Theorists

Question 1

Stuart Hall - representation

Answer 1

• the use of stereotypes constructs representations of certain groups as ‘other’
• stereotypes come about when there are people in power who come from dominant hegemonic groups
• stereotypes reduce people to a few characteristics or traits

Question 2

Barthes - semiotics

Answer 2

• texts communicate ideas through signification
• signs can be connoted or denoted (literal or figurative level)
• signs become myths through naturalisation

Question 3

Narratology - Todorov

Answer 3

• all narratives share a basic structure moving from one equilibrium to another
• two states of equilibrium are separated by disruption or imbalance
• the way these are resolved can have ideological significance

Question 4

Genre Theory - Neal

Answer 4

• genres are dominated by the repetition of codes and conventions but must also incorporate chance and variance
• genres change as they borrow and overlap with each other

Question 5

Structuralism - Levi Strauss

Answer 5

• texts can only be understood through the analysis of their underlying structure
• meaning is often produced through oppositional pairs
• the resolution of these binary opposites can have ideological significance

Question 6

Postmodernism - Baudrillard

Answer 6

• boundaries between real and mediated worlds have collapsed
• signs no longer refer to anything real
• mediated images now seem more real than the reality they are supposed to represent (hyperreality)