KEY CONCEPTS OF MASS MEDIA AND POPULAR CULTURE

To Begin….

Do you remember what media is?Plural of the word mediumAn intervening means or agency used

when we want to communicate with people indirectly

What is a media text?Any form of reproduced

communication, from a book, film, or CD, to an ad, a toy, or a t-shirt

What is mass media?The methods of communication used

to reach large numbers of people at the same time

TV, newspapers, radio, magazines, film, books, the Internet, etc…

What are the six key roles media plays in our lives?

Supplies informationProvides entertainmentInfluences what we discuss and thinkShows us the images we have come to

accept as normal.Persuade us to adopt a positive image of

institutions and corporations (think advertising)

Allows us to expand our personal experience

What does it mean to be media literate?

• We must understand the impact of mass media on our daily lives

• We must DECONSTRUCT media texts to see how they were constructed and why, and need to determine their effect on audiences

What are the 4 questions you must ask yourself in order to fully understand a piece of mass media?

1. Who profits from this information and how are these profits generated?

2. Whose values and beliefs are being represented in this piece of information?

3. How closely does this information reflect reality?

4. What techniques have been used to present this information?

What is the media triangle and what do the three sides represent?

How does it apply to deconstructing media?

Codes and Conventions

Familiar and predictable forms and techniques used by the media to communicate certain ideas or to convey a desired impression

For ExampleA TV news anchor usually sits behind a

news desk and looks directly at the camera …

giggling the whole time about not wearing pants

Think you can spot them?

Let’s see if the following examples fit this description

In a television show, the camera moves in slow for a close up, on a man and a woman, lighting is dim, and the music is soft and slow. What is the scene about?

What is the usual setting for a TV family sitcom?

In the music industry, how do you distinguish a hard core punk fan from a hard core rap fan?

Take a wild guess…

According to today’s advertising, what types of people drink milk?

How does the phrasing of sports news affect the interpretation of the events?

For ExampleWhat are the implications of “Toronto

pounced by Sens … AGAIN!”

These are all codes : things we just seem to understand without being aware that they have been taught to us.

Beliefs, Ideology and Values

We each have a set of beliefs about the world.

For ExampleRoles of men and women in societyDiscipline techniquesYoung offendersDrugsAuthority figures (police, teachers, etc…)

These beliefs are grouped together to form an ideology

An ideology is a world view, a system of values, attitudes and beliefs which an individual, group or society holds to be true or important; these are shared by a culture or society about how that society should function.

Where do beliefs and ideologies come from?ChurchSchoolBiker gangFamilyAnd various other places…

Preferred Reading VS Opposition Reading

Preferred ReadingIf our interpretation of message

agrees with dominant view Opposition Reading

If our interpretation challenges dominant view

Images become invisible

For instance:Fancy car = beautiful, scantily clad

womanBeer = partyWomen = cleaners of households and

child careMen = lawn mowers and handymen

Are these accurate representations? You tell me!

Genre

Media products can be classified into categories or genre. The word 'genre' comes from the French word meaning 'type' or 'class'. Media genres appear within a medium (film, television) such as the "horror" film or the television "comedy".

A genre can be recognized by its common set of distinguishing features (codes and conventions).

These features associated with a genre's style and content may be, for example, a particular setting, character types, technical codes (lighting or music).

Creepy music, dramatic pauses, scary faces… Ever watch a horror movie without the music?

Audiences recognize these features and therefore expect certain things.

For example, at the end of a romantic comedy film the two lead characters will usually realize they are in love.

Audiences often select a text solely on the basis of its genre. (I prefer horror movies)

Audiences recognize these features and therefore expect certain things.

For example, at the end of a romantic comedy film the two lead characters will realize they are in love.

Audiences often select a text on the basis of its genre.

You may also find that some media texts blur genre boundaries.

(romantic comedy)

• Boy meets girl; boy loses girl; boy gets girl back, You laugh.

As a result, producers market texts according to genre because a niche audience has already been stereotypically identified (through tons of research) as taking pleasure in that type of text.

(sci-fi for white, teenage boys; romance for middle-aged women)

However, a genre is not static – it changes all the time – resulting in hybrid (or sub-) genres and changing codes and conventions. There is also a relationship between genres and the societies in which they are created.

Audience

Could be one person reading a magazine to millions of people watching an awards show or sporting event.

There are two ways of looking at ourselves as media audiences:

The first is a consumers of media productsDescribed as target audiencesThe members of society that are

targeted by producers, broadcasters and advertisers for a given product

The second is as active participantsEach of us making sense of the media

in our own wayCan be based on age, gender, social

and financial position, family and life experiences

• For Example– Many women read

Harlequin Romances despite the common belief that these books are sexist and demeaning towards women.

– Researchers have discovered that some women will ignore the stereotypical behaviour and focus mainly on the situations where the women take charge and assert themselves

Marshall McLuhan

Coined the term “the medium is the message”

He claims that each medium codifies reality in a unique way – each one has its own unique language, grammar and bias

For example

• Nixon VS Kenney– Presendential Debate (1960s)

Denotation

Intended meaning Literal meaning

Connotation

Implied meaning or a value judgment about the nature of art.

An additional idea or feeling that an audience may attach to a word beyond its literal meaning.

Ex…

For females…

40-ish connotation 48 Outgoing connotation Loud! Fun connotation annoying Open-minded connotation desperate Free spirit connotation drugs

For males…

40-ish connotation 52 looking for 25 Honest connotation Liar! Mature connotation Until you get to know

him Open-minded connotation Wants your sister Educated connotation Will treat you like an

idiot Poet connotation In bathroom stalls Spiritual connotation Once went to church

with his grandmother on Easter Sunday

Industry

Media and popular culture industries are a powerful and vast network of businesses made up of multi-billion dollar corporations made up of thousands of people.

Companies creating and managing most of our entertainment and mass communication systems are owned by a small number of global giants.

Result?

Cultural homogenisation!All news, TV shows, and movies will

look the same(i.e. On a small scale, if a newspaper

company has negative news about a news show owned by the same company, we will never hear about it!)

It’s not that bad … is it?

You tell me

What about Canada?

Check it out! http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/

map-canada-media/

A Blockbuster Deal!

http://archives.cbc.ca/economy_business/business/clips/4839/

Media Convergence

http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment/media/topics/790/