theorist sheet

• What is the main idea of semiotics according to Roland Barthes?


  Texts communicate their meanings through a process of signification.
• What are the two levels at which signs can function according to Barthes?


  Denotation and connotation.
• What does the process of naturalisation achieve in Barthes' theory?


  Constructed meanings can seem self-evident and achieve the status of myth.
• What is the basic structure shared by all narratives according to Tzvetan Todorov?


  A movement from one state of equilibrium to another.
• What separates the two states of equilibrium in Todorov's narrative theory?


  A period of imbalance or disequilibrium.
• Why is the resolution of narratives significant according to Todorov?


  It can have particular ideological significance.
• What does Steve Neale's genre theory suggest about genres?


  Genres may be dominated by repetition but are also marked by difference, variation, and change.
• How do genres evolve according to Neale's theory?


  Genres change, develop, and vary as they borrow from and overlap with one another.
• What context do genres exist within according to Neale?


  Specific economic, institutional, and industrial contexts.
• What is the main idea of structuralism according to Claude Lévi-Strauss?


  Texts can best be understood through an examination of their underlying structure.
• How is meaning produced according to Lévi-Strauss?


  Meaning is dependent upon and produced through pairs of oppositions.
• What ideological significance can arise from resolving binary oppositions according to Lévi-Strauss?


  The way in which these oppositions are resolved can have particular ideological significance.
• What does Jean Baudrillard's postmodernism suggest about the boundaries between reality and media?


  The boundaries have collapsed, making it impossible to distinguish between reality and simulation.
• What is the concept of simulacra in Baudrillard's theory?


  We are immersed in a world of images that no longer refer to anything 'real'.
• What does hyperreality mean in Baudrillard's theory?


  Media images have come to seem more 'real' than the reality they supposedly represent.
• What is Stuart Hall's idea about representation?


  Representation is the production of meaning through language, defined as a system of signs.
• How is the relationship between concepts and signs governed according to Hall?


  It is governed by codes.
• What does stereotyping do according to Hall?


  Stereotyping reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits.
• When does stereotyping tend to occur according to Hall?


  Where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or "other".
• What does David Gauntlett suggest about media and identity?


  The media provide us with 'tools' or resources to construct our identities.
• How has the media's portrayal of identities changed according to Gauntlett?


  It now offers a more diverse range of stars, icons, and characters for individuals to choose from.
• What does Liesbet van Zoonen's feminist theory suggest about gender?


  Gender is constructed through discourse, varying according to cultural and historical context.
• What is a core element of western patriarchal culture according to van Zoonen?


  The display of women's bodies as objects to be looked at.
• How do visual and narrative codes differ in mainstream culture according to van Zoonen?


  The codes used to construct the male body as spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body.
• What does bell hooks define feminism as?


  A struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination.
• What is the political commitment of feminism according to hooks?


  Feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice.
• How do race and class intersect with feminism according to hooks?


  They determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against, or oppressed.
• What does Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity suggest about identity?


  Identity is performatively constructed by the expressions that are said to be its results.
• What does Butler mean by saying there is no gender identity behind expressions of gender?


  Gender identity is manufactured through a set of acts.
• How does Butler describe performativity?


  It is not a singular act, but a repetition and a ritual.
• What does Paul Gilroy's theory suggest about colonial discourses?


  They continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era.
• What does Gilroy mean by civilizationism?


  It constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions based on notions of otherness.
• What do Curran and Seaton argue about media control?


  The media is controlled by a small number of companies driven by profit and power.
• How does media concentration affect variety and creativity according to Curran and Seaton?


  It generally limits or inhibits variety, creativity, and quality.
• What do Curran and Seaton suggest about ownership patterns in media?


  More socially diverse patterns of ownership help create conditions for varied and adventurous media productions.
• What is the underlying struggle in UK regulation policy according to Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt?


  The struggle between the interests of citizens and the interests of consumers.
• What risks do global media corporations pose to traditional media regulation according to Livingstone and Lunt?


  Their increasing power and the rise of convergent media technologies place traditional approaches to regulation at risk.
• What do cultural industry companies aim to do according to David Hesmondhalgh?

  They try to minimise risk and maximise audiences through integration and formatting cultural products.
• How do the largest cultural industry companies operate according to Hesmondhalgh?


  They operate across a number of different cultural industries.
• What has happened to the radical potential of the internet according to Hesmondhalgh?


  It has been contained to some extent by its partial incorporation into profit-oriented cultural industries.