Chapter 7 + 8 - Dane Kiambi ADPR 480; University of Nebraska– Lincoln PDF

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Dane Kiambi ADPR 480; University of Nebraska– Lincoln...

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Political campaigns and the internet ○ Lower cost ○ Diverse formats ○ The case of the obama campaign 2008 and 2012 ● Social movements and the internet ○ Organizing the grassroots ■ Independent and powerful new media contributed to the growth of social movements ■ The case of the WTO protest in Seattle in 1999 Digital Technologies and Future of Politics ● Utopian view ○ Enhances democracy and politics ● Skeptics’ view ○ Undermines democracy and politics ● Major issues ○ Are new media crowding out traditional media ○ Are new media increasing the audience for news ○ Are new media expanding the pool of people involved in politics ○ Are new media providing a democratic platform for influential new voices to be heard in political life Politics and Entertainment Media ● Political implications lie behind cultural products ● Tv and films ○ Important tools for political socialization ○ Diverse interpretations by the audience ● Music ○ Music choice can signal political orientation or values ○ The music industry transformed voices of rebellion into highly marketable commodities Global Media and Politics ● The cultural imperialism thesis ○ American media subjugating other cultures ● Argument against cultural imperialism ○ Media effects exaggerated ○ Local interpretations matter ○ Local indigenous programming has grown Politics of Media in Other Nations ● Media’s transformative role in politics ● New media revolutions ○ Egypt and the arab world; northern africa ○ Particularly powerful in authoritarian regimes Chapter 8: Construction of Meaning Key questions:

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What does the term “active audience mean and why does it matter? How do human agency and social structure interact in an audience’s reading media text? ● What kind of roles to fantasy and pleasure play in media consumption? Turn to Audience ● Problems of media effects research: By focusing on the effects of media, it largely stripped members of the audience of any human agency ● Audience research demonstrates that media audiences are active interpreters of media. Active Audience ● Media consumers are competent ○ An active audience can use media texts as material to fashion their own narratives ○ An active audience can become a creator ● The line between producer and consumer is blurred ○ Prosumers; users; user-generated contents In What Way Are Audiences Active? ● Interpretation ○ Audiences may not construct the meaning intended by the producer ● Social context of interpretation ○ Media use is not just individual but also social ● Collective action ○ Make formal demands on media producers ○ Protests, boycotts, campaigns, lobbying ● Audience as media producers ○ Create their own media outlets and products Meanings: Agency and Structure ● Human agency ○ Human agency makes sense of the meanings from media texts ● Polysemy ○ Media texts have multiple meanings ■ Media texts contain and “excess” of meanings within them ■ Openness of interpretation is a highly desirable feature for mass market media ● Audiences, however, are not necessarily interpretive “free agents” ● Structure and Interpretive constraints ● Media meanings may be limited by social structure: ○ Social positions, culture, “interpretive community” Decoding Media and Social Positions ● Encoding-decoding theory ● Audience’s decoding models ○ Dominant reading ○ Oppositional reading ○ Negotiated reading ● The case of Nationwide

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Different social classes decode media text differently ■ Bank managers–said the program was commonsensical ■ Labor unionists–said the program favored management ○ Social class does not dictate interpretation; instead, it provides audiences with cultural tools for decoding ■ Discursive community ● Gender, class, and TV ○ Middle-class women were more receptive to depictions of women on TV ○ Working-class women were consistently critical of the image ● Race, news, and meaning-making ○ News coverage of 1992 riots in L.A. ○ Different groups bringing different resources to their decoding ● International reading of American TV shows ○ “Culture” plays a role in interpretation ○ The case of Dallas ■ Different receptions based on nationalities ■ Detective russians ■ Playful americans ■ Morally disapproving arabs ■ Confused japanese ○ The case of Friends ■ Different interpretations between Americans, Indians, and Chinese ○ The case of The Bold and Beautiful Social Contexts of Media Use ● Why do women watch/read “lowbrow” romance novels and soap operas ○ Women enjoyed the process itself–reading the novel was a “time out” ○ Fantasy escapism ● Watching television with the family ○ Differences in gender Active Audience and Interpretive Resistance ● Oppositional readings of popular media texts ● “Semiological guerillas” ○ Culture jamming ■ Parody or criticism of mainstream culture ■ Pranking ○ The case of “No Comment” ■ Feminists’ oppositional readings of mainstream culture ■ Helped create a feminist identity ○ Teenage girls’ reading of Madonna and Cyndi Lauper ■ Different reading from the mainstream interpretation The Pleasure of Media ● “Pleasure” and “fantasy” as the chief mechanism of media consumption ○ Romance novels ■ Liberate women

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Women’s enjoyment of Dallas ■ As a fantasy ● Audience and fantasy ○ Media audiences incorporate media texts into complex fantasies that can make daily life much more enjoyable ● Celebrity games ○ Mass mediated pleasure of the celebrity world ○ Audience adopts a playful attitude toward the celebrity world ■ Gossip ■ Detective work Pleasure and Resistance ● The act of interpretive resistance itself produces pleasure ○ Assertions of independence by audiences ○ Resistance is fun, because it empowers those who do not wield power in their daily lives ● Pleasure can also come from entrance into a world of fantasy ○ Feminist media theories Media Fans ● Fans, not as fanatic or eccentric ● Fan activities ○ Active interpretation of media ○ Social activities ○ Fan communities ○ Collective action ○ Producers of their own media ■ Fanzines, fan fictions, etc. From Audience to User ● “User” is used today to describe our contemporary media activity ○ Media-making ○ Meaning-making ● Second Screen Phenomenon ○ Producing and consuming media at the same time, creating and circulating users’ small bits of content. ○...