Media Theories

Format: Title of theory on one side, theorist, theory explanation, date and topic of course on other side

Denotation and Connotation

Denotation and Connotation

Roland-Barthes, Media has an ideological effect on audiences and helps shape mythology + audiences draw interpretations (connotations) of denotations from their own cultural and historical contexts, 1950’s/60’s, Media Language

Signifiers and Signified

Ferdinand de Saussure, The media is polysemic and signifiers can create a range of signified ideas and meanings, 1960’s, Media Language

Types of signs

Pierce, Iconic signs - A physical link between signifier and signified (dog + dogginess), Indexical signs - a causal link (puddle + rain), Symbolic - no direct link but meaning is created through hegemonic interpretations (red + danger), 1860’s, Media Language

Order of Signification

Roland-Barthes, Denotations are decoded into connotation, connotation and meaning is encoded into denotations and they both combine to produce ideology and mythology, 1900’s, Media Language

Four C’s (Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation)

Young and Rubicam, Characterises audience psychometrics that draws from their VAL’s (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs), Media Audiences

Target Audience Psychometrics (Four C’s)

Young and Rubicam, The explorer, the aspirer, the succeeder, the reformer, the mainstream, the struggler, the resigned, Media Audiences

Two-Step Flow Theory

Lazarsfeld, The mass audience often obtains biased information through opinion leaders such as news channels, tv shows, panels etc, Media Audiences

Uses and Gratifications Theory

Katz, Suggests that we watch media for 5 different reasons - Education, Entertainment, Identity, Integration and Interraction, and Escapism, Media Audiences

End of Audience Theory

Clay Shirky, The audience is dynamic and active and create new content in response to media, making them prosumers, 2012, Media Audiences

Community Theory, Fandom

Henry Jenkins, Explores the closer relationship between producer and audience that is made possible through the digital era as it facilitates the convergence of audience and peer-to-peer networking, meaning that audiences are no longer restricted and reliant on conventions or physical distributions of fan output, 1992, Media Audiences

Power Circulatory (Representation Theory)

Stuart Hall, Stereotypes in media are both reflected and simultaneously reinforced through processes such as internalisation and naturalisation - true reality is often distorted and altered by the repeated representation of the producer’s VAL’s that becomes a myth , Media Representation

Reception Theory

Stuart Hall, Audiences are active and unpredictable and will have different interpretations to media texts that draws from their own contexts - readings can be dominant, negotiated or oppositional, 1973, Media Audiences

Social Learning Theory

Albert Bandura, discovered that watching violence encourages aggression rather than suppressing it, 1961, Media Audiences

Hypodermic Needle Theory

Harold Lasswell, Media messages are injected into the brains of passive audiences and readings are always preferred, 1920-30, Media Audiences

Cultivation Theory

George Gerbner, audiences are drip-fed attitudes through repeated media representations which shapes perceptions of the world at large and can lead to fear cultivation and the acceptance of the same mainstream ideologies and stereotypes from large media conglomerates - enculturation and homogenous cultural effects, 1969, Media Audiences

Post-Colonial Theory

Paul Gilroy, media reinforces the idea of the ‘other’ - not white, cisgender, heterosexual or able bodied - explores the impact of colonial rule and the coliniser-colinised division, Media Representation

Representation of Men of Colour

Alvarado, men of colour are presented as dangerous, gang-like and violent or as wealthy, exotic, interesting, comedic/funny etc, Media Representation

Feminist Theory (Media Discourse)

Liesbet Van Zoonen, we get ideas about gender from media discourse, ideas about gender must be looked at from historical/cultural contexts and representations can be internalised, women are objectified in the media, Media Representation

Gender Theory (Performativity)

Judith Butler, gender is not a stable signifier but is a social construct by societal expectations that is performed, Media Representation

Identity Theory (Pick n’ Mix Theory)

David Gauntlett, We choose aspects of media that we internalise and emulate in ourselves to create an identity, Media Representation

The Male Gaze

A representation of society, especially women, that reinforces and appeals to a patriarchal perspective, ideas around the ‘other’ are created, Media Representation

Power Without Responsibility

James Curran and James Seaton, effects of ownership, - media is controlled by a small number of companies that make products to create profit, profit takes precedence over creativity, mainstream ideas that appeal to the majority of audiences are prioritised, formulaic formatted content are used to generate profit, diverse ownership creates diverse products, 1981, Media Industries

Profit over creativity

David Hesmondhalgh, media products are shaped by their economic contexts, creators remain in mainstream boundaries, genres and stereotypes and use formulas to secure profit, leads to constant tension between shareholders and creatives, Media Industries

Postmodernism

Jean Baudrillard, post-modern media products often include irony, parody/homage, self-reflexivity, lack of verisimilitude (hyperreality), bricolage and intertextual references, Media Language

Narratology

Tzvetan Todorov, narrative is reduced to a simple recurring formula - equilibrium, disequilibrium, new equilibrium, narrative elements and solutions create ideological significance, for example a happy ending after a fight = working hard brings peace, Media Language

Regulation

Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt, Regulating media to protect citizens from harmful content can limit moral panic, over-exposure and protecting children and vulnerable groups from harmful content, however is also limits freedom of expression, it also regulated media to make sure monopolies are maintained enough to maintain competition without distorting democracy, OFCOM regulates British TV, 2007, Media Industries

Genre Theory

Steve Neale, Genre exhibits a balance between repetition and difference (familiar and innovative), genre is defined by conventions + stereotypes and subversion, 1980’s, Media Language

Binary Opposites + Structuralism Theory

Claude Levi-Strauss, narratives feature directly opposing characters or elements such as light and dark, good and evil, human vs supernatural etc to enrich the plot, establish character roles and progress through the narrative, 1900s, Media Language

Feminist Theory (The Feminist movement)

bell hooks, the patriarchy teaches women to see themselves as inferior to men and are always in competition with eachother, if females take up feminist politics without addressing their own sexism the movement will be undermined, feminism teaches us how to love justice and freedom, 1984, Media Representation