paradigm – example, model, standard

theorists

ronald barthes – myths

saussure – signs and signifiers

c s pierce –

Quotes from Modernity and Self Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age (Anthony Giddens)

• Yet because of the “openness” of social life today, the pluralization of contexts of action and diversity of “authorities”, lifestyle choices is increasingly important in the constitution of self identity and daily activity.
• In modern social life, the notion of lifestyle takes on a a particular significance
• Reflexively organised life planning, which normally presumes consideration of risks, as filtered through contact with expert knowledge, becomes a central feature of the structuring of self identity.
• Which consists in the sustaining of coherent, yet continuously revised, biographical narratives, takes place in the context of multiple choice as filtered through abstract systems.

Giddens structuration theory

Giddens argues that just as an individual’s autonomy is influenced by structure, structures are maintained and adapted through the exercise of agency so structuration theory attempts to understand human social behaviour by resolving the competing views of structure-agency and macro-micro perspectives.

The structure is the recurrent patterned arrangements which influence or limit the choices and opportunities available. Agency is the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices.

A macro perspective is basically looking at the bigger picture of things as a whole. A micro-perspective is taking a “deeper dive” and looking at the specifics of things.

Gauntlett theory of identity

Gauntlett said that rather than being zapped straight into peoples brains, media messages and idea about lifestyle and identity that appear in the media which help individuals think through their sense of self and modes of expression, This can create our own identity and even influence other peoples.

Denis McQuail – Mass Media in the Public Interest

“The media do serve the ‘public interest’ or ‘general welfare welfare’ whether by design or chance.”

“a simple definition… says that something ‘is in the public interest if it serves the ends of the whole society rather than those of some sectors of the society.'”

James Curran – Mass Media and Democracy

“The best way to organise the core media sector is to entrust them to public service organizations.”

“public service broadcasting organizations tend to be unduly influenced by the political class.”

A paradigm is a unique collection of signs.

Syntagm: a linguistic unit consisting of a set of linguistic forms (phonemes, words, or phrases) that are in a sequential relationship to one another.

C S Pierce:

Semiotics:

sign is anything that communicates a meaning that is not the sign itself to the interpreter of the sign.

code is a set of conventions or sub-codes currently in use to communicate meaning.

Convention is a cultural agreement about what a sign means, or how we should respond to it. 

Dominant Signifier  any material thing that signifies,.

The principal function of anchorage is ideological: the text directs the reader through the signifieds of the image

Ferdinand de Saussure:

Signifier: any material thing that signifies, e.g., words on a page, a facial expression, an image.

Signified: the concept that a signifier refers to.

Roland Barthes:

Signification:  the act or process of signifying by signs or other symbolic means.

Denotation: the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.

Conotation: an idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

Myth: a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining a natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.

Ideology: a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Radical: a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Reactionary: a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy. #

public sphere jurgen habermass

“a public space between the private domain and the state in which public opinion was formed and ‘popular’ supervision of government was established”

public sphere “a neutral zone where access to relevant information affecting the public good is widely available, where discussion is free of domination and where all those participating on public debates do so in an equal basis”.

“the media is to act as a public watchdog”.

regulation state or free market?

in relation to the media…

who regulates the press? (e.g. government or state)…

or is it a free market in which it is only run by the media/press… curran says “only by anchoring the media to the free market is it possible to ensure the medias complete independence from the government”.

curran says ” once the media becomes subject to public regulation, it will loose its bite as a watchdog”.

Semiotics

• Sign = A mark, sign or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. For example, a love heart could be a sign of being in love.
• Code = These are loads of signs that create a meaning of something. Media codes include the use of camera, acting, setting, mise en scene, editing, lighting, sound, special effects, typography, colour, visual composition, text and graphics to develop a TV advert.
• Convention = The ways media codes are used and combined to form individual or generic media styles.
• Dominant Signifier =  The most important thing we see on a piece of media. It also provides anchorage (signs with a fixed meaning
• Anchorage = when a piece of media uses another piece of media to reduce the amount of connotations in the first, therefore allowing the audience to interpret it much more easily

Ferdinand de Saussure:

• Signifier = the physical form of a sign (such as a piece of media from a magazine)
• Signified =this is the actual meaning or idea that has been explored by a sign.

C S Pierce:

• Iconic sign = a sign that looks exactly like its object.
• Indexical sign = a sign that has links to the object
• Symbolic sign = a sign that has a random link to an object.

Roland Barthes:

• Signification = the process of signifying signs by identifying what the sign means.
• Denotation = the translation of a sign into its literal meaning
• Connotation = what signs we can associate with a piece of media.
• Myth = a story that has a false belief or idea, but people believe it to be true

You will also need to understand these key terms:

• Ideology = a system of ideas and beliefs, which forms the basis of an economic or political theory and policy.
• radical = radical texts challenge the dominant ideology
• reactionary = reactionary media follows the dominant ideology

• Paradigm = the relationship of signs, however, one sign could be replaced by another.
• Syntagm = the relationship of signs in sequence or in parallel that create a meaning

semiotics

• sign –
• code –
• convention –
• dominant signifier – main sign/image
• anchorage – piece of media uses another piece of media to reduce the amount of connotations
• Ideology – system of ideas and ideals
• radical – affecting the fundamental nature of something
• reactionary – opposing political/social progress/reform
• paradigm – distinct set of concepts or thought patterns
• syntagm – the relationship between any two syntagms

Ferdinand de Saussure

• signifier – associated with or image of something
• signified – idea or concept of the thing

C S Pierce

• iconic sign – looks like object eg, props
• indexical sign – links to object eg, sound
• symbolic sign – has an arbitrary/random link to object

Roland Barthes

• signification – representation/conveying of meaning.
• denotation – literal or primary meaning of a word
• connotation – idea or feeling which a word invokes 
• myth – false belief or idea

• Anchorage- Fixes meaning between pictures and text
• Arbitrary or symbolic sign- A sign where the meaning of it is culturally acquired
• Code- A system used to create meaning
• Connotation- The meaning created by a sign
• Decoding- When audiences interpret a text
• Denotation- The literal meaning of a sign or code
• Encoding- The intended meaning in a text
• Iconic sign- Looks like what it represents
• Indexical sign- Where there is a relationship between the signifier and signified
• Polysemic- A sign that has more than one meaning
• Sign- The sum of the signifier plus signified

Ferdinand de Saussure:

• Signifier- Works with signified to combine into a sign Signified- The meaning that is intended from a sign

C S Pierce:

• Icon-
• Index-
• Symbol-

Roland Barthes:

• Signifcation,
• Denotation,
• Connotation
• Myth- The way in which certain signs contribute to ideologies in our society

You will also need to understand these two key terms:

• Ideology,
• radical
• reactionary

• Paradigm- A class of objects or concepts
• Syntagm- An element which follows another in a particular sequence

Denotation is its literal meaning, ie. a “pair of white gloves” is literally just a pair of white gloves

The connotation is the idea or feeling that comes with its literal meaning, ie a “pair of white gloves” is a pair of white gloves but gives ideas of purity, wealth and elegance etc