mmedia unitt your family on the tubee. key conceptsw 1. all media are constructions 2. the media...
TRANSCRIPT
mMEDIA UNITt
YOUR FAMILY ON THE TUBEe
KEY CONCEPTSw
1. All media are constructions
2. The media construct reality
3. Audiences negotiate meaning in media
4. Media have commercial implications
5. Media contain ideological and value messages
6. Media have social and political implications
1 ALL MEDIA ARE CONSTUCTIONS
The media do not present simple reflections of external reality: they present productions which have specific purposes.
Although television media appears to be natural, TV programming is in fact a carefully crafted construction
Our task in this unit is to expose the complexities of media texts and thereby make the seams visible.
2 THE MEDIA CONSTUCT REALITY
All of us have a construct, a picture, that we have built up (based on our observations and experiences) in our heads about what the world is and how it works.
When a major part of our observations and experiences come to us pre-constructed by the media, then the media rather than we ourselves, are constructing reality
3 AUDIENCES NEGOTIATE MEANING IN MEDIAk
When we look at any media text, each of us finds meaning through a wide variety of factors: Personal needs and
anxieties The pleasures or troubles of
the day racial and sexual attitudes Family and cultural
background
Each of us negotiates meaning in different ways.
4 MEDIA HAVE COMMERCIAL IMPLICATIONSk
In mass media, economics impinges upon content, techniques, and distribution.
Media production is a business and must make a profit
All programs—must be judged by the size of the audience the generate.
Audience sampling and rating services provide advertisers with detailed demographic breakdowns of audiences
5 MEDIA CONTAIN IDEOLOGICAL AND VALUE
MESSAGES Ik All media products are
advertising in some sense—for themselves, but also for values or ways of life.
They usually affirm the existing social system
The ideological messages contained in a typical Hollywood television show are almost invisible to North American audiences.
5 MEDIA CONTAIN IDEOLOGICAL AND VALUE
MESSAGES IIk Typical implicit and
explicit messages can include: The nature of the good life
and the role of affluence in it.
The virtues of consumerism The proper role of women,
gender, and sexuality The acceptance of authority Unquestioning patriotism
6 MEDIA HAVE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL IMPLICATIONSk
An important dimension of media literacy is understanding how
Media effects the changing nature of family life and the use of leisure time
Mass media serve to legitimize and reinforce values and attitudes.