing and publicity

• Media products have limited consumption capacity

What is the definition of overproduction?

The expansion of media companies.

What are the three ways in which companies expand?

1. Horizontal integration

2. Vertical integration

3. Multi- sector integration

How can the media maximise audience and minimise risk?

• Safe product formatting

• Star formatting- use of elite person

• Genre based formatting

• Serialisation

• Remakes

• Independent labelling

What are the three key concepts in Curran and Seaton’s theory?

1. The media is controlled by a small group of companies that make products for profit

2. Media concentration negatively affects media content

3. Diverse ownership creates diverse products.

How do media conglomerates maximise profits?

Through horizontal and vertical intergration

What do large-scale media producers rely on to generate income?

Advertising, which drives companies to produce products that have mass audience appeal.

What does Curran and Seaton’s theory state about media production?

The main goal is profit, not creativity.

What does Curran and Seaton’s theory say about what affects media content?

Media concentration

What happens to minority interest content in the media?

It is pushed to the margins of broadcast schedules.

What does Curran and Seaton state happens when media concentration increases?

Reduces the diversity available of new titles because conglomerates tend to repeat products as they know they are successful products.

What does Curran and Seaton’s theory say creates diverse products?

Diverse ownership

What do Curran and Seaton think that Public service broadcasting provides?

Impartial news, serves minority audiences by offering inclusive content, rather than exclusive content.

What has made media products more difficult to regulate?

Technology- downloading, streaming, piracy

Who is responsible for regulating the television industry?

Ofcom

What do Livingstone and Lunt believe about powerful companies regarding regulation?

That they can avoid regulation because of their power and money.

What does the hypodermic needle theory state?

That we are affected by what we see in the media.

What does the hypodermic needle theory suggest?

That we all respond to media messages in the same way.

Where has the hypodermic needle theory come from?

The influence of propaganda and children’s programmes.

What does Gerbner’s Cultivation theory state?

He believed that TV influences all sections of society and can induce attitudinal change. The more exposure people had, the more likely their perception of reality will be distorted.

What is the violence index?

A “cultural indicators” project set up by Gerbner to measure the level of violence across programming.

What were the findings of Gerbner’s violence index project?

Females depicted as more vulnerable.

Elderly, single, non-white females were especially prone to victimisation.

Gerbner split the audience into two groups, what are they?

Resonance and Mainstreaming

What is the resonance group?

Audience in a high crime area and heavy TV views. They experience the double dose effect, which amplifies their fear of real world crime.

What is the mainstreaming group?

Also heavy TV views but from an area with a low crime rate. They also reported an increased perception of violence but not as high as those in resonance.

What did Jenkins believe?

That fans play a key role in the media.

What are the 5 levels of fandom?

1. A particular mode of deception

2. Particular interpretive practices

3. A base for consumer activism

4. Cultural production and practices

5. Alternative social communities

What is “A particular mode of deception”?

Fans watching with high attention, having an intense emotional and intellectual involvement.

What is “Particular interpretive practices”?

Analysing texts frame by frame, filling in gaps in the narrative.

What is “A base for consumer activism”?

Fans “speak back” and give feedback to networks and the producers.

What is “Cultural production and practices”?

Textual poaching, fans borrow material and make it their own.

What is “Alternative social communities”?

Fandom offers “not so much an escape from reality as an alternaitve reality”.

What is participatory culture?

Fans being empowered by new technologies and are demanding the right to participate.

How does participatory culture occur?

1. Interactive relationship between audience and producer.

2. Community and knowledge oriented.

3. NOT money oriented.

4. Encourages members to exchange information and express themselves.

Procumer definition

Interacting with a media product more than a consumer, sharing it, producing your own product based off the original media product.

What does Shirky’s theory explore?

How the internet has impacted on our relationship with the media. The line between producer and consumer is becoming blurred.

What does Shirky say about the model of consumption?

Went from broadcast to many-to-many model.

How does Shirky think the internet impacted our relationship with the media?

1. Opportunity for user-generated content

2. Cognitive surplus

3. Mass- amaturisation

What is “Opportunity for user-generated content”?

Most websites have sections for the audience to share their views on the content.

What is “Cognitive surplus”?

People creating their own media content.

What is “Mass- amaturisation”?

Individuals creating their own media broadcast following eg. bloggers.

What does Shirky believe about the audience?

That there is no longer a passive audience. He thinks we are more active and interactive through technological advances.

How does Shirky’s theory impact newspapers?

Newspaper sales are declining because you can’t be an active audience and interact.

What was Bandura’s bobo doll experiment?

Filmed adults beating up the bobo doll and played the video to children. Children did the same, proving that children learn from what they see.

What did Bandura believe are the necessary factors in order for modelling to occur successfully?

1. Attention

2. Retention

3. Reproduction

4. Motivation

What are the 5 points in Blumler and Katz’s “Uses and Gratification” theory?

1. Entertainment

2. Escapism

3. Education

4. Personal identity

5. Social interaction

What is the point of Blumler and Katz’s theory?

It allows us to see what people “do” with their media rather than what the media does to them.

What is the concept in Neale’s Genre theory?

Repetition and difference

What are the 5 conventions of the repetition and difference part of Neale’s theory?

1. Levels of verisimilitude

2. Narrative similarities

3. Character- driven motifs

4. Iconography

5. Audience targeting

Neale- What does repetition do in terms of audience?

Allows audiences to recognise and access media products the kind of appeal they are engaged by. They also provide familiar narrative structures and character types that create audience engagement quickly.

What does Neale say are the three reasons for genre subversion?

1. Audience needs

2. Contextual influences

3. Economic influences

What is Levi-Strauss’ theory?

1. Binary oppositions

2. Binary oppositions and ideological significance

What does Levi-Strauss believe is the reason for binary opposites?

To create a good narrative and conflict.

What does Levi-Strauss say about binary opposites and ideological significance?

That media products construct ideologies by positioning their audiences to favour one side.

What does Levi-Strauss believe that humans do when analysing media?

Encode and decode the product using shared principles.

What are the seven character types in Propp’s theory?

1. Hero

2. Villain

3. False hero

4. Princess

5. Dispatcher

6. Donor

7. The helper

What is the linear narrative structure that Todorov suggests to be the “ideal” one?

• Equilibrium

• Disruption of equilibrium

• Recognition of disruption

• Attempt to repair the damage

• New equilibrium

• REPEAT

What is the narrative that Propp proposes in his Narrative theory?

1. Preparation (scene is set)

2. Complication (a problem/ evil occurs)

3. Transference (hero is helped/ leaves on quest)

4. Struggle (fight- hero vs villain)

5. Return (hero returns, quest fulfilled)

6. Recognition (villain punished/ hero rewarded)

What does Barthes suggest?

That stories have certain codes that audiences understand and respond to.

Barthes- What are the 5 narrative codes?

1. Action code

2. Enigma code

3. Semantic code- something with hidden meaning

4. Symbolic code

5. Cultural code- anything requiring cultural/ historical knowledge to understand

What did Barthes believe about levels of signification?

That signs can function at the level of denotation (literal meaning) and at connotation (associated meaning).

What did Baudrillard focus on?

The ideas of “reality” and “truth”

Baudrillard- What is a simulacra?

Copies of things, simulations of reality.

What did Baudrillard believe?

• Simulacra have no connection to reality but their appearances

• Society’s fixation on artificial simulacra leads to “hyperreality” where audiences find it difficult to differentiate between reality and simulacra.

What is an example of reality, heightened reality, and simulacra?

R- the fruit, orange

HR- orange juice

S- chocolate orange

What is the definition of Heightened reality?

Something that still has a link to the reality

What is the definition of Simulacra?

Something that is a copy of reality, but has little link to reality if any