1. Some of the scholars who talk about the US sitcom Will & Grace from the 1990s argue that the show is queer not only because two main characters are gay (Will and Jack), but because of other queer themes in the show, including its representations of sexuality and familial ties that don’t conform to traditional heterosexual norms.
a. true
b. false
2. About which two movies is Dev Shah upset that they used “brownface,” or making up white actors to look they are Indian?
a. Ghandhi and Slumdog Millionaire
b. Short Circuit 2 and The Social Network
c. Lion and Aloha
d. Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther
3. Drawing on our course readings and lecture, (class powerpoint is below) provide the definition of the term “hegemony.” What do each of these programs – Further Off the Straight and Narrow and “Indians on TV” from Master of None – have to say about hegemonic representations of identity on television, and what is a form of resistance or change each also points to?
Your answer should be in full sentences, and no more than 250 words. If you use exact words from any source, whether it’s the textbook or the videos, you must put them in quotation marks and identify the source in some way. Even when you paraphrase, make it clear to the reader where your ideas are coming from. e.g. According to our textbook, hegemony is…
The M eaning of M
edia Content: Cultivation Theory and Ideological Analysis
Oct.24th
Cultivation Theory
Focuses on long-term cultivation
of a w orld-view
that m
irrors the view of reality presented by
m edia (m
ainly television)
Signorielli“… cultivation tries to ascertain if
those w ho spend m
ore tim e w
atching television are m
ore likely to perceive the w orld in w
ays that reflect the m
ost com m
on and repetitive m
essage and lessons of the television w orld.”
2
M ethodology of Cultivation Theorists
Cultivation researchers com pare the attitudes
and beliefs of heavy TV view ers to lightTV
view ers.
They test w hether the attitudes of heavy TV
view ers reflect the TV version of reality m
ore than light TV view
ers.
3
Cultural Indicators: M assive Content
Analysis of Television
4
5
Exam ple of Cultivation
Theory Finding:
The M ean W
orld Syndrom e
Heavy TV view ers, on average, believe the w
orld is a m
ore violent place than light TV view ers
6
M ainstream
ing vs. Dem ographics as
m ediating variables for m
edia effects
7
Q U
ESTIO N
: Cultivation Theory research w as
originally developed in the 1970s. Do you think it rem
ains a relevant theory of m edia influence
today?
8
Reasons Doubts M ay Turn O
ut to be U
nfounded (according to M organ et al.)
• Cultivation theory speaks to aggregate level effects –
overall influence of “m edia reality”
on people’s view of reality
• It’s about the stories, not the platform
s •
TV still a VERY dom inant form
of storytelling, cross-platform
• Content diversity m
ay be som ew
hat illusory – m
edia industries highly concentrated, relative lack of diversity am
ong producers and w riters
9
Ideology, Hegem ony, and
Representation in the M edia
Key Term s for the Next Few
Classes (before &
after m idterm
)
Ideological Analysis (C& H p.190)
“W hat are the underlying m
essages in m edia
content, and w hose interests do they serve?”
Patterns in m edia content and their m
eaning
11
George Gerbner’s(m ain architect of
Cultivation Theory) favorite quote:
“If a m an w
ere perm itted to w
rite all the ballads, he need not care w
ho should m ake the law
s of the nation.”
–Andrew Fletcher
(1653-1716)
12
Ideological Analysis com pared to
Cultivation Analysis Sim
ilarities •
Focus on long-term influence
• Notice how
m edia reinforce attitudes and
w orldview
s rather than only how they change
attitudes or behavior •
Often focus on recurring patterns of m edia
representation, rather than the content of a single m
edia text
13
Differences Cultivation Theory
• Q
uantifiable patterns in m
edia
• Tests the influence of heavy m
edia consum ption on
beliefs and attitudes
Ideological Analysis
• Broader construction of reality in m
edia, “ideology”
• M
ay not involve research directly on view
ers.
14
Definitions of Ideology:
• Croteau and Hoynes(pg.191): Ideology is “a system
of m eaning that helps define and
explain the w orld and that m
akes value judgm
ents about that w orld.”
15
A M arxist Perspective on Ideology
Karl M arx (1818-1883)
Philosopher, Econom ist, and Historian
Ideology produces a “counterfeit im age of
the w orld” or “false consciousness.”
“The ruling m aterial force of society [i.e.,
the ones w ho control the production of
goods], is at the sam e tim
e its ruling intellectual force.”
That is, the class that controls a society’s m
eans of production and com m
ands its econom
y also rules ideologically (i.e. w hat
that society believes). 16
But how can you “im
pose” a w
orldview on people that is not in
their interests?
17
Hegem ony
– explains w
hy ruling class values are taken for granted –
even w hen the
values do N O
T serve your ow n
interests.
Distinguished rule by force from
rule by consent.
The production of com m
on sense
An ongoing struggle by the ruling ideas to secure consent, even as contradictions becom
e apparent.
Antonio Gram sci –
1891- 1937 –Italian M
arxist Theorist
18
Stuart Hall: Representation and the
M edia (M
EF, 1997)
Q uestions:
1.W hat is the old view
of m edia representation?
2.W hat is the new
view ?
19
S tu
a rt H
a ll (1
9 3
2 -2
0 1
4 )
B ritis
h C
u ltu
ra l S
tu d
ie s fo
u n
d e
r
“ R
e p
re s e
n ta
tio n
is a
v e
ry d
iffe re
n t
n o
tio n
fro m
th a
t o f re
fle c tio
n . It
im p
lie s th
e a
c tiv
e w
o rk
o f s
e le
c tin
g
a n
d p
re s e
n tin
g , o
f s tru
c tu
rin g
a n
d
s h
a p
in g
, n o
t m e
re ly
th e
tra n
s m
ittin g
o f a
n a
lre a
d y -e
x is
tin g
m e
a n
in g
, b u
t
th e
m o
re a
c tiv
e la
b o
u r
o f m
aking things m
ean.” (p
.1 6
1 in
th e
te x tb
o o
k )
2 0
Next Tim e
• Croteau &
Hoynes, pp. 204-208, 246-249, Press Release about Prof. Greyson’s research (M
oodle)
• Ideological Analysis: Representations of Gender
Reading Q uestions
1. W
hat are som e patterns that w
e see in the representation of gender, race, and ethnicity in m
edia? 2.
W hat are som
e of the techniquesof ideological analysis used to produce these critiques?
21