Media Studies Notes

Antonio Gramsci

Italian philosopher and political thinker.
His work significantly impacted media studies and Marxism (cultural Marxism).
Conducted pivotal work from prison under Mussolini's fascist regime.
Addressed the cultural component of power, which Marx neglected.
Marx emphasized power through production and material control.
Gramsci argued power exists in the cultural sphere.
Interested in how societies succumb to fascism.
Popular culture maintains hegemony: power structures shaping ideology.
Ideology: society's values and norms.
Norms (beauty, morality) are constructed.
Cultural elements (media) instill, maintain, reinforce norms within an ideology to support hegemonic power structures.

Emerged from Frankfurt, Germany, during World War II.
Group of Jewish exiled intellectuals shaped by their experiences and the Holocaust.
Sought to understand the rise of Nazism in Germany.
Examined how societies transition into states of injustice.
Differed from classical media effects theory (e.g., Payne Fund studies).
The Frankfurt School scholars questioned media's cultural, historical, and political impact rather than only from a scientific approach.
Forerunner of cultural studies.
Notable scholars: Theodore Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, Max Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin.
Examined media critically, focusing on how entertainment maintains power and the status quo.
Critiqued for overstating media effects and underestimating audience power.
Theodore Adorno's work on authoritative leadership remains relevant in sociopolitical analysis.
The scholars did their most powerful work in Europe and the United States after seeking refuge as refugees.

Emerged in England in the 1960s and 1970s.
Scholars included Critcher and Raymond Williams; Stuart Hall was a pioneering figure.
Stuart Hall: A Brit of Caribbean descent, influential in media studies.
His 1970s work still cited in contemporary scholarship.
Policing the Crisis: A book co-authored by Hall.
The Birmingham and Frankfurt schools provide the base for Cultural Studies

Emphasizes media as one variable among many.
Examines sociopolitical identity, race, class, gender, etc.
Analyzes both the presence and absence of elements in media.
Focuses on who is represented and who is not represented.
Recognizes the importance of what is not spoken about.
Modern audiences benefit from the work of scholars like Stuart Hall, influencing better representation in media (e.g., Disney films).
Encourages viewing media texts within a broader context.
Encompasses audience studies and political economy.
Political Economy: Examines interconnections between economic interests and political power.
- Studies the imbalance of universal health care advocacy due to pharma advertising.
- Explains Netflix's more diverse content based on its business structure and global reach.
Sut Jhally: Premier scholar in political economy, runs the Media Education Foundation.

Focuses on how people use and interpret cultural content.
Unlike early media effects theories, it emphasizes interviewing and ethnographic studies of audiences before making assumptions.
Applies sociological methods (e.g., from the Chicago School of Sociology) to media studies.
Involves in-depth study of people, possibly living with them.
An example is a study about the film Rocky.

The public sphere is a space for critical debate (Jurgen Habermas).
Nancy Fraser provided a counterpoint to Habermas.
James Carey: Describes communication as a symbolic process where reality is produced, maintained, repaired, and transformed.
Considers communication's symbolic process as culture.
Highlights the importance of daily activities and communication in organizational contexts.

A politically relevant film with undeniable artistic merit.
Accurately captures a specific cultural aesthetic and sense of place (Brooklyn, 1990s).
Explores racial tensions without dilution or moral simplicity.
Presents complex, human portrayals of all characters.
Based on the death of Michael Griffith in 1986, a racially charged incident in New York City.
The film sparked outrage and protests.
Lee has cited Griffith's death as the inspiration for the film.
Some politicians feared the film would cause violence, contrasting with their response to the actual murder.
Civil rights activists linked events to poverty and lack of African American ownership in their communities.
Presents nuanced characters, even the racist ones.
Cinematographer Ernest Dickerson used Sterno to create heat waves, visually expressing the film's tensions.
Employs mise en scène: the arrangement of elements within the screen to signify meaning.
Counterpublics can change the narrative.
The use of Black actors for the Teamsters was a condition of Spike Lee.
Relates back to representation of media and taking advantage of power.

Dutch angles (canted shots) create unease and instability during tense moments.
Costume design: John Turturro (Pino) picked his outfit to represent his outsider status.
* Pino wears a black shirt and black pants which shows his outsider status.

*Film would not exist without this character

Spike Lee collaborated with Smith (the actor) to create a role.
Smiley always caries pictures of Martin Luther King and Malcolm
Should racial relations be seen though the lens of civil rights? Not one or the other. It's not a choose one or the other type of approach.
Portrays a young man with a stutter who sells photos of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.