MEDIA10 Practice Midterm #1

Text

All media that can be read

Reading

an active process of interpretation

(consumption is never passive, we use our media literacies to read the text for meaning/ interpretation)

(ex. reading a text to see if we like it or not)

Literacy

A learning process of learning how to differentiate meaning.

(ex. learning how to differentiate fake news from real news)

Representations

Texts that represent our world - past, present, future through storytelling 

What do representations construct?

they construct knowledge about the world around us, communicate values/ideas, & construct an understanding of one’s self

Media + Everyday Life

- a source of pleasure, routine, learning and interpretation of the world

- a form of connection and social currency

- an expense paid for money, time and or info

Utopian Perspective

belief that medium/media/practice is good or was bad but it’s getting better 

(EX: television is good because it’s entertaining for everyone)

Utopian Beliefs on Media

- If you find it objectionable, there's something else for you.

- It can act as an informational and educational resource.

- Its a window to new experiences

Criticisms of Utopian Beliefs

- Dismissive of social harm.

- Ignores commercial interests: Is there really something for everyone?

- Ignores production hierarchies.

- Employs the "myth of progress." (Media has its highs and lows and can often go backwards or forwards, utopian’s ignore that complexity in favor of the myth). 

Dystopian Perspective

Medium/genre/practice is bad AND/OR was good but it's getting worse

Dystopian Beliefs of Media

- Passive, addictive, exploitative, formulaic, consumerist.

Dystopian Criticisms

- Totalizing (Pessimistic): is it really all that bad?

- Nostalgic.

- Elitist.

- Assumes audience is "passive composition." (i.e. everyone’s dumb when they watch media)

Mirror Perspective

Medium/genre/practice reflects reality AND/OR the interest of the audience.

(Media mirrors major social changes.)

Mirror Perspective Critiques

- Ignores mediamaker agencies & selective process of production

- Ignores reasons why audiences consume media.

- Ignores different audience interpretations.

Cultural Studies

- Media changes society AND society changes media
- industry + everyday life + society + politics are interrelated
- focuses on an interpretive approach to media rather than via scientific data collection

(Cultural Studies Method #1) Textual Analysis

- close reading & analysis of a text through analyzing themes, meanings, & intentions

(Cultural Studies Method #2) Audience Studies

- studies reception rather than the text --> looks for everyday interpretations and pleasures

(Cultural Studies Method #3) Political Economy

Relationship between industrial media power and influence on politics/culture. Mainly consumer/commercial media.

Convergence

the blurring of boundaries between distinct forms of media into new types of media networks & delivery system

Technological Convergence

all technological capabilities (sound, images, text, data) in one device

(Ex. phones & computers)

Content Convergence

similar content available through a variety of devices. shared across different media.
(ex: Netflix on TV, smartphone, computer, etc.)

Implications of Content Convergence (Industry, Producers, Audience)

- Industry: collect fragmented audiences through many outlets

- Producers: more outlets and opportunities form money. New metrics for success

- Audience: facilitate individualized consumption experience. Tv on your own time [timeshifting (rewatching & binging shows), place shifting (mobile consumption like moving ur laptop), & greater content variety (media from different time periods/places)]

Transmedia Storytelling (Mikos)

Telling a story across multiple platforms like games, web pages, apps, social media, and traditional media

(A transmedia extension that share’s the same "textual universe")

(Ex. marvel & their disney+ series, stars & its various series, games, spinoffs, etc.)

NOT STANDALONE STORIES TOLD ACROSS DIFFERENT MEDIUMS OR ADAPTATIONS!!!

Unauthorized Content Convergence

a) unauthorized distribution of media outside of the entity/corporations control (AKA: content convergence "piracy")
(ex: illegal movie websites)
b) transmedia extension as fan practice
(ex: character shipping, fanfic)
c) transmedia storytelling as fan fiction

Ideology

Values and beliefs people use to make sense of the world

Dominant ideology

Those in power shape ideology though institutional control

(Reinforced by: institutional control & serving their interests)

Hegemony & Counter-Hegemony

Hegemony: Those in power replicate their privilege through dominant ideology, ruling through agreement. Must be reaffirmed

Counter-hegemony: Challenge current ideology and critiquing it

Texts as Polysemic

Definition: Texts are not fixed in meaning, they can be understood/decoded in a multiple of ways.

Encoding

Texts are ENCODED at the level of production.

(Meaning: Media makers encode the text with preferred meanings which are often hegemonic in that they reflect the dominant ideology.)

Decoding

Texts are decoded at the level of consumption in three positions; Dominant-Hegenomic, Negotiated, & Oppositional

Three Decoding Positions

Dominant-hegemonic = accepts preferred meaning.

Negotiated = partially accepts preferred meaning.

Oppositional = rejects preferred meaning for an alternative one.

values of encoding/decoding

a) all messages contain more than 1 potential interpretation
-no "neat tidy" model of author depiction
b) producers can't close off all decodings
c) our experiences and beliefs color our decodings
d) the struggle with getting people's ideological agreement

Criticisms of encoding/decoding

- Few perfectly dominant or oppositional readings

- Works better for overtly ideological texts over ambivalent/ambiguous ones

- Multiple motivations behind production/encoding

- Needs to link decoding back to encoding