Sociology - Real World - Ch. 13, Recreation / Leisure
relationships between fans and celebrities
According to John Caughey, what is the contemporary American equivalent of interacting with gods, spirits, or ancestors?
Many choices are owned by the same company.
Americans seem to have much more choice about which media to consume than in the past. Why is this choice deceptive?
only the wealthy
In the past, which group of people had the time and resources necessary to pursue recreational activity?
inequality
On the ESPN.com website, men's college basketball is presented as "college basketball," while women's college basketball is called "women's college basketball" and shares a web page with women's professional basketball. This is an example of:
television
Today leisure is increasingly dominated by ____________, "the 800-pound gorilla of leisure time."
monopoly
a situation in which there is only one individual or organization, without competitors, providing a particular good or service
consumption
the utilization of goods and services, either for personal use or in manufacturing
make it easier to organize people.
A flash mob is a sudden assembly of strangers in a public place, who usually perform some novel action (clapping for no reason, singing a song together, dancing, etc.) and then rapidly disperse. Although they appear to be spontaneous to outsiders, in reality flash mobs are organized through e-mails, social networking sites, and text messages. This is a good example of how technology can:
the commercialization of leisure
A small child asks his babysitter if he can play "tag." The child means the simple outdoor game wherein one player chases the other players until she can "tag" one of them with her hand to trade roles. However, the babysitter is confused and goes to the entertainment center to look for a DVD or a video game named "Tag." What phenomenon could be responsible for this confusion?
the commercialization of leisure
A small child asks his babysitter if he can play "tag." The child means the simple outdoor game wherein one player chases the other players until she can "tag" one of them with her hand to trade roles. However, the babysitter is confused and goes to the entertainment center to look for a DVD or a video game named "Tag." What phenomenon could be responsible for this confusion? Answer
audiences are mostly passive
A sociologist who is concerned that people will uncritically accept political biases in the media they consume probably believes that:
all answers are correct
A typical media conglomerate might include which of the following? a. a book and magazine publisher b. radio and television broadcasters c. a sports franchise
slash
A wildly popular subgenre of fan fiction takes the emotional connection between male "buddies," like Starsky and Hutch or Frodo and Samwise, and turns it into a physically intimate connection, presenting the pair as lovers. What is this called?
a billboard with a famous actress and a slogan on it
According to the two-step flow model, which of the following would be most likely to sway public opinion concerning the ethical treatment of farm animals?
ten percent
Approximately what percentage of Sports Illustrated stories cover women's lives or accomplishments?
no
Does Robert Bellah believe that bonds based on shared leisure interests are enough to develop a sense of collective responsibility?
democracy
During the first decade of the twenty-first century, daily newspapers were in trouble all across the country, many having closed and many others poised to do so. This worried some scholars who believed that newspapers are vital for maintaining:
agenda setting theory
Every year Project Censored posts a list of the 25 most censored news stories. These stories are "censored" not in the sense that the media is legally prohibited from covering them, but rather in the sense that most major media outlets have systematically ignored them and, in the process, determined what the public will think about. What theory explains this?
the members of the press
For whom could celebrity stalking be seen as an obligation?
the decline of public life
Given the ways that spectatorship has changed in recent years, which of the following trends is it most closely related to?
Many more types of products will be subject to fashion and will go out of style.
Given what you know about David Harvey and the postmodern economy, how does our society manage to consume all of the additional goods produced as a result of the incredible increases in efficiency?
textual poaching
Henry Jenkin's term describing the ways that audience members manipulate an original cultural product to create a new one; a common way for fans to exert some control over the media they consume
The real action online comes from access to the writers, directors, actors, and staff of the shows. Not every creator goes online, of course, or posts online. But when they do—as with Freaks and Geeks, where creators responded regularly to fans on the official Web site during the show's run—it's a jolt of electricity.
Henry Jenkins argues that, while any piece of media could become the object of textual poaching, some are far more likely to do so. Specifically he argues that textual poaching is most likely when there is a prolonged relationship with a particular narrative universe, which is rich and complex enough to sustain interest over time. This encourages the media to be more attentive to audiences and use the Internet to solicit feedback, as well as to monitor unsolicited fan responses to products. Which of the following is an example of the media using feedback?
Recreation is moving inside the home and away from public spaces.
How are changes in technology changing the nature of recreation?
It encouraged them to spend their leisure time in their own homes.
How did the rise of the suburbs affect the way that people used their leisure time?
It has made it easier to organize people.
How has technology enabled the shift from spontaneous to organized recreation?
it has made easier to organize people
How has technology enabled the shift from spontaneous to organized recreation?
Consumers can alter and even invert meanings to suit their own purposes.
If scholars assume that audiences are active rather than passive, what does this imply about the meaning of media "texts"?
how rebuilding engines made her feel
Imagine that you've come across someone rebuilding an engine. Which of the following questions would you need to ask to discover if this was a recreational activity?
the encoding/decoding model
In his study of British television, The Nationwide Audience, David Morley argued that the success or failure of a television program "in transmitting the preferred or dominant meaning will depend on whether it encounters readers" with "codes and ideologies derived from other institutional areas (e.g. churches or schools) which correspond to and work in parallel with those of the program or whether it encounters readers" with beliefs "drawn from other areas or institutions (e.g. trade unions or 'deviant' subcultures) which conflict to a greater or lesser extent with those of the program." Which theory of mass media consumption is Morley using?
a role model relationship with a celebrity.
In the 1990s, kids who chanted, "I want to be like Mike!" to express their admiration for Michael Jordan had:
Our recreation and leisure is mediated by material goods that we seem to "require" in order to have fun.
In the early days of country music, there were a number of "family" groups, or families who became professional musicians together. This happened so often, in part, because many families made music together for fun. Today, far from singing together, the average family is more likely to have each member put on a pair of headphones and use an mp3 player to listen to music alone. What does this say about contemporary recreation and leisure?
the formalization of recreation
Little League baseball and other organized community sports are examples of what phenomenon?
hobbyists
Make is the first magazine "devoted to digital projects, hardware hacks, and D.I.Y. inspiration," which "brings the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in your life." The magazine, and its associated website, help bring ____________ together.
This is not incorrect, but is somewhat naive.
Many people assume that the purpose of the media is to supply information, educate, and entertain. Is this true?
people were paid to write, edit, print, ship, and shelve the book.
Reading a book that you checked out from the library might seem to be an example of a recreational activity that is totally uncommercialized, but it is still directly connected to commercial activity and work because:
In Mother Night, Kurt Vonnegut writes: "We are what we pretend to be. . . ." Darkon [a live-action role-playing game] is made up of hundreds of people who spend the majority of their lives pretending to be high-school students, soldiers back from Iraq, administrative assistants, waiters, project managers, probate lawyers, retail clerks. . . . But Darkon shows them for who they really are: warriors, princesses, magicians, kings and queens.—Grady Hendrix, "Feel the Sting of My Foam Sword"
Recreation and leisure are sometimes seen as minor and unimportant topics. Which of the following quotations helps to explain why there is a whole chapter in the text devoted to recreation and leisure?
the uses and gratifications paradigm
Sometimes teenage boys watch football games on Sunday only because they wish to be able to make conversation with their classmates on Monday. Which theory best explains this?
They bring different interpretive strategies to the experience of listening to Morrissey's music.
The English music star Morrissey got his start in the band The Smiths, singing about radical vegetarianism and bisexuality in the 1980s. He was effeminate, bleak, and sarcastic. Today his fan base has expanded far beyond the disaffected English teenagers who bought his original records. In fact some of his most devoted fans are Hispanics in Southern California. How is it possible that British teenagers in the 1980s and Hispanic Californians can appreciate the same music?
communitarianism
The ancient Greeks understood this well: A person who is completely private is lost to civic life. The exclusive pursuit of one's self-interest is not even a good prescription for conduct in the marketplace; for no social, political, economic, or moral order can survive that way. What idea or belief system is being described in
communitarianism
The ancient Greeks understood this well: A person who is completely private is lost to civic life. The exclusive pursuit of one's self-interest is not even a good prescription for conduct in the marketplace; for no social, political, economic, or moral order can survive that way. What idea or belief system is being described in this quote?
the magic bullet model
The assumption that media consumers automatically accept whatever meaning is in the "texts" they consume is called:
concentration
The information in Figure 13.1 shows how media ____________, where the number of companies producing and distributing particular commodities decreases has occurred.
communitarianism.
The movement that attempts to rebuild group values and a sense of collective responsibility is called:
Few people can take pleasure in great cities, which are full of strangers.
The sociologist Richard Sennett argues that we have seen the "fall of public man" and have become much more likely to seek refuge in "ties of family or intimate association." Given this, what else would you expect Sennett to believe?
a nonmainstream individual gaining access to a mass audience.
Thomas Beatie, a transsexual man who got pregnant, went on the Oprah Winfrey Show and let Oprah's camera crew tape his ultrasound. This is an example of:
ecotourism.
Today in Zambia, the economy is in serious trouble, and even the tourist industry has suffered. However, there are several plans to develop self-sustaining big game parks, where tourists could come and see indigenous plants and wildlife. This is an example of:
The feeling of public spirit generated in them can strengthen civil society.
What are the benefits of third places, or hangouts, for society as a whole?
all answers are correct
What developments have changed the way that leisure time is used?
all of these answers are correct
What developments have changed the way that leisure time is used? a. the decline of public life b. the commodification of recreational activities c. the rise of formal organization in recreation
They can eventually lead to a greater degree of involvement with the community.
What did the sociologist Dr. Kerry Ferris conclude about lifestyle enclaves as a result of her research on Star Trek and soap opera fan clubs?
third places
What do sociologists call locations like neighborhood bars and local cafes where people gather to talk?
They have all been used in Nike commercials.
What do the phrases, "I want to be like Mike," "I am Tiger Woods," and "I am not a role model" all have in common?
they are actively engaged
What does the uses and gratifications paradigm of media consumption assume about audiences?
shopping
What does your textbook cite as the ultimate example of the commercialization of leisure?
ecotourism
What is the term for vacations that are designed to minimize the environmental impact of a trip as well as the negative impact on local cultures?
soccer
What sport is immensely popular in almost every part of the world EXCEPT the United States?
the ability of a lifestyle enclave to develop a larger sense of social responsibility
When a Star Trek fan club raises money for an animal welfare organization that is sponsored by the Star Trek actor William Shatner, what is this evidence of?
all of these answers are correct
When fans of the original Star Trek series edit recorded episodes of the TV show to make it appear that Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock are passionate gay lovers, what are they doing?
what media does to people; what people do with media
When sociologists reject the hypodermic needle model, they tend to stop asking ____________ and start asking ____________.
all of these answers are correct
Which of the following activities is part of a fan's relationship with a celebrity? a. reading celebrity gossip magazines b. attending a book signing or other event c. masterminding a fan-staged encounter with a celebrity d. stalking a celebrity
They provide an opportunity for disenfranchised, nonmainstream individuals to be heard.
Why are blogs, zines, and even daytime talk shows like Montel Williams valuable?
There are limits to the number of CDs that you can sell to any one person, but more "ephemeral" products like mp3s and downloaded movies can be sold faster and more often.
Why does it make sense that mp3 players, like iPods, would replace the compact disc in a postmodern economy?
Leisure and recreation absorb so much time, energy, and resources that they must be important.
Why should leisure not be treated as a minor and unimportant topic?
synergy
a mutually beneficial interaction between parts on an organization that allows them to create something greater than the sum of their individual outputs
leisure
a period of time that can be spend relaxing, engaging in recreation, or otherwise indulging in freely chosen activities
communitarianism
a political and moral philosophy focused on strengthening civil society and communal bonds
encoding/decoding model
a theory of media combining models that privilege the media producer and models that view the audience as the primary source of meaning; this theory recognizes that media texts are created to deliver specific messages, and that individuals actively interpret them
uses and gratifications paradigm
a theory of media use that focuses on individuals' psychology or social needs that various media fulfill
magic bullet theory
a theory that explains the effects of media as if its contents simply entered directly into the consumer who is powerless to resist
active audience theory
a theory that explains the effects of media through the activity of the audience members, who actively construct a "reading" or understanding of the media they consume
role model
an individual who serves as an example for others to strive towards and emulate
third place
any informal public place where people come together regularly for conversation and camaraderie when not at work or at home
recreation
any satisfying, amusing, and stimulating activity that is experienced as refreshing and renewing for body, mind, and spirit
lifestyle enclaves
groups of people drawn together by shared interests, especially those relating to hobbies, sports, and media
antitrust legislation
laws designed to maintain competition in the marketplace by prohibiting monopolies, price fixing, or other forms of collusion among business
deregulation
reduction or removal of government controls from an industry to allow for a free and efficient marketplace
idioculture
the customs, practices, and values expressed in a particular place by the people who interact there
interpretive strategies
the ideas and theories that audience members bring to bear on a particular media text to understand its meaning
merger
the legal combination of two companies, usually in order to maximize efficiency and profits by eliminating redundant infrastructure and personnel
conglomeration
the process by which a single corporation acquires ownership of a variety of otherwise unrelated businesses
commodification
the process by which it becomes possible to buy and sell a particular good or service
concentration
the process by which the number of companies producing and distributing a particular commodity decreases, often through mergers and conglomeration
civil society
those organizations, institutions, and interactions outside of government, family, and work that promote social bonds and the smooth functioning of society
