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media theories
Semiotics
semiotics are the study for signs/ also something that stands for 'something else'
We read images in an attempt to decode them and make sense of what they mean to us
Denotation is what we see when we look at an image
Connotation is what we understand form this image (what other meaning does it have)
connotations of colours such as red are:
love, anger, negativity, danger, passion, heat, blood, socialism
blue can give connotations of:
calm, cold, ice, boys, royalty, sadness, water, conservatism
yellow gives connotations of:
cowardice, sunshine, electricity, happiness, summer, caution, hope
Green gives connotations of:
envy, greed, nature, growth, grass, youth, money, inexperience.
CURRAN AND SEATON
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in most media industries we are dominated by a small number of giant conglomerates
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The big six- 20th century fox, universal, Warner Bros, Paramount, Walt Disney and Colombia
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This theory says that- These companies are all about profit and power
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Newspaper companies are huge global billion dollar conglomerates, everything they do is all about profit and power.
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Not every company is all about profit and power. Smaller film companies are not going to make loads of money or reach a huge audience so they aren't about profit and power, they might be more about being artist.
GERBNER’S CULTIVATION THEORY
Cultivation Theory suggests Television influences its audience to the extent that their world view and perceptions start reflecting what they repeatedly see meaning TV is considered to contribute independently to the way people perceive social reality and will have an effect on the audience’s attitudes and values. Long term exposure to violent media makes the audience less likely to be shocked by violence. Being less shocked by violence the audience may then be more likely to behave violently.
Bandura Theory
• This old-fashioned view of how media products effect audiences is associated with the Frankfurt School in Germany
• The effects model suggests that media can implant ideas in the mind of the audience directly. It is also known as the hypodermic needle model
• Audiences acquire attitudes, emotional responses and behaviours through media products modelling ideologies
• If a media product represents behaviour such as violence or physical aggression, this can lead audience members to imitate those forms of behaviour
• This model has many issues, though it still proves popular with the general public, newspapers and politicians who should frankly read a media studies textbook or two.
Media is capable of implanting ideas directly into the minds of its audiences.
Audiences respond to the modelling in media and, thereby, acquire new attitudes, styles of conduct and emotional responses. Media representation of transgressive or antisocial behaviour can lead audience members to imitate those forms of behaviour.
Stuart Hall Reception Theory
Stuart Hall suggested that media texts contain a variety of messages that are made by producers and then decoded by audiences. Therefore what we see is simply a ‘re-presentation’ of what producers want us to see.
Hall depicted that there are three different ways audiences can decode the media messages put forward by the producer:
Dominant/Preferred Reading - The audience accept and agree with the messages put forward in the media text
Negotiated Reading - The audience agree with some part but are opposed to other parts
Oppositional Reading - The audience reject the messages that are trying to be conveyed and do not agree with them
For example, when watching a political speech, audiences will either agree with the messages, partly agree or disagree completely depending on their political persuasion and stance.
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