2. MEDIA LANGUAGE Media language is difficult to write about in that all aspects of this section require us to use Media Language. THE FIRST AREA WE WILL FOCUS UPON: SEMIOTICS - how meaning is constructed through language and codes. THEORIES WE WILL STUDY: Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) - the signifier and signified Roland Barthes (1913-1980) - denotation and connotation Stuart Hall (1981 ) – encoding and decoding (preferred reading)
3. Basically, this theory bears similarities to connotation and denotation, in that it suggests how there can be two levels of meaning in an object within a media text. Firstly there’s the signifier —which is what is there in front of us, what we see, the form the sign takes. Then there’s the signified —which is an idea we associate with the signifier , the concept it represents. THE SIGN OR SYMBOL WE SEE DOES NOT MAKE SENSE WITHOUT THE ACTUAL OBJECT AND THE MEANING IT CREATES. For example, if in a film the characters are talking about a bank, its up to the audience to determine which bank they mean—a grassy slope or a place to deposit your money? THINK ABOUT HOW YOU HAVE CREATED MEANINGS IN YOUR PRODUCTION WORK… CAN AUDIENCES CLEARLY MAKE SENSE OF DIFFERENT SIGNS YOU USE? OR IS THERE ANYTHING AMBIGUOUS – SOMETHING THAT ISN’T CLEAR TO THE AUDIENCE? Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) - the signifier and signified
4. Roland Barthes (1913-1980) - denotation and connotation This is a theory we are all familiar with and looks at how the audience will interpret meaning from a particular media text. However, this interpretation is often influenced by society and the audience member’s own experience of the world. The denotation is an object placed within media texts, eg a poppy. It is then up to the audience to draw on their own cultural, social and historical knowledge to interpret its connotations. For example: is it just a red flower or do we think of war, violence, death, armistice. So the basic idea of denotation and connotation is what we see in a text and then what ideas we think of after or ideas we associate with that image. WRITE A LIST OF ALL THE OBJECTS IN YOUR PRODUCTION THAT HAVE CONNOTATIONS ATTACHED TO THEM. THINK ABOUT HOW DIFFERENT AUDIENCES MIGHT RESPOND.
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6. Stuart Hall (1981) Encoding and Decoding Continuing to look at meanings within a media text, Hall’s theory thinks about the preferred meaning of a text. If something is encoded it is what is written within a media text. An image has been placed in the text by the producer and will challenge or promote dominant ideologies. Decoding is when the audience reads into this piece of media and makes their own interpretation of what the image means . Hall thinks the media circulates dominant ideas, and his theory says that producers place dominant ideas in different media. So basically, they would have cleverly encoded their views and opinions into say a film or newspaper article with the intention of the audience interpreting this preferred or intended meaning.
9. REPRESENTATION The way people, places, events are shown through media texts Can be done through mise-en-scene, camera or dialogue Can be negative or positive Can be real or inaccurate Can promote or challenge dominant ideologies Can be stereotypical
10. REPRESENTATION THEORY These are the theories we will be focusing upon when looking at representation: Roland Barthes – Mythologies Laura Mulvey —The Male and Female Gaze
11. REPRESENTATION THEORY Roland Barthes – Mythologies Barthes representation theory looks at myths— usually about people and place. Basically, his theory suggests how the media offers mythic representations, or a fairytale-like portrayal of a particular place of person. Think about it… is London really the friendly, bustling community it is wonderfully presented as in the opening sequence of Notting Hill? Or is it much more urban, gritty and erm… real life? And what about the area’s ethnic population—did they just forget to represent them in the film? HAVE YOU REPRESENTED A PERSON, SOCIAL GROUP OR PLACE IN A “FAIRY TALE” LIKE WAY IN YOUR COURSEWORK?
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13. REPRESENTATION THEORY Laura Mulvey —The Male and Female Gaze Laura Mulvey is a contemporary media theorist, who came up with the idea of how film producers make films from a male point of view. It’s called the male gaze, where the woman on screen is the object of desire. Film audiences have always been encouraged to identify with the protagonist of the film, who in most cases is a bloke. Women on the hand are, according to Mulvey, coded with "to-be-looked-at-ness." She wanted a new feminist approach to filmmaking, to get rid of the “patriarchal” system that was in place. And that was achieved by a role reversal or the female gaze , where instead of the woman being the object of desire it now becomes the man. THINK ABOUT YOUR PRODUCT – HAVE YOU CONSTRUCTED A CHARACTER OR ARTIST/BAND MEMBER TO SIMPLY APPEAL TO THE OPPOSITE SEX?
20. WHAT IS GENRE? Genre is the classification of any media text into a category or type: e.g. news, horror, documentary, soap opera, docu-soap, science-fiction or lifestyle etc. Genres tend to have identifiable codes and conventions which have developed particular expectations , which may either be fulfilled or denied / diverted by the producer. You should consider typicality and subversion , as well as sub-genres or generic hybrids . The significance of genre to audiences, producers, publishers and broadcasters should also be carefully considered. Using the handout, list the conventions you used in your chosen media product.
21. DOES GENRE EXIST? Film Theorist Rick Altman argues that there is no such thing as “pure” genre anymore. Genre is progressive, in that it will always change. He says that generic conventions are very much a thing of the past. His theory suggests that audiences, in general have become tired of the same formula and need more to keep them entertained and to create appeal. He says that genre is surviving due to hybridisation – or genres “borrowing” conventions from one another and thus being much more difficult to categorise.
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23. GENRE THEORY – DANIEL CHANDLER Daniel Chandler is a former Media student at Aberystwyth University. He researched Genre in detail, identifying key components and formulas. His work can be found at: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/intgenre.html The following slide details the ways in which, according to his research, genre can be identified.
24. GENRE THEORY – DANIEL CHANDLER NARRATIVE - similar plots and structures, predictable situations, sequences, episodes, obstacles, conflicts and resolutions. CHARACTERS - similar types of characters (sometimes stereotypes), roles, personal qualities, motivations, goals, behaviour. THEMES - topics, subject matter (social, cultural, psychological, professional, political, sexual, moral), ideologies and values. SETTING - geographical and historical; ICONOGRAPHY - echoes the narrative, characters, themes and setting, a familiar stock of images or motifs, the connotations of which have become fixed. Includes décor, costume and objects, certain 'typecast' performers familiar patterns of dialogue, characteristic music and sounds, FILMING TECHNIQUES - stylistic or formal conventions of camerawork, lighting, sound-recording, use of colour, editing etc.
25. GENRE THEORY – DANIEL CHANDLER Using Daniel Chandler’s criteria, identify how the following in your product help the audience to understand its genre: Narrative Characters Setting
26. GENRE THEMES AND IDEOLOGIES Values in a media product are not the same as codes and conventions. Values are the ideological and cultural ideas embedded in a film. In a Western, the lone gunslinger represents the power of good to destroy evil. In gangster films greed and the lust for power or wealth undermine the possibly attractive, but deeply flawed, central gangster character. Jealousy, revenge, loyalty and deception are themes of many thrillers and crime movies . In horror films the monsters and zombies can be interpreted as metaphors for serious diseases, death or destiny. In the end the films give some hope that the audience’s worst fears can be overcome. In Bond films the audience feel safe in knowing that Bond (or his British MI5 equivalent) will save them from the political evils of the world – whatever they may be at the time In Pop videos, the audience will often see good being represented as pop icons are often considered as role models for young children
29. AUDIENCE The consideration of audience is vital in Media Studies. You cannot answer ANY examination question without reference to you target audience, secondary audience, whether they are niche or mainstream. But most importantly, you have to acknowledge your awareness that different audiences will respond in different ways. THEORIES WE WILL STUDY: Blumler and Katz (1974) - Uses and Gratifications theory Effects model/Hypodermic model We will also look at the Social Demographics Table as a why to define an audience.
30. This idea was later developed by Richard Dyer in 1977, where basically it was decided that maybe the media audience isn’t passive at all and in fact they do actively make up their own minds about what they wish to consume from the media. Its simple to understand and remember: the audience uses the media to gratify their own needs. Blumler and Katz placed the audience into four categories that addressed the needs of members of the media audience. Diversion – a form of escape or emotional release from everyday pressures. Personal Relationships – companionship via television personalities and characters, and sociability through discussion about television with other people Personal Identity – the ability to compare one’s life with all the characters and situations within programmes/films and explore personal problems and perspectives. Surveillance – a supply of information about what’s going on in the world. Blumler and Katz (1974) - Uses and Gratifications theory
31. Effects model/Hypodermic model This was an idea developed in the early 20th Century whereby media theorists believed the media acted as a hypodermic syringe – injecting the audience with biased ideas and influencing their opinions. The theory suggests that the media brainwashes or drugs a passive audience with certain sets of values and it is responsible for reinforcing dominant rules, behaviours and ideologies. Its name comes from the idea of how the audience is drugged by the media
32. Social Demographics Table When we identify a target audience, we have to look at a number of things to establish whether that particular media product is suitable for them. As well as looking at age, gender, ethnic background etc, we also have to look at the audience’s occupation as this can then determine an audience’s social class. Unemployed, students, pensioners and casual workers E Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers D Skilled workers, tradespersons C2 Office supervisors, junior managers, nurses, specialist clerical staff etc C1 Middle management, teachers, many creative type jobs such as graphic designers etc B Top management, bankers, lawyers, doctors and other professionals A Job Social Grade
34. NARRATIVE Audiences’ understanding of a media product’s narrative is vital. The audience need clarity of what’s happening, whether it is at the end – all questions are answered, or understanding characters and their motives. For meanings to be interpreted correctly by audiences, narratives can function in many ways: OPEN – questions remain unanswered eg. a cliffhanger, the end of the first part of a serial. CLOSED – all questions are answered, e.g. a magazine LINEAR – the narrative is in order, it makes sense. NON-LINEAR/FRACTURED – out of order e.g a film trailer or use of flashbacks SINGLE STRANDED – one storyline in the media text MULTI-STRANDED – several storylines weaving into an overall narrative eg. Soap operas
35. There are a number of theories we can apply to narratives in media products. Roland Barthes — narrative codes This French critic devised five different narrative codes that we can use when analysing media products: Action code : The audience will recognise an action code in a media text as it is used to indicate what is the next logical step. It advances the narrative eg the buckling of a gun belt in a Western film signifies the start of a gun fight. Look at the following…. What do you think they indicate? Packing of a suitcase? Starting of a car engine? Whistle of approaching train? Flashing lights? NARRATIVE THEORIES
36. BARTHES CONTINUED… Mystery Code or Enigma code : This code is used to explain the narrative by controlling what and how much information is given to the audience. It grabs the audience’s interest and attention by setting up an enigma or problem that is resolved during the course of the narrative. Eg, someone’s murderous hand in the opening sequence – who does it belong to? The Semic Code Basically, this code is all about signs and meanings in a text that tell us about its narrative and characters. Eg, in a horror film, the supernatural would be signified by the fear of light/garlic, an increase in body hair etc. The Cultural Code This code is used in order for the narrative to make sense to a culturally and socially aware audience. It makes reference to elements from the real world that the audience will recognise, eg Aston Martins and Martinis in James Bond films. Code of Oppositions This code refers to a narrative that relies on binary opposites, eg, black v white, hot v cold, male v female, nature v civilisation, war v peace etc.
37. YOUR TASK, QUESTION 2: Consider both your AS music magazine and a product from your A2 coursework (but in isolation) Identify which of Barthes Narrative Codes you have used. How does the audience make sense of your narrative thanks to these codes?
38. Claude Levi-Strauss (1970)— binary opposites Alike to Barthes, theorist Levi-Strauss (the man, not the jeans) also worked with the idea that there are binary opposites within media texts. He studied the myths of tribal cultures and discovered how there were underlying themes in these myths, such as darkness v light, good v evil. In media we look at his work to find out the underlying themes and symbolic oppositions in media texts. For example men v women, good v evil. QUESTION 3: IDENTIFY ANY BINARY OPPOSITIONS IN ONE OF YOUR MEDIA PRODUCTS NARRATIVE THEORIES
39. NARRATIVE THEORIES Tzvetan Todorov— Equilibrium and disequilibrium Todorov looks at the way narratives are structured. He suggested how in many narratives there is a change. The narrative begins with the equilibrium or balance or harmony. But then this is then disrupted by something known as an ‘agent of change’ which brings unbalance to the narrative or unpredictability causing disequilibrium. For the audience to feel that all is well, the equilibrium or balance must be restored.
40. EQUILIBRIUM DISRUPTION AGENT OF CHANGE YOUR TASK As boring as it is, watch the Dr. No trailer to see if you can identify Todorov’s Equilibrium theory.
41. Vladimir Propp (1968) - Propp’s Morphology Propp came up with the idea of how fairy stories have certain stages to it. He then applied the same theory to different genres and realised that in many cases it was accurate. Altogether there are 31 stages to Propp’s Morphology, but we can condense it into six stages… Preparation the scene is set Complication a problem occurs or some evil takes place Transference the hero receives help (often a magic object) and goes on his quest Struggle there is a fight Return the hero succeeds in his mission Recognition the villain in punished and the hero is rewarded NARRATIVE THEORIES
