Midterm Study Guide There are two portions to the exam The first portion is the objective portion of the exam which is composed of TF Multiple Choice Fill in the Blank You will take the objective portion of the exam in class on Wednesday 10 14 The second portion consists of a 500 word essay question I will post the prompt for the essay on Wednesday and the essay will be due on Friday 10 16 Stuart Hall 1 What are three approaches to languages 2 Which approach do we take in this class 3 What is representation 4 Are representations the same as reality 1 The approaches to languages are a Relative approach Language reflects meanings which area already out there in the world of objects people and events i Problem We need to learn the code to understand each other b Intentional approach Language expresses actors personally intended meanings i Problem Private meanings must enter into codes to be understood c Constructionist approach Meanings are constructed by social actors using shared symbolic practices and processes 2 Constructionist approach 3 Representation is the production of meaning through language a Two Key Properties i Connects meaning and language to culture ii Allows a person to refer to their world b Two Systems i Conceptual Map ii Language 4 Are representations the same as reality a No they re not i Stop Lights Meaning is relational depends on the relation between the a sign and a concept which is fixed by a code The code fixes the meaning not the color itself James Lull 1 What is his definition of hegemony 2 Who was the first intellectual to coin the term 3 What is social consent and why is it important when studying hegemony 1 Hegemony is the power or dominance that one social group holds over others Hegemony is dominance and subordination in the field of relations structured by power But hegemony us more than social power itself it s a method for gaining and maintaining power Italian intellectual Antonio Gramsci 2 3 Hegemony implies a willing agreement by people to be governed by principles rules and laws they believe operate in their best interests even though in actual practice they may not Social consent can be more effective means of control than coercion or force Douglas Kellner What is his approach cultural studies Why do we focus on political questions in this class Louis Althusser What are ISAs and RSAs 1 ISAs A certain number of realities which present themselves to the immediate observer in the form of distinct and specialized institutions Doing things on your own a Plural Private kind of Functions by Ideology P Violence Non government agencies mostly that teach beliefs i ISAs produce ideology belief or beliefs about how the world works in order to maintain a certain social arrangement whether or not producers claim that is what they are doing 2 RSAs the government the administration the army the police the prisons etc The repressure state app violence ideology a Singular Unified Public Functions by Violence P and Ideology Government agencies that use force Jack Shaheen 1 What are the key stereotypes of Arabs in film 2 Why is there such a persistence of negative stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims in film 1 1 The Sheik Women 2 Maidens a Usually portrayed as rich and lecherous often pursing power wealth and Western b Some plot twists have the good version of the sheik actually be a Westerner in disguise e g Rudolph Valentino as an English nobleman in The Sheik and The Son of the Sheik a Mute subservient and erotic belly dancers and anonymous women of the harem b Femme fatales out to victimize American and British heroes c Queens or princesses the heroic Arab women are often not played by actresses of Arab descent 3 Egyptians a Overlaps with other stereotypes about Arabs such as violent toward Westerners and Israelis as well men who lust after Western women b Portrayed as poverty stricken with begging children and swindlers in the souk c Historical figures such as Cleopatra d Mummies and magical curses 4 Palestinians a Portrayed as terrorists who are against both Israel and the West b Shaheen connects these portrayals to events in the news and the Arab Israeli conflicts especially the films from the 1980s and 1990 2 News and other popular culture representations reinforce the stereotypes Many screenwriters working today grew up watching the stereotypical images on screen and continue the tradition Judith Andre What are the central characteristics of a stereotype 1 A stereotype is defined as conventional formulaic and usually oversimplified conception opinion or belief a person group or event or issue considered to typify or conform to unvarying patterns Tanner Mirrlees 1 What relationship does the DOD have with Hollywood 2 What are the terms ways Mirrlees describes this relationship 1 2 DOD controls a centralized Hollywood liaison office which is the go to place for the production of the war films The DOD grants war filmmakers access to the military locations software protocol entail and hardware weapons ships jets etc as long as their scripts meet the DOD requirements Iron Man turned Edwards Air Force into a Hollywood set and used many of its troops as extras Iron promoted cyber solider technology and encouraged the viewer to imagine the U S victorious in cyborgian soldier warfare Carter Soles What are the 8 key tropes used in Judd Apatow films Trope 1 Conflict with jocks Trope 2 Geek Melodrama a Conflicts with jocks support the geek s melodramatized victimhood a Geek centered film narratives across all genres place the geek in the role of long suffering victim vs jocks and women therefore activating viewer sympathy for his plight and placing him the in the melodramatized position of moral righteousness Trope 3 Simulated Ethnicity a Anger is often racialized b Imagined Blackness Trope 4 Voyeurism and Stalkerism Trope 5 Creativity and Vivid Fantasy Life a In the end the man gets whatever he wants Trope 6 Bromance a Bros before Hoes b Buddy pairs geeks slackers are emphasized c Bonding rituals objectifying women and graphically discussing sex d Threat of male male homoeroticism contained through strict separation of homosexuals and heterosexuals e Uneasy homophobic joking Trope 7 Marginalized and or Masculine Women Trope 8 Slackerism and Underemployment Julie Grossman What is a spider woman and primordial woman 1 Spider Woman a Visual motifs and their meanings i Dress defines the woman ii Long hair make up and jewelry iii Nature is fundamentally sexual iv
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