“DVD facilities will

NOT

be required...”

Kate  McCabe  2013

What does this mean????

• Your  exam  will  include  a  printed  insert

• This  could  be  of  print  texts  and/or  screen  shots  of  websites.

Kate  McCabe  2013

What can you revise?

• Go  into  the  exam  knowing  theories  to  apply  to  the4  key  concepts

• Learn  key  terms  fluently• Have  thorough  understanding  of  wider  contexts,  debates  and  issues

Kate  McCabe  2013

Possible Text Types

• Front  covers  (newspapers  &  magazines)  • Inside  articles  (newspapers  &  magazines)• Supplements• Leaflets• Websites• Film  posters• Adverts• DVD  covers• Flyer• Blogs

Kate  McCabe  2013

A Formula for Approaching Unseen Texts

Kate  McCabe  2013

How  does  this  help?

It  is  very  easy  to  miss  the  ‘point’  of  an  unseen  text.  

If  you  analyse  it    and  consider  the  impact  or  effect  of  it  without  putting  

it  in  the  contextof.....• its  original  purpose• the  constrains  placed  on  it  by  medium  &  form  • the  subsequent  audience  expectations

....you  could  miss  the  most  obvious  aspects  of  it.

Audience• What  are  the  Audience  Expectations  based  on  text  type,  

purpose,  subject  and  platform?  • Audience  use  the  texts  for  different  gratifications  

(entertainment,  identity,  social   interaction  or  information)  Katz  and  Blumler’s Uses  &  Gratifications.

• Codes  &  conventions  are  used  to  clearly  position  and  target  the  audience  – eg.  Colour  in  Magazines

• Look  for  ways  that  Audiences  are  encouraged  to  both  consume  the  product and  share  the  message  with  others  – what  evidence   is  there  of  Opinion  Leaders?  Eg.  Film  Posters,  DVD  covers  etc.

• Look  for  ways  that  Audiences  might  be  rewarded  for  their  loyalty  to  other  texts,  Special  edition   front  covers  etc.

• Are  Audiences  also  rewarded  for  their   cultural  knowledge  and  understanding  by  the  use  of  Postmodern  techniques  such  as  intertextuality,   commonly  used  in  Advertising to  communicate    more  complex  narratives   (eg.  The  appearance  of  Darth  Vader  in  an  advert  for  an  unrelated  product)?

• Look  for  ways  the  text  offers  generic  Pleasure  of  Recognition  (conventions  that  are  repeated  and  familiar,  like  Crisis  narratives  on  the  cover  of  Reality  TV  /  Gossip  magazines)  –what  familiarity  with  the  formulaic  genre  codes  can  the  Audience   rely  on  and  enjoy?

• Audiences  can  create  and  contribute  to  the  construction  of  some  media  texts  as  well  as  consume  – traditional  print  productions  limit   this  but  Audience  may  still   contribute  in  some  ways.

Kate  McCabe  2013

Representations• What  are  the  Audience  Expectations  based  on  

text  type,  purpose,   subject  and  platform?• Representations  are  often  the  result  of   the  text  

type  and  platform  – to  what  extent  are  binary  oppositions   used?  Stereotypes?    

• Do  representations  fit  into  clear  Proppcharacter  types?

• Groups  of  people   in  Newspapers  are  often  stripped  of  individual   identity  and  given  a  group,   collective  identity.  This  can  have  a  ‘dehumanising   effect’  – Immigrants,  Single  Mothers,  Hoodies etc.

• Look  for  evidence  that  the  representations  conform  to  dominant   ideology   or  that  they  challenge  it  – for  example  in  Advertising.  To  what  extent  is  this  because  of  the  Institution  that  produced   the  text?

• In  print  texts,  language   is  used  to  construct  positive  or  negative  representations  (see  Media  Language  slide)  .  Anchorage  is  especially  important   in  texts  with  minimal  use  of  written  language.

• Look  for  signs  of  the  impact  of  post  9/11  with  Fear  of  Other  expressed  through   difference  and  ‘Otherness’  made  explicit  in  representations

Kate  McCabe  2013

Media Language• What  are  the  Audience  Expectations  based  on  text  type,  

purpose,  subject  and  platform?• Use  SAM  SLATCARD  to  make  sure  you  have  not  forgotten  

anything  obvious  – especially  elements  such  as  Colour  –can  be  used  to  position  the  Audience  instantly.

• Look  for  density  of  text  compared  to  image  – text  to  image  ratio.  This  will  suggest  the  seriousness  of  the  text

• Consider  impact  of  choice  and  style  of  images  used  –photographs  for  realism,  illustrations  to  create  a  sense  of  the  surreal  or  to  lighten  a  formal  subject  etc.

• Look  for  Enigma  codes  suggested  through  text    and  the  ‘Culture  of  Anticipation’  which  encourages  readers  to  purchase  the  product  – clearly  seen  on  Front  Covers  

• Look  for  Narrative  structures  –Disequilibrium  is  suggested  in  Newspapers,  Celebrity  Gossip  Magazines,  products  associated  with  Reality  TV,  Film  Posters  and  AdvertisingEquilibrium  in  Lifestyle  magazines,  Blogs,  WebsitesNew  Equilibrium  in  much  Advertising  as  result  ofbuying  the  product

• Look  for  Dyer’s  Lines  of  Appeal  in  a  variety  of  print  texts,  not   just  Advertising  

Kate  McCabe  2013

Institution• What  are  the  Audience  Expectations  based  on  text  type,  

purpose,  subject  and  platform?  How  does  this  relate  to  the  Institution?  In  other  words  – How  does  the  Institution  meet  expectations  Audiences  may  have?  What  does  this  tell  us  about  the  Institution’s  values  and  identity?

• Look  for  signs  that  institutional  ownership  and  size  (publicly  funded?  commercially   funded?  Conglomerate?  Independent?  Global?)    has  an  impact  on  the  texts?  

• What  relationship  exists  between  the  product  and  Advertisers?  (magazines    especially   have  a  symbiotic  relationship    -­‐ they  cannot  exist  without  each  other  and  each  product  supports    and  is  beneficial   to  the  other.  From  a  Marxist  point  of  view,  the  adverts  provide  the  ‘rule  book’  for  consumer  products  – what  items  should  the  audience  be  wearing,  using,  owning  etc.

• Key  to  institution  is  the  level  of  power  given  to  the  Audience  and  whether  this  is  an  ‘imagined’  or  suggestion  of  power.  Look  for  signs  that  the  Institution  encourage   the  Audience   to  believe   they  can  shape  the  outcome,  content  and  selection   of  texts.  

• Texts  are  used  to  as  vehicles   to  communicate  brand  values  – this  is  especially   true  of  Newspapers  Supplements,  which  do  not  require  purchasing  in  the  same  way  as  a  magazines,  but  need  to  ‘sell’  the  values  of  the  text  producing  institution,  as  well  as  providing  further  profit  from  Advertising

Kate  McCabe  2013

Wider Contexts, Issues, Debates

• Feminism  and  Gender  Issues• Dumbed-­‐down  content• Traditional  Media  vs New  Digital  Media• ‘Shock’  tactics  and  Violence

Kate  McCabe  2013

Feminism & Gender Issues• Print  texts  such  as  Magazines  and  Adverts  raise  issues  about  gender  

construction• Stuart  Hall’s  Reflectionist vs Constructionist  view  of  the  Media  

considers  whether  Media  reflects   society  or  constructs  our  understanding  of  it  

• Look  for  evidence  of  Mulvey’s Male  Gaze• In  Advertising,  Dyer  identified  Lines  of  Appeal    -­‐ those  that  apply  to  

gender  include  our  desire  to  look  at  Beautiful  people,  Romance  &  Love  and  Dreams  &  Fantasy

• The  Bechdel test  used  in  Film  Analysis  asks  whether  women  can  have  a  role    without  being  referred  to  in  relation   to  men.  Look  for  evidence   in  print  texts  of  women  existing  without  reference   to  their  relationship   to  men.

• Baudrillard’s Hyperreality – society  accepts   the  reality  presented   to  them  and  gender  construction  is  one  of  those  realities

• Gerbner’s Cultivation   theory  – that  the  persistent  effects  of  Media  has  altered  our  perception  of  Gender   roles  over  time

• The  text  type  of  Advertising  requires  quick  recognition  of  roles  and  gender  may  be  presented  as  Binary  Oppositions  – this  is  an  example  of  the  Medium  is  the  Message  where  the  text  platform  constrains  and  helps  to  construct  the  message.

• Do  not  forget  Masculinity  is  also  constructed  through  media

Kate  McCabe  2013

Dumbed down Content• Associated  with  John  Humphreys• Information  Overload  – New  media  allows  for  access  to  

more  information   than  ever  before  but  Context  can  be  scarce

• Medium   is  the  Message  –Adverts,  Magazines  and  Posters  often  use  simplistic  content  and  binaries   for  instant  identificationWebsites  may  focus  on  content  over  context  –eg Twitter.Newspapers  may  adopt  some  features  of  simplified   form  to  condense  complex  news  stories

• Dumbing down  is  also  the  effect  of  competition   from  digital  technologies  making   it  necessary  for  Print  media  to  fight  hard  to  survive  in  a  media  saturated  market.  Dumbing   down  in  many  Print  text  types  (attention  on  celebrity  stories,  reference  to  high  profile  entertainment  events,  stories  which  produce  emotional   responses  etc.)  attracts  the  widest  possible  audience,   therefore  maintains    commercial  success.

Kate  McCabe  2013

Traditional Print Media

Kate  McCabe  2013

Shock tactics and violence• Newspapers  can  create  Mean  World  Syndrome  through  

their  cycle  of  reporting  bad  and  therefore,  newsworthy  events

• Newspapers can  be  instrumental   in  creating  Moral  Panic  (Cohen)  over  a  period  of  time   by  giving  prominence  to  a  particular  story

• Other  print  texts  which  may  use  codes  of  Violence  include  Film  Posters  or  other  Movie  Promotion  material    such  as  online  blogs,  review  sites  etc.

• Elite  can  control  what  is  deemed   suitable  for  Mass  consumption  and  fears  over  the  impact  of  Violent  Media  have  their  roots  in  deeper  issues  of  Class  – the  Chomsky  belief  that  Media  sedates   the  Masses  and  that  the  Mass  Working  classes   demand  a  steady  diet  of  Shock  Media  to  entertain  and  satisfy    (liberal  pluralism  –supply  and  demand)  and  they  are  unable  to  distinguish  between  reality  and  fiction.  

• Print  Media  in  their  fight  for  Audiences  and  need  to  be  commercially  viable  may  use  increasing  Engima codes,  encourage  the  ‘Culture  of  Anticipation’,  Shock  stories,  as  well  as  promote  ‘Exclusivity’  to  sell  products.

• Fear  of  Violence   in  Media  often  involves  the  idea  of  protecting  children  – assuming  they  ‘lack’   capacity  to  make  adult  distinctions.  

Kate  McCabe  2013

Kate  McCabe  2013