Barthes:

• Semiotics, Signs (Index, Symbol, Icon)
• Denotation VS Connotation
• Mise-en-scene
• Myths (Ideological effects)
• Hermeneutic/ Proairetic codes

Strauss:

• Binary oppositions
• Encode/ Decode
• Media constructs ideologies

Todorov:

• Narrative theory
• 3-part structure: Equilibrium, Disruption, New Equilibrium
• Plot/Sub-plot
• Flexi-narratives
• Ideological meanings – Power of stories lie in deeper meanings

Propp:

• Stock characters
• 31 plot moments – Narratemes

Neale:

• Genre
• Repetition and difference
• Sub-genres/ Genre hybridisation

Media Representation

Butler:

• Gender as performance
• Distinction: Sex/ Gender
• Repeated acts

Gauntlett:

• Identity: Constructed, Fluidity, Negotiated, Collective
• Heteronormativity

Media Language

Semiotics (Saussure)

Sign	A representation of a physical object. “Signifier + Signified = Sign”
Signifier	The sign that we ‘read’ and extract meaning from.
Signified	The meaning we extract from the signifier (sign).
Dominant Signifier	The most prominent ‘sign’.

Semiotics (Pierce)

Icon	Has a ‘close physical resemblance’ to what it signifies. Eg. A line drawing that looks like a TV
Index	Has some physical resemblance with what is signifies. Eg. Paw prints
Code	A system of signs, a group of symbols that represent something.
Symbol	Has no resemblance between the signifier and the signified. Eg. Symbols that are used to identify gender.

Semiotics (Barthes)

Signification	The representation of the meaning.
Denotation	The literal meaning of the sign.
Connotation	The inferred or representational meaning of the sign.
Myth	How words and images are systematically used to communicate cultural and political meanings.
Paradigm	A set of signs that are similar and are connected but different.
Syntagm	A sequence of signs that work together to create meaning.
Anchorage	Words that accompany a sign and help to provide context and meaning associated with the sign.
Ideology	A body of ideas or set of beliefs that people have regarding different technologies.

Narratology

Narrative Codes
Narration
Diegesis
Quest narrative
Character types
Causality
Plot
Masterplot

Narratology (Todorov)

Narrative structure
Equilibrium
Disruption
New equilibrium

Narratology (Aristotle)

Anagnorisis
Pathos
Unity
Peripeteia
Catharsis

Genre (Neale)

Conventions and rules
Sub-genre
Hybridity
Genres of order and integration
Genre as cultural category

Structuralism (Strauss)

Binary oppositions
Mytheme
Cultural codes
Ideological reading
Deconstruction

Post-modernism

Pastiche
Bricolage
Intertextuality
Implosion

Post-modernism (Baudrillard)

Simulacra
Simulation
Hyperreality