HUM3321 Midterm Study GuideIntroduction WeekCultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and Media Culture - KellnerWhy Study Media?- Media are a profound and often misperceived source of cultural pedagogy o They teach us how to behave, think, feel, fear and desire- Critical literacy helps individuals cope with a media-rich culture and understand how media articulates the dominant values, political ideologies, and social developments of the era- The concept of ideology is of central importance, for dominant ideologies serve to reproduce social relations of domination and subordination.Why Study Culuture?- Multicultural issues are intrinsically linked—sex, gender, class, religion, and race are deeply connected- “Because of its focus on representations of race, gender, and class, and its critique of ideologies that promote various forms of oppression, cultural studies lends itself to a mutliculturalist program that demonstrates how culture reproduces certain forms of racism, sexism, and biases against other members of subordinate classes, social groups, or alternative lifestyles.” (3)- Multiculturalism affirms the worth of different types of culture and cultural groups.- Suggests that minorities have their own validity and importance.Graminsci and Hegemony- What is Hegemony?o Ruing social, political, and cultural forces. o In our culture? Middle/upper class moderate white males (WASP)- All multicultural issues are traditionally analyze in relation to the hegemonic characteristicso Is this fair? Not really. It can promote various forms of oppression , cultural studies lends itself to a multiculturalism program that demonstrates how culture reproduces certain forms of racism, sexism, and biases against subordinate classes, social groups, or alternative lifestyles. o Is it possible to have another way? There are different ways. Views that suggest this are conservative, radicals, liberals, etc. Media cultures tends to attempt to manipulate us which can empower us to resist and criticize this occurrence. Textual Analysis - Internal (within the film) factors that provide signals - Semiotics is the study of how symbols form meaning- Explain how certain elements contribute to the cultural understanding of a filmo semiotics analyze how linguistics and nonlinguistic cultural signs form systems of meanings - when someone is given a rose to be interpreted as a sign of love. can be connected with genre criticism to reveal how the codes and forms of particular genres follow certain meanings.o Stereotypes- It is important to remember that each critical method focuses on certain features of a ‘text’ from a specific perspective, sometimes while ignoring other features: Marxist focuses on class, while feminist focusses on gender, etc. Audience reception and Use- Members of distinct genders, races, classes, nations, regions, sexual preferences, and political ideologies are going to read texts differently- Reactionary factors – ethnographic cultural studies indicate various ways that audiences use andappropriate texts, often to empower themselves- Personal identity will necessarily impact a person’s experience of media- Fan cultureo certain media allow fans to create cultural experience based on a TV show, book, film, or musico people relate to others that share their interests and hobbieso think: trekkies, dead-heads, or harry potter fanaticsConclusions- media studies requires 3 main areas of inquiryo external – why a film is made, who it is made for, what historical elements contributed to its productiono internal – what sort of people are depicted, are the portrayals fair, how does MY personal identity affect my experienceo reactionary – how others respond to the media, what other media it influencesApplying this to our course- belton provides the background, history, and generic considerations for each film- we need to be aware that we all view each of these films and articles differently- connections will be made with films and other media sourcesRepresentation, Meaning, and Language – Stuart HallRepresentation- 2 Senses of “Representation”o Describe/Depict something in the world- to call something up in ones mind by description/portrayal/imagination. o Symbolize something in the world (e.g. cross, flag) – to stand for or be a specimen of, or to be a substitution for. Cross stands the suffering and crucifixion of Christ in Christianity- Produces meaning by linking concepts and language- Allows us to refer to things in the world by putting our concepts of them into a common language of words and symbols2 systems of RepresentationSystem 1 : Conceptual Maps- System by which things in the world are correlated with concepts or “mental representations”- Concepts = Chair, Bottle, Love, War, etc- “System” because individual concepts stand in specific relations to other concepts- Shared conceptual maps make communication possible. We interpret the world in a roughly similar way ~ belonging to the same culture System 2: Language- Communication requires the translation of conceptual maps into shared language of signs- Signs = words/sounds/images which represent concepts and carry meaning- “Language” broadly understood – written systems, spoken systems, visual images, mechanical, electronic, digital, etc., are all used to convey meaning. – any sound, word, image, or object that can function as a sign and is organized into a system with other signs can function as a language.- “System” – Just as conceptual maps relate concepts to one another, relates concepts with signsMore about Signs!- Signs must be interpreted to decipher meaning- Communication of meanings is possible when members of a culture interpret the same signs in the same kinds of ways- Visual signs are called iconic signs, they bear resemblance to what they refer to- Indexical signs are written or spoken signs. They do not resemble what they refer to. The word ‘tree’ does not look or sound like a real tree at all. - Signs are ARBITRARY. Any form of words or sounds in any order would do the job of representation equally as well. I.e. the english word ‘tree’ and the french word ‘arbre’ both represent trees.Humans Construct Meaning- Meaning does exist “out there” in the world, independently of our concepts and language- Meaning of a word is not found in the word itself- Instead, meaning is constructed/produced by human beings according to how we agree to use words in a culture
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