Final Exam Study Guide Spring 2014 Assesses comprehension of the assigned readings and their connections to assigned film screenings The exam is cumulative though majority of questions will emphasize post midterm content 75 questions 100 points Question Types multiple choice multiple answer true false matching fill in the blank FIB o Majority of questions are multiple choice o FIB answers MUST be spelled correctly Not case sensitive o For multiple choice and or multiple answer select the BEST answer choice s based on the information interpretations presented in the assigned readings Multicultural Film An Anthology Spring Summer 2014 Know the following key theories themes and concepts as they are discussed in the assigned readings Be familiar with able to recognize the main point central argument of each article Theories Theoretical Frameworks Methodology Cultural studies Kellner Hall Lull etc o Media source for cultural understanding o Critical literacy help individuals cope with a media rich culture o Multicultural issues equally important race gender class religion deeply connected Women s Studies Kellner Grossman Multiculturalism Kellner Hegemony counterhegemony Kellner Lull Loza etc Representation Hall Althusser etc Ideology ideological framework Althusser Kellner Lull etc o Hegemony ruling social political and cultural forces Middle upper class Themes Concepts Key Terms by author 1 Kellner Production Political Economy i External factors that produce certain trends 1 why film is made how it is made what historical elements contributed to its production ii Codes of media that contribute to their perpetuation iii Political Economy of Culture emphasizes the system of production within which cultural texts news media Hollywood movies TV etc are produced and distributed iv Benefits Awareness of global networks impacts the production and distribution of cultural texts e g Kellner cites Madonna in contemporary times one might consider Lady Gaga or Beyonc 1 2 Stuart Hall Representation Constructionist reflective intentional which approach is most relevant to cultural studies i Three theories of representation 1 Reflective a reflection of what is there is this even possible 2 Intentional the speaker writer director creator decides and conveys the meaning 3 Constructivist meaning constructed in and through language an accumulation of iintentional REpresentation How is meaning constructed and fixed i Meaning is not fixed slippery uncertain in different cultures we must have similar conceptual maps to understand the meaning of a particular object or idea ii Signs 1 Visual iconic 2 Written spoken indexical iii Language has no meaning on its own For instance what does hsdgfjsgdf mean We have to assign meanings to things and then over time and socially they become coded iv This process is important to how we understand the world and each other v Meaning is produced within language in an through various representational systems or languages Meaning is produced by the practice the work of representation It is constructed through signifying i e meaning producing practices Two systems of representation everyday encounters i Mental representations conceptual maps we carry around in our head to make sense of ii Language consider the language of film the formal techniques camera angles mise en scene etc that encode meanings of motion pictures visual images carry meanings i Power one social group holds over another When does hegemony fail i Struggle to obtain the consent of the people to a system that governs and at times i Body of doctrine guiding a social movement or institution ii a system of beliefs that is subconsciously instilled via Ideological State Apparatuses ISAs and or Repressive State Apparatuses RSAs Reproducing exactly the previous conditions of production iii iv All agents of production must be immersed in the dominant ideology ISAs Ideological State Apparatuses i Religious Educational Family Legal Political ii Main function through ideology iii Secondary function of violence repression iv We either knowingly or subconsciously follow voluntarily Repressive State Apparatus i Police courts prisons and the army ii The head of State the government and the administration 2 3 Lull Hegemony oppresses 4 Althusser Ideology 6 Andre iii Main function through repression Also function to form values 5 Anderson definition of nation nationality sovereign Imagined limited sovereign community i Nation An imagined political community imagined as both inherently limited and i IMAGINED members will never meet fellow members but each member has an image of their community False Unification ii LIMITED finite if elastic boundaries beyond which lie other nations iii SOVEREIGN Concept born when other modes of organization were being called into iv question divinely ordained hierarchical dynastic COMMUNITY the nation is conceived as a deep horizontal comradeship This fraternity makes it possible for millions of people to want to die for their nation Stereotypes gender racial ethnic etc v generalization stereo solid hard firm unchangeable monotonous regularity i ii Use as a verb fixing something and perpetuating it in an unchanging form Pejorative connotation i Negative ii always something objectionable in the beliefs and images to which the word refers iii Keeps us from seeing the truth in case the truth is at odds with the belief iv Filters the evidence v May protect or self esteem protect us from the effort of thinking and the FEAR of having our self world concept being changed 7 Bonila HWLB i Comedy can function as a sort of cultural safety valve ii Portrays the breaking of norms if only to emphasize them Categorical imperatives 4 i Psychological Provides relief Release nervous energy laughter ii Sociological Portrays the breaking of norms emphasizing them iii Cognitive Use of parody Allows for the recognition of intertextual references iv Allegorical Allow films to not fully negate what they say what to subvert the movie s textual surfaces 8 Loza noir Orientalism why is this framework helpful according to Loza i The Orient is a Western invention which establishes an Us Occident vs Them Orient binary ii Establishes the West as a hegemonic power over the East metonymic Others Xenophobia v Xenophilia i Xenphobia Wartime Hays Production Code impact 9 Grossman Author s aim with regard to the femme fatale i Femme Fatale is a phantom an illusion and myth that feeds gender fantasies ii Film noirs strongly
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