Anchor: The text that is used to anchor the meaning of an image eg: a slogan on an advert.
Audience: recipient of the intended communication
Binary Opposition: The opposites or contrasts created by a text. These reflect the dominant ideologies of society and encourage the audience to consider a situation from a specific point of view. By deconstructing a product using oppositions we can identify the underlying ideologies motivating the text.
Connotation: The meanings that can be attached to what you see eg: the colour white has connotations of freshness, naturalness and innocence.
Consolidation: When Media (or any other) companies join together, often to form conglomerates. AN example is the world's biggest Media conglomeration,
Disney.
Conventions: The typical way in which something is done; the 'rules' of a certain genre or form. For example, rock stars are hyper sexual and have exaggerating dance moves.
Convergence: This means 'coming together'. Usually in Media Studies, this refers to technologies and how they link up; an example might be the iphone and how it is bringing video, music, games , the internet and telecommunications together.
Decoding: Recognising and comprehending the encoded message, but also the process of interpreting and evaluating the message.
Denotation: The description of what you see.
Encoding: Putting a media message into code.
Graphology- text
Horizontal / Vertical Integration - Horizontal Integration is the joining together of businesses that are engaged in similar business activities or processes. Vertical Integration is absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in all aspects of a product's manufacture from raw materials to distribution
Icon: A sign where there is a physical similarity between the signifier and signified eg: a photograph or a male/female toilet sign.
Ideology: Sets of ideas (values, attitudes and beliefs) which often give a partial and selective account of the social world.
Index: A sign where there is a causal relationship between the two parts of a sign eg: smoke is an index of fire or tears are an index of sadness.
Intertextuality: Where a text (eg: an advertisement) draws upon elements within another text. This is often done in a humorous way to parody something or to pay homage to a specific film or director.
Male Gaze - Laura Mulvey's theory that women are almost always represented in a sexualised way in order to appeal to a male audience. This is not necessarily deliberate - she contended that the media is populated mostly by male photographers, directors, editors, lighting technicians and so on; thus, most of what is produced is made FROM a male point of view and in a way which will appeal TO males.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl5WHj0bZ2Q
Media Invisibility- When groups of people are not represented much in the media
Metaphor: Where an attribute of one thing is transferred to another eg: often in old films a train entering a tunnel is seen as a metaphor for sex.
Metonym: where an associated detail is used to represent an object or idea eg: a crown is used to represent a king/queen.
Mode Of Address: The way a text addresses its audience via its constituent parts.
Myth: Where the connotations of an object become so accepted and understood that they are perceived as being natural or normal. In effect they become like denotations.
Negotiated Reading: Where the reader accepts some parts of the message sent by the producer and rejects or modifies other parts of the message.
Oppositional Reading: Where the intended meaning of the text is totally opposed by the reader.
Palette: The term to explain the colours in a picture of a video. For example "The Palette of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in the beginning is dark."
Paradigm: A grouping of signs from which choices are made.
Pilot: A sample of a proposed television series. For Example- The first episode of the television series Lost.
Polysemic: Having many meanings. All media texts are polysemic, they can be read in a range of different ways depending upon the attitudes, values and beliefs that the reader has.
Preferred Reading: The way the producer intends their text to be read.
Propp's Theory: Vladimir Propp came up with the idea/theory that there are 8 types of characters in the basic storyline. These characters are: the hero, the villain, the donor, the dispatcher, the false hero, the helper, the princess (damsel in distress) and her father, [These people don't have to all be different people]. He also states that there are only 31 things that these characters can do (Sphere of Action). Once we identify the character we can guess the actions. e.g. A Fairytale
Reception Theory: Everyone responds to the media differently.
Sign: A physical object, word or sound with a meaning. A sign is made up of the signifier and the signified.
Signified: The mental concept which is evoked by the signifier.
Signifier: The physical image or sound ie: the physical appearance of a word.
Stereotype: An over-generalized and preconceived idea or impression of what characterizes someone or something, especially one that does not allow for any individuality or variation;
Symbol: Where the relationship between the signifier and signified is totally arbitrary and symbolic. Based upon convention and consensus eg: words are all symbolic signs.
Stereotype: An over-generalised and preconceived idea or impression of what charaterises someone or something, especially one that does not allow for any individuality or variation. For example; blonde women are silly, or black people are good dancers.
Synergy: There may be a new movie such as Superman Returns. People at Mc'Donalds would give away Superman toysin Happy Meals. Mc'Donalds has a lot of visitors each day and maybe kids want to buy and collect Superman Toys.
Syntagm: The ordering of combinations from a paradigm to create meaning.
Todorov's theory: Todorov proposed a basic structure for all narratives. - Films and programmes begin with an equilibrium, a calm period then disruption causes disequilibrium. Then a new equilibrium brings chaos to an end. The simplest form of narrative is sometimes referred to as 'Classic' or 'Hollywood' narrative.
