Key Theories
Key Theory 6 - Stuart Hall - Theories of Presentation
Representation:
Re/Presentation. Re presenting something. e.g: re/peat, re/mix.
Representation is the ways in which a media product constructs the world and aspects in it, including social groups, individuals, issues and events.
Richard Dyer - The Role of Stereotypes
Stereotypes: A commonly held belief about a certain group of people.
Key Theory 7 - David Gauntlet - Theories of Identity
He believes that despite many negative perceptions of the media, audiences are capable of constructing their own identities through what they see on television.
Additionally he writes that there are now many more representations of gender than the traditional 'gender binary'.
Key Theory 3 - Steve Neale - Theories around genre
Neale believes that genre us essentially instances of 'repetition and difference'. He suggested that texts need to conform to some generic paradigms to be identified within a certain genre - but must also subvert these conventions in order to not appear identical. Most media products repeat the same formula to appeal to people so they know what they're getting when they watch it.
Key Theory 2 - Narratology - Tzetan Todorov:
Todorov's theory is that within a narrative, the power is in a state of equilibrium. As the story progresses the state of equilibrium can change and develop.
Each narrative should start with initial equilibrium. However, the equilibrium is changed after disruption, resulting in a disequilibrium. The old equilibrium is broken, and therefore anew one must begin. This will repeat during the narrative until we reach a final equilibrium.
Key Theory 16 - George Gerbner - Cultivation Theory
Cultivations Theory: "The idea that prolonged and heavy exposure to [TV]... cultivates" , as in grows or develops in audiences "a view of the world consistent with the dominant or majority view expounded by television."
Outline of Cultivation Theory:
Television (and by extension other tools of mass media distributions) present a mainstream view of culture, ignoring everything else. In doing so, television (etc) distorts reality. Heavy television users are therefore likely to accept this edited and distorted view of reality.
Issues with the Cultivation Theory:
Not everyone watches excessive amounts of television.
While this theory may have been useful in the 1970s, with only three channels, the ridiculous amount of ways that we have of accessing media now challenges the idea that any ideology can be mainstream. The theory is less relevant now.
Key Theory 17 - Stuart Hall - Reception Theory
Preferred Reading:
The 'right' reading of a text, which can be enforced by positioning.
This concept has to be approached carefully: often texts intentionally have multiple meanings/readings, and of course, as we have discovered, audiences can potentially get whatever they want out of any media text.
Hall categorised audience response into three separate groups.
These groups can help us to understand whether or not an audience sticks to the preferred reading, or if they decide to make their own decisions as to how to decode a text.
The Hypodermic Needle Model:
The theory suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people directly and uniformly by 'shooting' or 'injecting' them with a desired response. They express the view that the media is a dangerous means of communicating an idea because the receiver or audience is powerless to resist the impact of the message. People are seen as passive and are seen as having a lot of media material 'shot' at them. People end up thinking what they are told because there is no other source of information.
Representation:
Re/Presentation. Re presenting something. e.g: re/peat, re/mix.
Representation is the ways in which a media product constructs the world and aspects in it, including social groups, individuals, issues and events.
Richard Dyer - The Role of Stereotypes
Stereotypes: A commonly held belief about a certain group of people.
Key Theory 7 - David Gauntlet - Theories of Identity
He believes that despite many negative perceptions of the media, audiences are capable of constructing their own identities through what they see on television.
Additionally he writes that there are now many more representations of gender than the traditional 'gender binary'.
Key Theory 3 - Steve Neale - Theories around genre
Neale believes that genre us essentially instances of 'repetition and difference'. He suggested that texts need to conform to some generic paradigms to be identified within a certain genre - but must also subvert these conventions in order to not appear identical. Most media products repeat the same formula to appeal to people so they know what they're getting when they watch it.
Key Theory 2 - Narratology - Tzetan Todorov:
Todorov's theory is that within a narrative, the power is in a state of equilibrium. As the story progresses the state of equilibrium can change and develop.
Each narrative should start with initial equilibrium. However, the equilibrium is changed after disruption, resulting in a disequilibrium. The old equilibrium is broken, and therefore anew one must begin. This will repeat during the narrative until we reach a final equilibrium.
Key Theory 16 - George Gerbner - Cultivation Theory
Cultivations Theory: "The idea that prolonged and heavy exposure to [TV]... cultivates" , as in grows or develops in audiences "a view of the world consistent with the dominant or majority view expounded by television."
Outline of Cultivation Theory:
Television (and by extension other tools of mass media distributions) present a mainstream view of culture, ignoring everything else. In doing so, television (etc) distorts reality. Heavy television users are therefore likely to accept this edited and distorted view of reality.
Issues with the Cultivation Theory:
Not everyone watches excessive amounts of television.
While this theory may have been useful in the 1970s, with only three channels, the ridiculous amount of ways that we have of accessing media now challenges the idea that any ideology can be mainstream. The theory is less relevant now.
Key Theory 17 - Stuart Hall - Reception Theory
Preferred Reading:
The 'right' reading of a text, which can be enforced by positioning.
This concept has to be approached carefully: often texts intentionally have multiple meanings/readings, and of course, as we have discovered, audiences can potentially get whatever they want out of any media text.
Hall categorised audience response into three separate groups.
These groups can help us to understand whether or not an audience sticks to the preferred reading, or if they decide to make their own decisions as to how to decode a text.
The Hypodermic Needle Model:
The theory suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people directly and uniformly by 'shooting' or 'injecting' them with a desired response. They express the view that the media is a dangerous means of communicating an idea because the receiver or audience is powerless to resist the impact of the message. People are seen as passive and are seen as having a lot of media material 'shot' at them. People end up thinking what they are told because there is no other source of information.
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