Monday, November 20, 2006
Uses and Gratifications Theory
The idea that people are free to choose what they get from the media and use it to fulfill their needs. Gratification in the media fulfills personal needs for the audience including personal identity with characters, (catharsis), escapism and the texts can even be part of a regular routine, for example soaps. This relates to pluralistic views and ideas and assumes an active audience.
Reception Theory
This theory looks at how the audience reads the text, rather than why they do. Everyone gets something different from the text depending on who they are. There are three types of reading for any media text: dominant, negotiated and oppositional.
Effects Theory
Started by the Frankfurt school this theory assumes a passive audience. Part of this is the hypodermic needle model which states that the media inject the audience with values and ideologies. Also, the cultivation theory which says that repeated exposure to something will desensitise the audience.
a_moran at 10:12 pm
Friday, November 17, 2006
Laura Mulvey & the Male Gaze
'Gaze' is used in feminist theory with regards to a man looking at a woman, male gaze. Feminist theories say that since it is always the male looking at the female it shows the male as having power over the woman. Laura Mulvey says that possessing the gaze is intrinsically male and relates to the binaries of female/passive, male/active.
Some advertising presents women in a sexual manner, and it is argued that this degrades women because of the power that the gaze provides for heterosexual men viewing these advertisements.
a_moran at 8:35 am
Thursday, November 16, 2006
PluralismLook at the TV schedules this week. How might a pluralist interpret the range of programmes on offer? What evidence is there of the media acting as the fourth estate during this week?
Have I got News For You- a news quiz which contains a lot of political satire and comment on British politics which could therefore show it as acting as the fourth estate. However many of the contestants are politicians so this could be disputed
Newsnight- Programmes such as Newsnight and Question Time show the media as the fourth estate as it allows the audience an insight into politics and Question Time allows the audience to ask questions
The Culture Show- This programme shows the range of shows on television and in a pluralist sense proves that the audience has a range to choose from and they do so
I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here- This reality TV programme would be called low culture by Marxists but in terms of pluralism it shows the variety on television
The X Factor- This shows a choice between reality TV programmes and therefore the active audience can make a decision on what to watch
These five programmes from throughout the week show that there is a range of different programmes for the audience to choose from and programmes such as Newsnight allow the BBC to act as the Fourth Estate so that the audience can see everything in the other three estates.
a_moran at 10:07 am
Monday, November 06, 2006
Marxism!
Karl Marx's social theory which states that in capitalism the bourgeoisie (upper classes) exploit the proletariat (workers). In terms of the media, media texts produced within the capitalist society maintain social divides between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. 'Culture Industries' want to attract large audiences due to the profit motive and therefore dumb down their output. Mass media is seen to entertain the masses whilst subconciously enforcing ideologies of the hegemony.
In terms of the general theory I wouldn't consider myself to be a Marxist. The idea of a utopian society created by equality doesn't appeal to me. This is because no matter how hard you worked you couldn't be any better off then you are already- there'd nothing to aspire to. Everyone would be the same. I suppose what comes into it is greed in a way, I just wouldn't be content with getting the same as everyone else.
However in terms of Marxism and media I think that most of the points have an element of truth in them, especially the idea of the audience being entertained whilst being 'drip fed' ideologies.
a_moran at 9:06 pm