Narrative Theories

Theorist	Theory
Vladimir Propp	Possible to classify characters into clearly defined roles and functions Propp’s Character Roles: -          The Hero -          The Villain -          The Donor -          The Dispatcher -          The False Hero -          The Helper -          The Princess
Tzvetan Todorov	Suggests most narratives start with a state of equilibrium in which life is ‘normal’ and protagonists happy. This state of normality is disrupted by an outside force, which has to be fought against in order to return to a state of equilibrium. This model can easily be applied to a wide range of films.
Roland Barthes	•         Suggested that narrative works with five different codes which activate the reader to make sense of it. •         DENOTATION and CONNOTATION used to analyse images.
Claude Levi-Strauss	•         Examined how stories unconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of a culture. •         These are usually expressed in the form of binary oppositions. •         His research has been adapted by media theorists to reveal underlying themes and symbolic oppositions in media texts.

Collective Identity Theories

COLLECTIVE IDENTITY THEORIES Theorist	Theory
Henry Tajfel	Theory assumes that individuals strive to improve their self image by trying to enhance self-esteem based on either personal identity or various social identities.
Richard Jenkins	We need to interact to form our identity with other people or the media e.g. partaking in social activities/events.
Marxism	Started by Karl Marx, a communist theory which determines that all members of society will be governed by work and in a classless society.
Neo-Marxism	View class divisions under capitalism as more important than gender/sex divisions. Newer form of Marxism.
Merleau Ponti	We have an embodied experience and anything in which we use our bodies to create new things.
Henry Jenkins	Teenagers constantly build their identity through the internet for example Facebook, updating profiles constantly, a form of experimenting with our identity.
Michael Foullcault	1) Surveillance in society, a source of constant surveillance is internalized, used as a form of social organisation. 2) We are born with a basic identity, develop our collective identity with who we meet. Although we can't break out of our original identity, it is limited. We then develop stereotypes.
David Gauntlett	'Identity is complicated' adolescence is a distinctive stage with a beginning and ending, a gradual progression into adulthood, adolescence about becoming rather than being.
Winship 'the ideal version'	Winship notion of complexity is about being prepared in terms of audience gratification to finally recognise the ideal version of ourselves.
Postmodernism	Said to describe the emergence of a social order in which the importance and power of mass media and popular culture means they govern and shape all other forms of social relationships, constructs our reality.
David Buckingham	New modes of regulation, a focus on identity requires us to pay close attention to the diverse ways in which media and technology are used in everyday lives and their consequences for both individuals and society groups
Jacques Lacan	Mirror stage, suggested that a stage where a child begins to develop an identity and recognise themselves, media seen as a mirror reflecting behaviour and appearance.
Althusser's Interpellation	The process where a human subject is constructed by a pre-given structure. Imposing ideology, bombarded by messages from the media make us have certain assumptions. Marxist viewpoint.

Representation Theories

Representation Theories Theorist	Theory
Laura Mulvey	•         The Male Gaze- Mulvey argues that in classic Hollywood films in particular women are merely represented to provide visual pleasure to men , and the audience is constructed in a manner where they are all expected to be men. This male gaze is both voyeuristic and fetishistic. •         E.g. The camera focusing on a woman's lips or legs.
Marjorie Ferguson (1980)	Women’s expressions and meanings: Chocolate Box: half or full-smile, lips together or slightly parted, teeth barely visible, full or three-quarter face to camera. Projected mood: blandly pleasing, warm bath warmth, where uniformity of features in their smooth perfection is devoid of uniqueness or of individuality. Invitational: emphasis on the eyes, mouth shut or with only a hint of a smile, head to one side or looking back to camera. Projected mood: suggestive of mischief or mystery, the hint of contact potential rather than sexual promise, the cover equivalent of advertising’s soft sell. Super-smiler: full face, wide open toothy smile, head thrust forward or chin thrown back, hair often wind-blown. Projected mood: aggressive, ‘look-at-me’ demanding, the hard sell, ‘big come-on’ approach. Romantic or Sexual: a fourth and more general classification devised to include male and female ‘two-somes’; or the dreamy, heavy-lidded, unsmiling big-heads, or the overtly sensual or sexual. Projected moods: possible ‘available’ and definitely ‘available’.
Trevor Millum	•         Soft/introverted: eyes often shut or half-closed, the mouth slightly open/pouting, rarely smiling; an inward-looking trance-like reverie, removed from earthly things. •         Cool/level: indifferent, self-sufficient, arrogant, slightly insolent, haughty, aloof, confident, reserved; wide eyes, full lips straight or slightly parted, and obtrusive hair, often blonde. The eyes usually look the reader in the eye, as perhaps the woman regards herself in the mirror. •         Seductive: similar to the cool/level look in many respects - the eyes are less wide, perhaps shaded, the expression is less reserved but still self-sufficient and confident; milder versions may include a slight smile. •         Narcissistic: similarities to the cool/level and soft/introverted looks, rather closer to the latter: a satisfied smile, closed or half-closed eyes, self-enclosed, oblivious, content - ‘activity directed inward’. •         Carefree: nymphlike, active, healthy, gay, vibrant, outdoor girl; long unrestrained outward-flowing hair, more outward-going than the above, often smiling or grinning. •         Kittenlike: coy, naïve (perhaps in a deliberate, studied way), a friendlier and more girlish version of the cool/level look, sometimes almost twee. •         Maternal: motherly, matronly, mature, wise, experienced and kind, carrying a sort of authority; shorter hair, slight smile and gentle eyes - mouth may sometimes be stern, but eyes twinkle. •         Practical: concentrating, engaged on the business in hand, mouth closed, eyes object-directed, sometimes a slight frown; hair often short or tied back. •         Comic: deliberately ridiculous, exaggerated, acting the fool, pulling faces for the benefit of a real or imaginary audience, sometimes close to a sort of archness. •         Catalogue: a neutral look as of a dummy, artificial, waxlike; features may be in any position, but most likely to be with eyes open wide and a smile, but the look remains vacant and empty; personality has been removed. (Millum 1975, 97-8)
Gaye Tuchman	Summarizing television content analyses over a twenty-year period Tuchman shows that images of men outnumber those of women by two to one. If a working person is portrayed it is almost always a male image and those working women that are depicted are shown to be incompetent and inferior to male workers: 'men are doctors, women, nurses; men are lawyers, women secretaries; men work in corporations, women tend boutiques' (Tuchman 1981). Two thirds of the images of women shown on the screen are of women who have been, are, or are about to be, married. But the typical male image is of a single person.
Pluralism	Pluralists do not really engage in the ownership debate because they consider the consumer/audience to be more important. They accept that there is concentration of ownership and that this brings with it inevitable bias and distortion in media products. However this is irrelevant as the most significant factor is the ability of the audience to consume the media for their own gratifications and needs. In this way, the audience is active in the meaning process and thus dilutes the debate about audiences being manipulated into the acceptance of dominant ideology. The audience is selective in its consumption of the media, so therefore becomes discriminating and interpretative of the media messages.
Representation Theories Postmodernism	Postmodernists argue that developments in technology and improved access to technology have resulted in empowerment for consumers and the decentralisation of dominant powers. They argue that there is a proliferation of media products available that are not all controlled by the Major conglomerates and as such there has been a dissemination of power and ideas. Minority groups and alternative voices now have the opportunity to make themselves heard and challenge the dominant ideology and status quo. Postmodernist thought also argue that messages and ideas produced by major media companies are interpreted differently by varying audiences and as such can have no fixed meaning in today’s media saturated society.

Genre Theories

GENRE THEORIES

Theorist	Theory
Tom Ryall (1998)	•         Genre provides a framework of structured rules. •         Act as a form of ‘supervision’ •         Becomes recognisable to the audience. These conventions are unlikely to change.
Gill Branston and Roy Stafford	Believes that genres are no longer fixed elements but repertoires of elements. Introduction of Hybrid genre.
Steve Neale (1990)	Would be no pleasure without difference- hybrids. Believe Hollywood films provide 2 things: 1)      To guarantee meanings and pleasure for audiences 2)      To off set economic risks of the film industry by providing cognitive collateral against innovative and difference.
David Bordwell (1989)	Believes that genre have become unpredictable and it has become harder to define them.
Rick Altman (1999	He believes genres are positive as they are easily defined and can be classfied. He believes Hollywood can be successful through classification.
David Buckingham (1993)	He believes that we make our own decisions on what a genre is and we can always have a degree of difference.

 

Audience Theories

Theorist	Theory
Berger (1995) and Hoynes (1997)	Magic Bullet- The media acts like a needle injected drug into the passive audience.
Blumler and Katz (1974)	Audience Gratification Theory- -          Escapism: Escape from everyday problems and routine. -          Personal identity- seeing yourself reflected in a text. -          Personal Relationships- Feeling a connection with someone within the text. -          Surveillance- keeping up to date with current events.
AUDIENCE THEORIES Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson and Hazel Gaudet (1994)	Two Step Flow- Instead of receiving information directly the leaders send out the information they want to hear us through the media and we hear about it through others, this is then passed on through the audiences then the audience will mediate what they have.
Abraham Maslow	Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs- -          Self actualization- morality, creativity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts.  -          Esteem- self esteem, confidence, achievement respect of others, respect by others. -          Love/belonging- friendship, family, sexual intimacy. -          Safety- security of: body, employment, resources, morality, family and health. -          Physiological- breathing, food, water, sex and excretion.
Denis McQuail, James Lull and Richard Kilborn	Uses and Gratifications- Similar to audience gratification theory. An approach to understand why people actively seek out specific media outlets and content for gratification purposes.
Hans Robert Jauss	Reception Theory- Based on Stuart Halls work of encoding/decoding but by using recognised codes and conventions the producer can position the audience somewhat and create a general agreement.
David Morley (1980)	Nationwide Audience- Three positions of a member of the audience might take when watching a program: Dominant (hegemonic reading): The reader shares the programmes code and fully accepts the programmes preferred reading. Negotiated Reading: The reader partly shares the programmes code and broadly accepts the preferred reading but modifies it to their own interests and position. Oppositional Reading: The reader does not share the programmes code and rejects the preferred reading bringing to bear an alternative frame of interpretation.
John Fiske	Genre Structure- Defines genre as attempts to structure some order into the wide range of texts and meanings that circulate in our culture. Recognisable to both the audience and the producer.
Stuart Hall	Encoding/Decoding- Challenged all three components of the mass communications model. It argued that one meaning is not simply fixed or determined by the sender, secondly that the message is never transparent and finally the audience is not a passive recipient of meaning.