HUM 3321 Midterm Study Guide Kellner Cultural Studies Multiculturalism and Media Culture 1 Triangulated approach to cultural studies a Production and Political Economy is concerned with the formulas and conventions of the production of culture It refers to how the conservative and liberal values of institutions and corporations influence media content b Textual Analysis quantitative and qualitative approaches are used to analyze and critique how race class gender and sexuality are portrayed c Audience Reception and Use of Media Culture audiences can appropriate media to empower themselves 2 Media literacy the ability to read criticize and resist socio cultural manipulation 3 Ideology For cultural studies the concept of ideology is of central importance for dominant ideologies serve to reproduce social relations of domination and subordination Lull Hegemony maintaining power 1 Hegemony refers to both power itself and to the process for gaining and 2 Counter hegemonic tendencies they are formulated in processes of communication in the interpretations social circulation and uses of media content Belton The Emergence of the Cinema as an Institution 1 Aspects of the cinematic institution 4 a Economic it is designed to make money so it has established itself as an industry an institution that produces a particular though intangible product People pay for the experience they don t physically walk away with anything b Social provides appropriate form of social contract way to spend leisure time It became the modern communal activity and largely replaces pre industrial social institutions c Technological its success depended on Industrial Revolution era inventions d Psychological its purpose is to encourage working class and middle class Americans to frequent the movies by providing a type of entertainment they want as well as promoting a lifestyle or displaying consumer goods that the audiences will desire 2 Developments and inventions that establish cinema as an institution 3 a The Kinetoscope 1891 1893 The origins of cinema lie in the developments of the Industrial Revolution and the ability to communicate to the masses quickly b Film Projection and the Nickelodeon Era 1905 The Nickelodeon era begins with small 200 seat theaters devoted exclusively to the showing of motion picture films There is a shift in the audiences from middle to lower class attendees and from private to public consumption c The Feature Film and the Movie Palace 1908 present Subsequent cinema became more intent on the perfection of narrative skills than exhibition focusing on in literature Films were shown in palatial movie palaces Hall Representation Meaning and Language 1 Representation is a process of correlating things and signs which is indispensible to the production of meaning and requires a conceptual map and shared language 2 Conceptual Maps system by which things in the world are correlated with concepts or mental representations 3 Language Communication requires the translation of conceptual maps into shared language of signs signs are words sounds images which represent concepts and carry meaning 4 Codes are the correlation between our conceptual system and our language system or they fix the relationship between concepts and signs 5 Constructionist theory of representation a All films are a representation and not actuality but not necessarily endorsements viewer b All film has been manipulated to convey a particular message to the c The codes needed to decipher films appear natural which make them difficult to see and challenge McNamee and Miller The Meritocracy Myth 1 Meritocracy Myth the gap between how people think the system works and how the system actually does work 2 Nonmerit Barriers discrimination race age sexuality gender disability 3 religion Inheritance a non merit battier or force of social gravity that has the greatest effect on success 4 Social and cultural capital a Social Capital is one s social resources and refers essentially to the value of whom you know b Cultural Capital is one s cultural resources and refers essentially to the social value of what you know Belton Classical Hollywood Cinema Narration 1 Elements of classical Hollywood narration narrative structure 3 a High Artifice Invisible Art b Equilibrium and Disruption c Characters and Goals 2 Willing suspension of disbelief moviegoing engages audiences in what is known as willing suspension of disbelief and sudiences are all the more willing to be thus engaged because the pleasures provided by doing so prove to be both rewarding and significant 3 Segmentation the act of dividing things into parts or segments 4 Dramatic unities 3 a Unity of Action i e a trial b Unity of Time i e linear action in a single day c Unity of Space i e a room 5 Modernists convey the spirit of crisis that characterizes the modern post Industrial Revolution twentieth century age in part by rejecting classical forms Belton Classical Hollywood Cinema Style 1 Mise en scene the way that directors communicate information to the audience other than through dialogue i e camera movement lighting sound editing 2 Camera Movements 3 a Angle low of high angle camera shots often communicate a character s power or lack thereof b Distance close ups medium shots and long shots help to draw attention to the most significant aspect of the shot c Movement zooming in or out provides the illusion of movement Or the camera may actually move panning horizontally to the floor or in any number of directions via a dolly which again singles out details for the viewer 3 Three point lighting a Key light the chief light used to light the main object of the shot b Fill light a weaker light used to fill in the shadows cast by the key light c Back light used to light the backdrop of the shot 4 High and low key lighting a High key lighting is relatively bright involves a high ratio of fill light and is prevalent in comedies and musicals b Low key lighting is relatively dark because of its lo ratio of fill light and is more often used in mysteries horror films and film noir 5 Star lighting and directional lighting a Star lighting makes the star the source of light b Directional lighting is the more realistic light that allows shadows and is used for minor players 6 Sound mixing 3 dialogue sound effects music 7 Scene to scene editing transitions 5 straight cut fade dissolve iris wipe 8 Crosscutting or parallel cutting involves shifting back and forth between two or more characters or
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