The document provides guidance on using media theory and theorists in coursework for a media studies course. It lists several relevant theorists grouped by area (genre, narrative, representation, audience, media language) and briefly summarizes some of their key ideas. It emphasizes that students do not need to deeply explain theories, but should be able to apply and discuss how useful theories are for understanding their own work or case studies. Examples are given of how to properly cite and reference theorists in assignments.

1. Media Theory and Theorists
for G325
Section A: Examining your own
productions
A2 Revision Session

2. G325ai – Skills and Processes
(Hands)
• Must use media theory/ theorists
• I have split them by area of relevance:
Genre/ Narrative/ Representation/
Audience/ Media Language

3. What do you need to be able to do
with theorists and theories?
• You do NOT need to:
– Learn a load of quotes
– Explain their theories in great depth
– Know them all
• You DO need to:
– Use a few
– Be able to apply them to your work/ case studies
– Consider how useful/ not useful they are when
discussing your work/ case studies

4. How to use theorists…
• Quote
• Summarise
• Comment
• Assume your reader knows about the theory/ theorist.
• Don’t explain the theory; use it.
• A Todorovian analysis would argue…
• Mulvey’s notion of the Male Gaze provides a useful way
of understanding the video in that…
• Kate Wales statement that “Genre is... an intertextual
concept” could be useful here because…

5. Genre
• Denis McQuail “The genre may be considered as a practical device for helping any mass medium to produce
consistently and efficiently and to relate its production to the expectations of its customers.”
• Nicholas Abercrombie It makes sound economic sense. Sets, properties and costumes can be used over
and over again. Teams of stars, writers, directors and technicians can be built up, giving economies of scale” –
Directors/stars are used to portray genres.
• Christine Gledhill “Differences between genres meant different audiences could be identified and catered to...
This made it easier to standardise and stabilise production” Different genres have different audiences
• John Fiske “A representation of a car - we are unlikely to have experienced one in reality, therefore –
intertextually. Repetition/stereotypes/conventions makes us understand the genre
• Andrew Goodwin - Genres change and evolve
• David Buckingham - “Genre is not simply given by the culture, rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation
and change.” Genre changes with culture
• Stephan Prince – Horror, unlike other genres, challenges the unknown. Good vs evil (foil) has evolved into –
crazy dad or neighbour etc, this has happened through time. Humans are not top of the food chain, which
creates helplessness
• “There is no pleasure without difference” , “Genres are instances of repetition and difference” - Steve Neale
• How we define a genre depends on our purposes – Chandler

6. Narrative
• Tzetvan Todorov – Narratives always have a structure of
Equilibrium/ Disequilibrium/ New equilibrium
• Story versus plot
• Levi-Strauss – Human cultural understanding is based upon a
system of binary opposites (good/ bad/ black/ white/ male/
female…). Narratologists have taken this theory and applied it to
narrative, arguing that binary opposition forms a fundamental way of
understanding narrative.
• Roland Barthes: Enigma code; Action code. Also, Open and
Closed texts.
• Propp – argued that narratives always have certain character types
who perform certain actions. Characters are agents of action.
• Noel Carroll - Traditional 3 part structure for horror: ‘Onset phase’
where a disorder is created, ‘Discovery phase’, where characters
discover the disorder, ‘Disruption phase’ where characters destroy
the source and restore normality.
• Horror genre most important characteristics are the modes of affect
that horror films intend to create in their audiences – other
characteristics and generic conventions evolve - Brigid Cherry

7. Representation
• Representation is what are the connotations of the media text - Symbolism.
Verisimilitude – appears to look real. Socially what they look like, and how they are
represented through society – e.g. policeman with respect.
• Stereotypes are used to generalise and represent society. It is easier to group
characteristics and social positions together as it builds a stronger ideology of what
they are like, without actually knowing them (assumption) – Shown through:
Appearance and Behavior.
• Perkins argues that stereotypes are not simplistic, they contain complex
understanding of roles in society. Not always negative and often contain truth.
• Dominant Ideology Widely held belief by many members of society. Marxist theory –
Dominant ruling classes shape culture (Hegemony)
• Baudrillard We watch hyperreality were everything is a depiction of what the world is
like.
Laura Mulvey – argues that cinema positions the audience as male. The camera
gazes at the female object on screen. It also frames the male character watching the
female.
We watch the girl; we see the male watching the girl; we position ourselves
within the text as a male objectively gazing at the female.
• Hegemony – leadership by one smaller group over another larger group (male over
female, the consumer is forced to accept what has been shown)
• Pluralism – that the audience can choose wither to accept what they watch is real

8. Audience
• Stuart Hall - Encoding and Decoding; Preferred/ negotiated/ oppositional readings
• Denis McQuail – Uses and Gratification theory (audiences consume media texts for
Surveillance; Personal Identity; Presnal Relationships; Escapism/ Diversion.
• Dyer’s Utopian theory – How audiences consume media products with a clear set of pleasures
to draw from that experience. Escapism from people’s real lives.
• The Hypodermic Syringe - According to the theory the media is like a syringe which injects
ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience who as a powerless mass have little choice but to
be influenced- in other words, you watch something violent, you may go and do something
violent.
• The Culmination Theory - Years and years of watching more violence will make you less
sensitive to violence
• Morley’s Research - Women tend to watch something whilst doing something else and they
watch soaps etc. Men put full focus onto watching a film, sports and news.
If a media text attracts a wealthy amount of people then it is likely to continue even if that
percentage is small. A series such as Star Trek (attracts single male men), although it only
attracts a small amount of people, the figures and collectables that come with it, make the series
successful.
“Audiencehood is becoming an even more multifaceted, fragmented and diversified repertoire of
practices and experiences.” Ien Ang

9. Media Language
• Camera Angles, shots, body language
etc..
• Written, Symbolic, Technical (WST)
• Semiotics – Signs of what we see
(signifier)
• Denotation/Connotation
• Paradigm – set of codes that we see in a
media text

10. Media Studies
Foundation Portfolio
• Research and planning
• Preliminary task
• Looked at several shots etc. Looked at Youtube clips of opening sequences, and
used slideshare to collate my information.
• Looked into gangster research
• Then looked at several films in detail: Goodfellas
• Created storyboard
• Created first draft of an ident
• Looked into soundtrack and films etc.
• Used target research, filming people and survey monkey to collate information
• Looked at fonts
• Looked at costumes from different films
• Showed and evaluated my editing process
• Used audience feedback to get a result
• Did location scouting
• Evaluation Questions
• Production, post production, evaluation

11. Advanced Portfolio
• Looking at theorists and trailers – The Hobbit and also videoing myself talking about
trailers
• Prezi to talk about trailer structure
• Looked into horror trailers – Separation and Absentia
• Created Mood Board to showcase ideas and thoughts.
• Looked into Directors and certain films
• Looked into horror conventions through slideshare
• Looked into three films: Heartless, Grave Encounters, Paranormal activity and hand
held shooting tips
• Looked into fonts by filming a survey of my audience favorite font