Media revision for Jan 2024

What did Laura Mulvey argue

What did Laura Mulvey argue

she believed audiences, whether they are male or female have to view women from the vantage point of a heterosexual man- the male gaze

What are males expected to be on screen in comparison to women

Men- Active, Women- Passive,

Men- Possessors, Women-Objects,

Men-Protectors, Women- In need of protection

Men-Sexually dominant, Women- Sexually submissive

Men- Projectors of sexual fantasies Women- Focus of the sexual fantasies

Men-Ego must to fulfilled, Women- Ego must be ignored

Men-Strong Women- weak

Voyeurisms

Gratification from observing or seeing others, especially when they are not aware of being watched

Scopophilia

Deriving sexual pleasure from looking, often at erotic objects

Fetishism

Fixating on the object of the gaze to make it less threatening to the viewer by dehumanising it and transforming it into something satisfying in itself

Exhibitionism

Welcoming and encouraging an objectifying gaze

Narcissism

One’s self in the image of another person being viewed

Semiotic theories

The idea that we actively create meaning by decoding signs. Associated with Ferdinand De Saussure

Who came up with the idea that semiotics takes a wider cultural view

CS Peirce

What’s De Saussure basic theory

Anything conveying meaning or the concept of objects that’s represented can be shown through signifier/signified =sign

What’s Peirce’s basic theory

Interpretant, signifier and signified

Denotation

The literal meaning of sign, e.g. a man gives a women a diamond ring in a video

Connotation

The agreed meaning attached to a sign which can be emotional, cultural or symbolic

Symbol

A type of sign that stands for something specific

What would be an example of signifier and signified

signifier- larger red word, signified- film title, danger, significance

What are Generic codes and conventions

They are things that help producers to shape their media product and help the audience to understand what is being conveyed and how they should react to it

codes

Rules to be followed so the audience can assign a common meaning

conventions

Meaning derived from codes common to particular genre

Parody

Humorous spoof of genre e.g. scary movie

Subgenre

Category within a genre like comedy horror, (Shaun of the dead)

hybrid/cross genre

a mix of several genres like comedy, horror, costume drama (pride and prejudice and zombies)

subversion

Genre expectations then not fulfilled like the handsome prince turns out to be the villain in frozen

pastiche

a copy of a genre; blurring genre boundaries like Quentin Tarantino’s films

what are advertisements intended to persuade the audience

to buy a product or service, to change your behaviour or to be informed about something

what are some conventions of visual adverts

brand logo, colour scheme, slogan, aims to be striking or memorable and more emphasis on images then words

where will you be exposed to advertising

apps, radio, public transport, emails, social media, websites, billboards or posters

construction and examples of it

The process of making conscious or subconscious decisions when selecting and receiving the content of media product, shown in how newspaper photos are chosen from hundreds of other to help the audience attach that image to that information

Anchorage and examples of it

directing the audience towards a desired outcome by attaching a meaning to something, shown through adding a caption or including particular music and camera angle

Presence and examples of it

including certain elements, either deliberately or not, like in TV news channels selecting a particular news story

Absence and examples of it

not including certain elements like TV news channels not selecting a particular news story

encoding and examples of it

the process of constructing a meaning when producing a message, shown in taking a photo, film, speaking or gesturing

decoding and examples of it

constructing a meaning to understand a message, like looking, watching, listening or deciphering a gesture

What are design elements

lines, shape, direction, size, texture, colour and dimension

what are design principles

balance, alignment, repetition, contrast, space/proximity

how to create meaning with images and photos

size- The larger the image in relation to other elements the more important it seems

Manipulation- The photo may be enhanced from the original or additional elements

effects- filters can be applied to increase or decrease saturation or colour to gain a certain effect

juxtapositions- images are placed together to create a linking or contrasting relationship between them, whether or not there was one originally

page layout

positioning and arranging page elements to create a design for the overall appearance pf a page or screen of a magazine, newspaper, website, leaflet, print advert, even some popular computer games

typeface

the shape of the letters, numbers and symbols that make up a design of type

typography

the style and size of typefaces

font

a particular style of typeface contained in a digital file in software

what is white space

separates elements

indicates what is unrelated

makes the page more accessible

draws attention to important elements

Proximity

we perceive objects close together as a related group

similarity

we link meaning to objects that look similar

figure/ground

we see a relationship between an object and the surrounding space

symmetry

we perceive object as pairs around a certain space

continuity

our eye moves from object to object, linking them in our minds

closure

our mind supplies missing pieces of an images

different types of representation

Gender, social groups, age, places and ethnicity

Gender

masculinity and femininity are culturally determined behaviours associated with being male or female. With male behaviours often being portraited better than females and females are often sexualized

Social groups

class depictions focus on power and hierarchy. The media often encourages the audience to aspire to a wealthy, upper or middle class lifestyle by working hard, ignoring the causes of poverty and inequality

places

locations may be represented as Dangauours or welcoming.

how people can a represented

through what they look like, what they sound like or visual effects on camera.

Stereotypes of the audience or creator of video games and why it’s bad

normally it’s believed most players and creators of video games are young, white, straight men, but studies show around 50% of players are female, gaming is popular in countries such as south Koran and Japan and older people have started playing more games, meaning that even though they play,

almost all lead gaming characters are white and male and the game will often reflect values of white male dominated society

how some game development might influence representation

social interaction, augment and virtual reality, blurring boundaries, players as developers, realistic graphics and players as viewers.

Narrative types in video games

quest, epic, sage, romance

episode types in video games

challenges, obstacles and rewards

character types in video games

hero, false hero, villain, donor princess

how do magazines construct representation

portrayal of people, portrayal of places, ideas, portrayal of audience, photography and images, page composition, design and page layout, content, advertising

Stuart hall

he said that reality exists outside of language but it is constantly mediated by and through language

Richard Dyer

he believed the complexity and diversity of a group or individual is reduced to a few limited characteristics.

high angle

bird’s eye view

overhead

eye level

point of view

two shot

over the shoulder

low angle

canted angle

rule of thirds

Dolly shot

Pedestal shot

truck shot

tilt shot

roll shot

pan shot