- Media language - the way meaning is made
- How media texts communicate
SAUSSURE'S SEMIOTICS (The Study of Signs)
"...nothing is more appropriate than the study of languages to bring out the nature of semioligical problem." (Saussure)
Signifier - the form in which a sign takes
Signified - the concept it represents
Saussure focussed on the relationship between the signifier and signified - this is called signification
Iconic sign - a mode in which the signifier resembles or imitates the signified
Indexical sign - the signifier is directly connected in some way to the signified
Modern semiotic theory is also sometimes allied with a Marxist (e.g. Stuart Hall) approach that stresses the role of ideology.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
NARRATIVE
Narrative - the way in which events are put together
Story - a sequence of events known as a plot
Includes:
- who is telling the story and how reliable they are
- in what form the story is told e.g. video diary, flashback, series of images, voiceover
- how events are missed out/ selected to create a particular story
- how and in what order the events are imparted to the audience
- with which character (if any) the audience is encouraged to identify
- how much knowledge the audience is allowed to have in relation the the characters
Open narrative - a text which is open to a number of possible interpretations
Closed narrative - a text which provides its audience with only one possible story
TODOROV'S THEORY OF EQUILIBRIUM
Believed there are 5 stages to narrative theory:
1) A state of equilibrium
2) A disruption to that order
3) Recognition disruption has occurred
4) An attempt to repair the damage
5) A return to restoration/ new equilibrium
e.g. Thriller subverts as the B & W flashback suggests discord rather than an equilibrium
BARTHES' ENIGMA CODE
An enigma - a mystery to draw the audience in and encourage questions.
- The narrative will establish enigmas or mysteries as it goes along.
- Essentinally, the narrative functions to establish and then solve these mysteries.
e.g. protagonist covered by a mask that resembles that of 'V' from V for Vendetta
PROPP'S THEORY ON CHARACTER AND ACTION
- Formed in early 20th century.
- Studied Russian fairytales - there were always 8 types of character evident - not always separate people
- Characters and events can be seen as constructs, which exist in order to drive the narrative -> each character has a sphere of action
e.g. goes against the interchangable character types as a hit man could be viewed as a villain, yet his ambiguous personality suggests a byronic hero
LEVI-STRAUSS & BINARY OPPOSITIONS
- Symbols and ideas exist in relation to their opposites, with which they are in conflict -> panders to a viewers needs as to whether to side with 'good' or 'bad'
- Draws attention to the fact the world of a text is a constructed fiction, where simplified moral systems can operate.
e.g. known vs. unknown
good vs. evil
young vs. old
Story - a sequence of events known as a plot
Includes:
- who is telling the story and how reliable they are
- in what form the story is told e.g. video diary, flashback, series of images, voiceover
- how events are missed out/ selected to create a particular story
- how and in what order the events are imparted to the audience
- with which character (if any) the audience is encouraged to identify
- how much knowledge the audience is allowed to have in relation the the characters
Open narrative - a text which is open to a number of possible interpretations
Closed narrative - a text which provides its audience with only one possible story
TODOROV'S THEORY OF EQUILIBRIUM
Believed there are 5 stages to narrative theory:
1) A state of equilibrium
2) A disruption to that order
3) Recognition disruption has occurred
4) An attempt to repair the damage
5) A return to restoration/ new equilibrium
e.g. Thriller subverts as the B & W flashback suggests discord rather than an equilibrium
BARTHES' ENIGMA CODE
An enigma - a mystery to draw the audience in and encourage questions.
- The narrative will establish enigmas or mysteries as it goes along.
- Essentinally, the narrative functions to establish and then solve these mysteries.
e.g. protagonist covered by a mask that resembles that of 'V' from V for Vendetta
PROPP'S THEORY ON CHARACTER AND ACTION
- Formed in early 20th century.
- Studied Russian fairytales - there were always 8 types of character evident - not always separate people
- Characters and events can be seen as constructs, which exist in order to drive the narrative -> each character has a sphere of action
e.g. goes against the interchangable character types as a hit man could be viewed as a villain, yet his ambiguous personality suggests a byronic hero
LEVI-STRAUSS & BINARY OPPOSITIONS
- Symbols and ideas exist in relation to their opposites, with which they are in conflict -> panders to a viewers needs as to whether to side with 'good' or 'bad'
- Draws attention to the fact the world of a text is a constructed fiction, where simplified moral systems can operate.
e.g. known vs. unknown
good vs. evil
young vs. old
GENRE
A way of categorising compositions/ texts based on a certain criteria - a check-list of expectations and conventions.
"Are genres really 'out there' in the world, or are they merely constructs of analysts?" (Stam, 2000)
STEPHEN NEALE
Genre is... "repetition with and underlying pattern of variations."
- Mere repetition would not attract the audience
Genre is used...
i) to guarantee meaning s and pleasures for audiences
ii) to offset the considerable economic risks by providing cognitive collateral against innovation and difference
How is genre important?
- Organising huge amounts of texts that are available - set of expectations for the audience
- Creates a relationship between audience and producers
- A structural framework that can be adhered to or played with
JANET STAIGER - HOW TO IDENTIFY GENRE
Genre can be identified using the following methods:
Idealist: judging texts py predetermined standards
Empirical: comparing texts ot texts that are already assumed to be part of a certain genre
Social conventions: using an accepted cultural consensus
A priori: using common generic elements that are identified in advance
e.g. a priori applies most strongly to my work as I have taken conventions applied to crime thrillers, such as Layer Cake and The Usual Suspects
JANE FEUER - HOW GENRES ARE CREATED
"A genre is ultimately an abstract conception rather than something that exists empirically in the world." (Feuer, 1992)
Feuer's article, 'Genre study and Television' states that "genres are no organic in their conception - they are synthetic: artificial creations by intellectuals."
A retrospective way of categorising texts by identifying trends and patterns in media.
Established by creators repeating what is successful or by the expression of shared experiences (social factors)
e.g. flashbacks, shown by the black and white colouring, were successful when looking at Flight Plan adding to the convention of an uneasy atmosphere.
HOW GENRES EVOLVE
- Ensure they give the audience 'what they want'
- Refresh and ensure the audiences are not continually being part of the same experience
- 'Repetition and variation' - repeating what is successful but adding enough variation from preventing it seeming stale (done through creating hybrids)
- "...filmmakes working within a genre need to walk a line: expand, develop, elaborate of the specific genre umbrella." - Charley McLean paraphrasing Thomas Schatz
LIMITATIONS OF GENRE
- Very subjective
- Some texts are too sophisticated to fit into a specific category
- Seen as a tool rather than an absolute
- Constantly evolving so there is no such thing as 'typical'
"Are genres really 'out there' in the world, or are they merely constructs of analysts?" (Stam, 2000)
STEPHEN NEALE
Genre is... "repetition with and underlying pattern of variations."
- Mere repetition would not attract the audience
Genre is used...
i) to guarantee meaning s and pleasures for audiences
ii) to offset the considerable economic risks by providing cognitive collateral against innovation and difference
How is genre important?
- Organising huge amounts of texts that are available - set of expectations for the audience
- Creates a relationship between audience and producers
- A structural framework that can be adhered to or played with
JANET STAIGER - HOW TO IDENTIFY GENRE
Genre can be identified using the following methods:
Idealist: judging texts py predetermined standards
Empirical: comparing texts ot texts that are already assumed to be part of a certain genre
Social conventions: using an accepted cultural consensus
A priori: using common generic elements that are identified in advance
e.g. a priori applies most strongly to my work as I have taken conventions applied to crime thrillers, such as Layer Cake and The Usual Suspects
JANE FEUER - HOW GENRES ARE CREATED
"A genre is ultimately an abstract conception rather than something that exists empirically in the world." (Feuer, 1992)
Feuer's article, 'Genre study and Television' states that "genres are no organic in their conception - they are synthetic: artificial creations by intellectuals."
A retrospective way of categorising texts by identifying trends and patterns in media.
Established by creators repeating what is successful or by the expression of shared experiences (social factors)
e.g. flashbacks, shown by the black and white colouring, were successful when looking at Flight Plan adding to the convention of an uneasy atmosphere.
HOW GENRES EVOLVE
- Ensure they give the audience 'what they want'
- Refresh and ensure the audiences are not continually being part of the same experience
- 'Repetition and variation' - repeating what is successful but adding enough variation from preventing it seeming stale (done through creating hybrids)
- "...filmmakes working within a genre need to walk a line: expand, develop, elaborate of the specific genre umbrella." - Charley McLean paraphrasing Thomas Schatz
LIMITATIONS OF GENRE
- Very subjective
- Some texts are too sophisticated to fit into a specific category
- Seen as a tool rather than an absolute
- Constantly evolving so there is no such thing as 'typical'
REPRESENTATION
- The presentation of a form od reality in a media text
- A re-presentation, in which elements of reality are selected, organised and narrated.
What is being represented in a music video?
- A form of reality (e.g. verisimilitude -'the media makes use of various scripts like stereotypes for events rather than for people')
- The lyrics of a song
- The music
- The artist
- A theme within the narrative
- A movement (e.g. feminism)
DAVID GAUNTLETT - COLLECTIVE IDENTITY
- We reconfirm or challenge our identity through watching media texts
- We use texts as a toolbox to check our own identity
- Your identity is not fixed: you will be shaped by what you watch
e.g. stereotype of an indie-rock genre fan, like One Night Only, skinny jeans, scraggy hair, quirky top. Cliché outfit.
LAURA MULVEY - THE MALE GAZE
The camera 'sees' images through male eyes
Objectification of female characters
Identification with an 'ideal ego'
"Pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female." (Mulvey, 1992)
Voyeuristic - controlling gaze, associations with sadism
Fetishistic - overvaluation of the female image
Others argue the gaze could be adopted by both genders.
e.g. applied by tilt upwards in hard lighting, as if scanning female. However, arguably subverted as it is at a high angle, so female appears dominant.
JUDITH BUTLER - GENDER PERFORMANCE
Feminism made a mistake by trying to assert that 'women' were in a group with common characteristics and interests --> reinforced a binary view of gender relations
Gender is seen as a performance: it's what you do at particular times, rahter than a universal who you are.
e.g. the protagonist's flamboyent persona is overwhelming and contradicts 'masculine' characteristics
- A re-presentation, in which elements of reality are selected, organised and narrated.
What is being represented in a music video?
- A form of reality (e.g. verisimilitude -'the media makes use of various scripts like stereotypes for events rather than for people')
- The lyrics of a song
- The music
- The artist
- A theme within the narrative
- A movement (e.g. feminism)
DAVID GAUNTLETT - COLLECTIVE IDENTITY
- We reconfirm or challenge our identity through watching media texts
- We use texts as a toolbox to check our own identity
- Your identity is not fixed: you will be shaped by what you watch
e.g. stereotype of an indie-rock genre fan, like One Night Only, skinny jeans, scraggy hair, quirky top. Cliché outfit.
LAURA MULVEY - THE MALE GAZE
The camera 'sees' images through male eyes
Objectification of female characters
Identification with an 'ideal ego'
"Pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female." (Mulvey, 1992)
Voyeuristic - controlling gaze, associations with sadism
Fetishistic - overvaluation of the female image
Others argue the gaze could be adopted by both genders.
e.g. applied by tilt upwards in hard lighting, as if scanning female. However, arguably subverted as it is at a high angle, so female appears dominant.
JUDITH BUTLER - GENDER PERFORMANCE
Feminism made a mistake by trying to assert that 'women' were in a group with common characteristics and interests --> reinforced a binary view of gender relations
Gender is seen as a performance: it's what you do at particular times, rahter than a universal who you are.
e.g. the protagonist's flamboyent persona is overwhelming and contradicts 'masculine' characteristics
AUDIENCE
TWO STEP FLOW LINEAR THEORY (Lazarsfeld)
First used in the 1940s for a Presidential election.
Messages flow:
mass media --> opinion leaders --> individuals
Linear theories are arguably outdated as they present the individuals as a passive audience, rather than an active audience who make their own interpretations from media texts.
E.g. ambiguous character suggesting a hit man isn't necessarily always a bad person --> subverted as an active audience will make their own interpretation rather than a forced one.
HYPODERMIC SYRINGE LINEAR THEORY
A passive audience accepts the messages that are 'injected' into them by the media they create.
"...composed of fragmented individuals who were subject to powerful and effective propaganda messages which they received and then reproduced." - Greg Philo
Arguably outdated as audiences are no longer passive but an active audience who enjoy being challenged by the media they consume rather than feebly 'injected' with the dominant reading.
e.g. the red herring - the closing shot where the camera pans left to reveal someone about to murder the hit man presenting a form of irony but also, like Layer Cake, proves you cannot escape the inevitable.
USES & GRATIFICATIONS THEORY
Contrasts Hypodermic Syringe Theory. Suggests audiences actively use advertisements and magazines to meet some of the needs highlighted by Maslow.
"Personal and social cirmcumstances and psychological dispositions together influence both... beliefs and expectations about the benefits offered by the media..." - McQuail
McQuail, Blumler and Brown (1972) defined four major areas of need which the media in general seek to gratify:
Diversion: an escape from our routine and problems, an emotional release.
Personal relationships: exploring or reinforcing our vlaues, through comparison with others' values.
Surveillance: need for a constant supply of information about what is happening in the world
e.g. the mid-shot presents the hit man as an ordinary person.
Diversion - applies surreal in the real
Personal identity - reinforces moral values of an active audience
STUART HALL'S PREFERRED READINGS (1981)
Media texts are constructed so that they have an intended or preferred reading, which will come from the producers' own ideas or values.
Dominant: accept the fully preferred reading
Negotiated: agreeing with some, not all, of the preferred reading
Oppositional: understand the preferred reading but use alternative values to construct our own interpretations
Aberrant: audience does not understand the preferred reading.
e.g. dominant reading being one of karma, presented by the red herring at the end, inspired by Layer Cake
MODERN THEORY - CULTURAL POSITIONING
Can an audience be fored to decode a text in a specific way or does an individuals cultural positioning determine the reading?
How does the media help us to create identities for ourselves?
> as individuals
> as a society
> as members of specific groups
First used in the 1940s for a Presidential election.
Messages flow:
mass media --> opinion leaders --> individuals
Linear theories are arguably outdated as they present the individuals as a passive audience, rather than an active audience who make their own interpretations from media texts.
E.g. ambiguous character suggesting a hit man isn't necessarily always a bad person --> subverted as an active audience will make their own interpretation rather than a forced one.
HYPODERMIC SYRINGE LINEAR THEORY
A passive audience accepts the messages that are 'injected' into them by the media they create.
"...composed of fragmented individuals who were subject to powerful and effective propaganda messages which they received and then reproduced." - Greg Philo
Arguably outdated as audiences are no longer passive but an active audience who enjoy being challenged by the media they consume rather than feebly 'injected' with the dominant reading.
e.g. the red herring - the closing shot where the camera pans left to reveal someone about to murder the hit man presenting a form of irony but also, like Layer Cake, proves you cannot escape the inevitable.
USES & GRATIFICATIONS THEORY
Contrasts Hypodermic Syringe Theory. Suggests audiences actively use advertisements and magazines to meet some of the needs highlighted by Maslow.
"Personal and social cirmcumstances and psychological dispositions together influence both... beliefs and expectations about the benefits offered by the media..." - McQuail
McQuail, Blumler and Brown (1972) defined four major areas of need which the media in general seek to gratify:
Diversion: an escape from our routine and problems, an emotional release.
Personal relationships: exploring or reinforcing our vlaues, through comparison with others' values.
Surveillance: need for a constant supply of information about what is happening in the world
e.g. the mid-shot presents the hit man as an ordinary person.
Diversion - applies surreal in the real
Personal identity - reinforces moral values of an active audience
STUART HALL'S PREFERRED READINGS (1981)
Media texts are constructed so that they have an intended or preferred reading, which will come from the producers' own ideas or values.
Dominant: accept the fully preferred reading
Negotiated: agreeing with some, not all, of the preferred reading
Oppositional: understand the preferred reading but use alternative values to construct our own interpretations
Aberrant: audience does not understand the preferred reading.
e.g. dominant reading being one of karma, presented by the red herring at the end, inspired by Layer Cake
MODERN THEORY - CULTURAL POSITIONING
Can an audience be fored to decode a text in a specific way or does an individuals cultural positioning determine the reading?
How does the media help us to create identities for ourselves?
> as individuals
> as a society
> as members of specific groups
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Media Theorists 1(b)
Audience:
- Two Step Linear Theory
message flows from mass media --> opinion leaders --> individuals
mass media --> opinion leaders (stage 1)
opinion leaders --> individuals (stage 2)
- Uses and Gratifications Theory
"What people do with media" rather than "what media does for people".
Presents an active audience rather than a passive audience.
- Hypodermic Syringe
Media injects ideas in a passive audience who are influenced by what they see.
- Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs
Fulfil basic needs before moving onto next level.
Ranges from survival --> self-esteem
- Louis Althusser 'Interpellation'
Cultural ideas have such a hold on us we believe they are our own.
Representation:
- The 'Male Gaze' Theory
Audience put into perspective of heterosexual male.
Typically dominant over female gaze.
Notion of looking - eyes, mirrors, looking glass, voyeurism
- John Fiske 'Open/ Closed Texts'
How much text is left to our interpretation?
- Verisimilitude: the Representation of Reality
Verisimilutude is 'having the appearance of truth'
Anti-realist - opposite to verisimilitude
Social-realist - present everyday events with a camera, sound, editing that draw attention to specific moments
Stuart Hall, 'ideological work in an increasingly fragmented society.'
Narrative:
- Vladimir Propp (Russian folktales)
Analysed many of his country's folktales and identified common themes within them.
He identified that "Five categories of elements define not only the construction of a tale, but the tale as a whole."
1) Functions of dramatis personae
2) Conjunctive elements
3) Motivations
4) Forms of appearance of dramatis personae
5) Attributive elements or accessories
There are 31 narrative conventions in his theory ranging from a member of the family leaves to the hero marries and ascends the throne.
- Roland Barthes
All narrative share structural features that each narrative weaves together in different ways.
1) The Hermenutic Code: any element not fully explained.
2) The Proairetic Code: builds up tension. Any action that implies a further narrative action.
3) The Semantic Code: refers to connotation.
4) The Symbolic Code: wider level of the semantic code in use of antithesis.
5) The Cultural Code: anything found in canonical works.
- Todorov's Narrative Theory
Believed there are five stages to narrative theory.
1) A state of equilibrium - this is where everything is as it should be
2) A disruption to that order - often through a key event
3) A recognition the disorder has occurred - normally recognised by the protagonist
4) An attempt to repair the damage - often done by the protagonist
5) A return to restoration to start a new equilibrium - not identical to initial equilibrium
- Levi-Strauss and Binary Oppositions
Symbols and ideas exist in relation to their opposites, with which they are in conflict.
Panders to the audience's need to side with a character which is 'good' or 'evil'
Binary Opposite Examples:
Good + Evil
Male + Female
Us + Them
Draws attention to the fact that the world of the text is constructed fiction, where simplified moral systems can operate.
Language:
- Stuart Hall
Encoding (by the source), decoding (by the reader) and preferred readers.
Language as communications.
Dominant, opposite, negotiated and aberrant readings.
- Ferdinand de Saussure
Linguistics can be broken into 3 categories:
1) Semantics - the relationship of signs to what they stand for
2) Syntactics - the formal of structural relationships between signs
3) Pragmatics - the relation of signs to interpreters
Genre:
- A Set of Relationships Between Institution, Text and Audience
Redefines genre as 'a category which mediates between industry and audience'.
Semiotically, a genre can be seen as a shared code between the producers and interpreters of texts included within it.
Within genres, texts embody authorial attempts to 'position' readers using particular 'modes of address'.
Embedded within texts are assumptions about the 'ideal reader', including their attitudes towards the subject matter and often their class, age, gender and ethnicity.
- Ed Buscombe – Iconography
Concentrates on iconography of the western in drawing a distinction between a film's inner and outer forms.
Inner form refers to a film's themes, while outer form refers to the various objects that are to be found repeatedly in genre movies.
Can work symbolically (e.g. traditional values that are embodied in Christianity)
- Tom Ryall
Believed genre is a framework of structuring rules.
Acts as a form of 'supervision' over production and the work of reading by the audience.
- Stephen Neale
Genres are instances of repetition and difference. Difference is essential to the economy of genre.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)