2. What does this mean????
• Your
exam
will
include
a
printed
insert
• This
could
be
of
print
texts
and/or
screen
shots
of
websites.
Kate
McCabe
2013
3. What can you revise?
• Go
into
the
exam
knowing
theories
to
apply
to
the
4
key
concepts
• Learn
key
terms
fluently
• Have
thorough
understanding
of
wider
contexts,
debates
and
issues
Kate
McCabe
2013
4. Possible Text Types
• Front
covers
(newspapers
&
magazines)
• Inside
articles
(newspapers
&
magazines)
• Supplements
• Leaflets
• Websites
• Film
posters
• Adverts
• DVD
covers
• Flyer
• Blogs
Kate
McCabe
2013
5. A Formula for Approaching Unseen Texts
Kate
McCabe
2013
How
does
this
help?
It
is
very
easy
to
miss
the
‘point’
of
an
unseen
text.
If
you
analyse
it
and
consider
the
impact
or
effect
of
it
without
putting
it
in
the
contextof.....
• its
original
purpose
• the
constrains
placed
on
it
by
medium
&
form
• the
subsequent
audience
expectations
....you
could
miss
the
most
obvious
aspects
of
it.
6. Audience
• What
are
the
Audience
Expectations
based
on
text
type,
purpose,
subject
and
platform?
• Audience
use
the
texts
for
different
gratifications
(entertainment,
identity,
social
interaction
or
information)
Katz
and
Blumler’s Uses
&
Gratifications.
• Codes
&
conventions
are
used
to
clearly
position
and
target
the
audience
– eg.
Colour
in
Magazines
• Look
for
ways
that
Audiences
are
encouraged
to
both
consume
the
product and
share
the
message
with
others
– what
evidence
is
there
of
Opinion
Leaders?
Eg.
Film
Posters,
DVD
covers
etc.
• Look
for
ways
that
Audiences
might
be
rewarded
for
their
loyalty
to
other
texts,
Special
edition
front
covers
etc.
• Are
Audiences
also
rewarded
for
their
cultural
knowledge
and
understanding
by
the
use
of
Postmodern
techniques
such
as
intertextuality,
commonly
used
in
Advertising to
communicate
more
complex
narratives
(eg.
The
appearance
of
Darth
Vader
in
an
advert
for
an
unrelated
product)?
• Look
for
ways
the
text
offers
generic
Pleasure
of
Recognition
(conventions
that
are
repeated
and
familiar,
like
Crisis
narratives
on
the
cover
of
Reality
TV
/
Gossip
magazines)
–
what
familiarity
with
the
formulaic
genre
codes
can
the
Audience
rely
on
and
enjoy?
• Audiences
can
create
and
contribute
to
the
construction
of
some
media
texts
as
well
as
consume
– traditional
print
productions
limit
this
but
Audience
may
still
contribute
in
some
ways.
Kate
McCabe
2013
7. Representations
• What
are
the
Audience
Expectations
based
on
text
type,
purpose,
subject
and
platform?
• Representations
are
often
the
result
of
the
text
type
and
platform
– to
what
extent
are
binary
oppositions
used?
Stereotypes?
• Do
representations
fit
into
clear
Propp
character
types?
• Groups
of
people
in
Newspapers
are
often
stripped
of
individual
identity
and
given
a
group,
collective
identity.
This
can
have
a
‘dehumanising
effect’
– Immigrants,
Single
Mothers,
Hoodies etc.
• Look
for
evidence
that
the
representations
conform
to
dominant
ideology
or
that
they
challenge
it
– for
example
in
Advertising.
To
what
extent
is
this
because
of
the
Institution
that
produced
the
text?
• In
print
texts,
language
is
used
to
construct
positive
or
negative
representations
(see
Media
Language
slide)
.
Anchorage
is
especially
important
in
texts
with
minimal
use
of
written
language.
• Look
for
signs
of
the
impact
of
post
9/11
with
Fear
of
Other
expressed
through
difference
and
‘Otherness’
made
explicit
in
representations
Kate
McCabe
2013
8. Media Language
• What
are
the
Audience
Expectations
based
on
text
type,
purpose,
subject
and
platform?
• Use
SAM
SLATCARD
to
make
sure
you
have
not
forgotten
anything
obvious
– especially
elements
such
as
Colour
–
can
be
used
to
position
the
Audience
instantly.
• Look
for
density
of
text
compared
to
image
– text
to
image
ratio.
This
will
suggest
the
seriousness
of
the
text
• Consider
impact
of
choice
and
style
of
images
used
–
photographs
for
realism,
illustrations
to
create
a
sense
of
the
surreal
or
to
lighten
a
formal
subject
etc.
• Look
for
Enigma
codes
suggested
through
text
and
the
‘Culture
of
Anticipation’
which
encourages
readers
to
purchase
the
product
– clearly
seen
on
Front
Covers
• Look
for
Narrative
structures
–
Disequilibrium
is
suggested
in
Newspapers,
Celebrity
Gossip
Magazines,
products
associated
with
Reality
TV,
Film
Posters
and
Advertising
Equilibrium
in
Lifestyle
magazines,
Blogs,
Websites
New
Equilibrium
in
much
Advertising
as
result
of
buying
the
product
• Look
for
Dyer’s
Lines
of
Appeal
in
a
variety
of
print
texts,
not
just
Advertising
Kate
McCabe
2013
9. Institution
• What
are
the
Audience
Expectations
based
on
text
type,
purpose,
subject
and
platform?
How
does
this
relate
to
the
Institution?
In
other
words
– How
does
the
Institution
meet
expectations
Audiences
may
have?
What
does
this
tell
us
about
the
Institution’s
values
and
identity?
• Look
for
signs
that
institutional
ownership
and
size
(publicly
funded?
commercially
funded?
Conglomerate?
Independent?
Global?)
has
an
impact
on
the
texts?
• What
relationship
exists
between
the
product
and
Advertisers?
(magazines
especially
have
a
symbiotic
relationship
-‐ they
cannot
exist
without
each
other
and
each
product
supports
and
is
beneficial
to
the
other.
From
a
Marxist
point
of
view,
the
adverts
provide
the
‘rule
book’
for
consumer
products
– what
items
should
the
audience
be
wearing,
using,
owning
etc.
• Key
to
institution
is
the
level
of
power
given
to
the
Audience
and
whether
this
is
an
‘imagined’
or
suggestion
of
power.
Look
for
signs
that
the
Institution
encourage
the
Audience
to
believe
they
can
shape
the
outcome,
content
and
selection
of
texts.
• Texts
are
used
to
as
vehicles
to
communicate
brand
values
– this
is
especially
true
of
Newspapers
Supplements,
which
do
not
require
purchasing
in
the
same
way
as
a
magazines,
but
need
to
‘sell’
the
values
of
the
text
producing
institution,
as
well
as
providing
further
profit
from
Advertising
Kate
McCabe
2013
10. Wider Contexts, Issues, Debates
• Feminism
and
Gender
Issues
• Dumbed-‐down
content
• Traditional
Media
vs New
Digital
Media
• ‘Shock’
tactics
and
Violence
Kate
McCabe
2013
11. Feminism & Gender Issues
• Print
texts
such
as
Magazines
and
Adverts
raise
issues
about
gender
construction
• Stuart
Hall’s
Reflectionist vs Constructionist
view
of
the
Media
considers
whether
Media
reflects
society
or
constructs
our
understanding
of
it
• Look
for
evidence
of
Mulvey’s Male
Gaze
• In
Advertising,
Dyer
identified
Lines
of
Appeal
-‐ those
that
apply
to
gender
include
our
desire
to
look
at
Beautiful
people,
Romance
&
Love
and
Dreams
&
Fantasy
• The
Bechdel test
used
in
Film
Analysis
asks
whether
women
can
have
a
role
without
being
referred
to
in
relation
to
men.
Look
for
evidence
in
print
texts
of
women
existing
without
reference
to
their
relationship
to
men.
• Baudrillard’s Hyperreality – society
accepts
the
reality
presented
to
them
and
gender
construction
is
one
of
those
realities
• Gerbner’s Cultivation
theory
– that
the
persistent
effects
of
Media
has
altered
our
perception
of
Gender
roles
over
time
• The
text
type
of
Advertising
requires
quick
recognition
of
roles
and
gender
may
be
presented
as
Binary
Oppositions
– this
is
an
example
of
the
Medium
is
the
Message
where
the
text
platform
constrains
and
helps
to
construct
the
message.
• Do
not
forget
Masculinity
is
also
constructed
through
media
Kate
McCabe
2013
12. Dumbed down Content
• Associated
with
John
Humphreys
• Information
Overload
– New
media
allows
for
access
to
more
information
than
ever
before
but
Context
can
be
scarce
• Medium
is
the
Message
–
Adverts,
Magazines
and
Posters
often
use
simplistic
content
and
binaries
for
instant
identification
Websites
may
focus
on
content
over
context
–eg Twitter.
Newspapers
may
adopt
some
features
of
simplified
form
to
condense
complex
news
stories
• Dumbing down
is
also
the
effect
of
competition
from
digital
technologies
making
it
necessary
for
Print
media
to
fight
hard
to
survive
in
a
media
saturated
market.
Dumbing
down
in
many
Print
text
types
(attention
on
celebrity
stories,
reference
to
high
profile
entertainment
events,
stories
which
produce
emotional
responses
etc.)
attracts
the
widest
possible
audience,
therefore
maintains
commercial
success.
Kate
McCabe
2013
14. Shock tactics and violence
• Newspapers
can
create
Mean
World
Syndrome
through
their
cycle
of
reporting
bad
and
therefore,
newsworthy
events
• Newspaperscan
be
instrumental
in
creating
Moral
Panic
(Cohen)
over
a
period
of
time
by
giving
prominence
to
a
particular
story
• Other
print
texts
which
may
use
codes
of
Violence
include
Film
Posters
or
other
Movie
Promotion
material
such
as
online
blogs,
review
sites
etc.
• Elite
can
control
what
is
deemed
suitable
for
Mass
consumption
and
fears
over
the
impact
of
Violent
Media
have
their
roots
in
deeper
issues
of
Class
– the
Chomsky
belief
that
Media
sedates
the
Masses
and
that
the
Mass
Working
classes
demand
a
steady
diet
of
Shock
Media
to
entertain
and
satisfy
(liberal
pluralism
–supply
and
demand)
and
they
are
unable
to
distinguish
between
reality
and
fiction.
• Print
Media
in
their
fight
for
Audiences
and
need
to
be
commercially
viable
may
use
increasing
Engima codes,
encourage
the
‘Culture
of
Anticipation’,
Shock
stories,
as
well
as
promote
‘Exclusivity’
to
sell
products.
• Fear
of
Violence
in
Media
often
involves
the
idea
of
protecting
children
– assuming
they
‘lack’
capacity
to
make
adult
distinctions.
Kate
McCabe
2013
