Theories

Question 1

Feminist Theory: Who proposed the ‘Male Gaze’ theory?

Answer 1

Laura Mulvey

Question 2

Feminist Theory: What is the ‘Male Gaze’ theory?

Answer 2

Women are depicted from a masculine, heterosexual perspective and are portrayed as sexual objects for the pleasure of the male viewer.

Question 3

Feminist Theory: Who proposed the ‘Gender Performativity’ theory?

Answer 3

Judith Butler

Question 4

Feminist Theory: What is the ‘Gender Performativity’ theory?

Answer 4

• Identity is performative- manufactured through a set of acts
• No gender identity behind gender expressions
• Performativity is not one act, but a repetition and a ritual.

Question 5

Feminist Theory: What theory did bell hooks propose?

Answer 5

• Feminism=struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression, ideology of domination; it’s a political commitment not a lifestyle choice.
• Race, class as well as sex determine how much ppl are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed.

Question 6

Feminist Theory: What does Liesbet Van Zoonen generally believe?

Answer 6

Media portray stereotypical female behaviour, reinforcing stereotypes; believes it reflects dom social values + male producers are influenced by this: patriarchy.

Question 7

Feminist Theory: Who proposed the ‘Discourse and Spectacle’ theory and what does it say about how gender is constructed?

Answer 7

Liesbet Van Zoonen

- Gender constructed thru discourse; its meaning varies according to cultural and historical context.

Question 8

Representation Theory: What theories did Stuart Hall propose (language)?

Answer 8

• Representation=production of meaning through language (broadly defined as a system of signs)
• Relationship between concepts + signs is governed by codes

Question 9

Representation Theory: What theories did Stuart Hall propose (stereotyping)?

Answer 9

• Stereotyping, as representation type, reduces people to a few simple traits
• It tends to occur w/inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or ‘other’

Question 10

Representation Theory: What theories did David Gauntlett propose?

Answer 10

• Media gives us ‘tools’ or resources we use to construct our identities.
• Media of past’d convey simple, singular messages about ♂+♀ identities. 2Day’s media offer a more diverse range of icons from whom we may pick and mix different ideas.

Question 11

Representation Theory: What theories did Jean Baudrillard propose?

Answer 11

• Hyperreality- Being unable to distinguish from a reality.
• Simulacra
• Simulation

Question 12

Representation Theory: Hyperreality

Answer 12

• Mix of real world + fiction to create exciting yet relatable experience for the audience.
• Media images have come to seem more ‘real’ than the reality they supposedly represent (hyperreality)

Question 13

Representation Theory: Examples of Hyperreality

Answer 13

• Connecting physical reality with virtual reality (VR)
• Blending human intelligence with artificial intelligence.
• Commonly seen in advanced, modern societies eg a utopia

Question 14

Representation Theory: Simulacra- postmodernism

Answer 14

• Boundaries between ‘real’ world and media world have collapsed; can no longer distinguish between reality and simulation
• Postmodern age of simulacra: immersed in world of images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’.
• Perceived (by Jean Baudrillard) as negative- ‘bears no relation to any reality whatsoever’.

Question 15

Representation Theory: Example of Simulacra

Answer 15

Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, however this is seen as a recreational simulacra.

Question 16

Representation Theory: Simulation

Answer 16

Imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time.

Question 17

Representation Theory: Paul Gilroy, Ethnicity and Postcolonialism

Answer 17

• Colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era.
• Civilizationism constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions based on notions of otherness.

Question 18

Audience Theory: Blumler and Katz

Answer 18

Uses and Gratifications

Question 19

Audience Theory: Stuart Hall- Reception Theory

Answer 19

Producers encode messages in media texts which are decoded by audiences in 3 different ways:

• Dominant/preferred reading
• Negotiated reading
• Oppositional reading

Question 20

Audience Theory: George Gerbner- Cultivation Theory

Answer 20

• Long-term exposure to repeated patterns of representation can shape and influence the way in which people perceive the world around them (i.e. cultivating particular views and opinions)
• Cultivation reinforces mainstream values (dominant ideologies).

Question 21

Industry Theory: Curran and Seaton

Answer 21

The freedom to publish in a free market ensures the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests in society. If a viewpoint is missing in the press, this is because it lacks a sufficient following to sustain it in the market place.

Question 22

Narrative Theory: Todorov

Answer 22

1. Equilibrium
2. Disruption
3. Recognition
4. Attempt to repair
5. New equilibrium

Question 23

Narrative Theory: Levi Strauss- Binary Opposition (Structuralism)

Answer 23

• Texts can be best understood through examining their underlying structure.
• Meaning is dependent upon, produced through pairs of binary oppositions. How these are resolved can have particular ideological significance.

Question 24

Genre Theory: Neale (simplified)

Answer 24

Genres are instances of difference and repetition.

Question 25

Genre Theory: Neale (advanced)

Answer 25

Texts rely on audiences finding pleasure in recognition of familiar elements + how those elements are linked in an unfamiliar way, or how unfamiliar elements are introduced.

Question 26

What language theory did Roland Barthes propose?

Answer 26

Theory of 5 codes: - Hermeneutic code (Enigma) - how a story avoids revealing all facts - Proairetic code (Action) - Tension built through action - Semantic code - additional connotations through mise-en-scene (e.g. costume, lighting) - Symbolic code - Similar to semantic- deeper meaning - Referential/cultural code - code that only members of certain groups would understand e.g. Americans, Dr. Who fans.

Question 27

Who proposed the theory of Hegemony and what is it?

Answer 27

- An Italian communist named Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) | - Dominance of a particular social group in society who enforce ideas in the media that allow them to remain dominant.

Question 28

Who proposed the theory of Myths (semiotics) and what is it?

Answer 28

- Roland Barthes - Constructed meanings can come to seem self-evident, achieving the status of myth through the process of naturalisation.

Question 29

Language theory: Semiotics- Roland Barthes

Answer 29

- Texts communicate meanings thru process of signification | - Signs can function at level of denotation as well as connotation

Question 30

Features of semiotics

Answer 30

- Signifier: Representation of idea or thing - Signified: The thing being represented Pierce: - Icon: Sign that resembles the thing/idea being signified - Index: Sign w/link to thing being signified - Symbol: Sign w/no obvious connection to the signified.

Question 31

Paradigm (Semiotics)

Answer 31

Specific set of signifiers that producers are able to make choices from in order to construct a particular meaning.

Question 32

Syntagm (Semiotics)

Answer 32

Chain of signs that follow one another in a particular sequence; linear horizontal connection.

Question 33

Representation: What theory did Richard Dyer propose about stereotyping?

Answer 33

- Argues use of stereotypes in the media reinforces idea of big differences between different types of ppl/creates notions of otherness - This form of stereotyping, as Richard Dyer would argue is to legitimise inequality.

Question 34

Representation: What theory did Tessa Perkins propose about stereotyping?

Answer 34

- Stereotypes are not always negative or false - Not always about minority groups or the less powerful - Can be held about one’s own group. - Aren't rigid or unchanging.

Question 35

Representation: What is Implicit Personality Theory?

Answer 35

- Refers to a person’s notions about which personality characteristics tend to co-occur in people. - Halo effect- tendency to conclude person has many positive attributes if they display a few good ones (and the opposite for a few negative attributes)

Question 36

Representation: What is Reference Group Theory?

Answer 36

- Group an individual relates or aspires to relate to mentally. Becomes frame of reference + source for ordering experiences, perceptions, cognition, ideas of self + comparing, evaluating one's appearance, performance. - Important for determining self-identity, attitudes, social ties.

Question 37

Representation: What is 'Othering' as a process?

Answer 37

Casting group, individual or an object into role of the ‘other’ & establishing one’s own identity through opposition to and, frequently, vilification of this Other. Refer to Edward Said’s orientalism too.

Question 38

What does the Discourse and Spectacle theory say about the display of women's bodies as a spectacle?

Answer 38

- Display of them as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture. - Mainstream culture: visual & narrative codes used to construct ♂ body as spectacle differ from those used to objectify♀ body.

Question 39

What was Saussure's Theory about semiotics?

Answer 39

- Sign = signifier + signified - Paradigm - Syntagm