Media language theories

• what is Barthes semiotics theory?

  • all elements of a media text are does that need to be read
  • DENOTATION - the codes can be understood as the thing they are
  • CONNOTATION - the responses the codes create
• Todorov's narratology theory

  • all narratives share the same basic structure
  • equilibrium
  • disruption
  • new equilibrium
• Steve Neale's Genre theory

  • genres are dominated by repetition but also include differences
  • same but different
  • genre is recognisable bit changes over time or borrows from other genres
  • genre is important to institutions as it helps market texts
• Levi-Strauss Binary oppositions

  • the conflict between binary oppositions drives a narrative forward
  • the way these binary oppositions are resolved can have particular ideological significance
• Baudrillard Semiotics

  • the lines between texts and reality are becoming blurred
  • postmodern cultures, its no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation
  • in a post modern world of simulacra we are immersed in hyper reality