Glossary of Media Terminology: Section B – Media and Collective Identity
Hyperreality: A state in which images, and simulations, take on more reality than the state they represent, so that the distinction between reality and representation is no longer sustainable. A key thinker in this area is Jean Baudrillard.
Mediation: The process by which a Media text represents an idea, issue or event to us. It suggests the way in which things undergo change in the process of being acted upon by the media.
Catharsis: To purify or cleanse yourself by releasing emotions or feelings. For example, in relation to video games, the question is whether playing a violent game releases pent-up and frustration, which in turn makes a person Less likely to be violent or angry in the ‘real world’.
Moral panic: Exaggerated media response to the behaviour of a social group. Stanley Cohen.
Web 2.0: A response to web 2.0, proposed by Gauntlet (2007), in which the role of the online user-generated content and sharing is seen as fundamental to how we understand media audiences.
Meme: An idea or creative item that is passed on virally from person to person, to the point where lots of people know about it and are talking about it.
Stereotype: A blunt, overstated representation of a type of person that is usually negative.
Connotations: The cultural meanings brought to a sign or symbol by the person/people interpreting it. In other words the associated meanings.
Anchorage: The ‘pinning down’ of the meaning of an image by text.
This is particularly useful when talking about tabloid newspaper reports where a headline or caption is placed next to an image.
For example: when the footballer Eric Cantona rushed at someone in the stands with a Kun Fu style kick, the photograph appeared in the tabloids the next day with the headline “Shit Hits Fan”. Clearly representing Cantona as the aggressor.
Subjective: a subject's perspective, particular feelings, beliefs, desires or discovery made from information pertaining to a personal experience.
For example tabloid newspapers tend to use emotive language. Also connections to moral panic here.
Objective: an impartial, unbiased attitude. More common in the quality press (broadsheets such as The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, The Telegraph.)
Ideology: a set of values of beliefs
Hegemony: this is the political, economic, ideological or cultural power exerted by a dominant group over other groups. This does not relate to brute force, it more accurately suggests how a population allow a dominant group to take control.
Zeitgeist: literally means ‘spirit of the times’. Relates to current trends.
Realism: representation by the media of situations or ideas in a way that seem real. British film is particularly famous for realism in film. The style of filming and acting.
Verisimilitude: is the quality of realism in something (such as film, literature, the arts, etc). How authentic it is.
No comments:
Post a Comment