MEDIA STUDIES MIDTERM REVIEW

The role of radio in the Algerian Revolution

Radio was used as a powerful tool to spread news, unite people, and organize resistance against French colonial rule, especially when other forms of communication were censored or controlled.

Mcu audience

The main group of people that Marvel movies target, often young men, while other viewers may get less attention.

Marshall McLuhan

Canadian philosopher and a media theorist who said that the form of media we use (like TV, radio, or the internet) affects how we think and live more than the actual content does.

Technical determinism

The idea that new technologies shape society and human behavior more than people do.

Decoding

how audiences interpret and understand those messages that creators put in the media

Ideology

The ideas of values, and common sense ways of seeing the world.

3 ways of reading

Dominant - Accept the message exactly as it's intended. Negotiated - Understand the intended message but interpret it through your own experiences. Oppositional - Recognize the message but reject or challenge it.

The medium is the message

Means that the way a message is delivered—TV, radio, internet—shapes society and our perception more than the actual content of the message.

The medium as extension of man/human

McLuhan, a tool isn't something you use, it adds on to abilities (ex. Phone and radio extends voice/ear, clothing is an extension of skin).

The global village

The idea that electronics make distance no real, collapsed distance, so the world feels like one village.

The Image of Women in Network TV Commercials (Dominick & Rauch)

A study that showed women in TV ads were often portrayed in stereotypical roles—like homemakers or sex objects—which reinforced traditional gender expectations.

Who Watches the Cinematic Universe (Lacina)

a study that examines the audience of big franchise films like Marvel and argues that these movies often target and center a specific demographic—mainly young men—while sidelining other viewers and perspectives.

Democratization of art

Means making art more accessible to everyone, not just elites—so more people can create, share, and enjoy art through things like mass media and digital platforms.

Digital divide

The gap between people who have access to modern technology and the internet and those who don't.

Reproduction

The process of repeating or reinforcing existing social norms, values, or stereotypes through media.

Montage

A technique of combining separate images or clips to create a new meaning or tell a story.

Representation

How the media portrays people, ideas, or groups, shaping how audiences understand them.

Oppositional gaze (bell hooks)

When viewers, especially marginalized people, critically watch media to challenge and resist the dominant portrayals and stereotypes.

Male gaze (Laura Mulvey)

When movies or media show women mainly as objects for men to look at, from a man's point of view.

Theodore Adorno

Said that TV, music, and movies often keep people from thinking for themselves by repeating the same ideas over and over.

Benedict Anderson

Said a nation is an 'imagined community,' meaning people feel part of a country even if they don't know most other people in it.

Walter Benjamin

Said that when art is made over and over, like in movies or photos, it loses its special, one-of-a-kind feeling.

Gaze

The way someone looks at or thinks about people in media, which can show power, perspective, or bias.

Media studies

The study of TV, movies, social media, and other forms of media to understand how they influence people and society.

Media

Ways of sharing information or stories, like TV, movies, social media, newspapers, or radio.

Encoding

When creators put messages, ideas, or values into media, deciding how audiences should understand them.