MEP 203 CONTEMPORARY MEDIA THEORY

4. STRUCTURALISM AND SEMIOTICS

What is structuralism?

A body of theory on how society is structured/shaped by systems of codes

Language Politics Fashion Sport Taste, and so on...

What about semiotics? A method used to DECODE the codes

that structure our social lives A synchronic analysis of these codes,

also known as SIGNS [sr + sd = sign] Semiotics considers 2 dimensions to

any system of signs (Saussure 1974):1. Langue – the whole system of rules2. Parole – a sign that is part of system

Structuralism and youth subcultures

TEDS MODS PUNKS

RAVERS

CLOTHES

Suits Smart casual

Homemade

Baggy

OBJECTS Cigars Scooters

Dog collars

Whistles

DRUGS Tobacco

LSD Dope Ecstasy

SLANG “Spiv” “About town”

“Piss off”

“Buzzin”

Hebdige’s Subculture (1979) Used semiotics to read the systems

of codes expressed by youth groups A subculture operates through a

system of codes which offend the majority, threaten the status quo, contradict the “myth of consensus” (p. 18)

HOMOLOGY – the symbolic fit between values and lifestyles

Hall (1999), Encoding/Decoding

Media producers ENCODE the texts they produce within a professional code (political, commercial, technical, etc.)

Audiences DECODE these texts in 3 ways:1. Dominant/preferred code2. Negotiated code3. Oppositional code

Morley (1980), The ‘Nationwide’ Audience

Used Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model to interpret audience focus-group responses:1. Preferred decodings – bank managers, apprentices (trainee labourers)2. Negotiated decodings – uni students, trade union officials3. Oppositional decodings – FE students, shopkeepers

Conclusions Structuralist theories interpret CODES Media texts (such as TV programmes)

hold meanings in how they are made (ENCODED) and received (DECODED)

However… encoded media messages are decoded in POLYSEMIC ways

Do Hall and Morley underestimate the complexity of audience decodings?