Culture and Media

Culture and Media What do these words mean to you?

Culture • Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society. • Culture includes many societal aspects: language, customs, values, norms, mores, rules, tools, technologies, products, organizations, and institutions. • Media falling into many of these characteristics

Ch. 1: Interpreting Media the means of communication, such as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely can also be used as a collective noun for the press or news reporting agencies.

Analyzing Media: Semiotic Approach Also known as semiology. It is the study of signs and their significance. Belief that media is not a simple channel of communication Media actually “structures reality that it seems to describe and stand for.”

Semiotics What the sign refers to is called the signified (this is an idea or concept) Physical form is called the signifier Referent is the real object that the signified and signifer refer to

Language shapes our sense of reality Example: Inuit words for snow. Have you come across words in Turkish that do not translate to English? How does this “shape” reality for Turkish speakers differently than English speakers?

Structuralism • The belief that “human social order is determined by large social or psychology structures” • Example – Different societies structuring of rules on food. • Rules of Exclusion • Rules of Opposition • Rules of Association

Structuralism • What kind of rules do you see here at school? • Clothing? Schedule? Food? Classes • Now do they fall into any of these categories? • Opposition/exclusion/association/others?

Signs: Denotation and Connotation • Denote – stands for/a symbol for • Red for the color • Connote – implied or additional meaning • Red for passion, blood, communism etc. Remember the “Red Wheelbarrow” poem from last year?

Example • Confederate flag • Denotative (original) – symbol of South countries when they were trying to succeed from the union during the civil war. • Connotative – symbol of “white” supremacy over African Americans Confederate Licence Plate

Control over Signs • Sign are polysemic – capable of having several meanings • And sometimes the media tries to control the meaning of these signs. This attempt at control is called anchoring. • Examples – • Negative connotation of calling someone or something “black” to the revamped image of “black is beautiful” • Literal meaning of words like “cool” or “wicked” or “hot” to the slang terminology we are all familiar with.

Control over Signs • Be aware of verbal construction and visual framing. • Why of all the possible words and photos have they chosen the ones that reach the headlines. • Spin – other than the obvious meaning, can also refer to a drastic change in appearance or impression

Verbal Contruction • Authorities on lookout for two Lansing prison escapees http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/nov/15/authorities-lookout-two-lansing-prison-escapees/

Visual Framing New tremor hits quake-ravaged Turkey: reports Casey Anthony TV Movie in the Works http://en.cumhuriyet.com/ www.people.com

Turkey's president said on Tuesday that it would be disadvantageous for the European Union (EU) to block Turkey's negotiation process. http://en.cumhuriyet.com/?hn=293172

Verbal Construction and Visual Framing in Practice Pair the image with a possible caption What would this story be about? What would you expect to read? When you have finished with a packet, mix them up and pass them on.

Controlling Signs • Mode of Address • “The ways a text seems to speak to its audience, or who it thinks we are” • Timing of commercials during the day • Formatting and address of different news stations • Covers of magazines aimed at women and men

Chapter 3: Q. How many real men does it take to change a light bulb? Real men aren’t afraid of the dark. Along with the light bulb genre…

Guy walks into a bar… A piece of rope walks into a bar and the bartender says, "We don't serve your kind." The rope goes outside, ties himself in a knot and frays one end of himself. He walks back into the bar and the bartender says, "Weren't you just in here?" The rope replies, "No, I'm a frayed knot." A drunk goes into a bar. The bartender tosses him out as he is too drunk. The drunk walks back into the bar. Again, the bartender throws him out for being too drunk. Again the drunk walks into the bar. The bartender is just about the throw him out when the drunk looks at him and says, "How many bars do you own, anyway?"

Cont. A mushroom walks into a bar and the bartender says "We don't serve your kind here." and the mushroom says - "Why not? I'm a fungi." Two men walk into a bar. The third one ducks.

Genre related Vocabulary • Standardization – “sameness” or the maintenance of “sameness” • Niche marketing – attempt to reach specialized and profitable grounds of consumers • Hybridity – mixing of genres or values • Intertextuality – variety of interactions between different types of media • Verisimilitude – (latin for truth and similar), connection to reality • Format – a “recipe” for success under a genre or subgenre • Big Brother format

Movie genres • How many movie genres can you come up with? • The reading describes the Romantic Comedy genre in depth, focusing on audio-visual conventions. • Gone with the Wind • Choose one of the genres you’ve listed and describe its typical characteristics with a partner. • Give at least one example of a commonly known movie

Genre Stereotypes? Is there an assumption that one genre is fit for only certain people? What genres are you a fan of? Are there any you strongly dislike?

Not all media is accepted Equally How do some products gain the label of “art” while others do not? What do you consider art? Why?

Art in Movie Genres Do certain genres contain more artistic merit than others? As a class place the genres of movies on a scale according to its acceptance as art.

Classification for Audience Suitability • Time of airing on public broadcast • Tv, radio, etc • Governments and agencies create a rating system for age/maturity appropriateness. • UK – BBFC • US – Rating board from 3 agencies (R,PG, PG-13, G) • What about Turkey?

Rating as censorship or advertising? How much do you pay attention to the rating of a movie or tv show?

Culture and Media