Media dictionary

• What is the term for the study of signs and symbols in media?

  Semiotics
• Who is a key figure associated with semiotics?

  Roland Barthes
• What does the term 'sign' refer to in semiotics?

  The complete unit of meaning
• What is a 'signifier'?

  The visual or auditory representation experienced
• What does 'signified' mean in semiotics?

  The meaning made in the mind of the decoder
• What is an 'icon' in semiotics?

  A simplified signifier resembling the signified
• What does 'index' refer to in semiotics?

  A sign that indicates the presence of the signified
• How is a 'symbol' defined in semiotics?

  Connection between signifier and signified is arbitrary
• What does 'denotation' refer to?

  What is present in the representation
• What is 'connotation' in semiotics?

  Meanings beyond the literal representation
• How does Barthes define 'myth'?

  Culturally constructed products perceived as natural
• What is 'ideology' in the context of media theory?

  Beliefs and values shaping perception of the world
• What does 'anchorage' do in semiotics?

  Limits potential meanings of a sign
• What is a 'paradigm' in semiotics?

  Signs relate as alternatives to create meanings
• What does 'syntagm' refer to?

  Signs relate in order to create meaning
• What is 'narrative structure' according to Todorov?

  Chronological order with clear beginning, middle, end
• What is 'equilibrium' in narrative structure?

  The point of order at the narrative's start
• What does 'disruption' refer to in narrative structure?

  Event causing change in the equilibrium
• What are 'narrative codes'?

  Five unifying codes in a realist narrative
• What is 'narration' in storytelling?

  The way a story is told and perspective
• What does 'diegesis' refer to?

  Events occurring within the narrative's universe
• What is 'heterodiegetic narration'?

  Narrator does not participate in the story
• What is 'homodiegetic narration'?

  Narrator is part of their own story
• What is 'autodiegetic narration'?

  Narrator is the main character in their story
• Who proposed the seven character types in narratives?

  Vladimir Propp
• What is the role of the protagonist in a narrative?

  Character around whom the action revolves
• What is the role of the antagonist in a narrative?

  Character who opposes the hero
• What is the role of the dispatcher in a narrative?

  Character who sends the hero on a quest
• What is the role of the helper in a narrative?

  Character who aids the hero
• What is the role of the donor in a narrative?

  Character who gives advice or useful objects
• What is the role of the princess in a narrative?

  Character who is the motivation for the hero
• What is the role of the false hero in a narrative?

  Character who betrays the hero and is punished
• What is a 'quest narrative'?

  A story describing a desire to achieve something
• What does 'causality' mean in narratives?

  Events happen because the plot dictates it
• What does 'plot' refer to in narrative theory?

  Arrangement of events and character actions
• Who described 20 common story plots?

  Ronald Tobias
• What is a 'masterplot'?

  A common story plot used in narratives
• What are the 20 master plots described by Ronald Tobias?

  1. Quest
  2. Adventure
  3. Pursuit
  4. Rescue
  5. Escape
  6. Revenge
  7. The Riddle
  8. Rivalry
  9. Underdog
  10. Temptation
  11. Metamorphosis
  12. Transformation
  13. Maturation
  14. Love
  15. Forbidden Love
  16. Sacrifice
  17. Discovery
  18. Wretched Excess
  19. Ascension
  20. Descension
• What does Neale say about genre?

  Genre is a set of great expectations
• What does Neale state about texts and genres?

  Every text participates in one or several genres