Media Theories

A2 Media Theories

Genre:

Daniel Chandlers' Ideology of Genre

Genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes of setting) and form (such as structure and style) which are shared by the texts from the sames genre. This results in Daniel Chandlers' theory, as he believes texts have 'ideal readers' which includes their attitudes towards the subject matter and their class, age, gender and ethnicity.

Narrative:

Todorov’s theory of Equilibrium and Disequilibrium

Todorov analaysed how films move forward through different stages, regardless of the genre. He creathed five stages used within a film. The five stages are also briefly shown within the film trailers in an attempt to catch the audiences eye and encourage them to watch the film. 

Equilibrium- Within this stage the setting, key characters and storyline is intorduced.

Distruption- Oppositional characters appear and the story takes a different direction.

Recognition of disruption- Usually the longest stage within a film, as tension is built as events and characters lives are interwoven.

Attempt to repair distuption- This is the highest point of tension, the film changes a lot after this stage.

Reinstatment of equilibrium- Matters are sorted and problems are solved, answering any unresolved questions the audiences have about the storyline.

Roland Barthes’ Narrative Codes
Linguist Berthes narrowed down the action of a text into five codes which are woven into any narrative:
Hermeneutic code- The way the story avoids telling the truth of revealing all facts, to drop clues and create mystery.
Enigma/Proairetic code- The way tension is built up so the audience is left guessing what happens next.
Symbolic code- Similar to the Semantic code but at a wider level, and applying meaning into a broader and deeper set of meaning.
Cultural code- This looks at the audiences wider cultural knowledge, morality and ideology.
Semantic code- The particular, and normally additional, meaning through connotation.

Vladamir Propp

In 1928, Propp suggested that in any story there are only a limited amount of character types, who each had their own purpose. Many of these characters will be displayed within the trailer to help promote the film, as different people may prefer different characters.

Hero- Traditionally male, but modern narratives now include females, these are central protagonists and drive the story forward, usually with a mission or quest. Such as Beast in 'Beauty And The Beast'

Heroine or Princess- This character acts as a reward for the Hero. In more modern narratives the Heroine can be much more fiesty and active than traditional Heroines. Such as Belle in 'Beauty And The Beast'

Villain- This character usually seeks riches, glory and power and causes a lot of trouble within the film. Such as Gaston in 'Beauty And The Beast'

Donor or Mentor-  These give the Hero information or equipment to help them with their quest. They're usually wise or special, but unable to do the quest alone and rely a lot on the Hero throughout. Such as Lumiere, Cogsworth, Chip and Mrs Potts in 'Beauty And The Beast'

Helpers- The helper's accompany the Hero for support throughout the film. Such as all the furniture in 'Beauty And The Beast'

Levi-Strauss

Lévi-Strauss studied how stories show the values and beliefs within a culture unconsciously. This was then adapted by media theorists to show underlying themes within the media, as well as symbolic oppositions.

        Binary opposition is a pair of concepts or terms which are theoretical opposites, such as black and white. Black symbolises death, whereas white is more related to purity. Binary oppositions are then used within film to convey different ideas about scenes and/or characters.

Representation: 

Queer Theory: Judith Butler

The queer theory was created in the early 1990's as a development of the gay/lesbian and feminist studies. The theory investigates different gender stereotypes, as well as their sexual orientation, focusing on the sexual identity.

Feminism: Laura Mulvey

In 1975, the British feminist film theorist, Laura Mulvey, published a well known essay called 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema'. In this essay she established the 'male gaze', as Mulvey believed media audiences view women from a heterosexual male perspective. For feminists this meant: how men look at women, how women look at themselves and how women look at other women. 

Hegemony

Within society there is a ruling class- a group of people who govern the way we live our lives. The values and beliefs of this group is known as hegemony- the dominant ideologies in a society.

Pluralism

Political power in democratic societies is divided among a wide variety of political parties and pressure groups. Citizens are free to exercises power in their own right, as the state is neutral so it takes all decisions into the national interest. The Mass Media make important contributions to the maintenance of democracy. The Press is privately owned and relatively free of State control so that there is far more freedom. The Broadcast Media also have considerable independence. Censorship is occasionally necessary but is kept within limits. User generated content is allowed for the public to put across their views.

Semiotics
Semiotics is the study of signs, analogy, symbolism and communication; including words, sounds and body language.
            Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure was one of the founders of semiotics, recognised in his ‘Course in General Linguistics’ in 1916. He established that a sign is divided into two parts: the signifier, which is the form of the sign- and the signified, what the sign represents.
            He produced the process: sign > signifier > signified. For example: red lipstick > subject of lust > desire. The media use semiotics to attract a audience, as people respond to certain images, colours and patterns. I used semiotics within my music magazine, as I wanted to attract the widest audience as possible. This means I will use certain colours, fonts and images to lure customers in and reinforce the indie rock genre. For example, my artist repeatedly had red lipstick on during the photo shoot to highlight the male gaze. A range of fonts were also used to stop my magazine becoming tedious to look at.

Steve Neale: Masculinity in Crisis

It emerged that masculinity is in a state of crisis. Men are really searching for a role in modern society; the things we used to do aren't in much demand anymore. New technologies has allowed more women to enter the labor force and reduced the demand for great physical strength. The supposed crisis has also been frequently attributed to feminism and a resulting questioning both of men's dominance over women and the rights which had been granted to men solely on the basis of their sex. Females have started doing males roles within films.

Alvarado et al: Racial Representations

Four Key Themes in Racial Representations:

*exotic
*dangerous
*humorous
*pitied

(Alvarado et al. 1987: 153)

This is used in moral panics, such as 1970's- black mugger, 1980's-image of a rioter, 1990's-gangster, gun crimes etc and 2000's- the media shift to Muslims.

Richard Dyer: Star Theory

Richard Dyer published a book called 'Stars' in 1979, in which he established that the viewer's understanding of the media is influenced by stars. Therefore popular magazines usually use images of stars on the front cover, as this attracts the public attention and increases sales.
        Dyer suggested that stars are produced for profit purposes only and not their artistic talents, and this is the record labels only priority. He believed that institutions create the artist through their costume and public appearances etc, as well as who will bring the most controversy within the media, such as David Bowie. For institutions, artists are basically a product used to make profit, therefore they produce several similar artists to receive a safe profit.
         Artists display their cultural values and attitudes freely throughout the media, as well as promote a certain idea.This enhances the artists 'star quality' as they become well known to the public who have the same beliefs. Stars usually focus on youth, sexuality and materialism.

Audience:

Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratification Theory

The belief that audiences passively receive messages is long gone. Katz and Blumler proposed form their research into audience behaviour that audiences use media texts for a variety of reasons. 
1. Information- finding out about events, satisfying curiousity gaining a sense of security through knowledge.
2. Personal Identity- reinforcement for personal values, finding models of behavious, insight into ones self.
3. Integration and Social Interaction- insight into circumstances of others; social empathy, identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging, interaction, enabling one to connect with family, friends and society.
4. Entertainment- escaping, diversion of problems, relaxing, getting enjoyment, filling time, emotional release.

Cohen’s Moral Panic
Stanley Cohen wrote 'Folk Devils and Moral Panics' in 1972. In which he suggested that a moral panic happens when a 'condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests', leading to people who threaten the social order being described as 'folk devils'.
             Cohen believed that the media has a huge influence on moral panic. He used this to describe the presses reporting of the ‘mods and rockers’ behaviour. Cohen’s Moral Panic has been used within the media to lure a audience ever since. For example, this picture of Kurt Cobain shows a trend of smoking and drinking alcohol which the public wanted to be involved in, as it was believed to look 'cool'. However, some societies would not have agreed with this, but this photo was still shown in the media.

Hypodermic Needle Model
The hypodermic needle theory implied mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. The mass media in the 1940s and 1950s were perceived as a powerful influence on behavior change. 

Katz and Lasarfeld Two Step Flow

Opinion leaders like critics, reviewers, entertainment, editors and social networking sites can help shape trends and suggest popularity. The public then become 'opinion followers'. This means the audience receive media 'secondhand'. It also relates to political, institutional theory about the elite as the media producers. Opinion leaders represent the views of the elite and reinforce the 'status quo'.

Reception Theory
A piece of text (book, movie etc) is not passively accepted by the audience, but the viewer/reader interprets the meanings of the text based on their individual cultural background and life experience. The meaning of the text itself is created within the relationship between the text and the reader.

Marxism

Marxists believe that the Mass Media stand in the way of necessary social change. Capitalist societies give only the impression of democracy. There is no real democracy. In reality, the State defends the interests of the capitalist class at the expense of the working class. The Mass Media are said to contribute to a process of socialisation which encourages exploited groups to accept their own exploitation without question. Owners of the Press are very rich and likely to be pro- Conservative. Editors and journalists are likely to reflect the political views of owners for career reasons. The Mass Media choose what to report and how to report it and therefore provide a biased view of the world. The Mass Media encourages people to accept ideas which help to maintain the dominance of a Ruling Class. In Marxist terms, they encourage people to accept a Ruling Class Ideology.

Media Language: 

Semiotics: Barthes

Barthes would often critique pieces of cultural material to expose how middle class society used them to impose its values upon others. He found semiotics useful in conducting these critiques. Barthes explained that these bourgeois cultural myths were second-order signs, or connotations. Motivations for such manipulations vary from a desire to sell products to a simple desire to maintain the status quo.

Ideology
The set of deep rooted beliefs that impact on a person's actions, expectations and goals. 

Louis Althusser: Interpellation
A term employed by the French Marxist philosopher, Louis Althusser to name the process by which a human subject is 'hailed', or addressed, and thus positioned in relation to ideology.