Section 1b of the exam question:

Section 1b of the exam question:How was media language used in your production?

Again question 1b is asking you to only talk about one of the things you have made from AS to A2

What is media language?

Media language is one of the Key terms that might be used in the exam.

Media language is an umbrella term to describe the way media audiences read media texts through understanding formal and conventions structures.

Media literacy describes our ability to read and write in this extended language

What is media literacy

If you read the A2 book you will see the importance of media literacy enough to have an A-level in it, but you will also be able to create media products based on conventions, from your research you will produce a mode of address suitable for your audience. And be able to theorise your own creativity and support this will academic theorise such as postmodernism, representation etc.

So deconstructing i.e. taking apart how you have created your product using

to the examiners. That they want to see at A2 you Media literacy then is linked to media language because

you can

Media Language

Is one of the key concepts they might ask you to write about for question 1b, where they ask you to pick and write about one of your productions. In this case I have selected for you to write about your trailer, as this will help you to also create your trailer as you are considering how you are going to make it.

Other concepts they might ask you about are: Genre , Narrative , Representation, Audience

Media language is a big concept as it covers a bit of all of these

Semiotics

In order to analyse how we have used media language to create meaning we have to analyse the micro elements of how we have encoded out media products to create meaning.

Remember last lesson we mentioned audience theory, semiotics is based on encoding and decoding, i.e. how the audience interprets what they read.

Stuart Hall 1980 encoding and decoding. Stuart Hall is a cultural theorists and

one of the key theorists of reception theory.

He put forward the idea in 1980 of Encoding and Decoding, he said that media producer encode media products with a preferred reading, but he argued that audience would often decode this in other ways i.e. negotiation and be oppositional.

The preferred reading

The preferred reading also known as the dominant hegemonic reading (Marxist perspective) where the audience accepts the meaning created by a producer. It is called a hegemonic meaning as hegemonic is the dominant viewpoint produced by the ideology of society, here dominant viewpoint is male, white, elite and well educated.

One theory of the way a media text is understood by the audience is called the preferred meaning. In this model, the meaning which is created through encoding by the codes and conventions is accepted by the audience and they interpret the meaning the producer enclosed.

Negotiated

The negotiated or negotiated hegemonic position is established when the audience member negotiates with the media text i.e. You agree with aspects of the production, but disagree with other. In this model you understand the preferred reading, but rather than be passive, you negotiate and adapt the preferred meaning. This model places emphasis on the audience in the process of constructing a meaning i.e. You are asked to sympathise with a character in that film, which you dislike, but you enjoy the film. You are negotiating your own understanding this is an active response.

Oppositional meaning

The oppositional hegemonic position is established when the audience member understands the preferred meaning, but disagrees with it due to their own set of attitudes and beliefs. For instance this could be seen where a Palestinian watches the American news, they have a conflict with the text itself due to their beliefs or experiences of the trouble.

This theory is important as it can challenge the effects model and the hypodermic needle model because it challenges that all the audiences are the same, and that they will have the same experience from a text.

What’s this all got to do with semiotics Well semiotics is the study of signs

and codes to create meaning and you might have to explain how you have encoded your trailer to create meaning, which audiences will decode; you hope they decode the preferred reading.

Semiotics

Is form of media language it is the studying of signs and meaning. There are different types of signs Semiotics is a way of explaining how we make meaning. Semiotics recognises that all meaning is encoded in things that create meaning. When we see objects and images or hear / read words we cannot perceive more than an idea. This idea is what we call “meaning”. We have learned to decode this meaning as we grow up and are educated. The important realisation is that such meaning is not our own idea but someone else’s. For example, if you read the word “coward” you decode it by referring to values that our culture relates both to cowardice and its binary opposite term, heroism. In semiotics, a sign is the smallest single unit of meaning we can decode and which contributes to overall meaning, e.g. your clothes are a group of ‘fashion signs’ and might have been ‘encoded’ by you – consciously or otherwise – to create the meaning of ‘coolness’; the ‘FCUK’ on your T-shirt, for example, is a group of signs that create a code of, perhaps, youthful rebelliousness. Simplistically speaking, meaning exists at two “levels”: a sign always acts at a basic level – called its denotation; this is a literal meaning; but, when it occurs in certain contexts, a group of signs – a code – can also suggest or connote extra meaning, e.g. a rose denotes a kind of flower; but when handed to a girl by a boy, it also acts to connote romance (and, importantly, in a media text, this would also act to reinforce ways of thinking about how romance ‘should’ ideally be conducted – one of our society’s

dominant ideologies)

Semiotics

Semiotic signs In semiotics, a code is any group of signs that seem to “fit” together ‘naturally’

to create an overall unit of meaning (e.g. the rose is a sign which when added to the signs of a girl and a boy creates the ‘romance cultural code’.

Filmic codes are a form of technical code because filmic equipment is needed to create them, e.g. cameras, microphones, lighting, etc. In semiotics there are three basic types of sign and code need to know about:

Iconic signs and codes are created to appear exactly like the thing itself, e.g. an image of a cowboy looks like – signifies – a cowboy. But… importantly, iconic codes always act to represent more than the thing itself, e.g. when we see an image of a cowboy, our culture associates ideas of toughness and action with this particular iconic code (which also acts to reinforce what masculinity ‘means’ in our culture – an ideological meaning).

Indexical signs show a connection between things they are a pointer rather than representing what they act as ‘cues’ to existing knowledge, e.g. smoke signifies fire, sweating suggests hotness or exercise. These codes are a kind of media shorthand. They are very common and useful to media producers.

Symbolic codes act as signifiers of meaning totally disconnected from what they denote, e.g. a red heart shape acts only to symbolise love; a white dove symbolises peace; red symbolises danger, power or sexuality, white symbolises innocence, etc.

Indexical

What indexical signs have you used?

symbolic

What symbolic signs have you used?

Iconic signs

What iconic signs have you used?

Semiotics creating meaning An important realisation is that the meaning a code communicates is

always culturally determined, i.e. We learn the meaning as we grow up in a particular group, society or culture, e.g. the national flag means much more than its denotation of a piece of coloured cloth; it also acts to connote patriotism and pride. An important filmic and media code is the enigma code which work by creating an intriguing ‘question’ that the media text will go on to answer. Cinema trailers and posters use enigma codes to tempt the viewers. The term convention is important; it refers to an established way of doing something; we are so used to conventional ways that fail to account for their effect and often see them as somehow ‘natural’ – yet are anything but. So: women in Westerns are conventionally either ‘very good’ (the ‘Madonna’) or ‘very bad’ (the ‘whore’), and this seems entirely ‘normal’ within this film genre; equally, the wheels of a car always screech; a guns always kills outright; a punch always knocks a person out cold. Genre and narrative are important media conventions (see later), as are editing techniques and the use of certain shot types (such as an establishing shot sequence or montage – see below).

Genre

What is genre? How do you recognise genre? Using the following PowerPoint this

will not only prepare you for question 1b key concepts, but also use this to help you with question 1a, using evidence from genre for your key concepts section.

Theorists you may use

GENRE Daniel Chandler (2001) – genre is a French work meaning ‘type’,

‘kind’ or ‘class’. Barry Keith Grant (1995) – all genres have sub-genres that have

familiar and recognisable characteristics. David Buckingham (1993), Steve Neale (1995) – genres evolve and

change over time; they are dynamic. They are a process of ‘systemisation’ and therefore

naturally change over time. Christian Metz (1974) – genres go through a life cycle over time –

experimental, classic, parody, deconstruction. Jason Mittell (2001) genres surpass cultural boundaries; they are

used by institutions to sell products as they as they include familiar codes and conventions and cultural references.

Rick Altman (1999) – genre offers audiences a set of pleasures; visceral, emotional, intellectual.

David Bordwell (1989) – any theme may appear in any genre.

What Is Genre?• ‘Genre’ is a critical tool that helps us studytexts and audience responses to texts bydividing them into categories based oncommon elements.

• Daniel Chandler (2001) - the word genre comes from the French (and originally Latin) word for ‘type'.

The term is widely used in literary theory, media theory to refer to a distinctive type of ‘text’.

Genre

The Main Genres Action / Adventure What defines a film's genre? Comedy Characters Crime/gangster Mise-en-scene Drama NarrativeFamily Music Historical / Epic EditingHorror

Musical Science Fiction War Westerns

But remember: Genre is not 'set' - it is fluid, as it is defined by the audience. Genres have changed over time they have become parodied, hybrid and subverted

Guess the genre

Task watch the following clips and write down what you notice about the following:

Characters Mise-en-scene Narrative Music editing

Film 1

Film 2

Film 3

Film 4

(Barry Keith Grant, 1995)

All genres have sub genres (genre within a genre). •This means that they are divided up into more specific categories that allow audiences to identify them specifically by their familiar and what become recognisable characteristics Contrasting view held by Neal•However, Steve Neale (1995) stresses that “genres are not ‘systems’ they are processes of systematization” – i.e. They are dynamic and evolve over time

Neale’s view means genres are not fixed but can change do you agree?

Task 2: How is your trailer identifiable, do you agree with Grant’s view or do you agree with Neale or both? You can use these quotes in your evaluation.

Genre

When a range of media texts, whether in print, film , music, or TV they share similar forms and conventions the audience have certain expectations this is called genre. Genre is the kind of narrative being told, e.g. detective, Western. It defines a text by its similarities to other texts. Watching a film, we have many pre-existing memories and expectations regarding characters, settings and events: it is this that helps us enjoy predicting what might happen next and working out where events will lead. Genre allows a director to create seeming realism because we fail to see that what we see is not reality but a media convention. So… in the gangster genre, we don’t mind the owner of a casino being horribly killed because we see him, within this genre, as belonging to the side of the ‘villain’.

.

The great debateIn film theory, genre refers to the method of film categorization based on similarities in the narrative elements from which films are constructed. Most theories of film genre are borrowed from literary genre criticism. As with genre in literary context, there is a great deal of debate over how to define or categorize genre. Besides the basic distinction in genre between fiction and documentary, film genres can be categorized in several ways. Fictional films are usually categorized according to their setting, theme topic mood, or format. The setting is the environment where the story and action takes place. The theme or topic refers to the issues or concepts that the film revolves around. The mood is the emotional tone of the film. Format refers to the way the film was shot, eg widescreen or the manner of presentation eg 35mm 16mm or 8mm. An additional way of categorizing film genres is by the target audience. Some film theorists argue that neither format nor target audience are film genres. Film genres often branch out in subgenres, as in the case of the courtroom and trial focused subgenre of drama known as legal drama. They can be combined to form hybrid genres, such as the melding of horror and science fiction in the Aliens films. 

Generic features

Genre share the same elements of paradigms with others in the same category, this makes them recognisable to the producers who create them and the audience. Audiences recognise these patterns and things brings about a certain expectations i.e. horror films the isolated house, the final girl etc.

(Analyse what paradigms your trailer contains see next slide?)

Generic Characteristics across all texts share similar elements and can be identified by these elements. These elements can be referred to as paradigms meaning patters, and audience have certain expectations, what they expect to see. As Neale (1980) suggests “Genre is a set of expectations”.

Think about it from an institutions context why is it certain genres get made more than others, why are certain actors association with certain genres? Think about the success of Twilight, or the bond franchise?

Paradigms:

1. Typical Mise-en-scène/Visual style(iconography, props, set design, lighting,temporal and geographic location, costume,shot types, camera angles, special effects).2. Typical types of Narrative (plots, historicalsetting, set pieces).(For section B of the exam notice although genre is a concept it is also linked to narrative)3. Generic Types, i.e. typical characters (dotypical male/female roles exist, archetypes?).

Typical studios/production companies…

4. Typical Personnel (directors, producers,actors, stars, auteurs etc.).5. Typical Sound Design (sound design,dialogue, music, sound effects).6. Typical Editing Style.

How does this apply to your film trailer’s genre, how have you created it based on these elements in this paradigm?

Genre horror conventions how have you made yours?

All Genres have Subgenres • Genre is a type, but these types can be divided and sub divided into specific categories that allow audiences to identify allow the audience to recognised the, specifically bytheir familiar and what becomerecognisable characteristics.

•Steve Neale (1995) stresses that“genres are not systems they areprocesses” – they are dynamic and evolve over time.

Jason Mittell (2001) argues that genres arecultural categories that surpass the boundaries of media texts and operate within industry, audience, and cultural practices as well. This means that genres change over time, i.e from horror we now have subgenres like slasher, zombie etc.

In short, industries use genre to sell products to audiences. Media producers use familiar codes and conventions that often make cultural references to their audience’s knowledge of society + other texts.

Genre allows audiences to make choices about what products they want to consume through acceptance in order to fulfil a particular pleasure.

Pleasure of genre for audiences

• Rick Altman (1999) argues that genre offers audiences ‘a set of pleasures’.

Emotional Pleasures: The emotional pleasures offered toaudiences of genre films are particularly significant when theygenerate a strong audience response.

Visceral Pleasures: Visceral pleasures are ‘gut’ responses and are defined by how the film’s stylistic construction elicits a physical effect upon its audience. This can be a feeling of revulsion, kinetic speed, or a ‘roller coaster ride’.

Intellectual Puzzles: Certain film genres such as the thriller orthe ‘whodunit’ offer the pleasure in trying to unravel a mysteryor a puzzle. Pleasure is derived from deciphering the plot andforecasting the end or the being surprised by the unexpected.

The Strengths Of Genre TheoryThe main strength of genre theory is thateverybody uses it and understands it – media experts use it to study media texts, the media industry uses it to develop and market texts and audiences use it to decide what texts to consume.

The potential for the same concept to beunderstood by producers, audiences andscholars makes genre a useful critical tool. Itsaccessibility as a concept also means that itcan be applied across a wide range of texts.

Genre Development and Transformation

Over the years genres develop and change as the wider society that produce them also changes, a process that is known as generic transformation.

Metz (1974) argued that genres go through a cycle of changes during their lifetime.

1.Experimental Stage-2.Classic Stage3.Parody Stage4.Deconstruction Stage

Nicholas Abercrombie (1996) suggests that 'the boundaries between genres are shifting and becoming more permeable'

Abercrombie is concerned with modern television, which he suggests seems to be engaged in 'a steady dismantling of genre’

Genres are not fixed. They constantly change and evolve over time.

David Buckingham (1993) argues that 'genre is not... Simply "given" by the culture: rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change’.

As postmodern theorist Jacques Derrida reminds us – ‘the law of the law of genre is a principle of contamination, a law of impurity’.

In terms of your coursework...

• How we define a genre depends on ourpurposes (Chandler, 2001).

• What was your purpose and the medium?

• Your audience and the industry sector youwere working within will have defined whatyou understood as the genre and sub-genreof the texts you created.

Genre point 1:

Film companies use genre both to sell and help make successful films: a popular genre creates a greater chance of commercial success, so genre is a cost efficient way of planning a film, making it cheaper to write new stories and reducing the need for entirely new sets; a negative aspect is that it being ‘safe’, it can also act to reduce choice and creativity.

Point 2

There are three types of genres : Major, sub genre and hybrid.

Major genre: the main one i.e. horror, western, action etc

Sub genres i.e Slasher, Zombie,Vampires etc

(Which genre is your trailer, how does it fit with the paradigm analysis, is it unconventional) Consider feminist theory and what they say about your genre?

Genre point 3 Genre is embedded into cultural it is

what people expect. Genres also change over time, until the 1990s reality did not exist. Christian Metz (1974) said – genres go through a life cycle over time –

experimental classic parody deconstruction

Analysing your horror trailer using genre theory

For instance does your horror trailer challenge or following genre conventions? Use the writing frame below to focus your thought>.

Explanation

Evidence Argument terminology

feminism

Here you must explain your product to support your point , again look at contrasting theories this shows high level thinking. Use a quotes and theorist

Here you must use evidence to support your point . I.e. what is it specifically that you have used that makes your trailer suit that genre. What theory (feminism and genre) what theorists i.e. Neale’s paradigms i.e mise-en-scene, narrative etc

Here you must use both evidence and argument to support your point and use theorists. I.e. use Neale view of paradigms and explain how you have used mise-en-scene, narrative etc (include theorists from narrative) theorists

What terminology are you going to use

Consider what feminist say about your trailer?

Metz

Metz believed that genre develops through four stages: Experimental - Bulding blocks for future horrors to go by. Early stages of horror setting up the general codes and conventions of the horror genre.

Classic/Classical - Movies that have followed the general guidelines set out in the experimental stage.

Parody - Movies that mock the genre, usually turned into comedy.

Deconstruction - Movies that pick that take codes and conventions from the Horror and Thriller genre and combine them into one movie

Using Metz formula with films Applying it to these horror films: Seven Frankenstein Dracula The Blair Witch Project The Sixth Sense Carry On Screaming Nosferatu The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Scary Movie Abbot + Costello Meet Frankenstein Scream

Using Metz formual

Experimental: Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Classical: Dracula, Frankenstein Parody:Carry On Screaming, Abbot

+ Costello, Meet Frankenstein Deconstruction : Se7en, Scream,

The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project

“Media texts rely on audience knowledge of generic codes and conventions in order for them to create meaning”.Explain how you used or subverted generic conventions in one of your trailer.

Remember Explanation, Analysis, Argument, Examples and terminology. Use Quotes and a structure format on the following pages:

Homework

Use this writing frameExplanation

Fill this in

Evidence Argument terminology

Explain your answer?

What evidence and theorists?

How are your going to explain, provide evidence and use theorists to argue for and against. Remember show both sides to get those extra points?

What terminology are you going to use?

Using genre theory and theorists The following uses examples of

theorists and what you might say to support your work. Remember if they ask you to talk about Genre this has to be interlinked with narrative. You must talk about both as they are inseparable.

Task

1. For each one of these theorists I want you to think about films that you have seen do you agree with these statements? Give me examples of how the film follows this think of what we expect to see with generic codes?

Can you apply this to your own trailer if not why not?

Nicholas Abercrombie

Nicholas Abercrombie identifies the use of genre for media producers when he writes “Television producers set out to exploit genre conventions”. His argument is that media producers can re-use conventions, creating formulaic and conventional products that are familiar and appeal to the audience, but that are also likely to succeed and therefore are less risky for the producer. Think about what your audience expects to see have you followed this or have you challenged this?

David Buckingham

Genre is not simply given by the culture, rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change.” David Buckingham

  It is important to recognise that genres shift and

change over time, and Buckingham’s statement above acknowledges this. I would argue that this is vital to understanding music videos, where in order to appeal to the audience and seem cutting-edge and new, the producers have to reinvent and revise generic conventions to create a fresh and appealing but recognisably packageable product.

Genre - Repertoire of Elements

Generic Feature Explanation Link to other Key Concepts Characterisation This is when stock characters are present in a media text (we sometimes call them stereotypes), this can also refer to stars/actors who play a particular type of role (ie, Bruce Willis - action/thriller), personal qualities of main characters (this can include motivations, goals and behaviours) Representation and Narrative Setting (Diegesis) The geographical (place) and historical (context) of the text might help identify genre. Representation (cultural ref)

Pick either a horror, rom-com or action film and analyse the following: Generic Feature that might let you analyse genre? characters stereotypes? who play a particular type of role (ie, Bruce Willis -

action/thriller) personal qualities of main characters (this can

include motivations, goals and behaviours) Representation and Narrative Setting? (Diegesis) The geographical (place)?

historical (context) of the text might help identify genre. Representation (cultural ref)

Christian Metz

In creating my horror trailer I was keen to draw upon familiar generic conventions of the horror , but to also try to develop some of these conventions. In this way, my trailer can be understood in terms of Christian Metz’s theory that genres go through stages: the Experimental/ the Classic/ the Parody/ the Deconstruction. I would argue that my video utilises enough classic conventions of the genre so as to be recognisable as belonging to the horror genre, but that it also seeks to deconstruct and take apart some of these conventions, and in doing so develops the genre.

Have you done this?

Robert Stam

While some genres are based on story content (the war film), other are borrowed from literature (comedy, melodrama) or from other media (the musical). Some are performer-based (the Astaire-Rogers films) or budget-based (blockbusters), while others are based on artistic status (the art film), racial identity (Black cinema), locat[ion] (the Western) or sexual orientation (Queer cinema). (Stam 2000, 14).

Problems with genre theory? Defining genres may not initially seem particularly problematic but it should already

be apparent that it is a theoretical minefield. Robert Stam identifies four key problems with generic labels (in relation to film): extension (the breadth or narrowness of labels); normativism (having preconceived ideas of criteria for genre membership); monolithic definitions (as if an item belonged to only one genre); biologism (a kind of essentialism in which genres are seen as evolving through a standardized life cycle) (Stam 2000, 128-129).

Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes or settings) and/or form (including structure and style) which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them. Alternative characterizations will be discussed in due course. The attempt to define particular genres in terms of necessary and sufficient textual properties is sometimes seen as theoretically attractive but it poses many difficulties. For instance, in the case of films, some seem to be aligned with one genre in content and another genre in form. The film theorist Robert Stam argues that 'subject matter is the weakest criterion for generic grouping because it fails to take into account how the subject is treated' (Stam 2000, 14). Outlining a fundamental problem of genre identification in relation to films, Andrew Tudor notes the 'empiricist dilemma':

To take a genre such as the 'western', analyse it, and list its principal characteristics, is to beg the question that we must first isolate the body of films which are 'westerns'. But they can only be isolated on the basis of the 'principal characteristics' which can only be discovered from the films themselves after they have been isolated. (Cited in Gledhill 1985, 59)

End essay with: Try and use Stam as this shows a problem with the theory, and then suggest that genre is useful so producers know what people what to see and as Neale suggests audiences have expectations about genre

Narrative

What is narrative

A narrative can be both a work of fiction and non fiction a book, writing, song, film, television, video games, photography or theatre

Narrative In media terms, narrative is the coherence/organisation given to a series of facts. The human

mind needs narrative to make sense of things. We connect events and make interpretations based on those connections. In everything we seek a beginning, a middle and an end. We understand and construct meaning using our experience of reality and of previous texts. Each text becomes part of the previous and the next through its relationship with the audience. What does narrative mean? The way that stories are told, how meaning is constructed to achieve the understanding of the audience.

Groups events into cause and effect – action and inaction. Organises time and space in very compressed form. The voice of the narrative can vary; whose story is being told and from whose perspective? Narrative plot refers to everything audibly or visibly present, i.e. selective. Narrative story refers to all the events, explicitly presented or referred. In film, narrative is constructed through elements like camerawork, lighting, sound, mise-en-

scene and editing.

The difference between Story & Narrative: "Story is the irreducible substance of a story (A meets B, something happens, order returns),

while narrative is the way the story is related (Once upon a time there was a princess...)" (Key Concepts in Communication - Fiske et al (1983))

Media Texts Reality is difficult to understand, and we struggle to construct meaning out of our everyday

experience. Media texts are better organised; we need to be able to engage with them without too much effort. We have expectations of form, a foreknowledge of how that text will be constructed. Media texts can also be fictional constructs, with elements of prediction and fulfilment which are not present in reality. Basic elements of a narrative, according to Aristotle:

Narrative Plot is the basic structure of any story but narrative can have a variety of internal

structures related to style, temporal elements and codification of the message. Plot describes a series of events that happens to the characters in a described setting. Ideally, all events should follow logically in order to maintain the continuity of the story. Larger texts often have subplots that run simultaneously with the main one.

A-Plot is the term used for the main plot that binds all the subplots. The A-plot is not necessarily the most important one.

A Subplot or Side Story is a plot that has no direct connection to the A-Plot, but is important for understanding various aspects of the characters' personalities and the world created by the author.

There are several kinds of subplots: A Character Arc describes the events happening to a (secondary) character and allows

the reader to learn more about his background. A Story Arc is a partial plot that is typical for episodic storytelling media such as TV

series. It describes events that happen to the characters over several episodes, but is not crucial for understanding the events that occur in various episodes.

Story-within-a-story is a technique used to tell a story during the action of another one. This is more properly called a Frame Narrative.

Other possible plot patterns include: A Quest is a journey toward a goal typically used as a plot in mythology. In literature, the

quest requires great exertion on the part of the hero, typically including much travel, which allows the storyteller to introduce exotic locations and cultures. Side-quests are often used to develop character depth by give opportunity for a seemingly perfect character to have flaws that can possibility provoke his downfall. Often side-quests are stepping stones to the completion of a final goal.

The Monomyth (often referred to as the Hero's Journey) is a cyclical journey found in myths as discussed by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

Narrative

NARRATIVE Narratives are stories. They are our way of making sense of our lives and the world. When we want to tell or hear about life, we want to tell it and hear it in the form of a story. This means that we frequently follow a particular form and structure when we tell about things, whether we tell about real or imaginary events. We have learned to use narrative as the means of telling about people and events such that it has become ‘hard wired’ into our mind as the most interesting way to tell about events in life and the world. Because we have grown so used to using it, narrative has become “transparent”, i.e. we don’t know we use it. This means we can call it a convention; it seems the natural way to tell of things. The paradox of narrative is that despite massively simplifying reality, it creates the illusion of offering authenticity and truth. A narrative typically begins with a sense that the world is in equilibrium – a calm place; this equilibrium becomes disrupted before eventually returning to a new equilibrium; because we believe that the world should be in astate of calm, we expect any disruption to be resolvable and to be returned to calm. This results in a connected beginning-middle-end structure in which the calm of a ‘hero’s’ world is disrupted by a ‘villain’. In the real world, of course, people are never wholly good or wholly evil; life is not necessarily ‘naturally’ calm and events are never so simply related one to another. But, that’s the way we see the world and by presenting a word of people and events in the form of a narrative, media texts work easily to trick us into believing we are being shown a ‘window on the world’ – reality. TV ads are mini-narratives in which we add in missed aspects in our desire to see a story unfold and be resolved. Often we become the hero and the advertised product becomes the ‘helper’ – equivalent to the magical potion of ancient fairy tales that helps change the frog into a handsome prince and so on…

Approaches to study narrative

Branigan Propp Barthes Todorov Levi-Strauss Allan CameronKate Domaille

Branigan

Edward Branigan Branigan argues that narrative is ‘ a way of

organising spatial and temporal data into a cause-effect chain of events with a beginning, a middle and end that embodies a judgement about the nature of events.’

What is Branigan saying? Can you think of an example?

Branigan’s key point is that the narrative will embody a judgement – ideology and narrative.

Todorov theory: 5 stage narrative

1.Stage 1: A point of stable equilibrium, where everything is satisfied, calm and normal.

2.Stage 2: This stability is disrupted by some kind of force, which creates a state of disequilibrium.

3.Stage 3: Recognition that a disruption has taken place.

4.Stage 4: It is only possible to re-create equilibrium through action directed against the disruption.

5.Stage 5: Restoration of a new state of equilibrium. The consequences of the reaction is to change the world of the narrative and/or the characters so that the final state of equilibrium in not the same as the initial state.

5 stage narrative

Vladimir Propp’s Theory of Narrative Propp’s approach to narrative Vladimir Propp studied

hundreds of Russian folk and fairytales before deciding that all narratives have a common structure.

He observed that narratives are shaped and directed by certain types of characters and specific kinds of actions

He believed that there are 31 possible stages or functions in any narrative. These may not all appear in a single story, but nevertheless always appear in the same sequence.

A function is a plot motif or event in the story. A tale may skip functions but it cannot shuffle their

unvarying order. Propp also said there were 7 different narrative character

Propp's 31 stage Narrative function•1.. A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced as a unique person within the tribe, whose needs may not be met by remaining) •2 An interdiction (a command NOT to do something e.g.'don't go there', 'go to this place'), is addressed to the hero; •3.The hero ignores the interdiction •4.The villain appears and (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc; or intended victim encounters the villain); •5.The villain gains information about the victim; •6.The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery; villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim); •7. The victim is fooled by the villain, unwittingly helps the enemy; •8.Villain causes harm/injury to family/tribe member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone, substitutes child etc, commits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides nightly torments); Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical potion etc); •9.Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc/ alternative is that victimised hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment); •10Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action; •11Hero leaves home; •12Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or helper (donor); •13.Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants, performs service, uses adversary's powers against them); •14.Hero acquires use of a magical agent (it's directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared, spontaneously appears, is eaten/drunk, or offered by other characters); •15.Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search; •16.Hero and villain join in direct combat;

Propp Continued 17.Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or scarf); 18.Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, killed while asleep,

banished); 19.Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken,

slain person revived, captive freed); 20.Hero returns; 21.Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero); 22.Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden,

hero transforms unrecognisably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life); 23.Hero unrecognised, arrives home or in another country; 24.False hero presents unfounded claims; 25.Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of

strength/endurance, other tasks); 26.Task is resolved; 27.Hero is recognised (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her); 28. False hero or villain is exposed; 29.Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments

etc); 30.illain is punished; 31. Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted). Although the plot is driven by the actions and choices of the hero (the

protagonist), these narrative functions are spread between the main characters. Propp also defined these character categories:

Props 7 character types

The hero, usually male, is the agent who restores the narrative equilibrium often by embarking upon a quest (or search). Propp distinguishes between the victim hero, who is the centre of the villain's attentions, and the seeker hero who aids others who are the villains victims. The hero is invariably the texts central character.

The villain who usually creates the narrative disruption. The donor gives the hero something, it may be an object, information or

advice, which helps in resolution of the narrative. The helper aids the hero in the task of restoring equilibrium. The princess (the victim) is usually the character most threatened by the

villain and has to be saved, at the climax, by the hero. The father's (who in fairy tales was often the king) role is usually to give the princess away to the hero at the narrative's conclusion. He may also despatch the hero.

The dispatcher sends the hero on her or his task (who can typically be the princess father) • The false hero appears to be good but is revealed, at the narrative's

end, to have been bad Characters can fulfil more than one sphere character type, for example; a princess

may also be a helper.

The villain – Tom Riddle (Lord Voldmort)The hero – Harry PotterThe donor – the Phoenix provides sorting hat, which provides a swordThe helper who aids the hero – Ron WeasleyThe princess – Ginny WeasleyHer father – Dumbledore, he rewards Harry, however is not the father but may be looked up to as a father figureThe dispatcher – Moaning Myrtle, helps show the entrance to the chamber.The false hero – Professor Gilderoy Lockhart

Propps’s characters applied to Harry Potter and Twilight

Propps’s characters applied to and Twilight

The villain – Victoria, JamesThe hero – Edward CullenThe donor – Alice, her ability to see the futureThe helper who aids the hero – Carlisle,The princess – Bella SwanHer father – CharlieThe dispatcher –The false hero – Laurent, warns the Cullens of James tracking power

Propps’s characters applied to and Twilight

The villain – Victoria, JamesThe hero – Edward CullenThe donor – Alice, her ability to see the futureThe helper who aids the hero – Carlisle,The princess – Bella SwanHer father – CharlieThe dispatcher –The false hero – Laurent, warns the Cullens of James tracking power

Beyond Propp and criticisms

Propp's lists are easy to learn - but are they so easily applied to every narrative you come across? Why 31? We live in a world of very sophisticated narratives - many of them non-linear - which deliberately defy the conventions of traditional folk tales. Can you apply Propp consistently if the hero is female? Can you substitute "science" for "magic"? Are all narratives about struggles between heroes and villains - or do we oversimplify them if we try to claim that they are? Propp's theories rely on 'good' and 'bad' characters. Have we moved beyond fairy tale thinking into a era of moral relativism — many interesting narratives spring from a conflict between two characters who are not easily identified as a protagonist and an antagonist. Levi Strauss who was inspired by Propp, also criticued his work and put forward an argument for binary opposites

Narrative amount to the fact that he believed all stories operated to certain clear Binary Opposites e.g. good vs. evil, black vs. white, rich vs. poor etc.The importance of these ideas is that essentially a complicated world is reduced to a simple either/or structure. Things are either right or wrong, good or bad. There is no in between.This structure has ideological implications, if, for example, you want to show that the hero was not wholly correct in what they did, and the villains weren’t always bad. (Postmodernism?)

•Levi-Strauss also looked deeper into the way that narrative were arranged in terms of themes within that were ultimately always systematic oppositions.The order of events can be called the syntagmatic structure of a narrative, but Levi-Strauss was more concerned with thedeeper of paradigmatic arrangement of themes. There is a choice of elements (paradigms) and they are arranged/dealt with in a particular way (syntagms).

Claude Lèvi-Strauss(1958) Binary Opposites

ExamplesBlack vs white of binary opposites Good vs evil

Boy vs girl Peace vs war Civilised vs savage Democracy vs dictatorship Conqueror vs conquered First world vs third world Domestic vs foreign/alien Articulate vs inarticulate Young vs old Man vs nature Protagonist vs antagonist Action vs inaction Motivator vs observer Empowered vs victim Man vs woman Good-looking vs ugly Strong vs weak Decisive vs indecisive East vs west Humanity vs technology Ignorance vs wisdom

•Roland Barthes Structuralist approach 1.Barthes identifies 5 narrative codes which

readers use to decode texts. 2.He emphasises the active role of readers in

creating meaning, and their ‘culturally formed expectations’.

3.The narrative codes are: o Action o Enigma o Semic o Symbolic o Cultural

The 5 Narrative Codes1. Action Code - applies to any action that implies a further narrative action.2. Enigma Code - refers to any element in a story that is not explained and, therefore, exists as an enigma for the audience.3. The Semantic Code - any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional, meaning by way of connotation.4. The Cultural Code - any element in a narrative that refers 'to a science or body of knowledge'. In other words, the cultural codes then to point to our shared knowledge about the way the world works.5. The Symbolic - Levi-Strauss also a structuralist argued that the narrative structures have binary oppositions, eg. good vs evil.

Allan Cameron’s types of narrativesCameron has identified four different types of modular narrative:• Anachronic• Forking Paths• Episodic• Split ScreensAnachronic narratives involve the use of flashbacks and/or

flashforwards,with no clear dominance between any of the narrative threads. These narratives alsooften repeat scenes directly or via a different perspective. Examples include: PulpFiction and Memento.

Forking-path narratives juxtapose alternative versions of a story, showing thepossible outcomes that might result from small changes in a single event or group ofevents. The forking-path narrative introduces a number of plotlines that usuallycontradict one another. Examples include Groundhog Day and Run Lola Run.

Allan Cameron’s types of narrativesAnachronic modular narratives involve the use of flashbacks and/or flashforwards,with no clear dominance between any of the narrative threads. These narratives alsooften repeat scenes directly or via a different perspective. Examples include: PulpFiction and Memento.

Forking-path narratives juxtapose alternative versions of a story, showing thepossible outcomes that might result from small changes in a single event or group ofevents. The forking-path narrative introduces a number of plotlines that usuallycontradict one another. Examples include Groundhog Day and Run Lola Run.

Allan Cameron’s narratives continued

Episodic narratives are organised as an abstract series or narrative anthology. Abstract series type of modular narrative is characterized by the operation of a nonnarrative formal system which appears to dictate (or at least overlay) the organization of narrative elements such as a sequence of numbers or the alphabet. Anthology consists of a series of shorter tales which are apparently disconnected but share a random similarity, such as all ‘episodes’ being survivors of a shipwreck.

Split screen narratives are different from the other types of modular narrative discussed here, because their modularity is articulated along spatial rather than temporal lines. These films divide the screen into two or more frames, juxtaposing events within the same visual field, in a sustained fashion. Examples include Timecode.

•Narrative Analysis •Apply one of the narrative theories to the analysis of your trailer. •Narrative analysis involves considering how a range of elements (including mise-en-scene, editing, camerawork, sound, as well as events) create meaning for the audience. •Narrative analysis focuses on how the meanings made by the audience are constructed?

How useful is this approach? What theorist are you going to use to support this

Analysing narrative

structure

Narrative structure

Every moving image is constructed around a narrative structure and classified and understood in terms of genre.

Narrative structure is best understood as how the story or event unfold through actions of the characters.Soaps opera narratives can develop over years, music videos in minutes. Originally told in books narratives have now developed through films, internet and newspapers. Narrative and construction is not a random act, but they have been constructed (encoded) delibately to allow the audience to decode these. Narrative organise a plot to convey meaning. In order to understand how audiences respond you need to be able to decode how media producers have encoded these.

Narrative structure

Narrative structures: single strand multi-strand closed open linear and non-linear alternative narrative; enigma; climax;

equilibrium

Narrative structures

Single strand focus on single characters such as Spiderman, multi-strand focus on several characters i. friends or Lost.

Linear: Narratives can be linear where events are shown in a chronological order with one following another.

Non-linear, where stories feature flashbacks, like flashbacks i.e in Lost.

Hollywood narrative structure Single diegsis (one manin storyline) Logical chain of events, governed by

the action of a central character(s) Audience emphasises with central

characters pattern of enigma (mystery/problem) and resolution (closed not open narrative) dominated by versimilitude (realism) through mise-en-scene, editing and how they construct space and time.

Narrative developmentRoland Barthes (1977)Establishment of plot or theme. This is then followed by the development of the problem, an enigma, an increase in tension.Finally comes the resolution of the plot.

Such narratives can be unambiguous andlinear.

According to Kate Domaille (2001) every story

ever told can be fitted into one of eightnarrative types. Each of these narrative

typeshas a source, an original story upon which theothers are based. These stories are as follows:

1. Cinderella: The dream comes true, e.g. Pretty Woman.

2. Achilles: The fatal flaw that leads to the destruction of the previously flawless, or almost flawless, person, e.g. Superman, Fatal Attraction.

3. Candide: indomitable hero who cannot be put down, e.g. Indiana Jones, James Bond, Rocky etc.

4. Circe: The Chase, the spider and the fly, the innocent and the victim e.g. The Terminator.

5. Faust: Selling your soul to the devil may bring riches but eventually your soul belongs to him, e.g. Devil’s Advocate,and Wall Street.

6. Orpheus: The loss of something personal, the gift that is taken away, the tragedy of loss or the journey which follows the loss, e.g. The Sixth Sense, Born On the Fourth Of July.

7. Romeo And Juliet: The love story, e.g.

Titanic.

8.Tristan and Iseult: The love triangle. Man loves woman…unfortunately one or both of them are already spoken for, or a third party intervenes, e.g. Casablanca and Eclipse.

Explanation

Evidence Argument i.e.

Terminology

Narrative is linked to genre. You could explain here how you have followed on challenged conventions, i.e so your audience has expectations

What evidence and theorists?

How are your going to explain, provide evidence and use theorists to argue for and against. Remember show both sides to get those extra points?

What terminology are you going to use?

Exam question; Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework?

Codes and conventions

http://www.ehow.com/video_4872071_basic-conventions-film-trailers.html

Codes and conventions of film trailers: watch this its really good

Codes and Conventions

Codes and conventions for film trailers Remember one is the length of the trailer whether its a teaser trailer or a normal trailer The codes and conventions for film trailers are: Establishing shots

- Edits/Montage-dip to black shows passing of time, fast paced editing- Music- Voice-over- Dialogue- Captions- Non-linear- Restricted narration- Exposition- Production company- Release date- Title- Use of stars

Most of these codes/conventions are included in movie trailers, they are the basic things that you will see in a movie trailer. If you look at most films trailers you will see these things in them.

Genre/Genre- trailer - has a genre of it's own - the film is already going to have a genre

Spoken written and visual language

Horror Movie Conventions 1 spoken, written and visual language Blood Death Killing Villain Victims Haunted houses and isolated

settings Monsters Evil

Horror Movie Conventions 2 spoken, written and visual language Weapons Darkness Storms Chase sequences Gore Violence Screams Ghosts

Design

Where is your film set, think about the design how is this a code or convention of horror i.e isolated house.

Media Language

Use any of the theorists from these slides

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition Camera SHOT TYPES A shot is a single take. An establishing shot is usually a long shot

that helps to set the scene; it helps the spectator locate him or herself within the narrative

CAMERA ANGLE Eye-line match/high/low/tilt Camera angles always act to signify

meaning, e.g. a subjective POV high angle shot can suggest superiority; a low angle shot can connote weakness.

CAMERA MOVEMENT: Zoom track/pan/hand-held Camera movement always creates significant meaning. A zoom into a close-up of a face can suggest emotion, a pan across a war scene can suggest widespread chaos; a POV tracking shot or a POV handheld camera shot can create tension and involvement by making the spectator feel as if he or she is a part of the action. A following shot pans or tracks (on rails or a wheeled platform - a ‘dolly’) to keep the subject in the shot. A hand-held shot can be kept from overly shaking by the use of a steadicam.

Mise-en-Scene

Cinema and TV codes are created within an area bounded by the edges of a screen. What is shown is entirely controlled by the producer or director and by controlling what is in the frame controls the audience or spectators understanding. Asking ‘who, what and where’ of the characters and objects and their relative positions, expressions, appearance, costume, make-up, scenery, props, lighting, sounds, etc. in the mise-enscene will help you analyse and understand it. What effects are created in a particular mise-en-scene, what meaning do they have (both denotation and connotation), how they have been created and why created that particular way (which is director’s purpose – perhaps to develop a character, a mood, the storyline or plot and always to contribute to the exploration a deeper meaning or idea, i.e. a theme).

Editing

Editing is the cutting and joining of lengths of film to place separate shots together yet still manage to suggest a sense of a continuing, connected and realistic flow of events and narrative (see below). A montage is an edited series of shots that works as an ‘individual unit’ of meaning greater than the individual mise-en-scenes from which it is created.

Continuity editing refers to editing techniques that keep the sense of narrative flow such as matched or eye-line cuts. A jump-cut is a dramatic edit that breaks time / space continuity yet still appears continuous and ‘natural’; an MTV edit is a rapid sequence of fast jump cuts that creates a conscious effect such as in music videos; a cross-cut follows action in two separate scenes; a follow-cut follow action to its consequence, e.g. a character looking out cuts to what they look at. Fades (sometimes to black) and dissolves create the sense of scenes moving forward. A sound-bridge carries sound across shots.

Parallel action allows two scenes to be viewed yet still retain the continuity and realism and uses cross cuts. A sequence is a series of shots (i.e. a montage) that leads up to a climax as in a story sequence.

Lighting and sound

LIGHTING High key, neutral, low key Lighting can create atmosphere and mood as well as signify meaning, e.g. in the

horror genre, light and shade are codes of meaning. High-key lighting is harsh; soft-key lighting creates

romance; spotlighting picks out a character from a group, etc. Available light suggests

natural light. Full-face lighting suggests openness and honesty; shadow can suggest fear or lack of

trust, and so on. ‘DIEGESIS’ AND SOUND The diegesis is the ‘world of the film’: if something is on

the screen (including sounds from objects within the mise-en-scene) it is ‘in the diegesis’ or said to be ‘diegetic’. Sound that is a

part of the action is diegetic, e.g. wind noise, screeching cars, music from a hi-fi, etc; sound that is added to

create mood or atmosphere is non-diegetic. Diegetic sounds may, of course, also be dubbed after filming, or

may be exaggerated for effect (e.g. loud footsteps, whistling wind, etc.).

Media Language and moving image In both your AS resist and also A2 you have to

understand how to encode products like a media producer, but also how to decode products like an audience.

You must remember though that when decoding audiences don't always decode in the way you want and with web 2.0, British based films which were only ever intended for a British audience can be upload and watched world wide, ask yourself whether someone in India, would understand and Interpret Little Britain in the same way you do.

Media language how to analyse Mise-en-scene, editing, Camera

Shots, Angle, Movement and Composition and sound

Semiotics: Signs, codes and conventions.

Narratives Genre Iconography Realism

Conventions of moving image Conventions are the ingredients

which make the product recognisable. For instance we know that in films there are certain conventions that they follow.

Iconography, star system adn versimilitude ICONOGRAPHY Iconography is an important aspect of genre. We expect to see certain

objects on screen when we see a particular genre, for example, in a Western, dusty lonely roads, saloon bars, cowboy hats

and horses, jails, sheriffs badges, guns, etc.; in a modern horror film, we expect young girls, ‘normal’ objects,

use of dark and light, etc. These ‘genre indicators’ are called the iconography of the mise-en-scene or genre. ‘THE STAR SYSTEM’ Certain film stars can be an important part of a film’s iconography and

become signifiers of meaning; they create expectations of character and action, genre, and powerful iconic representations of

such as masculinity and femininity. In the past, stars were contracted to stop them moving studios

and genres. REALISM ‘Verisimilitude’ ‘Generic verisimilitude’ ‘Cultural verisimilitude’. The media can offer ultra-

high levels of seeming ‘realism’: the bright screen, clear and powerful Dolby sound, darkened room, etc. are highly compelling and persuasive. Such ‘appearance of reality’ is called verisimilitude. This is a convention as there is nothing genuinely ‘realistic’ about media images. There are two important types of verisimilitude: generic verisimilitude convinces us because of the genre we are watching (in horror it seems realistic for a vampire to sink its teeth into a person’s neck); cultural verisimilitude seems realistic because it mimics real life.

Representation

Representation – is literally a representation of reality. Sohn-Rethel (2003) describes four forces that are at work in representation

Technological Economic Cultural regulatory

Representation

Key areas to talk about Negative; positive; of social groups How are social issues represented? Stereotyping how are social group

represented i.e positive or negative light?

Who is present who is absent in the representation?

Representation

Representation – is literally a representation of reality. Sohn-Rethel (2003) describes four forces that are at work in representation

Technological Economic Cultural regulatory

Representation as a cultural force and regulation Representation is a cultural force

which applied to tastes, identity and interests and are shaped by a culture we live in. This is turn is shaped by regulation i.e in this country there are legal and ethical issues and regulatory bodies which regulate what can and cannot be shown, this regulation changes between cultures.

Representation and economy and technology Representation is also linked to economic

forces, for instance most films that are made are aimed at a mainstream audiences, and lots of films have a 12 or 12a guidance rating because this appeals to a larger audience.

Representation is shaped by technology, because of the nature of technology because media products are now interacting people can choose when to watch things, and may not appeal to all viewers this is called a fragmented audience.

Analysing at a micro macro level Micro analysis is a form of textual analysis, where

micro parts of the media text ie technical and symbolic are recognised and can be treated separately i.e. lighting, camera shots, but when they are added together they create a macro or overall meaning.

When working at a macro level you are analysing or deconstructing those parts i.e lighting, camera angles, specific editing, use of dialogue and sound. This deconstructing off analysing the parts will then create your overall understanding of the macro level what meaning is being created and what representations are being created in the image by drawing conclusions from the micro work i.e how does the sequence represent people, events, places and themes.

Exam

You are analysing the micro elements i.e camera angles, editing etc

Draw conclusions about these micro elements to create an overall macro look at representation

You analyse representation of people, events, places and themes.

What they might ask you about is the AS exam, but also consider in A2 how are these represented in your production

Gender Age Ethnicity Sexuality Class and status Physical ability and disability Regional identity

People

Think about gender and sexuality here, how are gay people represented in soaps is this realistic, remember when gay people are represented their storyline generally revolves around them being gay rather than the fact they are gay makes it incidental. For instance Siade in Eastenders is a gay Muslim, if he was straight and a Muslim then his sexuality would not be an issue. Juxtapositions are often used to show people, whether this is to do with their class, status, ability or disability.

Events

Places

Themes

Questions

1. what type of realism is being created by the extract?

2. who is being represented, and how 3. who is being left out and why? 4. can we identify any characters that are

stereotypes Is there a dominant or ideological view of

the world or are there several What different responses might audience

make this programme?

Representation in crisis

Due to web 2.0 people are now uploading there own representations rather than being represented by media producers.

How to answer the question para 1 Intro: which of your projects are you going to write about? briefly

describe it

para 2: what are some of the key features of the concept you are being asked to apply? maybe outline two of the theories/ideas of particular writers briefly

para 3; start to apply the concept, making close reference to your production to show how the concept is evident in it

para 4: try to show ways in which ideas work in relation to your production and also ways in which those ideas might not apply/could be challenged

para 5; conclusion

Again remember you only have 30 minutes and that you really need to analyse the finished production, rather than tell the marker how you made it

How to quote

You do NOT need to: Learn a load of quotes Explain their theories in great depth Know them all

You DO need to: Use a few Be able to apply them to your work/ case

studies Consider how useful/ not useful they are

when discussing your work Use authors name and date accurately.

Theorists

Genre Gunther Kress Genre is “a kind of text that derives its form from the structure of

a (frequently repeated) social occasion, with its characteristic participants and their purposes.”

Denis McQuail “The genre may be considered as a practical device for helping any mass medium to produce consistently and efficiently and to relate its production to the expectations of its customers.”

Nicholas Abercrombie “Television producers set out to exploit genre conventions... It... makes sound economic sense. Sets, properties and costumes can be used over and over again. Teams of stars, writers, directors and technicians can be built up, giving economies of scale”

Christine Gledhill “Differences between genres meant different audiences could be identified and catered to... This made it easier to standardise and stabilise production”

Katie Wales “Genre is... an intertextual concept” John Fiske “A representation of a car chase only makes sense in relation to all the

others we have seen - after all, we are unlikely to have experienced one in reality, and if we did, we would, according to this model, make sense of it by turning it into another text, which we would also understand intertextually, in terms of what we have seen so often on our screens. There is then a cultural knowledge of the concept 'car chase' that any one text is a prospectus for, and that it used by the viewer to decode it, and by the producer to encode it.”

Andrew Goodwin Genres change and evolve:

Christian Metz - Stages of genres: Experimental/ Classic/ Parody/ Deconstruction David Buckingham - “Genre is not simply given by the culture, rather, it is in a constant

process of negotiation and change.”

Narrative

Tzetvan Todorov – Argues that narratives always have a structure of Equilibrium/ Disequilibrium/ New equilibrium

Story versus plot Claude Levi-Strauss – Argues that human cultural

understanding is based upon a system of binary oppposites (good/ bad; black/ white; male/ female…). Narratologists have taken this theory and applied it to narrative, arguing that binary opposition forms a fundamental way of understanding narrative.

Roland Barthes: Enigma code; Action code. Also, Open and Closed texts.

Vladimir Propp – argued that narratives always have certain character types who perform certain actions. Characters are agents of action.

Pam Cook argues that the Hollywood narrative structure includes: “linearity of cause and effect within an overall trajectory of enigma resolution” and “a high degree of narrative closure”

Representation

Laura Mulvey – argues that cinema positions the audience as male. The camera gazes at the female object on screen. It also frames the male character watching the female. We watch the girl; we see the male

watching the girl; we position ourselves within the text as a male objectively gazing at the female.

Can be applied to other media forms also. Hegemony (dominant ideology) Anyone from the Collective Identity

powerpoint

Audience

Stuart Hall: Encoding and Decoding; Preferred/ negotiated/ oppositional readings

Denis McQuail – Uses and Gratification theory (audiences consume media texts for Suveillance; Personal Identity; Personal Relationships; Escapism/ Diversion.

Ien Ang - “Audiencehood is becoming an even more multifaceted, fragmented and diversified repertoire of practices and experiences.”