MS10: Introduction to Media Studies - Midterm 1
Social Cement
"psychic adjustment" to the needs of capitalism (makes us "emotionally obedient"); teaches us narratives that serve the status quo like being good buyers example - Barbie Girl song → "Life in plastic, it's fantastic" aka happiness comes from having the right mass-produced goods
Media Literacy
1. All media are texts that are encoded with meaning. 2. Reading requires an active process of interpretation. 3. Media texts are representations that help construct our realities and we must use them to help understand the world around us.
Results of Consumer Culture
1. Delusion of control - feel as though we are empowered by our choice 2. Isolated from tradition and community - become open to manipulation 3. Creates inexhaustible dissatisfaction - never satisfied because products constantly change
Eight Advertising Persuasive Strategies
1. Famous Person Testimonies 2. Plain-Folks Pitch 3. Snob Appeal 4. Association Principle 5. Bandwagon Effect 6. Hidden Fear Appeal 7. Irritation Advertising 8. Shock Advertising
Why Study Media?
1. media saturates our everyday lives and rhythms (source of pleasure, social currency, surveillance, interpretation 2. media evolves over time 3. media serves first and foremost as commercial function 4. media circulates ideas about social rules and roles 5. media prompts us to compare ourselves to media representations
Cultural Function
Fiske - role in the circulation of meaning Culture is also a site for play, contestation, and discussion.
Material Function
Fiske - role in the circulation of wealth
Relevant Fantasy
Fiske, Madonna reading essentially an empowering fantasy which is pleasurable to the extent that it reverses social norms, and when the fantasy can be connected to the conditions of everyday life, it can make the ideal into the achievable, has the ability to empower a fan's sense of self, therefore affecting their behavior in social settings
Constructing Reality
Kraszewski who tells us to be critical because this is so carefully constructed through: 1. Selecting Participants 2. Overarching and Mini Narrative Structures 3. Location 4. Editing
"The Medium is the Message"
McLuhan - the takeaway isn't the content but that we have access to the content and what we do with that content; believed that new technologies brought fundamental revolutions in consciousness because sensory experiences of new media shape our thinking therefore making the medium itself more important than the content affirming McLuhan's message o example - the light bulb
Transmedia Storytelling
Mikos - the systematic planning of a story throughout different platforms because each contributes to the larger story world although they are each designed to stand on their own; it is especially useful with TV as the core text because its ongoing seriality; a kind of transmedia extension o Example - The Office → used webisodes to expand the story and keep people engaged even while the show is not currently on the air
Narrative Complexity
Mittell - a distinct narrational mode, a distinct set of norms, one that crosses genres, specific creators, and artistic movements to forge a coherent category of practices; a form of TV storytelling with its own formal attributes that is both cumulative (a combination of episodic closure and serial accumulation) and unconventional (new and intriguing narratives and storytelling) which represents it as a shifting balance which redefines episodic forms
Operational Aesthetic
Mittell - a form of narrative complexity focused on narrative special effects which can work at the episode level or the entire series; it is an analysis of plot mechanics and style that employs things such as flashbacks or unreliable narrators to play with audience expectations encourage long-term engagement through disorientation and confusion which directs the audience's focus to form and structure in addition to context
Genre as a Cultural Category
Mittell - genre is a cultural category formed from common discourses and understanding therefore genre = interrelations between texts + industries + audiences therefore our understanding of genres change with how they're defined, interpreted, and evaluated thus because discourses change
Episodic
TV narrative form → circular closure and returns to the original status quo, it is the most popular type of programming because of its economic advantages such as the ability to reuse the same characters and similar situations which forms a loyal audience although it is ok to miss episodes; the disadvantage comes
Serial
TV narrative form → continual change of status quo beyond the episode, it prevents viewers from dropping into on a random episode because it is an ongoing story that changes over time accumulating details and history; economic advantages is there is potential for revision which fosters dedicated loyals however there are economic disadvantages such as alienating viewers who might stop watching altogether if they miss an episode; an example would be Game of Thrones
Anthology
TV narrative form → each episode is self-contained, closure brings a new and final status therefore it introduces new characters, new obstacles, new settings, and new endings each week; and example would be The Twilight Zone
Celebrity
a person who attracts attention to such a degree that their life and personality are of public interest which inspires a desire to learn about "the real them"; they are both workers and products in this sense because they work for a wage and then market themselves as a brand/product
Genre
a system of codes, conventions, and visual styles which enables an audience to determine rapidly and with some complexity the kind of narrative they are viewing and gives the audience the ability to distinguish between different types of film narratives; content sharing the same conventions and codes; an attempt from the industry to manufacture success as a means of creating familiarity in new texts; it is a product of the industry and its production practices, the audience and their expectations and competences, and the texts in contribution to the genre as a whole
Snob Appeal
advertisement attempts to persuade consumers that using the product or service will elevate their social status • example: perfume ads (Dior), alcohol ads
Association Principle
advertisement used to associate the product with a positive cultural value or image even though there is little connection • example: Malboro Man/ruggedness, Coca-Cola = happiness
Texts as Polysemic
always multiple meanings because of multiple interpretations → can be understood and decoded in multiple ways, so variable interpretations mean that texts are always sites of struggle; not fixed in meanings because different interest compete to promote different ideologies
Standardization
assembly-line production example - N*SYNC, music videos revel in their "play things" image → dolls in packaging
Convergence
blurring of the boundaries between distinct forms of media into new types of media networks and delivery systems; active process of different technologies coming together like the ability to not only play video games on Playstation but also watch TV
False Consciousness
capitalist powers mislead people into thinking that the route to contentment comes from consumption rather than upward mobility which therefore de-skills, de-politicizes, and de-sensitizes the overworked masses which catches people in a cycle of manipulation stunting political imagination; this has changed us from a culture-debating society to a culture-consuming society; main message - attain happiness through commercial means
Intertextual
celebrities have an image across their roles
Celebrity as Audience Driven
celebrity cannot be created without the public playing some part, therefore celebrities are a product of audience fascination; states that we cannot reduce celebrities' popularity to simply talent
Genre Recombinants
combines elements of two or more established genres in order to provide predictability but also to add an element of surprise therefore illustrating how generic elements can be used, subverted, and combined; mixes the old with the new like remakes for example
Hybrid Production Logics
combo of forms and economies of scope
Social Shaping of Technology (SST)
compromise between Technological Determinism and SCOT; technologies have Logics that influence but don't determine use and machines can strengthen certain social structures while eroding others therefore it takes into account societal circumstances, the possibilities and constraints of technologies while looking at the actual practice essentially showing how tech adaption can be predictable, unexpected, and has the ability to either disrupt or affirms previous practices
Hyperreality
constructed to suit audience expectations and in doing so appears more "real" than actual reality in an attempt to "feel real," it is not completely real but it is not completely fake either such as reality TV which is manipulated to be exciting but also retains the appearance of reality o Example - reality TV shows (Real World), Bad Girls Club, "I'm not here to make friends"
Identificatory Practices
consume a star or character's products
Arc
crosses several episodes or seasons and is a larger journey as the plot or character journey builds across episodes with the goal being continued audience engagement and to keep audience watching from episode to episode; primarily identified with a serial, but it can also be episodic and example of this would be the character of Walter White from teacher to drug dealer
Mass Culture
defined by the Frankfurt school as the culture spread by mass media and industrialization, not from the masses but for the masses; provides conformity because it is dumbed dumb (for everyone), produces artificial concerns, and is commodified which allows for no sense of collectivity; most importantly has changed us from a culture-debating society to a culture-consuming society
Identificatory Fantasies
desire a star or character's life
Rationalizing the Consumption Process
economic term which intends to make the unfamiliar seem familiar using proven tactics and formulas to ensure success; the concept that you can have an interaction with a consumer in a way that allows them to feed off of your future production techniques and also allows interaction between the consumers and the producers to grow deeper while lowering production costs such as: o Stars o Genres o Sequels/Remakes o Copy Cats o Pre-Testing
Dominant Ideology
elites have the power to shape ideology through institutional control therefore reinforcing the power of a few elites, yet it is shared by the majority; essentially a set of ruling that supports the status quo and keeps the powerful, powerful Example → most powerful ideology is The American Dream
Cultural Studies & Quality
embarrassment occurs when social norms and taste hierarchies are interrupted however overcoming this embarrassment can challenge and therefore chnage culture → Fiske argues that you need to resist the pressure to be embarrassed about your guilty pleasures and therefore by resisting this pressure it can open up visibility to these hierarchies that privilege some tastes and cultures over others Example - Josh liking Christina Aguilera's You Are Beautiful song → taboo for a man to like a song because it is considered "embarrassing" as it a song women like
Transmedia Extensions
end product itself - functions as the means to draw viewers from TV to other content platforms
Cultural Studies & Methods
focuses on how people make meaning, understand reality, and order experience by using cultural symbols in the media; everyday culture is the center piece because media has changed society and society has changed media therefore bounding them together; approaches are textual analysis, audience studies, and political economy studies
Ad-Supported Media
free to consumer," advertisers pay the cost of media in exchange for access to consumers ("impression"); therefore consumers pay in attention and increased product costs while advertisers pay for the quantity or quality like in broadcast television
Pop Culture Analysis
how people use and interpret media; concerned with the meaning at consumption and examines how meaning making process turns mass culture (produced by the culture industry for commercial reasons) into popular culture (what we do with this)
Media Production Logics
impossible to discuss modern media without discussing money - there are four: commodities, turn-style, ad-supported media, microtransactions
Actual Audience
includes "interlopers" who were not part of the imagined audience like guys who watch a chick flick
Combo of Forms
incorporation of multiple production logics such as a newspaper which uses commodities and is ad-supported
Microtransactions
incremental payments, often manifests as free-to-use + optional "premium options" for example "freemium apps," free to play but costs are built in
Imagined Audience
intended audience of consumers like a chick flick is mean for chicks
Shock Advertising
intentionally hopes to shock the consumer by cutting through advertising clutter • example: drunk driving ads
Pop Culture as a Process
it forms social identities and relationships (not a thing or category) from the assemblance of mass culture resources which creates new understandings, identities, experiences, pleasures People turn mass culture into popular culture.
Critiques of the Frankfurt School
it is an elitist defense of high culture because they don't like the same things that appeal to the masses, there is also greater media choice today (antiquated), there are also multiple motivations behind productions because different participants have different viewpoints and goal; doesn't account for innovation (genres mutate), failure, subcultures (doesn't show differentiation or product discrimination) or other interpretations (locates meaning solely in production)
Realism
it is measured in plausibility; when a media text is consumed, it is more likely to be identified as realistic if it appears plausible like it can happen to YOU because it represents experiences real-world experiences and people; however due to the impact of commercial concerns, creator bias, and recording and editing there is no unbiased, objective representations of reality
Bandwagon Effect
makes a claim that people will be left behind if they don't use the product or service • example: movie ads → don't miss the summer's best comedy
TV Storytelling Structure (Multiple Plotlines)
many stories have multiple plotlines o A Plot - primary conflict which commands the most screen and usually pertains to the lead character o B Plot/C Plot - secondary conflicts "subplots" that usually pertain to secondary characters
Incorporation
mass culture scans popular culture for tastes and interests it can commodify • Enters the corporation • Example - Nike using crying Jordan meme to market Air Jordans
Hall's Circuit Model of Communication
meaning is shaped in multiple stages in which the audience is the participant in media-making and therefore producers can't fully control meaning because each stage generates meaning and impacts others; production (message is produced) → circulation (message is distributed) → consumption (message is received) → reproduction/feedback (messaged is accepted and reproduced)
Dystopian View
medium is bad or was good but is getting worse; usually argue that the medium is passive, addictive, exploitative, formulaic, and consumerist and therefore is directly harmful to individuals and society as a whole because it perpetuates stereotypes and makes us lazy and unambitious; bad b/c totalizing (is it all bad?), nostalgic, elitist, and dismissive of active role of consumerism and interpretation
Utopian View
medium is good or was bad, however it is getting better; usually employ the argument that there is something for everyone and if you don't like it you can simply turn it off, also has ability to affect a positive change; bad b/c totalizing (is it all good?), myth of progress, glosses over commercial interests and ignores production hierarchies
Mirror View
medium reflects reality or reflects the interests of society and its interests, texts always reflect the interest of the media maker because everyone an agenda, reflects a major social change; bad b/c selective process of production, agenda-setting function of media, and possibility of different interpretations/disagreements
Genre Codes
modes of production external to the narrative, what the text looks and sounds like the STYLE 1. Length 2. Visual Style → includes lighting, camerawork, editing, and/or animation/animation style 3. Audio Style
Advantages of Content Convergence
more devices that can play the same thing which allows consumers to be flexible which maximizes the ability of the consumer to engage → reduce the cost (convenience) 1. Maintains their attention across media 2. Collects two kinds of viewers → large and highly engaged "loyals" 3. By requiring viewers to use multiple media, they are exposed to even more ads
Values of Hall's Encoding/Decoding Model
o All messages contain more than one potential meaning o Producers cannot close off all decodings o Illustrates how our experiences, beliefs, and cultural knowledge influence our decodings o Illustrates the struggle with getting people's ideological agreement
Criticisms of Hall's Encoding/Decoding Model
o Few perfectly dominant or oppositional readings o Works better for directly ideological texts over scripted ones o Multiple motivations behind production/encoding- not one, single narrative
Narrators
o Inside the story - voiceover of the character like Ferris Bueller o Anonymous voices outside the story - "God's eye view narration like the Shining o The Camera - in visual media → orients and positions us by giving us perspective at the right place at the right time
Criticisms of Pop Culture Analysis
often viewed as a populist celebration that spreads repressive representations that validates dominant and commercial interests and efforts of the mass media, although audiences can be active that doesn't mean they're powerful
Commodities
paid in full by consumers with the price covering all costs including profits, it is a one time sale like CDs and DVDs
Characters
person who is assigned social, physical, or psychological traits which are assigned by media makers whose perception influences how these people are meant to be understood like a protagonist who drives the story and audiences can identify with
Technological Convergence
personalized content through a single machine
Hidden Fear Appeal
plays on consumer's sense of anxiety or insecurity • example: literally any commercial about personal hygiene
Excorporation
pop culture scans mass culture for resources it can appropriate • Exits the corporation • Example - Making a meme
Constructing Realism
produced by codes and conventions: o Apparent Spontaneity o Handheld camera and loose compositions o Available lighting o Verbal spontaneity o Narrative spontaneity
Plain Folks Pitch
product fits into the lives of everyday people • example: eHarmony testimonies, iPhone ads
Characteristics of Consumer Culture
purpose is to unite and inform audience 1. Focus on accumulating consumer goods as an expression of identity and "free choice" - identity is bought and sold through consumer goods 2. Products for a massive, anonymous audience - not specified for individuals 3. Encourages insatiable consumer desires - ever-changing goods lead to being NEVER satisfied 4. Tradition and heritage become "lifestyle" and experimenting with the "latest thing" - identities are sold to us 5. Represents status over function - people buy products based on symbolic value rather than cultural or economic value
Pseudo-Individualization
same product hidden by a veneer of difference, seems different but is ultimately the same because it is still for-profit media example - Eminem is not "Mr. N*SYNC" he is not a "play thing"
Turn-Style
sell access to the content, consumers pay admission at the gate but that may only cover some of the costs like at concerts you can buy merch or at the movies you can buy concessions
Economies of Scope
selling a product across multiple revenue "windows" and "logics" such as from a movie which goes theater → DVD → feature film on TV
Content Convergence
similar content available through a variety of devices, it is content shared across different media which manifests itself as transmedia extensions and convience techs
Beat
smallest mode of narrative (lasts 1-2 minutes) that works to build plots but also contains its own drama and purpose; all have protagonists
Genre Conventions
specific narrative elements, it is the STORY 1. Setting 2. Character Types 3. Plot/Narrative Structure 4. Iconography - common images 5. Emotional Affect 6. Ideology
Episode
structured by a culmination or theme which is structured in 3 or 4 acts and there are "curtains" before commercials to keep the audience watching; an example would be finding a body on Law and Order which leads to trial and prosecution
Social Construction of Technology (SCOT)
technologies are a consequence of social factors which directly contrasts technological determinism; involves industry, regulation, and actual use (ability to adopt, modify, and subvert these technologies)
Convenience Techs
technologies that provide flexibility in what, how, when, and where viewers consume media content which facilitates greater control over the viewing experience through more formats (utilize the same content for different screens and revenue streams), more content (can support greater variety of material), and more viewing flexibility (active selection rather than linear flow) which ultimately individualizes the consumption experience
Domestication of Technology
technology becomes invisible as it integrates into our lives; therefore things that may have been seen as abnormal originally eventually become normal and adapted into our everyday lives such as the use of social networks and sharing information online; so common we take it for granted; becomes commonplace
Technological Determinism
technology is the key governing force in society because it has the power to transform society and is therefore the primary force of change; machines change us which can be utopian (technology has the power to take us places and inspire us) but also dystopian (technology consumes us, distracts us, and prevents us from being present and enjoying and experiencing life)
Decoding
texts are decoded at the level of consumption three different ways → dominant/hegemonic (accepts preferred meaning), negotiated (partially accepts/understands preferred meaning), oppositional/counter-hegemonic (rejects preferred meaning)
Encoding
texts are encoded at the level of production and producers encode programs with preferred meanings through framework of knowledge, relation to production, technical infrastructure; producers are usually ideologically and economically linked to hegemonic elite and therefore reflect these dominant interests and beliefs
Mass Media Industrialization
the culture industry industrializes media through standardization, pseudo-individualization, and social cement
Digital Divide
the gap between those who have access to digital techs and those who don't which goes beyond access because it includes the quality of access which has the possibility to provide a richer experience; also requires a familiarity with texts and social interactions because it requires knowledge to know how to use and find in order to consume what they want; it creates a "participation gap" between people who can participate in a wide variety of different ways with a wide variety of content which contributes to a richer experience
Industrial Utility of Genre
the goal is to manage consumer interests and expectations through promotions by making success predictable → if people like a genre then simply make more, this therefore reduces the risk of the new and organizes production
Audiences
the people who make meaning who can either be imagined or actual which can either be imagined or actual
Hegemony
the process of maintaining power through the struggle of seeking ideological consensus by convincing people that it is in their best interest to comply and it is natural to do so; give and take struggle in ideology between levels across society, seeks agreement rather than force → process in which dominant class leads
Pop Culture and Immediacy
the relationship between mass culture and pop culture is always unstable because pop culture texts are "throwaway" and have no lasting value; instead, pop culture is tied to the immediate social conditions because it represents immediate values and concerns
Star Texts
the way we understand and interpret celebs; it is the sum of everything we associate and affiliate with a celebrity → 4 components 1. Body of Work - a celebrity's career 2. Promotion - authorized and circulated image construction 3. Publicity - generated independently outside of a celebrity's control 4. Audience Practices - how the general public contributes to our general understanding of a celebrity
Genre Mutation
there is the problem of generic repetition which could risk a bored audience → therefore genres evolve and add difference by balancing imitation (follow established generic codes and conventions) with innovation (deviates from generic codes and conventions); natural progression of one specific genre example - change in animation (Sausage Party, South Park)
Counter-Hegemony
there will always be resistance → dominant ideologies must be constantly reaffirmed through the media and must constantly be maintained because culture is ever changing; requires a high degree of consensus because conflict is never removed due to each generation having its own values
Intextertexual vs. Extratextual
these can correlate → extratextual identity confirms and reaffirms intertextual identity
Content for Experimentation
ties in with narrative complexity because it expands creativity by using different content; improved cultural clout, viability of smaller audiences, new technologies enable the ability to re-watch, and also allows for a growth of online engagement with TV
Irritation Advertising
tries to instill name recognition by getting into your head by creating an ear worm • example: Fanta (don't ya wanna???) HeadOn
Economies of Scale
trying to increase the scale, amount of something that you are producing in order to bring down costs by expanding sales at a very minimal cost • i.e. making movies
Ideology
values and beliefs that people use to make sense of the world which can be descriptive or prescriptive; these can be widely shared but are never universal because these begin at birth and are conditioned through family, powerful institutions (politics, religion, education), and media
Famous Person Testimonies
well known person endorses the product • example: Draymond Green/Beats Headphones, Beyonce/Lorreal Paris
Extratextual
what we read about celebrities, interviews, or images (paparazzi or promotional)
