Theorists

• Barthes


  semiology

  • everything has a denotation, connotation, and myth.
  • these can perpetuate stereotypes in the media
• todorov

  narratology

  • equilibrium > disruption > new equilibrium
• steve neale

  genre theory

  • genres are constantly evolving
  • they mix genre conventions and become 'hybrids'
• levi-strauss

  structuralism

  • ideologies are created by positioning binary opposities
  • this is what drives stories
• stuart hall

  representation theory

  • meaning is created by what is present, absent, and different
  • this forms the 'preferred meaning' of a text
• david gauntlett

  indentity theory

  • online media allows people to express themselves
  • increasing platforms for creativity allows for a wider range of expression
• van zoonen


  feminist theory

  • women's bodies are represented as objects/accessories
  • men's bodies are presented as spectacles
• bell hooks

  feminist theory

  • intersectional feminism
• judith butler

  gender performativity

  • "gender is not who we are, but what we do"
  • shaped by the way we are socialised
• paul gilroy

  post colonialist theory

  • post colonial melancholia - colonial countries refusing to leg go of their percieved 'greatness'
  • media portrays ethnic minorities as 'other' to enforce this
• curran & seaton

  power & media industries

  • because of capitalist corporations and increasing vertical integration, less opinions and experiences get represented in media
  • caters to the experiences of those in power
• livingston & lunt


  regulation theory

  • media should be regulated to keep people safe
  • online media and globalisation makes it almost impossible
• hesmondhalgh

  cultural identites

  • industries rely on repetition to sell content
  • avoids economic risk, which is especially high in the media industry
• bandura


  media effects

  • media influences people and directly changes their behaviour
  • (bobo doll experiment)
• stuart hall

  reception theory

  • producers encode 'preferred meanings' into their texts
  • audiences can either accept these (dominant reading), oppose them (oppositional reading), or somewhere in between (negotiated reading)
• henry jenkins

  fandom

  • fans are 'textual poachers'
  • online communities form a collective intelligence which can influence media
  • fans have gone from passive consumers to active participants because of the internet
• shirky

  end of audience theory

  • social media allows everyone to be a creator
  • because everyone is creating contect for each other, no one is a passive audience member anymore