LO3 macro meaning

 Three theoretical concepts

Genre - conventions and how genres are used by media institutions

Narrative - How stories are structured

Representation - Mediation of age, sexuality, gender,class, ethnicity, regional identity and understanding of stereotypes

Connotes/signifies

Stereotype - oversimplified representation of a group of people

Steve Neale 1980 Repetition and Difference

All genres contain instances of repetition and difference, difference is essential to the economy of the genre

Neale states that a product and its genre is defined by two things

How much it conforms to its genres individual conventions and stereotypes. A product must match that genres conventions to be identified as a part of that genre

Call of duty black ops -

Genre - First person shooter

the difference between black ops and other first person shooters is that it has zombies where as other games don’t 

Rick Altman 1999 Generic pleasures

That genres have different pleasures that entertain the audiences through familiarity how they respond to them

Emotional pleasure - 

Intellectual pleasure - Sherlock 

Visceral pleasure - 1917

The film 1917 uses visceral pleasure as because it looks like its all one scene it is like you are in the action with them

Sherlock uses 

Jason Mittell 1999 industry uses genre commercially

That genres are exploited by media producers so that products are financially successful 

Genre is a way of exploiting an audience who enjoy certain types of representations and content e.g. look at reality tv shows

Mission impossible 

David Buckingham 1993 genres are in a constant process of negotiation and change

Genre must respond to socio economic and cultural change

Broke back mountain has elements of the western genre to develop an emotive romance about two men and their love for each other

Fast and furious

Narrative

Claude - Levi Strauss 1958 Binary Opposition

Strauss suggests that binary opposition and the idea that things/objects/qualities that are directly parallel and opposite help to understand and fuel each other.

Pam Cook 1985 Cause and Effect

Traditional narratives have a linearity of cause and effect, with an overall trajectory of enigma resolution 

Tzvetan Todorov 1977 Conventional structure

Narrative structures followed a formula after studying classic fairytales 

The narrative Starts with an equilibrium

An action or character disrupts the equilibrium 

A quest to restore the equilibrium begins

The narrative continues to a climax

Resolution occurs and equilibrium is restored

Man of Steel

Superman lives on earth blending in as a human. The equilibrium begins to break when we see a message from general zod . After this fight begins to break out between zod and superman in which the equilibrium is broken.Now superman trying to restore equilibrium. 

Unconventional Narratives

Non linear narratives and circular narratives have a structure that is not so straight forward.

A non linear narrative can move backwards and forwards in time usually using a flashback technique.

A circular narrative may begin at the end of the story and work its way back to the origins of the narrative

Roland Barthes 1977 Narrative codes

Narratives can be understood through codes

Action codes actions in the narrative that tip off the viewer about what to expect as the narrative progresses

Enigma code Puzzles or problems to be solved or only showing some of the narrative so that the audience is left with a sense of mystery.

Laura mulvey male gaze

Women are represented as sexual objects for the pleasure of the male viewer

Manuel Alvarado 1987 racial representation 

Alvarado suggested representations of ethnic minorities 

Exotic

Pitied

Humorous

Dangerous

Stuart Hall 1997 preferred meaning

Institutions through ideology or by stereotyping - tries to fix the meaning of a representation in a preferred meaning

David Newman 2006 working class as societys problem

When the media represents the working class it is generally to label them as a problem