Key Terms Flashcards
(36 cards)
Archetype
A universal type or model of character that is found in many different texts, e.g. ingenue, anti-hero, wise old woman, hero-as-lover, hero-as-warrior, shadow trickster, mentor, loyal friend, temptress
Anchorage
Fixing of meaning
eg the copy text anchors (ie fixes to one spot) the meaning of an image (for instance, a single rose, that could be used for an ad for anything from a dating agency to a funeral home) in a print advertisement
Antagonist
The character whose function in a plot is to oppose the protagonist. In straightforward hero’s journey plots (most action adventures), the antagonist can be referred to as the villain. However, in character drama, the antagonist might not be a “bad” character, just someone who stands between the protagonist and his/her goals.
Audience
The recipients of a media text, or the people who are intended to read or watch or play or listen to it. A great deal of media studies work is concerned with the effects a text may have on an audience.
Binary Opposition
The contrast between two mutually exclusive concepts or things that creates conflict and drives a narrative e.g. good/evil, day/night, male/female, presence/absence, old/young
Censorship
Control over the content of a media text. Different media forms have different forms of censorship - sometimes from a government, but mainly from a regulatory agency, eg the British Board of Film Classification
CGI
Computer Generated Imagery. Refers to the (usually) 3-D effects that enhance all kinds of still and moving images, from text effects, to digital snow or fire, to the generation of entire landscapes.
Code
A system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning.
In media texts, we look at a range of different signs that can be loosely grouped into the following:
technical codes - all to do with the way a text is technically constructed - camera angles, framing, typography etc
verbal codes - everything to do with language -either written or spoken
symbolic codes - codes that can be decoded on a mainly connotational level - all the things which draw upon our experience and understanding of other media texts, our cultural frame of reference.
Conotation
Way in which meaning is created —
Connote = meaning by association, the deeper meaning (e.g. red connotes anger, passion, love, danger)
Convention
The widely recognised way of doing something - this has to do with content, style and form
eg the conventions of music video
they are the same length as the song (somewhere around 4 minutes, say)
they present the band, who look as though they are singing
they have lots of fast edits
Convergence
The way in which technologies and institutions come together in order to create something new. Cinema is the result of the convergence of photography, moving pictures (the kinetoscope, zoetrope etc), and sound. The iPad represents the convergence of books, TV, maps, the internet and the mobile phone
Demographic
Factual characteristics of a population sample, e.g. age, gender, race, nationality, income, disability, education.
Denotation
Way in which meaning is created —
Denote = literal or surface meaning e.g. red is the colour of a flower
Editorial
In a newspaper, Editorial refers to the opinion pieces (sometimes known as ‘leading articles’) written by senior reporters. Editorial in a magazine refers to the feature content that reflects the ethos of the publication
Enigma
A question that is not immediately answered and thus draws an audience into a text
eg. a body is discovered at the beginning of a tv detective drama. The killer’s identity is an enigma. We watch to find out who the killer is.
Gateskeeping
Quite an old-fashioned term to describe the way in which certain key personnel (news editors, newspaper owners mainly) have control over the information that is presented to audiences, and the way in which it is presented (the angle)
Genre
A way of categorising a media text according to its form, style and content. This categorisation is useful for producers (who can utilise a genre’s conventions) and audiences (who can utilise their expectations of the genre) alike
Globalisation
Process by which different cultures worldwide have come to share the same media texts e.g. movies and pop music.
Ideology
This is a complex concept - in its basic form it is a set of ideas or beliefs which are held to be acceptable by the creators of a media text. For example, a text might be described as having a feminist ideology, meaning it promotes the idea that women are the equal of men and should not be discriminated against on the grounds of gender.
Institution
A formal organization (with its own set of rules and behaviours) that creates and distributes media texts
Intertextuality
The influence that media texts have on each other. Sometimes this is the result of direct cross-references (e.g. music mash ups) or indirect (the way gossip news items regulate the way we view a star’s performance)
Narrative
The way in which a story, or sequence of events, is put together within a text. All media texts have some sort of narrative, from a single photographic image to a sports report to a feature film.
Narrative may be reduced to one simple equation which is
equilibrium - disequilibrium - new equilibrium
Neologism
Newly-coined word or phrase made up to describe a new trend, idea or gadget e.g. hopium, agnotology
News values
Ways of categorising and assessing news stories to decide on their newsworthiness
