Media MEST 1 - Theories

1.Hero - Protagonist 2.Villain – Antagonist 3.The donor (helper) 4.The dispatcher (Sends hero on a path) 5.The false hero 6.The helper 7.The princess 8.The father

Link to form and representations

The binary opposites is based around the central climax of a narrative structure.

E.g.

Good/Bad

Young/Old

Man/ Woman

Nice/Evil

Links to forms and representations

This theory applies to any film - they all have the same narrative pattern. Stages shown below.

1.State of equilibrium 2.A disruption 3.A recognition of the disruption 4.An attempt to repair the damage 5.A return to equilibrium/ or a new one

Link to media forms

This theory relates to the fact that certain consumers of media are using the media to satisfy needs.

•To be informed •To identify with characters and situations •To be entertained •To enable social activity •To escape daily troubles

Link to audience

A producer encodes meanings. And a audience can then agree or disagree to this.

The opinions can be:

•Dominant – Exactly what the director intended for the consumer to think. •Negotiated – They agree with some parts of the directors intentions. •Oppositional – Completely opposite to directors intentions.

Links to audience

People form there opinions off opinion leaders. The opinion leaders are getting there influence from mass media.

Links to audience.

1.Enigma – Mystery within the text 2.Action – Sequential elements 3.Sementic code – additional meaning 4.Symbolic code – symbolic contrasts 5.Differential code

Links to forms

Response to poverty – he's wrote Das Kapital as he believed he was separated in a capitalist society.

Upper Class – Bourgeoisie – Own a range of capital themselves.

Working Class – Proletariat – sell labor.

The upper class exploit the working class.

Links to audience and representations

•Against Marxism •This believes that society is made up of competing interests groups but its not dominated by the bourgeoisie. •It is up to the media audience to select and see what they believe in.

Links to audience and representations

He suggests that moral panic occurs when a condition, episode, person or group of people emerge to become defined as a threat to a society and values and interests.

The media plays a big role through reporting it.

Links to audience.

Identities are not fixed – it is a position that rejects conventions or mainstream expressions of the types of behavior.

Links to representations

Like feminists she says gender (masculine and feminine)  as a social construct  whereas sex (male and female) is biologically determined.

She says we learn to behave certain ways through our lives. – appropriate gender behavior is awarded whereas inappropriate behavior is punished.This is all reinforced by families, peer groups, law and media representations.

Links to media representations

Doesn’t matter how woman is represented in a media text she is still objectified.

Links to forms and representations.

These are all the mian theories which are required in the exam,