This document provides an overview of techniques for analyzing television shows through a shot-by-shot analysis. It discusses various elements of the television text including camerawork, lighting, editing, sound, graphics, and mise-en-scène. For each element, it defines relevant terminology and explores how different technical choices can influence the mood, style, and meaning constructed for the viewer. The document aims to equip students with the basic understanding and vocabulary needed to closely examine how television shows are produced and can be interpreted.

1. CASESTUDY
Shot-by-Shot Glen
Analysis Creeber
All approaches the textuality of televisionwill rely
to (with the possibleexceptionsof Butler
[199a], Selby
on a basicunderstandingof sound and image and the and Cowdery [1995] and Bignell 12004])even cover
language used to discussthem. This is normally this sort offundamental analysis.This a greatshame
is
reGrred to as a 'shot-by-shot' analysisthat allows all as,in my view, too many television studentsare leav-
textual approachesto examine television in a suc- ing universities as skilled semioticiansbut without
cinct and universal manner whatever the particular knowing the difference bef,weena lbng shot and a
methodology employed. Unlike Film Studies (for close-up.
example, David Bordwell and Kristin Thompsont Karen Lury (2005) has recently examined the
Film Art: An Introduction 11990]),TelevisionStudies television text by breaking it down into four com-
hasbeensurprisingly poor at providingstudents with ponentsi.e.'Image','Sound','Time'and.Space'.This
a basic understanding of how to study and discuss is a useful way of looking at the different textual
the basic components of a television text. Indeed, it components of television and can provide a good f
is surprising how few introductions to television sourcefor further reading.However, for the pur"por. I

2. A n al ysi ng Telev is ion
of this section I will loosely followJohn Fiske,s
clas- a high-angle shot may encourage the viewer to feel
sic examination of television through ten major cat_ a sense of power over the action, a low-angle
shot
egories.According to Fiske,such an analysisshould may produce a sense of intimidation
or inferioriry
include examining these basic 'codes of television, for the viewer. Equally, an eye-level
shot might
(1987,4-r3): construct a sense of empathy and equality between
the viewer and the action.A shot,/reverse shot may
. Camerawork also be useful in these circumstances, a method by
. Lighting which two shots are edited together so as to follow
. Editing the dialogue in a conversarion.
. Sound and music Different types of lenses or focus can also be used
. Graphics in the construction of a shot.While a standard-lens
. Mise en scine shot tends to approximate the same depth of field
. Casting and proportions as you get in real life, the wide-
. Setting and costume angle shot and the telephoto lens can dramatically
. Make-up alter the senseof depth or point of view (for example,
. Action the telephoto lens can create a greater sense of
. Dialogue voyeurism).
. Ideologicalcodes Equally the use of focus in a scene car- create a
different style or mood. For example, soft focus may
Fiske'sinventory can act as a good checklist when heighten the sense of romance in a scene while deep
writing an essayand it is certainly important to focus (where everything is equally in focus) is more
understand these categoriesin some detail before likely to be used to create a sense of realism. Shallow
embarking on your own analysis. focus (where parts of the scene are in focus and oth-
ers are not) may be used to suggest a sense of docu_
CAMERAWORK mentary realism (where focus is traditionally harder
To be able to discussthe camerawork that disrin- to control) or used to direct a viewer's attention ro a
gu.ishes piece of television is clearly an important
a particular object or piece ofaction.
first step in applying textual analysis to the small Finally, the rype of camera used can influence the.
screen.For example,the size of a shot can clearly style and feel of a piece of television. For example, a
influence how a particular sceneor piece ofaction is hand-held carnera or Steaficam (a camera that is
portrayed.'V/hile a long shot (or extreme long strapped to the body of a cameraman) is often used
shot) may make the viewer feel distant from the in documentaries because it is lighter and generally
action (this is why it is sometimesused as an estab- easier to manoeuvre than other types of camera that
lishing shot i.e. a shot that establishes where the might operate on a crane, dolly (a wheeled carrrera
action is to take place),a medium shot (sometimes support) or tracks (known as tracking). However,
known as a head-and-shoulders shot), close-up when employed in drama a hand-held camera might
(or extreme close-up) can encouragethe viewer,s produce a great sense of realism because its shaky,
sense of intimacy with what is raking place on seemingly unrehearsed sryle gives a greater impression
screen.Similarly a point-oGview shot (i.e. when that the events on screen are taking place sponta-
the camerasimulatesthe perspectiveof a particular neously. This effect may be extenuated with whip
character)may encouragethe viewert identification pans i.e. when a carr.era moves so fast that there is
with an individual in the story to see it'through momentarily a loss of focus.
their eyes'. The choice between filrn stock (for example,
The angle of a shot is also important in the way fine or grainy) may also alter the general look and
in which it constructsthe acrion.For example,while feel of a piece of television.'While fine film stock

3. Cathy Come Home: Long shot (LS)
Medium shot (MS)
Close-up (CU) or head-and_shoulders
shot Extreme close-up (XCU)
may denote 'quality drama' a documentary
feel is modern TV this now usually involves
more likely to be achieved with a slightly more than
more three lights but the basic principles
gralny stock. remain the same,
producing an evenly iighted scene.As
such, any devi_
ation from this norm generally produces
LIGHTING a strikins or
unusual efrect. For example, if a subject
The way a certain scene is lit can is iit priira_
often add to the rily from below (underlighting)
mood or the style of a piece of television. it may ...ate a
To put it more sinisrer effect while being
crudely, very low lighting can produce lit primarily from
, ,o_tr" o, behind (backlighting)
depressing mood while very high can creace a-grearer sense of
lighting can add mysrery.
to a feeling of gaiety or optimism.
In g.rr.."l practrce The choice berween soft lighting
a grear deal ofTV uses three_point and hard
lighting when lightingcan also make a difference to aicene..Whije
a subject is lit from three sources,
one light provides soft lighting can enhance the warmth
ihe main source, one light fills in of a scene,hard
the ,h"do*, ,rra lighting tends to procluce the sort
one lisht is placed behind the subject. of harshness nrore
Of course, rn commonly associated with documentary
realism. A

4. A n a lysing Te levisio n 41
badly lit sequence with little contrast may also (eating, talking, ironing, and reading and so on) it
enhance the documentary feel of a scene, as docu- relies heavily on sound. Theme tunes, continuity
mentary-makers usually have to rely on the light that announcements, news readers, voice-over cornmen-
is available to them.'While in documentary a badly lit tary sound effects and so on all try to capture our
scene may be unavoidable, in drama it is probably attention in a space where there is much (unlike the
done deliberately so as to produce a greater sense of darkened arena of a cinema or theatre) to distract us
actuakty (see Chapters 4 and 5). (see Chapter 1). As Rick Alcman puts it, the sound-
track of a television prognmme continually shouts
EDITING to us:'Hey, you, come out of the kitchen and watch
of (Channel
As everyex-participator BigBrother 4, this!' (cited by Seiter, 1992:45).Tttts is not only true
1,999-) seems to agree, editing plays an enormous in the case of the most obvious musical sequences
role in the way a viewer may interpret a piece of tel- (think of the pounding drums that signif' the begin-
evision. Editing can be done live (or'as live') with ning or end of EastEnders p8C,1985*]) but also in
multiple carneras or at the stage of post-production. less obvious places (think of the loud thumping
Certainly in the Blg Brother house a post-production sound that accompanies the digital clock display as
editing process not only selects the action that its the seconds tick by in 24 lFox,2001-l).
producers think is important, but it is pieced together While all sound clearly needs to be analysed,
in such a way that a story or narrative is constructed, perhaps music is often the point where it is most
often complete with heroes, villains, love stories and obvious or powerfrrl. Music can transform the moving
cliff-hangers.'While chronological editing (some- image, making it more dramatic, moving or exciting.
times referred as continuity editing) characterises You don't have to be a musicologist to have opinions
the live coverage of the Blg Brother house, cross- about the sort of music being used or the reasons
cutting betlveen scenes in the edited highlights can why it has been chosen. Flowever, you can be sure
not only speed up the action and add suspense but that music is rarely accidental as it can so clearly play
can also manipulate how certain participants are a crucial role in the overall style and mood that aTV
portrayed. programme is trying to create (see Lury 2005:
How t'"vo scenes are edited together may also 57-e4).
have an effect on viewer perception. For example, a In terms of terminology,diegetic sound or
dissolve between shots may produce a seamlessfeel music means that it is clearly meant to be coming
while a jump cut (an abrupt cut between scenes) is from a sourcewithin the story or scene. example,
For
sometimes used to emphasise the juxtaposition of in EastEnders may hear a pop song on the juke-
you
scenes. Although more usual in drama, Big Brother box in the pub or from the radio in the cafii.
may also employ flashbacks (i.e. a scene &om the However, when the music or sound arrives apparendy
past that cornments in some way on the action taking from'nowhere' then it is non-diegetic i.e. the music
place in the present) and even rnontage (a number or sound has no recognisablesource within the
ofscenes quickly edited together) to create a sense of narrative world (seeButler, 1994: 204). Of course,
dramatic action (asin a housemate's'bestmoments'). sometimesit is the lack of music or sound that is
Montage, for example, is often used inTV advertising notable,perhapsapparentin a drama that is hoping
and music videos where a greater sense of intensiry to capture a greater senseof documentary realism.
and information needs to be constructed within a This may be the reason why a soap opera like
strictly limited rime. EastEnders rarely usesnon-diegetic music,asto do so
would risk breaking the form of realismthat it strives
SOUND MUSIC
AND so hard to achieve. However. this doesnot mean that
Because television is a domestic medium and diegetic music is not frequently used for effect
inevitably broadcasts while we are doing other things because clear is.
it

5. Tele-Visions
a2
Teelwiqte Effect
Establishing shot (ES) Usually setsthe scene (e.g.a shot of the house where the actlon
takesplace)
Long shot (LS) Distancing, removed, neutral (often used in an establishing shot
to set the scene)
Extreme long shot (XLS) Distant, removed
Close-up (Ct) (head-md-shouldersshot) Intimacy, empathy
Extreme-close uP (XCLJ) Emotion, drama,a vital moment
Shot/reverseshot (SRS) Creating a dialogue between two people
High-angle shot (HAS) Domination, power, authority
'Weakness, powerlessness
Low-mgle shot (LAS)
Eye-level shot (ELS) Equality, empat
Point-of-view shot (POS (usuailysimulating a characterbview Individual perspective
of a scene)
Wide-angle lens Dramatic
Standrd lens normality
Everydayness,
Telephoto lens Voyeurrsm
Soft focus Romance
Deep-focus (everything is ir focus) Everydayness,normality
Shallow focus (a sceneonly partially in focus) Draws attention -'look at this'
Three-point lighting (a subject is lit three ways) Normality
Low-key lighting (or chiaroscuro) griry
Sombre,depressing,
Underiighting (light sourcefrom below) Sinister
Backlighting (ight sourcefrom behind) Mysterious, enigrnatic
Soft lighting Complimentary, warmth
Hard lighting Realistic, gritty
Fine film stock Natural, everydayness
Grainy film stock Documentary realism
Hand-held camera (Steadicam) Shaky, documentary realism
Vhip pan (momentary lack of focus) Documenmry real.ism
efited together) Ailowing one sceneto coment on the action of mother
Cross-cutting (two scenes
Dissolve Continuity
Jump cut Jutaposition
Flashback(a sceneftom the Past) Narrative and temporal dePth
Montage Action, intensiry drama
Diegetic music,/sound(from an identifiable source in the Realistic
narrative)
Non-diegetic music/sound (not from an identifiable source Dramatic and emotionai
in the narrative)
Figure 2. A Summary of TelevisionTechniquesand Their Potential Effects.
Adaptedftom Sefu andCowdery(995:57).
GRAPHICS increasingly foregrounded in the television image.
One aspect of television not mentioned by Fiske Indeed, printed words and graphic images increasingly
(1987) in gre t deal ofdetail is its use ofgraphics' determine the look, style and meaning of a television
^
Graphics have always been important to television, image..Whether graphic images are responsible for a
look at any old newsreel and you will see maps, whole set (as is often the case in modern news
diagrams and tables constantly being employed as a programrnes) or are superimposed over the image
form of illustration. Flowever, in more recent years (sometimes running, for example, along the bottom
cotnputer- of the screen), television increasingly uses graphic
ftrarticularly since the introduction of
generated images [CGI]), graphics have become images and written text to add meaning and style to

6. A n al ysi n g T elev is ion 43
Like sound and music we may
all of its programmes. ignore the inevitable differences that exist between
not alwaysbe aware of graphics being used (how different societies and the sometimes subde differ-
often, for example,do you even notice a channel's ences by which individuals and different audiences
logo in the corner of the screen?), but to ignore determine their own meanings (see Chapter 6).This
them in analysisis to leave out a hugely influential is one of the greatest problems with textual analysis,
element by which meaning is clearly produced. its apparent willingness to predetermine and categorise
all rmeaning for all viewets. Nevertheless, it is hoped
MISE SCEIVE
EN that such a table simply helps the student to isolate
A11 these elements (and more) of composition are and undersand some of the ways in which a particular
generally referred to as the mise en scDtte.
Originally technique may effect and influence a viewer's reading
a theatre term meaning'staging', it simply refers to of the text.
everything that can be seen on the screen (see Figure 5 can certainly tell us a great deal about
Corner, 1.999:31). According to Jeremy G. Butler, the television sound and image..While not trying to
'mise en scine thss includes all the objects in front of determine universal meanings between'technique'
the camera and their arrangements by the director and'effect', it does reveal how there is inevitably a
and his or her minions. In short, mise en scine is the strong relationship benveen the rr;vo.For example, it
organisation of setting, costuming, lighting a;nd actor explicitly reveals how realisrn is always as construct-
mouement' (1994:101).It is, therefore, a usefirl term ed a televisual form as fantasy, and that all forms of
when trying to describe or locate the overall style or programming construct the viewer's point ofview in
composition of a prograrnrne or a particular such a way that meaning (if not predetermined) is
sequence. For example, the general mise en scine was clearly being manipulated. It is the job of textual
dark and gloomy, bright and optimistic and so on. analysis to reveal that process of manipulation, and
while it may not always be'accruate'in its assessment
CONCLUSION (or empirically verifiable in its results), it can clearly
It can take time and practice to get used to these remind us of the potential ways in which that
terms, but Figure 5 may provide a crude but useful manipulation can operate.While it needs to be used
sumrnary of some of the major points.This table is with great care, textual analysis provides us with a
inevitably reductive and simplistic.The codes and form and language through which the possible
conventionsoftelevision vary greatly under different results of that manipulation can be analysed, dis*
cultural, historical and economic systems. sayA *
To cussed and debated.
B : C in terms of television sound and imaqe is to

7. lssues ldeology Discourse
of and
GlenCreeber
One nation/under god/has turned into/one nation way of seeing the world that is articulated through
under the influence of one drug - television, the language, imagery gesture, metaphor and so on. The
drug of the nation . . . term ideology first appeared in post-revolutionary
France at the end of the eighteenth century to simply
'Television, the Drug of the Nation', The
mean 'a science of ideas' (see Cormack , 1992:9),but
Disposable Heroes of HiphoPrisy.
the notion of ideology that we understand today
owes most to the definition of the concept originally
This chapter could have centred on many forms of outlined by classical Marxistn. In particular, Karl
television analysis ranging from semiotics, psycho- Marx (who established the fundamental principles of
analysis, narrative theory genre study and so on (see Communism in work such as The Communist
Chapter 2). However, the reason why ideology was Manifesto [1848] written with Friedrich Engels) used
chosen over all other forms of analysis is because it the term to describe the way in which those in
plays such an important role in almost every other power distort meaning.
approach. Critiques such as semiotics and narrative According to classical Marxism, capitalist socie-
theory clearly rely on fundamental notions ofideology ty is profoundly unjust, constructed in such a way
to offer conclusions about texrual signification, while that only the ruling class (or bourgeoisie) benefits
matters of institutional and political theory would economically from its form and structure. In partic-
be of little use without its conceptual underpinnings. ular, it argues that the bourgeoisie (owners of the
Despite ideology becoming rather unfashionable in 'means of production'i.e. factories and other indus-
recent years for its sometimes deterministic tries) exploits the working class (or proletariati-e-
approach to the television text and context (hence the workers who sell their labour power) for
the rise of discourse theory - see below), ideology economic gain, a social imbalance that is reflected in
remains an important concept around which televi- all aspects of capitalist society.The bourgeoisie man-
sion has been formed and discussed. ages to retain this supremacy over the proletariat by
making the economic inequalities in society look
WHAT IDEOLOGY?
IS perfectly normal and unchangeable. It is ideology
A simpledefinitionof ideologyis di{Ecult it
because that does this, distorting the profound inequalities
is a complex and higtrly contested term. But at its of capitalist society until they appear completely
most basic level ideology refers to the ideas and natural.
beliefs by which human beings come to understand For Marx, the base (i.e. the economic strucrures
the world and their place in it. There are, of course, upon which a society is based) directly determines
different ideologies that attempt to explain the world the superstructure (i.e. the legal, political, religious,
to us (religious, political, philosophical and so on), aesthetic, cultural, moral and philosophical ideolo-
but whatever form it takes, ideology is a particular gies) around which a society operates. As Marx and

8. D e c oding T ele vision 45
Engels famously put it in The German Ideology (1'998 1. Ideology is a false (or at least distorted) way of
[orig. pub. 1845]:67): seeing the world of social relations (i.e. the ways
in which people, or groups of people, interrelate
The ideas ofthe ruling classare in every epoch the with each other).
ruling ideas:i.e., the classwhich is the rultng materi- 2. lt is based on the economic and social structure
aI force of society is at the same time its niling intel- of society, to the extent that it is seen as arising
Iectualforce.The classwhich has the means of mate- naturally from that structure. Thus the economic
rial production at its disposal,consequently also con- structure ofsociety gives rise to a parricular social
trols the means of mental production, so that the structure and out of this ideology emerges.
ideas of those who lack the means of mental pro- 3. It is linked only to the dominant fruling] class in
duction are on the whole subiect to it. society, which attempts to impose its ways of see-
ing the world on to the subordinate classes.
As this suggests,ideology normalisesthe dominant 4. Its essential character is to present as natural, and
ideas of the ruling class until they become accepted almost God given, a form of society which sys-
by all sections of society as perfectly natural. An tematically works in favour of a few (those who
example of the way the dominant ideology might profit from the organisation of society by being in
'naturalise' societal norms is the notion behind'the the dominant class), against the interests of the
divine right of kings'. Such a concept decrees that majority (those whose work supports the domi-
God has chosen certain families to rule and so their nant class but who do not themselves greatly
power and wealth is beyond question or dispute. profit by this work).
Similarly, when the Christian hyrrrn, AII Things Bright 5. It is thus not a conspiracy invented by the domi-
and Beautiful,originally included the lines:'The rich nant class,but rather a way of seeing the world
man in his casde/The poor man at his gatelHe made which even the members of the dominant class
them high or lowly,/And ordered their estate', it gave see only as natural.
the impression that different levels of social class are
actually ordained by a higher power. Seen in this light, Changes have clearly taken place in the contempo-
the hymn proposed an ideology that attempted to rary notion of ideology (see below), but this original
explain and naturalise the huge differences in wealth conception of ideology undoubtedly influenced a
that exist in sociery as literally God giuen. Indeed, great deal ofTelevision Studies, particularly its early
Marx famously proclaimed that religion is'the opium development.
of the people' (Man<, 1982: 131), meaning that religion
'While
dulls the pain caused by oppression. the APPLYING IDEOLOGY TELEVISION
TO
Christian notion of eternal damnation makes the pro- For the purpose Srudies is important
ofTelevision it
letariat fearfirl of breaking social norms, the promise to understand the role that TV (and the media in
of a heavenly reward keeps them satisfied with the general) plays in maintaining the ideological power
hardships they experience in their present life. of the bourgeoisie.Although Marx himself said very
For Marxists, all social institutions (not only reli- litde about the media (of course, television was not
gion, but also the government, the law the media even invented during his lifetime), Marxists today
and so on) construct a similarly distorted view of the would argue that it is crucial that television critics
world. From a classical Marxist perspective, the pro- examine the means by which the medium reflects
letariat live in a state of 'alienation'or'false con- the views and concerns of the ruling class. They
sciousness', constantly denied real insight into the might argue, for example, that TV quiz and game
true nature of their own exploitation. Mike shows validate and perpetuate the materialist aspects
Cormack has recendy summed up these major of capitalist society with their expensive prizes and
points (2000: 94): huge cash wins.They might also argue that they help

9. f5
Tele-Visions
to create the misleading illusion that great wealth is out colour discrimination, faithfirlly serve under her
arrailable to all members of the public regardless of flag' [ibid:116]) essentially offers an ideological
their social class,reinforcing the misconception that critique.
knowledge (and skill) always produces high rewards This belief in the ideological structure of culture
(see Fiske, 7987:266). and storytelling was also reflected in aspects of struc_
This classically Marxist notion of ideology was turalist narrative theory (see Chapter 2).
clearly reflected in the critique oftelevision offered According ro Tzveran Todorov (1977), narratlve
in the 1930s and 1940s by the Frankfurt School. structure is not, in itself, either radical or conserya_
The Frankfurt School was one of the first groups of tive. However, more than likely the narrative struc_
intellectuals to take television seriously and used a tures common in any given sociery are usually used
Marxist understanding of society to explain the to perpetuate the status quo. For example, narrative
medium's role in forming important aspects of capi_ theory has argued that we do not come to under_
talist ideology. In particular, they coined the term stand the world innocently but learn to see it
'cultural industries'to suggest the way that mod_ through a system of opposites. In the history of
ern capitalist societies produce some forms of culture 'Western
thought these'binary oppositions, might
like mass-pro duced commodllies.'Whereas high culture include 'good versus evil', 'mind versus matter',
like classical literature and classical music possessed 'speech versus
wriring','man versus woman', .white
artistic integriry mass (-produced) culture like news_ versus black','-West
versus East' and so on. Flowever,
papers, magazines, popular music, pulp fiction, radio, these binary oppositions are not defined equally but
television etc. churned out standardised and formu_ hierarchically i.e. the second term is usually seen as a
laic cultural products, simply designed to keep the corrulttion of the first.This means that the very struc_
masseshappy and deluded in their exploitation (see tures by which
we understand the world are inher_
the Introduction). For Theodor Adorno, .the con_ ently ideological i.e. white is superior to black, man
cepts of the order which it [the culture industry] is superior to woman, theWest is superior to the East
hammers into human beings are always those of the and so on.
status quo'. Its effects are profound andfar reaching, These binary opposirions have important impli_
'the power of the culture industryt ideology is such cations for ideological analysis. For example, televi_
that conformity has replaced consciousness'(1991: sion news
may be seen as construcling images of the
e0). political world that works on the binary opposition
Classical Marxist notions of ideology were alsoat of 'us'and'them'. For American
and European tele_
the very heart of structuralism and semiotics (see vision this could
mean presenting the West as .good,,
Chapter 2). Roland Barthes' famous semiotic 'fair' and just' and the
East as .chaotic,,,untrustwor_
account of culture in Mythologies (1973 [orig. pub: thy'and even'evil', as this small list of binary
oppo_
19571 clearlycould not have been conceivedwith_ sitions revealg with reference
to the media coveraqe
out incorporating this type of social critique into irs of the Iraq war (cited
by Lacey,2000: 69):
analysis.Put crudely, Barthes argues that ,myth, is
simply the illusion by which ideology is presentedto
We They
the world asnatural.According Barthes,
to a.conjur_
Our missilescduse. . . Their missilesmuse. . .
ing trick hastaken place;it [myth] hasturned realicy
' We ...
inside out, it has emptied it of history and has filled They . .
Precision bomb Fire widely at anything in the skies
it with nature . . .' (1973: 1.42).So when Barthes
C*oryeBush is . . . SaddamHussein is . . .
analyses Paris-Match
a cover photograph of a young At peace
with himself Demented
black soldier salutingthe French flag, his description Resolute Defiant
of the mythological 'connotarions' of its message Statesmanlike An evil tyrant
(that'F.rance a great empire,that all her sons, Assured A crackpot monster
is with_

10. D e c oding T ele vision 47
Similarly, the general structure of storytelling This kind of stereotlping is another example of
(order/disorder/order suggests how ideology naturalisesculture, creating distorted
restored) implicitly
that things should (and will always) remain as they myths about different social/national/racial groups.The
are. In a world of immense poverty, famine, war and word stereotype rvas originally a printing term, derived
hardship, the fictional happy endings consistently from the processrvhere rorvs ofrype rvere Literally fixed
produced by the big and small screen suggest that on a plate (ca1led
the'stereowpe') s.hich then makesan
everything will eventually turn out well, that sociery impression on paper.So the term implies nonotonous
is essentially just and fair. In this narrative universe regularity - eachpageprinted from a stereorypeis exarf-
cowboys with white hats wiil always succeed over stereotypes
ly the same.Asthis suggests, enforce a form
the ones in black hats, and good (as it is defined by of rigid uniformirv on whole groups, simpLifting indi-
the dominant ideology) will always triumph over vidual characteristics into social and ideological clich6s
evil. Flowever, the notion of 'good' and'evil'project- - examples might include the savageRed Indian, the
ed by such narratives is inevitably biased.Just ask the black mugger, the Islamic terrorist, the Asian shop-
Native Americans who were so often caricatured in keepeq the nagging wife and so on.
-Westerns as biood-thirsty, cunning sav- Television is particular susceptible to the use of
Hollywood
ages(seeWright. 1975). stereotypes because the medium often needs to
AreYou Being Serued?:
stereotypes are commonplace onTV

11. fa
Tel e-V i si ons
establishcharacter almost instantly
before consequently,such a critique of
encelosesinterestand switches i" Td- the media tends to
over or off (think, for .o.r."irr. ,cultural
example' of the kind of stereotyping as passive dupes, that
",rar.rr..,
often used in are unable to see
television advertising)''while beyond their ideorogicalmanipula-
somei"imesharmless, rion. This
stereotypes alsobe damaging kind of approach to Media
can and sociallydivisive often been Studies has
(see Perkins' 1979)' rn particular, referred to as.the hypodermic
-bullet
Richard Dyer 1o.'mugi" needle,
(1977: 30) argues that stereotypes theory,) approach becausethe
often work by media aL seen
'splitting' i'e' dividing people as having a dircctinfluence on
so that we inevitably individuar, the
havethosethathavedonethestereotypingand,those asif a hypodermic needle (or,bunet,)
had
been put'i...rty into their veins to administer
that havebeen stereofyped'This, a
or.o,rrrJ, leadsto a
classic binary opposition befween.us,"rrd,th._,; drog (see w.illiams, 2003: 171_2).
or* -i.rd-"lt.ri.rg
Such an .ppi.*f, tends to treat
'normaliry'is reinforced by placing the public aspassiue
anyoneseenout- consumers,
side our norm as lstrange' who are never abre to ,""a against
or'suspicious'. For exam- grain the
ple, critics havearguedthat this or form their own opinions.
-;;;.;';;".
was often the casein -
early TV portrayals of homosexuals also questioned the economic
that tended to deterrninism
either portray gay and lesbian of the dominant ideology theory
charactersas evil or arguing
objects of ridicule (see'for example' rtr", orrr.. ideorogiesmay also
exist that are
capsuto, 2000). ,rot ,tri.ay reriant
The ideology hidden itt on Marxt economic moder.
is thereforeoften p".ti.ol"., it In
't"t"orypt' h", b".., argued that the Marxist
obses-
,t."*,i',".," .,",,
ilil ffiffitff:|ffi;# *-H;;:I y
dominant orideology p.oc.,,.-''"*
ignores rorms
other orideolo
curture i,,th"
whatever approach I il:::T:.?:1,':::ffiL,'#i"fl,i:ff:".:T;
to ideology fou take it will
that if there is a'farseconsciousness,then
usually involve similar issues there is arso
of reptesentation. clearly a'true consciousness,. It is a concept that is
:h:':il* ,;';:":::;il#:;:?:f.;*#.:1, "., .'r--0""*erouslv
,otari,arian arso
but
appearing philosophically limited
risks
re-presents reality i.e. it construcb and naive (see
fro- p-ri.;,;;Jp..ti,,. "ro "rn..rr-ttot t'%H'f:t,;",,,
" or pointo,-.*lF,T
does not just take place in the explicit political various
Marxist
criricshave
bias .*.-nL ;;;r*.. or explain theseapparentprob_
endemic in factualTV programmes
such asnews and lems with the classical
current afFairs'
although clearly this is an important notion of ideology. Roland
Barthes, for example, accepted
source of ideological distortion (see that resistancecan
below)' It also take place
clearly takesplace in apparently the dominant ideology.
-Frowever,
lesspolitically moti- he argued"*;* resistanceis
tiat
vated genres such as soap opera only a'owed to take
(see,for example, plr..
Mumford' 1995)'the TV action series a form of.inocuration, against
(see, exam- ", greater
for threats.Just as a disease
ple' Buxton' 1990)'the police show like porio is prevented by
(see, example,
for injectin! tirry
clarke'1986)andthesitcom(see,forexample,wagg, of it into the boay (thereby
" "-oort
i--rrrrili.r*,t. patient), so sociefy allows a
1998)'rrom this perspective, sma'
television consistently amount of resist;
'naruralises'the around forever
world us, t.rrrrrrrg
id.- counteract
."rrnl:,tJ';:r#:fJffitt#,
ological biasinto a seemingly'r
atural' represerr]ao.r. ,rr[j:
immunizes th" .orrt.*t of the conective
imagination
RE_THINKING means of a small inocularion of
IDEOIOG' acknowledged
classical
Marxist'otio,,,
ofideology not
have been;:1ffi"H"*;',it
without criticism'
In particular lvr"ot original con- iff1i1;,1'HTl*;
managed to continue the drug
ception of ideology allowed metaphor that
little or tto fo, tvtarxilts rr"a
resistance against the -o- to religion, but added a con-
dominant ideology. "ppr*a
venient and prausibletwist that
explained how and

12. De codi n g Telev is ion 49
why capitalistsociety allows resistance take place
to operates.Although dominant interests will prevail for
(see Fiske,t987:39). most of the tirne, Gramsci argued that there are
The Algerian critic Louis Althusser also added places within society where real dissent is felt and
more complexity to Marx's original conception of heard (seeTony Bennett et aI. 1992). Contesting the
ideology, particularly in his most famous essay, original Marxist notion that ideology is simply a
'Ideology and Ideological StateApparatuses' (1971). reflection of the economic base of sociery Gramsci
Most crucially,Althusser investigatedthe notion of argued that ideology exists in a form ofbothJorce and
subjectiuity great deal more than Marx, drawing on
a consent.In other words, ideology may control society
the work of the structural anthropologist L6vi- but how it does so is frequendy a matter of negoti-
Strauss and the post-Freudian developmentsin psy- ation (see Gramsci, 1971). Consequently, ideology is
choanalysis. argued that ideology cannot simply
He always a complex system of domination, resistance
be explainedthrough economic determinantsalone, and compromise. As Michael O'Shaughnessy puts it
nor is it something simply imposed forcefully on the in 'Box Pop: Popular Television and Hegemony'
passive Instead,ideo-
individual by the ruling class. (1990: 89-90):
logical state apparatuses (ISAs such as religion,
education,politics,the law,the family,media and cul- 'Hegemony' recognises the role of the subordinate
ture) function in favour of the dominant ideology by groups in producing ways of 'making sense' of the
'interpellating' (or'hailing') us as individuals (see that the'hegemony'or power of
world. It suggests
Althusser, 1971). the dominant groups can only be maintained
AsJohn Fiske(1992a) points out, the implication through a struggle and tension between dominant
ofAlthusser'swork is that ideology is not a'static set and subordinate groups. Out of this struggle, ways of
of ideas through which we view the world, but a 'making sense' of the world are produced which
dynamic social practice, constantly in process, con- both groups contribute to and can agree with.What
stantly reproducingitself in the ordinary workings of this means is that although the interests of the two
theseapparatuses. alsoworks at the micro-level of
It groups are fundamentally opposed they have found
the individual' (287-8). Consequendy,Althusser con- a way of living in harmony or consent because the
cluded that we should see ideology as part of the subordinate groups have won enough concessionsto
very fabric by which we understand ourselves as make them accept their domination while the dom-
subjects, the very meansby which we articulateand inant groups' overall structural power base is main-
'We can conse-
construct our personal identities. tained. As long as this is not challenged the subordi-
quendy never step outside ideology as classical nate grouPs can continue to win more and more
Marxism may havesuggested because subjectis a
the concessionsand have an effect on the constitution of
socialconstruction, a natural one. Like Barthes,
not the resulting state of hegemony.
then,Althusserdoesnot criticise Marx explicitly but
attempts to explain, in detail, the means by which The influence of Gramsci and Althusser on
ideology continues to retain control over individuals British Cultural Studies during the late 1970s saw a
within modern capitalist societies. resurgence in the use of ideology in the humanities
Althusser's understanding of ideology patly generally. This was particularly spear-headed by the
grew out of the work of the Italian Marxist Antonio work done at the Universiry of tiirmingham's
Gramsci, who also developedMarxt original con- Centre for Cultural Studies (CCCS) under the lead-
ception of ideology in books such as The Prison ership of Stuart Hall (see,for example, Hail, 1982).
Notebooks (written between the years 1929 and Gramscian notions of ideology certainly influenced
1935). In particular, Gramsci employed the term Hall's ground-breaking article 'Encoding and
'hegemony'to explain the complex and sophisticat- Decoding in Television Discourse' (1980a)
ed system of power that modern capitalist sociery that attempted to reveal how all television texts are

13. 5l
Tele_Visions
'polysemic'i.e. they can be read by audiences in a little too narrow in its focus. As the clear_cut
binary
nurnber of ways. Such an approach to television
oppositions of the Cold'War began to break
down,
clearly revealed how audiences do sometimes
accepr so the race, class and gender wars also seemed
the 'dorninant' to be
reading of a programme. Flowever. acquiring more complicated cultural patterns.
Hall went on to argue that they can also resist This
that appeared to be reflected in a growing interest
'encoded' interpretation, offering .negotiated, rn
or 'identity politics'that, while still interesred
'oppositional"decodings, in social
in their place (see Hall, class,also focused more on issues of gender,
sexuali_
1980a).
ry ethniciry nadonal identiry and so on. As the fem_
It was Hall's article that arguably inspired the rise
inist mantra 'the personal is political, appeared
of audience studies, which became increasingly to
suggest, critics argued that we were now living
popular inTelevision, Film and Media Studies in a
in the world where more than just brutal economics
1980s and 1990s (seeChapter 6).'!Vhen it was could
recog_ determine human consciousness.
nisedjust how active audiences could be at decod_
Originating in socio_linguistics, discourse the_
ing programmes the notion of a dominant ideology
ory proved particularly attractive to this new
indoctrinating devel_
all viewers in the exact same way opment in Cultural Studies. Discourse theory
seemed overly simplistic (see Chapter 2). However, argues
that there are a number of different .discourses,
Hall's notion of a 'preferred' reading was eventually at
work within sociefy at any one time, aclively
criticised for suggesting rhat the critic could ever con_
be structing the world around us and making
sure which reading was preferred or that there sense of
was and reproducing realiry by fixing meanirigs.
even one preferred reading at all. Despite grandng These
discourses might include institutional
audiences with the power to offer various readings discourses
of such as legal, medical, educational, journalisric
a text, his notion ofa.preferred,reading still or
suggest_ even popular discourses such as pop music,
ed that there was a'dominant ideology, at work, siang,
even regional dialects and so on. So, although
if resistance to it could take place (see Morley, these dis_
19g0). courses are not ideologically neutral and
do fix
Ideological analysis was certainly losing favour
meaning, they are not seen as dominant
or eternal,
during the 1980s and 1990s with critics
like neither are they always economically determined
Nicholas Abercrombie arguing that once academrcs
(see Chapter 2).
abandoned the very notion of a dominant ideology
Michel Foucault is particularly associated
that ideological analysis itself was redundant (see with
the origins of discourse analysis in Cultural
Abercrombie et aI., 1980). Meanwhile, Studies,
Martin his work investigating the means by which
Barker's Comics: Ideology,power and the Critics (19g9) different
discourses influence the social production
of mean_
continued to develop the classicalnotion ofideol_
ing.Through his post-structuralist (see Chapter 2)
ogy by introducingVolosinov's notion of dialogism critiques of sociery he showed how legal,
into the debate. Instead ofconceiving ideology medical
as a and even sexual discourses fix the way in which
one-way process, Barker argued that ideorogy the
treatment of crime, illness and deviancy have
forms a 'dialogue' between text and reader (see been
dealt with over time, influencing the way definirions
Chapter 2).
such as'sane' and'insane' and even .good,
and,evil,
The problems associared with ideology and
the have been historically constructed (see Foucault,
shift in the political climate generally towards
the 1984).As Danaher et al. putit (2000:6):
right (Thatcherism in Britain, Reaganism in
the US
and the general decline in Communism, particularly
Foucault was far more interested in, and receptive
the collapse of the BerlinWall in 19g9) may to,
partly work, which, instead of trying to understand
explain the unpopularity of ideological analysis the
after 'one and only' truth of things, tried to ,historicise,
the mid-1980s. In particular, the healy attention
of the dilGrent kinds of rrurh, knowledge, rationaliry
Marxist theory on social class was now regarded
as a and reason that had developed in cultures.

14. 51
D e c oding T ele vtston
per-
banal and apolitical without its insightful critical
For many critics, then, the problems associated
by the spective (see Morris, 1990)'
with earlier notions of ideology are eased
treat ide-
flexibility of discourse theory that does not
ever present and FEMINIST TELEVISION CRITICISM IDEOLOGY
AND
ology as completely dominant,
as - A BRIEF OVERVIEW
timeless. Not every text is driven as ideologically influ-
not even Notionsof ideology discourse clearly
and have
every other and sometimes ideology may investi-
enced a great deal ofTelevision Studies'The
be the best way to approach a particular programme
to gation of class, race and gender have particularly
or genre at all. However, it would be misleading social
ideo- benefi.ted from the systematic analysis of
suggest that discourse theory entirely replaces
of identity that
is still an stereoq4)es and constructed forms
fogi.A ana$sis, for many critics ideology for
just not the such approaches have to offer' However, simply
important aspect of discourse analysis,
Media the purpose of this section I will concentrate on
only one. As Norman Fairclough puts it in small
(7995:47): feminist critiques of television, to provide a
Discourse
issues
case study by which I can illustrate how these
have specifically influenced at least one area of tex-
My view is that media discourse should be regard-
as
contradictory tual and cultural debate within Television Studies
ed as the site of complex and
including ideological processes'Ideology a whole.
processes,
Feminist interpretations of the media began rn
should not be seen as a constant and predictable
'second-
earnest during a period now known as
presence in all media discourse by definition'
wave feminism'. While 'first-wave feminism' is
Rather, it should be a working principle that the
femi-
is generally identified with the early origins of
question of what ideological work is being done
the
nism (particularly Emmeline Pankhurst and
one of a number of questions which analystsshould
Suffragette movement), second-wave (or'radical')
always be ready to ask of any media discourse'
to be vari- feminism grew up alongside the political movements
though they should expect the answers
move-
salient of the 1960s such as the Black Civil Rights
able. Ideology may, for example, be a more
dis- ment, the New Left student activism and the Anri-
issue for some instances and types of media
femi-
Vietnam'War protests. Like these movements'
course than for others'
nism (or'the women's movement') was politically
motivated, identified with women's groups''con-
As Fairclough's comments imply' it would cer-
ideol- sciousness-raising', campaigns for women's health
tainly be premature to announce the death of
general and childcare, demonstrations against pornography
ogy in Television Studies completely' Most
of
and so on. In terms of the media's representation
introductions to the subject (see Abercrombie
women there was clearly much debate' some of
and Lealand and Martin
11996l, McQueen [1998]
defining and explaining the which frequently turned into direct action' In 1970'
iZOOrll still spend time
problems for example, 100 representatives from the National
approach while also making clear what the
of Organisation ofW'omen (NOVD in the US occupied
b" with it. It clearly remains a useful way
-"y televi- the premises of one of America's leading magazines'
uncovering the implicitly 'political' nature of
female editor'
social demanding the appointment of a
sion and particularly the means by which
the small childcare for employees and the publicacion of a
identities are reflected and articulated by
even primary 'liberated issue'.
screen. It is no longer the only or
add Rather than perceiving a person's sex as biologi-
method of textual analysis but it does frequently
cally determined (i.e. 'God given'), second-wave
insight and depth to other forms of methodological by
that feminism was interested in uncovering the means
interpretation. Some critics have even argued
field' which gender was culturally and ideologically con-
ideol,ogy provides the theoretical 'teeth' of the than
toothless' structed. Indeed, using the word'gender'rather
an areaof study that risks simply becoming

15. Tele-Visions
subject : object
'sex'can be seen as an attempt to foreground the cul-
penis : vagina
urral rather than biological construction of female
firm : soft
and male behaviour.Translated into English in 1953'
de Beauvoir's The
Simone sky : earth
the French ferninist,
day : night
Seconil Sex (1949) was particularly influential in this
air : water
project. According to de Beauvoir, men and women
form : mafier
have been culturally differentiated in terms of 'first'
transcendence : inurement
and'second'gender, a notion that clearly sets up gen-
culture : nature
der in terms of a'binary opposition'' In patriarchy,
logos : pathos
men are clearly'The First Sex'because masculiniry
embodies everything defined as culturallyposititte and
Second-wave feminism clearly saw the media as
normal.In contrast, women are stereotyped as 'The
Second Sex'because femininity tends to be associat- playing rlarge role in the gendered construction of
ed with the negatiueand the abnormal' Seen in this these binary oppositions' Books such as Betty
light, a woman'is not regarded as an autonomous Friedan's The Feminine Mystique (1963) accused the
being . . . She is defined as differentiated with refer- media of simply emphasising the ideological role of
ence to man . . . He is the Subject, he is the Absolute woman as 'the happy housewife', defined only in
relation to men, the home and family' Gaye
- she is the Other' (1988: 16).
This concept of the'Other'is one that is impor- Tuchman's edited book Hearth and Home: Images of
tant to Cultural/Media Studies as a whole, revealing Women in the Mass Media (1'978) came to similar con-
how certain groups in society are culturally con- clusions, her own article entitled 'The Symbolic
'Women by the Mass Media'' Like
structed around notions of 'normality' and 'abnor- Annihilation of
mality'.In terms of gender, the list of binary opposi- Friedan, Tuchman relied heavily on content analysis
tions below reveal how feminists traditionally argued (see Chapter 2), argoing that women on television
that 'masculinity' is frequently connected with the were markedly under-represented, men tended to
primary or suyteriorvalue while 'femininity' is more dominate progralru'nes,men were representedpursuing
commonly associated with a secondary ot inferior careers, women did not appear in the same profes-
opposition (C. Nelson, cited by Fiske [1987]:203): sions as men, and women were shown as inef[ectual
(not as competent as their male counterparts)' As
MascwrNE : FnurNtr.rn Helen H. Franrwa Put it (1978:273-4):
active : passive
: absence . . . televised images of women in large measure are
Presence
validated : excluded false,portraying them less as they really are, more as
success : failure some might want them to be. . . .Television women
superior : inferior are predominantly in their twenties . . ' portrayed
primary : secondary primarily as housewives . . . restricted primarily to
independent : dependent stereotyPed positions such as nurses and secretaries
unity : multiplicity . . . portrayed as weak, vulnerable, dependent, sub-
organized : scattered missive and frequently, as sex objects'
intellect : imagination
Such notions of ideology *... reflected in
logical : illogical "l,o
defined : undefined film and cultural theory of the 1970s, particularly of
dq>endable : capricious the kind most closely associatedwith the British cin-
h€ad : heart ema journal Sueen.First published in Screen t9T5'
in
Laura Mulvey's 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative
mind : body

16. Dec oding Televlslon
z
.,
.:,
t:.:..1
.:.,:
as passrve
Star'Ilek:women onTV have traditionally been portrayed
this light' ali mem-
in feminist and accordingly' (1975:19)' Seen in
Cinema' was certainly influential of their gender) are
period and beyond' bers of the audience (regardless
media theory during this ideology' of the
refer to notlons powerless to resist the 'domi'nant
Although Mulvey did not explicitly
heavily on psychoana- male gaze.
of ideoiogy (she relies more such traditional notions of
ideology
H"o*.rr.r,
her conclusions do. sti'll
iy,r. ,to,iln, of subjectivity) by books such as
'male gaze' - were increasingly challenged
rely on the notion of a dominant ^ and Margaret Marshment's
Tlle
Lorraine Gamman
form of ideology' that all members of the audience qi PoPular Culure
entering the cinema' In Fentale Gaze: Wortmt as l'iett'ers
seemingiy b.ty i'-tto when clearil detect the influence
in patriarchal socieq' (1988) in rl'hich vou can
particular, Mulvey argued that on-Mulr-ev's concep-
the crnematrc gaze of Gramsci. Erplicitlr dras-ing
Larculine desire had constructed that women are
reflects the structure of tron of the 'ma1e gaze" thev argued
in such a way that it srmply structures and
a world ordered not aiwavs dominated bv patriarchal
the domi.nant male unconscious''In the female gaze cafi
that thele are means bv rvhich
iy r.*o"t imbalance', she argues"pleasurein.looking forms of repre-
active/male and actuall-v infiltrate and resisrdominant
fr", been split between the female cop
gaze pro;ects sentations. For example, discussing
passive/female.The determining male (CBS' 1981-8)' Gamman
figure which is styled show Cagney and Lacey
it, phantasy on to the female

17. Tel e-V i si ons
argued that it offered great scope for'fernale spec- This approach in Television Studies can now
tatorship', far beyond the limited restrictions of the clearly be seenasheralding the arrival of what some
male gaze (1988). critics have contentiously called'third-wave ferni-
Such critiques also brought a greater interest in nism' (sometimes confusingly known as 'post-
women's genres (particularly soap opera fsee feminism'). Rather than viewing television simply
Brunsdon, 2000]) and in the possibility that they as an instrument of the dominant ideology, third-
could actually offer up avenues of resistance to wave feminist critiques of the media attempt to
more dominant modes of ideology. Books such as recognisethe complex meansby which female rep-
Ien Ang's Watching Dallas: Soap Opera and the resentation both constructedand actiuely
is consumed
Melodratnatic Imagination (1985), Mary Ellen Brown's by its audience.Refusing to regard ideology as uni-
Tblevision and Woman's Culture (1990), Christine vocal or total, this approachtends to conceive gen-
Geraghty's Women and Soap Opera (1991), Andrea der aspart ofan ongoing process which subjects
by
P ress'sWomenWatchingTblevision(199 I),Lynn Spigel's are constituted, and conceiving identiry as increas-
Make RoomforTV (1992),Ann Gray's Video Playtime ingly fragmented and dynamic. Influenced by post-
(1992) and Julie D'Accit Defining Women: Tblevision structuralistnotions of subjectivity (seeChapter 2), it
and the CweJor Cagney andLacey (L993) aX, attempt- definesgender as a discoursethat, by definition, can
ed to re-investigate the complex (and frequently break away from rigid binary oppositions
active) relationship berween women and the small (active,/male,passive/female) become a site ofper-
to
screen (see Brunsdon et al., 1997). As Mary Ellen formance, resistance, style and desire. Liesbet van
As
Brown put it in Soap Opera and Women's Thlk: The Zoonen puts it (1994:34):
(1994:2):
Plewure oJResistance
A poststructuralistnotion of discourse a site of
as
It can be said that soap operas in some way give contestation implies that the disciplinarypower of
women their voice. The constant, active, playful dis- discourse,prescribingand restrictingidentitiesand
cussions about soap opera open up possibilities for experiences, alwaysbe resistedand subverted.
can
us to understand how social groups can take a some- Dominant male discoursecan therefore never be
what ambiguous television text and incorporate it completelyoverpowering, sinceby definition there
into existing gossip networks that provide oudets for will be resistance struggle.
and
a kind of politics in which subordinated groups can
be validatedand heard. You can certainly detect this kind ofcritique in
more contemporary readings of television pro-
Perhaps one of the most often quoted examples grarrmes such as AbsolutelyFabulous(BBC, 1989-
of this sort of criticism in Television Studies can be [see Kirkham and Skeggs,1998]), Bffi the Vampire
found inJohn Fiske's TblevisionCulture (1987). Here Slayerril/B,1997-200f , UPN, 2001-3 [see'Wilcox
Fiske argued against traditional readings ofMadonnat and Lavery 20021) and Sex and the City (HBO,
music videos that regarded them simply as pandering 79981004 fseeAkass and McCabe, 2004]). Here
to patriarchal tastesby continuing the sexual objecti- there is much discussionof the means with which
fication of women. For Fiske, Madonna was actually certain television texts (and their audience$ play
taking on patriarchy by parodying traditional notions around with, subvert,ridicule, investigate,resistand
of femininiry using her body and sexuality as a signi- even transcend tradirional male'(heterosexual)ide-
fier of resistance. Fiske concludes that Madonna ologies.Asthis suggests, contemporary approaches to
videos are a 'site of semiotic struggle between the television hope to add complexity to the whole
forces of patriarchy and feminine resistance,of capi- notion by which genderedideology is produced and
t^lism and the subordinate, the young and the old' consumedrather than simply erase power and sig-
its
(1987 : 39;see also Kaplan, 1,987 and Kaplan, 1992). nificance altogether.It is not a complete break from

18. D e c o ding Te levisio n
Such a view suggeststhat it would be a grave
error if the notion of ideology (however it is theo-
retically conceptualised) were allowed to disappear
from Television Studies completehi The changing
notions of ideoiogy and discourse have certainly
been a pivotal tool through rvhichTelevision Studies
has grown and deveioped since the rvritings of the
Frankfurt School. To clearly appreciate and under-
stand this is to understand a great deal about the sub-
ject as a whole.
READING
FURTHER
London: Batsford.
Cormack, Mike (1992),Ideology,
Gitlin,Todd (1994),'Prime Time Ideology:The
Hegemonic Process TelevisionEntertainment',
in
in Horace Newcomb (ed.), Tbleuision: Critical
The
Zep, NewYork and Oxford: Oxford Universiq.
Press.
Miller,Toby (ed.) (2002),Tbleuision London: BFI.
Srudles,
Mumford, Laura Stempel (1995),Llsueand ldeology
in
theAJternoon Soap Opera,Womenand Teleuision
:
Sexand the City: an example of third-wave feminism? Genre,Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana
I Tnirrercil-r Precs
_ -" " '
- ___ ' -^ " _ ' J ^
the past (and the term'post-feminism'certainly does Michael (1990) 'Box Pop: Popular
O'Shaughnessy,
not me n that feminism is over) but a re-articulation Television and Hegemony', in Andrew Goodwin
of the theoretical terms upon which traditional and Garry Whannel (ed$, Understanding
Tblevision,
notions ofgender and ideology were once based.As London and NewYork: Routledge.
Elspeth Probyn p:utsit (1997:.1.37): Wayne, Mike (2003), Marxism and Media Studies:Key
Tiends,
and Contemporary
Concepts London: Pluto
far from initiating a break from feminism, I think Press.
that the current discursive landscape is a condition Vhite, Mimi (1992),'IdeologicalAnalysisand
of possibility for generations of Gminist analysis. Television'in Robert C.Allen (ed.), Channekof
And in the midst of the reborn family and the refur- Discourse, London and NewYork:
Reassembled,
bished home, it is more important than ever that we Routledge.
make the personalpolitical and theoretical. Zoonen, Liesbet van (1994), Feminist
Media Studies,
London and New Delhi: Sage.