COMM 101 FINAL STUDY GUIDE
*PR AND PROPAGANDA*
Persuasion- a communicative process designed to influence others, evoke a specific change in attitudes or behaviors of an audience. A persuasive message has a point of view-hopes the recipient will adopt certain desired view or behavior in a voluntary action.
Persuasion vs. Propaganda- propaganda is a category of persuasion.
-persuasion is more interactive than propaganda: both the persuader and the persuadee have their needs fulfilled, persuasion is more mutually satisfying than propaganda- a reciprocal process in which both parties are dependent on one another.
Public Relations- —“the attempt , by information, persuasion, and adjustment, to engineer public support for an activity, cause, movement, or institution”--Bernays -management of information by individuals or organizations for the purpose of creating good will involves:
1) shaping image of individual or organization
2) repairing the image of an individual or organization
3) establishing two-way communication between consumers and companies PR Firms- 1) Try to generate good publicity for their clients and sustain goodwill between clients and the public.
2) Produce ads, press releases, video press releases for use by the news media and others
3) Get involved in public affairs to generate good image, like donating to charities, schools
4) Lobby state legislatures and Congress 5) Get involved in community relations 6) Get involved in minority relations
7) Media Relations: PR managers specializing in this promote a client or an organization by securing publicity or favorable coverage in the news media. 8) Special Events: mostly when corporations align and sponsor an event- for example sponsoring the stage at a concert or sponsoring a marathon.
PR and Democracy- many politicians hire PR firms to reshape their images (Nixon after resigning hired Hill and Knowlton to restore image). During elections, PR is at a high.
Press Release- news releases, are announcements, written in the style of news reports that give new information about an individual, a company, or an
Video News Releases- (VNRs) 30-90 second visual press releases designed to mimic the style of a broadcast news report.
Public Service Announcements- (PSAs)15-60 second audio or video reports that promote government programs, educational projects, volunteer agencies, or social reform (nonprofits)
Financial PR- enhancement of communication between investor-owned companies and their shareholders
Industry Relations- enhance communication with other companies in their line of business
Propaganda— 1) deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist
2) form of communication meant to promote particular ideas and produce specific effects among target population
3) Organized mass persuasion with covert intent and often irrational or baseless reasoning
4) a deliberate attempt to alter or maintain balance of power that is advantageous to the propagandist—designed to send out an ideology to an audience with a specific objective
5) Predetermined plan of prefabricated symbol manipulation
6) Linked to—effort to reinforce or modify the attitudes or behavior (or both) of an audience
The Propogandist- usually conceals the true purpose or goals of his/ her messages Propoganda Tactics- 1) Withholding vital information
2) Invoking powerful symbols 3) Use of simple images and slogans
4) Using meaningless associations (Germans=gorillas) 5) During war, present life or death choices
6) In wartime, enemy dehumanized to allow him to be killed without guilt
7)Enemy is strange, therefore dangerous 8)Enemy is the aggressor
9) We (or others) are innocent
White Propaganda- source is identified correctly (Voice of America, e.g.),
Black Propaganda- Credited to false sources and spreads lies, fabrications and deceptions—example during World War II, “The New English Broadcasting
Station”—supposedly run by discontented Brits and airing “war news” was really a German undercover operation designed to reduce moral of British people.--
Disinformation a type of black propaganda, because relies on false, misleading or incomplete information that is passed onto a targeted group
Grey Propaganda- In between black and white. Source may or may not be correctly identified, accuracy of information is uncertain for example source of message can be correctly identified but the information can be inaccurate—as when Voice of America in 1961 denied U.S. involvement on Bay of Pigs invasion
Analyzing Propaganda: Its intentions and
effects-1)Ideology and purpose of the campaign—the worldview, the beliefs, values attitudes that inform the messages; contains assumptions about what is and is not desirable; often assigns roles to gender, racial, religious and social groups- One needs to look for ideology in verbal and visual representations—these may reflect preexisting struggles and past situations, current value systems, or future goals 2) Context within which it occurs—need to understand the climate of the times (e.g., think about the difference between September 1, 2001 and September 13, 2001); think about recent events and interpretation of those events; need to ask about prevailing public mood, struggles over power, what parties are involved and what is as stake-What has led up to this moment historically? What myths are invoked? (someone rising from humble origins, the U.S. as a totally benevolent, altruistic country)
3) Identification of the propagandist—which institution, organization or leader is responsible; can the propagandist even be identified, or is it concealed? If
concealed, need to ask who has the most to gain from the messages
4) Structure of the propaganda organization—usually emanates from a strong, centralized, decision-making authority that produces a consistent message
throughout its structure—structural considerations include deciding which media to use to send propaganda messages—analyze how organization operates
5) Target audience—who is this audience, who is audience most likely to respond favorably—audience can be mass audience or a targeted audience
6) Media utilization techniques—which media are being used? Press, radio, TV, web, email, fax machines, direct mail, buttons, billboards, speeches, flags, books, comic strips, music, museum displays, sporting events, awards, prizes; look for consistency and repetition of message; how are the media being used? What is audience being asked to do to respond to media message? Is audience being asked to react without thinking? Analyze visual and verbal messages
Ivy Lee- “Poison Ivy”- After opening one of the first PR firms in NY in the early 1900s, in 1914 Lee works for the Rockefellers and transforms the reputation of the senior Rockefeller from a stingy curmudgeon into that of a child-loving
pictures in normal clothing with the miners, he knew facts were open to interpretations.
Edward Bernays- 1923- teaches the first PR course at NYU and writes the first PR textbook. He had a huge client list including many big corporations and companies including the American Tobacco Company.
Pseudo-event- circumstances or events created solely for the purpose of obtaining coverage in the media.
Selling Desert Storm- Iraq invades Kuwait- Saddam Hussein was longtime US ally and US had supplied him weapons in Iran-Iraq war- US gov’t had to build sympathy for Kuwait a repressive monarchy- US had to rally public opinion to justify war against Iraq-needed to demonize Saddam Hussein- 9 days after Iraq invades, Kuwait hires Hill and Knowlton PR firm- H&K creates “Citizens for Free Kuwait” (hides Kuwait and Bush sponsorship)- Kuwaiti gov’t puts $11.9 million into “Citizens” ($10.8 million goes to H&K in fees)- H&K organizes “National Free Kuwait Day”-Distributed 200,000 copies of “The Rape of Kuwait” to journalists and US troops- Distributed “Free Kuwait” t shirts and bumper stickers on college campuses- Oct 10, 1990- “Nayirah” appears before Congressional Human Rights Caucus, not under oath, said was a 15 year old Kuwaiti girl using a fake name for protection who witnessed Iraqi troops ripping hundreds of babies from their incubators while sobbing- 2 years later while in war story comes out as totally false, hospitals said totally untrue, not even that many incubators, and girl was daughter of Kuwaiti embassador.
*MASCULINITY & FEMINITITY*
Gender- cultural meanings attributed to biological differences--men and women are acculturated into their gender roles--masculinity and femininity a set of social expectations
Masculinity and femininity- are socially constructed, are masquerades, costumes, that men and women need to learn how to put on--women--to conform to prevailing standards of beauty--need to learn how to put on make up, do their hair and wear clothes, but also how to sit, stand and move
Masculinities- there are dominant masculinities and subordinate masculinities--gender based hierarchies among men. and are always constantly evolving but core assumptions about money, success, and emotions. They are also defined by race and class.
Hegemonic Masculinity- dominant image of men in action-adventure films and TV shows--a hyper-masculine ideal of toughness and dominance, men defined in relation to power, technology, aggression, features an aggressive masculinity, expressed through guns, helicopters, tanks, other instruments of death, emphasis on the male body, it musculature and strength, its ability to withstand torture and kill efficiently
Example: action movies, cop shows, westerns, (Bruce Willis in Die Hard)
Metrosexual- term: coined in the mid-90's to mock everything marketers stand for. The gay writer Mark Simpson used the word to satirize what he saw as
consumerism's toll on traditional masculinity-- Men: primarily urban men with strong concern for appearance
and lifestyle. Example: David Beckham
Lad- reclaiming of certain elements of masculinity—sex, drinking, sports—all with a “harmless fun” tone—irony crucial to lad masculinity
Example: Maxim Magazine- invites men in and provides reassurance about masculinity
Femininity- This is what a culture expects of the women. It is how the society wants her to act and look. Most of the things that are expected have to do with a woman’s image
Fragmented Subjectivity- Inhabit multiple personas, some in conflict, identity with contradiction itself
Stereotypes of Women in the media,1950s and 1960s- 1960s- Feminine
Mystique identifies women’s second class citizenship-Biology is destiny-all women have built-in maternal instinct-women are nurturing, passive, and inherently domestic- overly emotional, hysterical- illogical, not rational- poor drivers, technophobic- bad at math and science- virgin/whore binary-Women's
achievements underrepresented; only portrayed as wives, mothers, or in careers like secretaries
Symbolic Annihilation- the systematic underrepresentation of a particular group or groups and/or media representations that favor stereotypes and omit realistic portrayals- women are to be looked at, men act, women appear.
Feminism- A movement aimed at establishing more rights and legal protection for women.
Rise of embedded feminism- feminist politics is taken for granted, its sensibilities folded into various media texts
Post Feminism- 1) an ideology that insists feminism’s goals have been achieved 2) thus, feminism is irrelevant, outdated, a spent force
4) Female freedom and ambition taken for granted (no past “struggle”) 5)Relies on repudiating feminism: "I'm not a feminist, but…"
However--White women still make 75 cents to man’s dollar (62 cents for African American women and only 53 cents for Latina women)
-Median income for women, 2006, more than 31 percent less than their male counterparts. And a year out of college women earn 80% of what men earn and ten years out only 69%.
-so we still need to examine relationship between media representations of women and women’s ongoing inequality
*MAGAZINES*
Postal Act of 1879- Gave magazines lower postage rates to put them on equal footing with newspapers delivered by mail.
Rise of Magazines-new emphasis on visuals and images, increased role of
advertising, personalized address: I-you, decline in literary “high culture” content, lower postal rate
Muckraking- a form of investigative journalism that exposes corruption in
government and in corporations and business, in 1906 with the rise of muckraking journalism circulation was up to 3 million. Example: “Bosses of Senate”-led to major changes
-Heroes of Production to Heroes of Consumption
National, General Interest Magazines-1) help to constitute national imagery about the country
2)constitute and serve national markets 3) Set agenda for national discussions 4) blend news and entertainment 5)1930s-photojournalism
Examples: Life, Look, Time
Through the 1950s, general interest magazines were the most prominent
publications. General interest magazines offered occasional investigative articles but also covered a wide variety of topics aimed at a broad national audience. A key aspect of these magazines was photojournalism - the use of photos to document the rhythms of daily life. Supermarket tabloids that push the limits of decency and credibility. Minority-targeted magazines target one particular group. For example, Glamour and Cosmopolitan target young to middle aged women
Advertiser-Based Magazines-1) Consumer: Newsweek, Maxim 2) Business or Trade: Advertising Age, Progressive Grocer 3) Farm: Daily Herd Management, Dakota Farmer
-Non-commercial Magazines-accept no advertising and rely solely on subscription and newsstand sales EX: Ms., Consumer Reports, Cook’s Illustrated
Magazines are segmented by- a) Demographics: Broken down by target audiences; vary across county/according to region etc.; appealing to particular communities
b) Taste Cultures: targeting/cultivating different communities’ pleasures & interests is a key function of magazines
-Magazines are able to offer advertisers very important access to specialized audiences.
Desktop Publishing- Cheap, computer based publishing that allows aspiring editors to post online or print small publications.
-Niche Magazines- important in delivering to specific audiences
Magalogs-combine glossy magazine style with the sales pitch of retail catalogs Magazines tell stories about-1) the body-how to patrol; strive for ideal 2)sexuality- heterosexuality; patriarchy
3) race- often symbolic annihilation, or, token inclusion 4)class aspiration- idealization of wealth
5) consumerism- presented as ‘the’ answer 6) gender- both reinforces and shifts boundaries
Reasons for decline in general interest magazines, Rise of specialized
magazines-changing consumer tastes, rising postal costs, falling ad revenues, and television which began usurping the role of magazines as the preferred family medium. Television caused the rise of specialized magazines because magazines needed to adapt like radios had adapted and these magazines had smaller audiences but they could be guaranteed to advertisers.
Paid Circulation vs. Controlled Circulation- Controlled: provide readers with the magazine at no charge by targeting captive audiences such as airline passengers and association members, these magazines’ financial support comes solely from
Product Placement- buying spaces for particular goods to appear on a TV show or in a movie
FTC’s role in monitoring advertising abuses- has played an investigative role in substantiating the claims of various advertisers. Have rules that require scientific evidence to back up the claims that are beyond a little exaggeration. Can require advertisers to change or remove ads, can impose monetary civil penalties for consumers, occasionally requires an advertiser to run spots to correct a deceptive ad.
Market Research and VALS- Market Research: assesses the behaviors and
attitudes of consumers toward particular products long before any ads are created. VALS= Values and Lifestyles, strategy that uses questionnaires to measure
psychological factors and divided consumers into types. Assumes that not every product suits every consumer.
Psychographics- a research approach that attempts to categorize consumers according to their attitudes, beliefs, interests, and motivations- it often relies on focus groups which is a small-group interview technique in which a moderator leads a discussion about a product or an issue, usually with six to twelve people.
Demographics- earliest type of market research, mainly studied and documented audience members’ age, gender, occupation, ethnicity, education.
Media Buyers- people who choose and purchase the types of media that are best suited to carry a client’s ads, reach the targeted audience, and measure the
effectiveness of those ad placements
Saturation Advertising- a variety of media are inundated with ads aimed at target audiences
Famous-Person testimonial- when a product is endorsed by a well-known person Plain- Folks Pitch- associates a product with simplicity
Snob-appeal Approach- attempts to persuade consumers that using a product will maintain or elevate their social status
Bandwagon Effect- points out in exaggerated claims that everyone is using a particular product
Hidden-fear appeal- plays on consumers’ sense of insecurity
Advertising’s Threat to Journalism-
Advertorials- multipage inserts in magazines from several advertisers around a particular theme, like health or food or wine or travel that include article-like copy Ad Agencies- traditionally operated on an “open contract”: the agency is paid a flat percentage of the media buy, usually 15%, agencies try to buy space/time in bulk and then charge the client a bit more than they paid.
-CPM- rates they pay-cost per thousand-the effectiveness of an ad placement is gauged by the cost of reaching 1000 audience members (if a newspaper ad costs $20,000 and is read by 1,000,000 people its CPM is $20).
Advertising Formats:
1) Product-information format: some heavy on text, illustration used primarily to visualize packaging and product; others use images to demonstrate the utilities of the product in new ways
2) Product Image Format: product is given special qualities by means of a symbolic relationship it has to more abstract and less pragmatic domain; product becomes embedded in a symbolic context. Ex: symbolic settings suggest “class” and “wealth” 3) Personalized Format: direct relationship between the product and the human personality--involves social admiration, pride of ownership, anxiety about lack of use, satisfaction in consumption. Sometimes use expert testimony, either by experts or celebrities. Can use snob appeal, Before & After. Can appeal to individualism. 4) Lifestyle Format: balances product, person and setting so product is seen within regular flow of life and everyday events--the setting serves as site for important interpretations. References to a particular lifestyle are internalized within the essential meaning of the product. Ex: Abercrombie & Fitch
Advertising Strategies- Showcase the product and its qualities, -how the product will make you feel,
-how you will feel or how others will regard you if you DON’T use the product, -the future self you will become when you use the product,
-subordinate utilitarian aspects of the product (soap can clean, stove can cook) to symbolic qualities and values (soap makes you irresistible, stove beautifies your kitchen, turns you into a great cook),
-feature people in the ads, like experts and celebrities, who are exemplars of reigning social values of wealth, fame, discrimination, “class
-suggest the object(s) in the ad will bring mystical powers of control and enchantment
-sexual gratification that will come from the product -emphasize status and develop memorable slogans
Ads Encourage- us to be hungry for intensified emotional experiences, we constantly search for them, and products provide them (Newport, Alive with Pleasure; It’s Miller Time; Tommy Hilfiger Ads)
-over-emphasis on the importance and centrality of sex to everyday life
-us to be obsessed with one’s fitness and health; yet encourage us to have more intensive relationships with food than we do with each other—food porn
-a strong belief in the right to be gratified
-us to be always in a state of restless, perpetually unsatisfied desire
-us to believe that it’s important to live for the moment (if I have one life to live, let me live it as a blond)
- sense of an appropriate life cycle (I had better have this done by the time I’m 30 or 40, otherwise I’m not on schedule and am a failure)
Ads teach us to be “other directed” -meant to depend on others for admiration, self approval rests on public recognition and acclaim, seek approval that applauds personal attributes not actions, success must be ratified by publicity, regard everyone as a rival, have a neurotic need for affection, reassurance, and oral gratification, being envied is more important than being respected ,endless self scrutiny- measure against standards of perfection
I-You Advertising Strategy-Used in various forms of advertising including print and video, it intends to establish a personal relationship between the consumer and the product advertised, relating to the individual on personal terms, thus making them more likely to purchase the product.
Commodity Fetishism- investing a commodity with powers it does not have in itself; the commodity possess magical powers and is itself transformed into a fantastical, animate thing or the product is capable of transforming you into a new, fantastical self; skin creams, running shoes, etc.--in other words, things come a live, and we come alive when we use these things
Paleosymbolic Scenes- the private scenes which take place between people, especially significant others like children, parents, friends, lovers, spouses, usually in private settings--often the most gratifying and hopeful moments from peoples' lives--waking up with the baby, toddler taking first steps, grandparents 50th
wedding anniversary, couple walking together on the beach--advertisers seek to tap into these scenes--they correspond to genuine needs in the family cycle--advertisers frame these emotionally significant moments in relation to their product and
suggest their product makes such moments possible
*RACE AND THE MEDIA*
socially defined as markers of other kinds of difference like emotional, intellectual, and psychological.
Invisibility- one of the biggest issues for various minority groups is being vastly under-represented in the media, as Latinos and Asian Americans are, which is an example of symbolic annihilation.
Stereotypes of African Americans- became cemented in the 19th century with the rise and huge popularity of Minstrel Shows: Nathan Huggins coined the term “Stage Negro” to describe the white invention in this time of a black character type who appeared in these shows. The “Stage Negro” served to delimit the terms of black identity within popular culture.
- Stage Negro- “theatrical darky”, childlike: could be duped into most idiotic
schemes, songs were vulgar, stories gross and broad, lazy, slow moving, hated work, terrified of ghosts, loved music, had natural aptitude for dancing and rhythmical movement, insatiable in bodily appetites esp. for food like watermelon, pork, and fried chicken, but also for sex, indifferent to success, innocent of obligation, a person devoid of tension and anxiety, the antithesis of the Protestant work ethic.
- The Contented Slave- loves his/her station in life, like black mammies or butlers - Wretched Freedman- can’t really cope with being free, can’t hold down a job, not successful as head of the family
- Brute Negro- militant black, anti-white, anti-society, pro-black - Comic Negro- mission in life is to be funny
- Tragic Mulatto- belonged neither in white or black society or culture
Asian Stereotypes- began mostly in 19th century with influx of Chinese workers who built Americas railroads and rise of the “yellow peril”- indelibly alien, threaten the economy, bring corruption, cast a threat of pollution, threat to the nation.
Women are docile, subservient to men but also ruthless dragon ladies. Also however have Asians as “Model Minority”, the model of successful assimilation.
Latin American Stereotypes- Lazy, corrupt, sadistic, dirty, unskilled, unsuccessful hordes stealing American jobs. Also stereotyped as Latin Lover. Latinas as either impoverished mothers of too many children or overly sensual Latin “spitfires”
Native American Stereotypes- villainous obstacle to westward expansion, distinctive tribal cultures reduced to generic "indians", barbaric and uncivilized, portrayals of Native Americans as primitive, unintelligent, passive and full of childlike obedience. their image used to sell things, used as mascots. seen as a loyal sidekick. But they are also seen as the noble savage, uncorrupted by civilization and that they are 'essentially good'
Media Industries- Mandates: commercial, public service, authoritarian. Conditions: Technology, regulation, economic practices. Practices: Creative practices
(advertising, marketing); distribution & exhibition; daily life, writer's room. Audience and Viewers- The audience is a categorical grouping defined by the television industry that does not represent actual viewers. The economic need for a common currency (audiences that are sold) to buy and sell leads to a highly
simplified and reductive categorization of viewers (real people) into audiences SLUMPies- Socially Liberal Urban-Minded Professionals. They’re a demographic ages 18-34. Hip, sophisticated, urbam-minded, white, college educated, with liberal attitudes, disposable incomes, ironic and edgy sensibilities.
Cost of Media Making- Overhead: salaried staff, real estate, essential goods
(computers, technical equipment). Pre-Production: acquired creative goods, regular salary, and pre production costs are often never recovered. (LCS) Production: the cost of actually making something, salaries and fees, costs of goods used, talent agencies, different vendors, caterers, editing , sound, (LCS) Post-Production: distribution, exhibition, marketing. (printing and shipping, advertising, editing for tv)
Deficit Financing- losing money the first few years, even if the show is a hit, Syndication and secondary markets impact on creative practices (redundancy, formats, etc).
Industry Lore- Industry execs work within organization cultures that reproduce particular ways of thinking about aspects of the creative process and tendencies for success and failure- “common sense”, “how things are done”, why some things always work”, etc.
Gay invisibility or
Stereotyping-Rise of gay visibility- with changing industrial context, cable channels, “niche audiences”, discovery of “gay chic,” constructions of audiences…
*CELEBRITY CULTURE*
Why the
rise?-1) Media Consolidation and Synergy- celebrities can be cross-promoted 2) Cable channels, magazines, internet- need for content
3) Collapse of hard news, international news, investigative news- too expensive Celebrities—given greater presence, wider scope of agency and activity; -allowed to move on public stage while others watch
-legitimates existing political economic model and exchange and value, distribution of wealth
-celebrity status confers upon a person certain discursive power; they have a voice above others; a voice that is legitimately significant
-celebrities a blend of the exceptional and the everyday, their power comes from a blend of familiarity and extraordinariness
Types of Celebrities-1) Ascribed Celebrity: born into fame, parents are famous so you become famous, royalty etc.
2) Achieved Celebrity: achieved fame through recognition, famous athletes, great musicians, actors, earned and deserved. Ex: Meryl Streep
3)Attributed Celebrity: fame comes from the outside. Examples are Monica Lewinsky, one-hit-wonders, lottery winners, etc.
Parasocial Interaction-users respond as if media figure is a personal acquaintance, during interactions between users of media and representations of people
appearing in the media. As if media figure was with them in a typical social
interaction. Sometimes PSI compensates for deficiencies in social life, for others it’s an extension of social activity. IDENTIFICATION: recognizes some characteristics in media figure shared by themselves; wishful identification- we desire to emulate the figure; or we like the figure without identifying with him/her.
Transportation Theory- transportation: a distinct mental process that melds attention, imagery, and feelings, facilitates enjoyment, allows escape to alternate universe, to be taken from mundane reality into a story world, to leave worries behind. Theory: seeks to specify mechanisms of media enjoyment, conceptualizes transportation as a distinct mental process that melds attention, imagery, and feelings.
-Transportation expands horizons, opens up new information, provides opportunities for identity play.
- We explore our boundaries of tolerance of unpleasant emotions-fear, sadness, rage; can survive risks
- We connect with media characters, in transportation adopt their thoughts, goals, emotions, behaviors
- May develop an illusion of intimacy with them.
Celebrity Culture- circulates strong norms for appropriate behavior, success, gender roles. Also, strong normative statements about women’s roles and femininity in celebrity journalism: perfect consumer, women pitted against each other, having children of ultimate importance, hyper-natalism, good judge of character:
boyfriends, husbands, friends; Self Regulation: of body, face, hair, temperament, maternal practices, vanity, sexuality
The media is- pervasive, enormous influence; agenda setting capacity, inform how we view and construct reality, powerfully shape our identities, can reinforce status quo; can also challenge status quo, can reinforce and challenge conceptions of gender, race, class, and sexuality, their role in social networking, the role in
globalization, cultural exchange, cultural imperialism, the main story tellers of our culture, tell what’s good and bad, who’s successful and who isn’t, who’s attractive and who isn’t, and what happiness is.
*MEDIA LITERACY
*-Ability to deconstruct media images and messages and to appreciate their possible consequences, involves knowledge of media history, regulation, structures and policy, knowledge of different theories about the audience and effects and we’ve considered the hypodermic needle, limited effects, Marxist analyses, cultural studies.
Semiotics- the science of signs, studies how meanings are socially produced, analyzes the process of representation, a method for examining textual material, including visual representations, that emphasizes the relationships among the parts of a message. Signs have meaning, and communicate messages to people.
Two Parts of Signs- 1) Signifier: the material vehicle of meaning; the concrete dimension of the sign; the sign’s physical form. Example: traffic signal, haircut 2) Signified: the meaning of the sign; the abstract dimension of the sign; what the sign refers to. Example: stop or go; Marine
Example: Rose= The Sign Signifier: The Rose Signified: Love, Passion
*The Internet and New Technologies*
New Media/Globalization
-
the growing integration of economies and societies around the world. Annihilation of distance and time; compressed, increased velocity of human affairs, heightened possibilities for social interconnectedness, increased possibilities for cultural imperialism, importance of local and even nationalboundaries undermined, increased possibilities for action between people where geographic distance seems immaterial to the social activity at hand
Scopic- all communication technologies are scopic technologies: as instruments of viewing, listening, and observing, they can slide our perceptions outward or inward. New Media- can flatten hierarchies, solidify and expand social networks, promote one-to-many communication, many-to-many communication. –speeding up the pace of life and our expectations of how fast we should get info, how rapidly people should respond to us-language has new terms like flamed, spam, cyberspace, google as verb- news, there is all kinds of news online where people can pick and choose what they read, access to news archives, even greater speed, now a 24 hour news cycle, greater access to health info-law/policy, governments are still struggling with what the internet means for the First amendment, intellectual property rights, obscene material and privacy-relationships with those at a distance, increase one's contacts with people you've never met, may never meet- commerce is ever increasing with globalization of markets, increased access of ordinary citizens to financial information, day trading, greater case of shopping online.
Utopian predictions about technology—it was improve understanding, reduce misunderstandings, equalized power relationships, bring world peace
Dystopian predictions about technology—it’s a threat to our privacy, allows strangers easier access to us, will further cement inequality and power relations, can be used to spread propaganda, hate messages, pornography
Origins of the Internet- initially described as an “information superhighway”. It began as an attack proof military communications network in the 1960s and became increasingly interactive in the 1990s allowing immediate two-way
communication and one-to-many communication. By the 2000s the internet was a multimedia source for information and entertainment and became an important part of our daily lives.
ARPAnet- nicknamed the Net, it enabled military and academic researchers to communicate on a distributed network system. 2 security advantages: 1) multiple paths linked computers to each other so communications “traffic” would be less likely to get clogged at a single point. 2) the network was distributed across so many paths, it offered a communication system that was more impervious to technical problems, natural disasters, or military attacks than a centralized system.
Distributed Networks-there are no nerve centers, if any connection is severed information can be immediately rerouted and delivered to its destination
Internet Service Provider- connecting millions of home users to its proprietary Web system through dial-up access
HTML-(HyperText Markup Language) the written code that creates Web pages and links, is a language that all computers can read, so computers with different
operating systems, such as Windows or Macintosh, can communicate easily. The leading forces on the Internet are AOL, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google. Online role-playing games require users to play through an avatar *avatar = someone's online identity. The main components of the Internet today include instant
messaging (AIM), blogs, wiki web sites, social networking sites (Facebook). Internet service providers connect millions of home users to its proprietary Web system through dial up access
Open-source software- noncommercial software shared freely and developed collectively on the Internet
Digital Divide- the socioeconomic disparity between those who do and those who do not have access to digital technology and media, such as the Internet
Clashes of Values over the
Internet-*History of Music and the Media*
Popular Music and its Impact- can serve as agent of resistance and agency; Case Study: Blues Queens, Bessie Smith- resist invisibility of working-class black women using popular music and mass culture to spread the word. Yet there was widespread discrimination; use of “covers” in 1950s (Pat Boone below). 1960s- Case Study: Girl Groups- new market for pop with post war baby boom and music is versatile. Music is a crucial site for subcultural, youth resistance. 70s punk- punk style mediates new social/cultural identity for marginalized, working-class white youth.
History is characterized by interaction between changing technologies that made recorded music more portable, easier to share and easier to copy, and business efforts to control that technology, the sharing and reproduction of the music so that the industry could continue to maximize profits
Popular Music often tied to social change, including political change, changes in gender roles, changes in perceptions about race. Role of music is rebellion against the status quo, against existing racial codes, against established gender codes, against cultural homogenization and suburbanization.
History or music and the media- marked by changes and developments in sound recording, from wax cylinders to flat disks, from shellac records to vinyl disks, to audio tape and cassettes, to CDs, and MP3s.
In face of NAPSTER, much later, music industry sued and their copyrights upheld in by the Supreme Court in 2001; new business model introduced by iTunes.
Popular American music a turnstile between the races—Blues and R&B, as well as country lead to rise of Rock’n’Roll
Rise of Baby Boom, importance of youth cultures to radio, rise of the DJ (deejay) who addressed young people as a community and exposed white kids to African American music; on the radio and in music, racial boundaries become blurred—Campbell pp. 86-87
Pat Boone- one of many white artists that “covered” African American songs making them safer for white audiences, his covers often were at the top of the charts. Example: covered and outsold Little Richards’s “Tutti Frutti”.
Dividing CD Profits- usually new artists will get 8-12 percent on the retail price of the CD and more established performers may negotiate for 15%. So if they get $1.80 a CD and the CD goes gold (sells 500 units) would net the artist $900,000 but then they need to pay back the record company for advances (100,000-500,000), another 150,000 might have to be set aside in a reserve account to cover any unsold
recordings returned by record stores and then band members, managers and attorneys are paid their money it is possible the artist is left with almost nothing.
*The Merchants Of Cool*
Cool-hunting= search for a certain personality in a given social group. Influence held by those who have respect of friends, etc. Look for the 20% of kids who are trendsetters and influence the other 80%.
Problem: kills what is finds, when corporate makes the cool thing it stops being cool. Teens- unresponsive to traditional marketing, have a disposable income, run
economy and spend huge amounts of money, have access to a lot of media, companies study their terms so they can understand them and use the terms
Sprite- has continued to change their marketing strategy to connect to teens: first made fun of traditional advertising and when that stopped working they used hip-hop and staged concerts and events.
Mook- Jackass, Tom Green, Howard Stern= all make huge amounts of money and boys also respond to wrestling, extremely popular and look for the “pop”: crowds excitement
The Midriff- sex sells, image of women, Britney Spears= biggest midriff, uses body and sexuality
*Class Dismissed*
3 types of Class- 1) Economic Class: income, wealth 2) Political Class: ability to influence politics, power
3) Cultural Class: Education, lifestyle, cultural capital, tastes
African Americans- originally only shown as entertainers and servants, needed to change and be part of the American dream, made shows where ghettos looked good, hid the poverty, showed moving up not reality of life.
Other minorities- Asians and Latinos are not shown often in TV and there are very few gay and lesbian characters, they are cautiously put on TV
Working Class- in reality is the majority of the population but the word has developed a bad connotation. TV blames workers for not succeeding, bad taste, slobs, drink beer on the couch, watch TV, cannot be a part of the middle or upper class and when they try its comedic because they lack social skills, dumb, lack common sense, wives are smarter and more rational, even the kids are usually smarter, not interested in politics, poor work ethic, dysfunctional family values, no class.
*ENCODING/ DECODING –STUART HALL*
Encoding- the message that the producer intends the viewer to get from the piece of media, the production end, creating image and when it is produced
Transmission of message in between
Decoding- the message that is understood by the viewer of the media, these two may be different since the decoded message is sometimes misunderstood by the reader. People decode differently because of individual biases, consumption end. Connotation: full meaning when know background. Denotation: literal meaning Three types of Decoding-
2) Oppositional: audiences resist dominant reading, may even challenge or question it; challenges the framework within which story is told
3) Negotiated: contains elements of resistance and elements of acceptance-veiwer fits into the dominant ideology in general, but inflects his/her reading by his/her own local knowledge
*MEANING OF MEMORY- LIPSITZ*
Highlighted how working class and immigrant families began to appear on
television sitcoms. Main function of these sitcoms was to show a transformation of values. The families on t.v. negotiated a new consumer culture and demonstrated how tradition and traditional values are still evoked today
