Keywords for Media Studies: Text

Flashcards covering the definition, theoretical models, and analytical complexities of the term 'Text' as discussed by Jonathan Gray.

Text

A unit of meaning for interpretation and understanding, occurring in forms such as TV programs, films, video games, websites, books, songs, podcasts, newspaper articles, tweets, or apps.

Textual analysis

A primary mode of media studies where scholars seek to ascertain what a text means, the techniques used to convey meaning, and what its themes, messages, and assumptions aim to accomplish.

Dialogism

A concept famously observed by Mikhail Bakhtin (1981) in the novel, where characters represent various worldviews and beliefs that clash, requiring the reader to listen through dialogue to ascertain themes.

Encoding/decoding model

Stuart Hall's canonical 1973/1980 model noting that meaning is created in two determinate moments: when creators encode meaning into a text and when audiences decode meaning out of it.

Preferred meanings

The intended meanings within a text as identified by Stuart Hall (1973/1980), which can lead to preferred, oppositional, or negotiated readings by audiences.

Noise

Unintentional social differences and societal ideologies that impact the process of encoding meaning within a text.

Juxtaposition

A concept realized by Lev Kuleshov and Sergei Eisenstein asserting that meaning is constructed in part based on what an image or text is placed next to.

Flow

A central attribute of television discussed by Raymond Williams (1974), referring to the constant stream of content where ads and scheduling impact the experience of a text.

Intertextuality

The condition where any unit of meaning is known only as something encountered in other contexts before; all textuality is considered intertextuality according to the legacy of Bakhtin and Volosinov.

Star images and genres

(Inter)textual matrices that create a dance of meaning between past and present roles or conventions, influencing how a viewer perceives a specific performance or text.

Paratexts

Items associated with a text, such as ads, merchandise, reviews, podcasts, and DVD bonus tracks, that serve as portals to framing expectations and constructing meaning (Genette 1997; Gray 2010).

Close reading

A mode of analysis that situates texts by focusing on the content itself while ignoring paratexts, context, and intertext.