AS Media Studies - MS1 Revision Cards

Unfinished set of revision cards on the key terms and information for textual analysis. Will build up over time.

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  • Created by: Maddie
  • Created on: 05-03-14 15:35

Introduction

The media are important because:

  • They tell us what is going on in the world.
  • They are influential.
  • The media are profitable.
  • Domestic media hardware has become an intrinsic part of our homes and lives.

The media impacts on social, political, cultural and personal aspects of our lives.

THE MEDIA IS NOT A WINDOW ON THE WORLD.

IT PROVIES REPRESENTATIONS NOT REFLECTIONS!

Media products go through a process of selection and construction (mediation) -

NOTHING IS THERE BY ACCIDENT!

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Areas of Analysis

There are six areas of analysis:

Genre - What type of text is it? 

Representation - What is being re-presented? Is it a typical representation  or something unexpected?

Audience - Who is the text for? Does it attract different audiences for  different reasons?

Narrative - What is the text about?

Institution - Who made the text? Are they a large, well known company? How has this impacted the text?

Textual Analysis - What is the text made up of (images, text, colours/lighting etc)? Why is each element there?

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Written Codes: Language Codes

In written texts there is always a combination of language codes:

Rhetorical Question - Question with no answer needed

Declarative  - Statement

Imperative - Command

Exclamatory - Exclaiming !!!

Interrogative - Questioning ???

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Denotation and Connotation

Roland Barthes indentifies two orders of signification - Denoation and Connotation

Denotation - Simple description of what is there

Connotation - Potential / Symbolic meanings. Associations beyond literal definition.

Connotation can often depend on the situation / genre / position of camera / cultural backgrounds and beliefs / framing.

Warning Triangle Example

Denotation (Signifier) - Exclamation mark in triangle

Connotation (Signified) - WARNING / CAUTION

Colours also have different connotations e.g blue is calm and cool, red is love or horror (blood).

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