• Icon – Sign that physically resembles what it signifies
• Index – Sign that has a direct, causal relationship with what it signifies.
• Paradigm – Sets of signs from which one is chosen to convey meaning
• Syntagm – The structure or order in which elements are combined.
• Diegesis – Fictional world in which the narrative takes place.
• ‘Genre as cultural category’ – Genres are not just textual features but cultural constructs shaped by audiences.
• Mytheme – Mythemes combine to form myths or stories.
• Cultural codes – Systems of meaning that are understood and shared by a particular culture.
• Intertextuality – The way in which texts refer to or draw on other texts, creating a network of meaning through references.
• Implosion – The collapse of boundaries between reality and representation.
• Simulacra – A representation or imitation of a person or thing.
• Hegemony – The dominance of one social group over others, maintained through ideology rather than force.
• Intersectionality – Concept that examines how various social identities (like race, gender, sexuality, and class) intersect.
• Orientalism – A concept by Edward Said that critiques how Western cultures represent Eastern societies as exotic, backward, or uncivilized.
• Cumulation – The process by which repeated messages or representations accumulate over time, reinforcing a particular idea or ideology.
• Enculturation – The process through which individuals learn and adopt the values and norms of their culture.
• Bardic function – The role media plays in maintaining and disseminating dominant social values.

1. Anchorage: Text or captions that help explain the meaning of an image or video.
2. Paradigm: A set of options or choices, like types of characters or scenes that can be used in a media text.
3. Syntagm: A sequence or arrangement of elements (like images or words) that work together to create meaning.
4. Diegesis: The world of the story in media — everything that exists in the narrative, whether we see it or not.
5. Causality: The relationship where one thing causes another to happen, like in a story when one event leads to the next.
6. Genres of order and integration: Media genres (like news or drama) that keep society stable and orderly.
7. ‘Genre as cultural category’: Thinking of genres as ways to express the values and beliefs of a culture.
8. Cultural codes: Symbols or signs (like colors or gestures) that have specific meanings in a culture.
9. Ideological reading: Interpreting media to see what beliefs or ideas it promotes.
10. Pastiche: Copying or mixing different styles in a playful or humorous way, like a parody.
11. Bricolage: Using different cultural things (like images, music, or fashion) to create something new.
12. Countertypes: Media representations that go against stereotypes, offering a different view of a group.
13. Hegemony: When one group or idea becomes the dominant or accepted way of thinking in society.
14. Voyeurism: Getting pleasure from watching others, especially in a private or personal way, like in reality TV.
15. Imagined communities: Media can make people feel connected to a larger group, even if they don’t know everyone in that group.
16. Marginalisation: When certain groups or voices are pushed out or ignored in media.
17. Orientalism: The way Western media often portrays the East (Asia, the Middle East) as exotic, mysterious, or backward.
18. Otherness: Representing people or cultures as different or strange, often to highlight a sense of superiority over them.
19. Diaspora: The movement of a group of people from their original homeland to different parts of the world, and the media they create around that experience.
20. Gender as discourse: The idea that gender is created through language, culture, and media, rather than being something fixed or biological.
21. Conglomerates: Large media companies that own a variety of different types of businesses or media outlets.
22. Neo-liberalism: An economic and political belief that promotes free markets, privatization, and reducing government control, often reflected in media content.
23. Governance: How media helps shape or control the rules and actions in society.
24. Transnational culture: Culture that crosses national boundaries, often spread through global media and the internet.
25. Commodification: Turning something (like a culture or idea) into something that can be bought or sold in the market.
26. Convergence: The coming together of different types of media, like when TV, internet, and social media work together.
27. Cultural imperialism: When one culture (usually Western) dominates and influences other cultures through media.
28. Cumulation: The gradual building up of certain messages or ideas over time in media content.
29. Standardisation: The process of making things similar or uniform, often seen in mass-produced media content.
30. Enculturation: The process of learning and adopting the values, customs, and norms of one’s culture through media.
31. Bardic function: The role of media in telling stories that preserve cultural history and values.
32. Cultivation differential: The difference in how people who watch a lot of television view the world compared to those who watch less.
33. Resonance: When a media message matches a person’s real-life experiences or feelings, making it feel more impactful.
34. Mean World Index: A measure of how much people believe the world is dangerous or violent, often influenced by media portrayals.
35. Agenda setting: The idea that media decides which issues are important by giving them more attention.
36. Conditions of consumption: The circumstances under which people watch or consume media (e.g., time, place, mood).
37. Encoding/decoding: The process of creating (encoding) and interpreting (decoding) media messages. Producers encode messages with certain meanings, and audiences decode them in different ways.
38. Hegemonic/negotiated/oppositional: Different ways audiences interpret media messages:

• Hegemonic: Accepting the message as intended.
• Negotiated: Partly accepting and partly disagreeing with the message.
• Oppositional: Rejecting the message entirely.

39. Prosumer: A person who both creates and consumes media content.
40. Interactivity: The ability of the audience to actively engage with media, such as voting, commenting, or choosing story paths.

• Paradigm – A paradigm is a set of signifiers and/or signifieds.
• Syntagm – A syntagm is the combination of signifiers into a meaningful sequence.
• Diegesis – The communication of a story from inside the world being represented.
  • Simulacra – Representations that are simulation or copies of ‘reality’ that hold more meaning for the audience than the reality represented itself.
  • Hypodermic needle theory – media messages are injected directly into the brains of passive audiences.

Anchorage- helping people understand something by adding words or explanations.

Diegesis- everything that happens within the story world. eg place, sounds, events, characters

Narrative Structure- the way in which the story is being told and organised, how the plot is developed.

Genres of order and integration- types of stories and media that focuses on creating harmony and revolving chaos. – things are brought into balance (crime stories are resolved by the end) and focuses on bringing different elements or characters together

‘Genre as cultural category’.- means that the type of stories (genres) we see in movies, tv etc are influenced by the culture they come from.

Pastiche- imitating, referencing styles or works from the past, often as a tribute or homepage. its like copying elements from others works – celebrate or honour them.

Bricolage- creatively mixing different elements from various sources to create something new. often in an experimental way

Simulacra- refers to copies or representations of things no longer have an original or real version. when something is made to look like the real thing, but is just an imitation.

Hegemony- the dominance and or control of one group of ideas, values or culture over others. beliefs or power groups are seen as ‘normal’ or ‘right’ way of thinking.

Constructed reality- what we seen in media is not exact reflection of real life.

Countertypes- are characters or images that challenge or go against the usual stereotype.

Mass amateurisation- refers to the process where ordinary people can create and share media content widely, not just professionals or influences.

Cognitive surplus- the free time and mental energy that people have which can be used to create or share content. ability to be productive in your spare time.

Prosumer- is someone who both produces and consumes media content. people who create YouTube videos and also watch videos.

Encoding/decoding- refers to how message in media are created by producers and then understood by the audience.

Enculturation-the process by which people learn and adopt the values, beliefs and behaviours of their culture through media and other influences.

Cumulation- the idea that media messages build up over time, repeating certain themes or ideas which can influence people’s thoughts and beliefs.

Commodification- the process of turning something into a product that can be brought or sold. eg a movie selling merchandise, t-shirts, or toys to make a profit.

Media Language 

Index – An index is a sign that indicates something through a direct relationship, often through cause and effect or physical connection. 

Anchorage – refers to the use of text (words) or other elements to guide the interpretation of an image or visual element. It helps “anchor” the meaning of the image, ensuring that the audience understands it in a specific way – introduced by Roland Barthes 

Paradigm – refers to a set of related signs, choices, or elements that are interchangeable and can be used to create meaning within a specific context 

Syntagm – refers to the arrangement or combination of elements in a specific sequence or order within a media text 

Diegesis – These are parts of the story or world that the characters are aware of and can interact with 

Equilibrium – refers to the state of balance or order in a narrative before any conflict or disruption occurs –  Todorov’s Theory 

Media Representation 

Hegemony – hegemony refers to the dominance or control of a particular group, ideology, or perspective in society 

Intersectionality – refers to the concept of how different aspects of a person’s identity such as race, gender, class, sexuality, ability, age, and other social categories interact to create unique experiences of privilege, oppression, or discrimination. 

Cultural imperialism – the concept in which dominant cultures, Western countries, impose their values, beliefs, media, and cultural products on other, often less powerful cultures. 

Marginalization – the process by which certain groups, individuals, or voices are pushed to the edges of media representations 

Diaspora – The term is often used in media studies to analyze how the communities, maintain and adapt their cultural identity and practices while living outside their homeland. 

Media Industries 

Media concentration – refers to the process by which a small number of large companies or corporations come to own and control a significant portion of the media industry 

Transnational culture – It is the blending of cultures, ideas, and practices across different countries and regions, facilitated by globalization and the media. 

Regulation – refers to the rules, laws, and guidelines that govern how media organizations and content are produced, distributed, and consumed. 

Convergence – the process by which different forms of media come together allowing content, platforms, and audiences to interact across multiple channels. 

Commodification – This concept is commonly discussed in relation to media products and cultural content, highlighting how things such as culture, emotions, and identities are transformed into products that can be marketed and consumed. 

Media Audience 

Hypodermic needle theory – a model of media influence that suggests media messages are directly injected into the audience, leading to a passive and immediate effect on their attitudes and behavior. 

Moral panic – refers to a situation where a particular issue, group or event is portrayed by the media as a significant threat to societal values and norms 

Cumulation –  This theory suggests that long-term exposure to media, through repetition or continued presence in the media, can shape individuals’ beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors over time. 

Enculturation – it’s how people are socialized into their own culture by absorbing the cultural messages around them, including those delivered through the media. 

Bardic function – the idea that media, particularly storytelling and narrative forms, can serve a cultural and social function by shaping and preserving societal values, beliefs, and identities. 

Prosumer – refers to a person who both produces and consumes media content. 

Paradigm – a set of signifiers and/or signified 

Syntagm – the combination of signifiers into a meaningful sequence.  

Masterplot – A collection of broad story-types that are told in different contexts and across genres 

Mytheme – A fundamental part of narrative structure (typically involving a relationship between a character, an event and a theme) from which myths are constructed. 

Selective representation – ignoring aspects of people/places intentionally to position audiences interpretations

Free market – A capitalist system where the prices for goods and services are determined by the open market and consumers and where state/legal regulation is kept to a minimum

Neo-liberalism – A political ideology favouring free market capitalism. 

Commodification – The process by which something becomes an object that can be marketed and sold.

Socialisation – From Gerbner: the process of leaning the norms and values of our culture. The media is said to have an active influence on this process.

Standardisation – The way the repetition of an idea, behaviour or attitude across the media over time can normalise/standardise the idea, behaviour or attitude.

Enculturation – (from Gerbner) How the media is part of the way we learn social and cultural norms. 

Bardic function – This refers to the nature of the media as a story-teller/information provider within the culture. 

Cultivation differential – The margin of ‘heavy’ viewers over ‘light’ viewers when assessing the perception of social reality that the media creates.