1
Q
key ideas
A
- conform and create stereotypes
- media stereotypes act as codes giving audiences quick and easy to understand images of groups whilst constructing meanings and interpretations
2
Q
Hall - representation
A
- media products produce versions of reality shaped by the subject viewpoints of the creator
- uses shared symbolic language that audiences have internalised
- the ability to decode meanings of media imagery is due to repeated exposure to media products
3
Q
Hall - stereotypes
A
- media has a discursive effect
- produces ideological inferences
- stereotypes reflect social attitudes, and can be reshaped and repurposed
- media contributes to the construction of stereotypes
they act as social control:
- increases visibility of key groups
- perpetuates a sense of otherness
- infer negative traits are natural
4
Q
Mulvey
A
- “media gaze” –> the way the media view society and represent it in media content
- represents the perspective of media owners
- media output does not reflect the diverse nature of society
5
Q
symbolic annihilation
A
- the lack of visibility, under representation and limited role of certain groups in media representation
- involves omission, condemnation or being trivialised
6
Q
Tuchman
A
- the media ignores women and portrays them as the victim/consumer –> the mass media symbolically annihilates women
- if women are in the workforce, they have “pink collar jobs”
- there are few depictions of strong female characters in positions of responsibility
- women are defined in terms of their relationship with men
7
Q
Gauntlett
A
- there is a diversity of media, representations and audiences
- cant assume media representations will be consistent or have equal effects
8
Q
postmodern age
A
- people may ignore, accept or reject media representation, or “pick and mix” representations to create identity
- Baudrillard –> media representations can become hyper reality (more real than reality)
- media doesn’t just reflect reality but can actively create reality as people have no means to judge or oppose the representations
9
Q
Glasgow media Group
A
- media representations and stereotypes are formed within dominant ideology
- they reinforce the cultural hegemony of dominant social class –> justifies existing patterns of inequality in wealth, power and social status
10
Q
Bechdel test
A
comic script, 3 rules when watching a movie
- it must have at least 2 women
- who talk to one another
- about something other than a man
11
Q
female representation and stereotypes
A
- the WAG
-Sex objects - Supermum
- The Angel
- The ball breaker
- the victim
12
Q
Tunstall
A
- presentation of women in media places too much emphasis on homemaking and sex appeal
- men are portrayed as active, powerful and their relationship status is ignored
- despite most women in Britain working
13
Q
Salinas
A
- journalists will negatively comment on women’s dress, weight, look, sexuality and family
14
Q
Male representation and stereotypes
A
- the Joker
- the jock
- the strong silent type
- the big shot
- the action hero
- the buffoon
15
Q
Children Now (study)
A
boys aged 10-17 and their perceptions of men in TV, music and movies:
- men were viewed as violent, leaders, confident, successful, rarely vulnerable, mostly at work
16
Q
McNamara
A
analysis of newspapers, magazines and TV:
- 80% of male media representations were negative (violent, angry, risk taking)
- 20% demonstrated the metrosexual male, usually through fatherhood
17
Q
Guantlett
A
- people want equality for men and women and so is being shown more in media which is opening new ideas for gender identity
18
Q
knight
A
- there continues to be underlying conventional femininity
- characters remain traditionally attractive - conforming to the male gaze and beauty myth
19
Q
feminist key ideas on gender representations
A
- the emphasis on being either a “domestic goddess” or “sex object”, limits aspirations
- “cultural lag” is due to the lack of women in high positions of media companies
- Marxists
20
Q
functionalist views on age representation
A
- age stereotypes are important for socialisation
- media works to teach young people norms and values to be a good citizen
- media works as boundary maintenance and reinforces social expectations
21
Q
representations of children
A
- general positive depictions up to age 14
- stereotypes : victims, cute, little devils, accessories, little angels
22
Q
Heintz-Knowles
A
- studied american TV
- children are mainly motivated by relationships, sports and romance and not school/religion
- issues such as racism and abuse are rarely shown
- 40% of dramas, children were in anti-social actions
23
Q
Evans and Chandler
A
“pester power” –> children are advertised to become active consumers
- this has caused much pressure for parents to purchase and satisfy childrens demands
24
Q
Wayne at al
A
- looked at news items
- young people were involved as celebrities, perpetrators or victims of violent crimes
- only 1% of news items included a young persons opinion
25
perspectives on youth representations
Functionalist: emphasis on the need for boundary maintenance
Pluralist: representations simply represent social reality
Interactionists: young people are often labelled as a threat to society --> moral panics
Postmodernists: in media saturated society, only a small aspect of representations are negative
26
Age Concern
- the elderly were generally underrepresented across mass media
- if there are portrayals they are negative and show the elderly as grumpy, mentally challenged or as a burden
27
Newman
- male upper-middle class elderly people are portrayed as occupying high status roles in their professions
28
Lee et al
- elderly people only feature in 15% of adverts
- in 91% of them they are shown as "golden agers"
29
Jones
- media pushes the idea that "we are all middle class now"
- the working class are labelled as deviant
30
upper class representations
- neo-marxists --> hierarchy and wealth are celebrated
- those who benefit as upper-class receive positive press that they are deserving of that
31
Nairn
- the monarchy rarely has criticism
- mass media representations reinforce a sense of national identity through the monarchy
- huge media coverage of royal events
32
Newman
- the media positively shows the lifestyle of the rich and privileged
- media has heavy focus on consumer goods but not on the inequalities of capitalism
33
Jones
- media coverage of the w/c push a m/c assault on their values and communities
- poverty, unemployment, lone parent reports suggest the cause is personal inadequacy
34
Cohen
- UK media focuses on the good fortune of capitalism rather than its casualties
- the poor can be demonised as parasitic scavengers
- poverty exists due to their own failings and weaknesses
35
perspectives on representations of class
Marxist: the powerful are portrayed as positive as the media works as an ideological agency that maintains class inequalities and creates false class consciousness. Wealth is deserved and poverty is self-inflicted
Pluralists: these representations reflect the reality of capitalist society. if the w/c didnt like them they wouldn't invest in said types of media
36
dabiri
natural black hair type is rarely shown in films
colourism has meant successful balck actors are often mixed
37
Dijk
3 stereotypically nagative views of ethnic minorities:
- criminals
- threatening
- unimportant
journalists have demonised young Black people as not law-abiding
media implies White people's lives are more important than that of non-White peoples'
38
Back
inner city crime amongst ethnic minorities is stereotyped as riots
the word "uprising" is rarely used
39
Moore et al
4 negative ideological messages in British representation of Islam:
- faith is dangerous and irrational
- multiculturalism allows extremism
- clash of civilisations
- Islam is a threat to the British way of life
40
Said
orientalism:
- prejudiced Western view of other cultures which defines them as inferior
- political agendas, expolitation and colonialsm are justified as the victims cultures are "inferior/strange"
41
pluralist
- representations of ethnic minorites reflect societal attitudes
- if people didn't agree with the representations then they would no longer consume the media product
42
Hall et al (Marxist)
ethnic minorties are subjects of moral panics which criminalises them
this presents them as folk devils threatening the stability of White society
43
Hollingsworth (marxist)
found that there is anecdotal evidence that tabloid owners, editors and journalists hold racist views
44
neo-marxist
- most owners, editors and journalists are White so they share a view of how society should operate with their White audience
- the pursuit of larger audiences, led to the dumbing down of news and so doesn't capture the complexity of race relations
45
Gill
media only shows gay sexuality in a "sanitised" way
lesbianism is hyper-sexualied to appeal to the male gaze
46
Batchelor
contraception in shown as female responsibility
being gay isnt integrated into mainstream media representations
47
GLAAD (gay lesbian alliance against defamation)
the vito russo test:
- the film must contain a character who is gay/lesbian/bisexual or transgender
- the character must have defining qualities other than their sexuality
- the character must be important in the plot
48
Stonewell
the LGBT community are symbollically annihilated
when they are represented then its as a figure of mockery or overly sexualised
49
Disablism
-the disabled are disabled by society and its prejudcied stereotypes and attitudes
- reinforces the idea disabled people are dpendent on the able-bodied
50
Barnes
- media consists of disabling stereotypes which medicalise, patronise, criminalise, and dehumanise disable people
- the disabled are rarely shown as normal people who happen to be impaired
51
roper
-telethons rely heavily on "cute" unrepresntative children
- telethons keep audiences in the position of giver and the disabled children in the position of dependent grateful charity recipient
- focus on entertainment rather than educating the public about disabilities
52
Watson, Philo and Briant
- investigated tabloid coverage
- singificant increase in disability reporting
- hidden disabilities and mental health conditions are negatively reported
- articles linked disabilities to benefit fraud
- rarely focused on the lived experiences of disabled people
53
Pluralist
- representations reflect the dominant medical view that disability is dysfunctional for both the individual and society
- representations mirror social anxieties about impairment
54
Social contructionist
- individuals are disabled by society
- medical professionals set the agenda for media representations and they are at the top of the heirarchy of credibility --> they view disability as unhealthy, unfortunate, dependent and tragic
- disabled are rarely consulted by journalists
55
postmodernist
- dominant medical discourse that has shaped societal/medical treatment in fragmented
- disabled have more means of politically organising and voicing their views
Gauntlett --> all sociological theories of media representations need to be cautious due to the sheer diversity of UK media
new media
flashcards
Decks in class (10)
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