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Chapter 4: Theoretical Perspectives on Media Content part 2
Media Content Studies Literary Cri*cism
• Explores the different ways that texts can be analyzed and understood. • Draws our a:en;on to the various ways meaning might be drawn from texts (e.g., inten;ons of the author, influence of culture and society, personal history of the reader). • Auteur theory: analyzing texts through the presumed inten;ons of the author • New Cri;cism: analyzing texts through the text only, uncovering ambigui;es and mul;ple meanings
Media Content Studies cont. Structuralism and Post-‐structuralism
• Structuralism: discovering the underlying pa:erns that shape texts and genres • e.g. Propp’s folklore studies: All tradi;onal stories follow the same basic narra;ve structure and lexical elements.
Content Studies, cont.
Content Studies, cont. Post-‐structuralism: Meaning comes from the text and the decoder. • Meaning is never fixed; it changes from reader to reader. • Derrida: Signs have come undone and that signifiers can no longer be said to have specific ‘signifieds’. • Barthes: ‘The Death of the Author’-‐ Auteur theory is only one window on the reality of the text; never trust the author (inten;onal fallacy).
Content Studies, cont. Discourse Analysis • Examines language and the perspec;ve or ‘posi;on’ it gives us in the social world especially with respect to power. • How do pa:erns and conven;ons of language use shape our experience of the world, and how we act in it? (e.g. fireman vs. firefighter) • How do structure and format of specific media influence our percep;on of an event? • How do ways of thinking about the world become the rules and regula;ons that control our lives?
Content Studies, cont. Cri*cal Poli*cal Economy • Smythe: Media appears to serve the audience/public but in reality it serves its owners; adver;sing is not supplemental to media, it is media. • How do poli;cal and economic forces influence how the media represents the world to us?
Chomsky & Herman
Five media filters
1. media convergence 2. adver;sing control 3. sourcing 4. ‘flak’ 5. ideological ‘enemy’
1a. media convergence • there are nine top media corpora;ons globally that own and control: • news & TV outlets, • telecommunica;ons, • cable networks, • internet providers, • internet sites such as google and youtube, • movie theatres, • film distributors, etc.
1b. media convergence 2009
1. Disney 2. CBS 3. General Electric 4. News Corp 5. Time Warner
6. Viacom 7. Bertelsmann AG 8. Lagardère Group 9. Vivendi SA
These 9 media corporations own more than 90% of the global media market:
See “Who Owns What” at Columbia Journalism Review http://www.cjr.org/tools/owners/
2. advertising control • media are dependent on adver;sers • adver;sers buy programs and their specific audiences, and thereby control what is shown
• media that challenges the status quo will be shut down • e.g. WNET lost funding from Gulf+Western a`er airing “Hungry for Profit,” an an;-‐corporate documentary
• adver;sers avoid programs with serious poli;cal or social content that will not perpetuate the happy mood of shoppers
3a. media sources • for journalists, government and corporate spokespeople are considered reliable, dependable, truth-‐producing sources-‐-‐ despite the fact that they o`en are not
• government spends big money on PR to support the interests of the military, military contractors and corporate ‘sponsors of state terrorism’ (272) • e.g. in 1986, 60% of experts on terrorism on the ‘McNeil-‐Lehrer News Hour’ were government or former government officials; another 16% were from conserva;ve think tanks
3b. media sources • powerful poli;cal and corporate sources use leverage to keep cri;cs out of media by refusing to appear on the same show
• seldom are views from independent thinkers, centrist or le`ist posi;ons represented in mainstream media
4. media Flak • nega;ve response to media programs or ar;cles • most o`en mobilized by groups with substan;al resources e.g. government and corporate leaders
• Flak can be direct or indirect: • direct flak e.g. phone calls from government or ad agencies to news producers threatening retalia;on or asking for equal ;me
• indirect flak e.g. complaining to stakeholders about media, genera;ng an;-‐le`-‐media research, suppor;ng elec;on campaigns of conserva;ve poli;cians
5a. ideological control • during Cold War, ideological enemy of US was Communism • liberals, Human Rights and other social jus;ce ac;vists, and radicals were all labeled Communists & considered “enemies of the state”
• an;-‐Communism was used as ideological control, limi;ng poli;cal media content to that which supports the government, corpora;ons, and capitalism
5b. ideological control today • Terrorists are the ideological enemy today • George Bush’s statement, “Either you’re with us or you’re with the terrorists” is emblema;c of this
• Terrorism is used to label ac;vist groups, including: Muslim community organiza;ons, protest groups like Reclaim the Streets, environmental groups like Earth Libera;on Front
• Any group that challenges this view will not get air ;me, or will be depicted nega;vely
Genre or Media Form Analysis • Each genre has its own set of elements and structures of content; these constrain meaning.
The News Story • Criteria for newsworthiness: 1) simplifica;on; 2) drama;za;on; 3) personaliza;on; 4) themes and con;nuity; 5) consonance; and 6) the unexpected
Soap Operas • One of the most analyzed TV narra;ve genres. • Percep;on has shi`ed from trivial entertainment to legi;mate pas;me.
Genre or Media Form Analysis, cont. Music Videos • Promo;onal vehicle for the song • Significant aspect of popular culture and fashion industries
Reality TV • Various formats (e.g. ‘documentary’-‐style or constructed) • Low produc;on costs make it a:rac;ve to networks. • Shrinks distance between the world of television and the audience.
Genre or Media Form Analysis, cont. The Adver*sement • The main source of revenue for media • Causes media to tailor their content to a:ract certain audiences (and thus, adver;sers). • Causes media to design content to maximize ad placement and prominence. • Evolu;on from sa;sfying customer needs to crea;ng ‘needs’. • Types of adver;sing: broadcast, display, classified, ins;tu;onal, advertorials, product-‐placement, audience-‐sourced
Dove Real Beauty Campaign
research think about
• denota;on and connota;on in ad • underlying messages about women • corporate ethics
• find ads • research Dove and Unilever
Dove Real Beauty Challenge • Dove/Unilever’s ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’: ad campaign for skin products using non-‐tradi;onal models • Apparent messages: feminism and empowerment, self-‐esteem, challenging standard no;ons of female beauty
• Unilever: also produces Slim Fast, Axe deodorant, and Fair and Lovely skin-‐lightener • Dove ads remind audiences that being beau;ful is the most important thing for women • Focus on body rather than character • Dove s;ll wants to sell products
next week
Tuesday Oct 22
• midterm review • bring computers
• new assignment available • self-‐directed learning week
Thursday Oct 24
• midterm test (20%) • in room OA 1033
the week after next