Media Theorists Having studied Media at GCSE I knew of some theorists but this post I will be looking at them

in more depth and also at some new ones that I had not heard of before. Tzvetan Todorov came up with a narrative theory it was simply that all narratives whether it be a book, film or play, it will follow five simple steps. 1 A state of equilibrium, where everything is in perfect order 2 The perfect order is disruption by an event that occurs 3 A recognition that the disruption has occurred 4 An attempt to repair the damage caused by the disruption 5 A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium, this does not have to be the same as the original This theory can be put into almost any film that I have looked at however it does not always happen in the order that Todorov suggested. It is easiest to see his theory work perfectly in animated films such as Finding Nemo and Shrek as these are aimed at a younger audience and therefore easier to follow. Vladimir Propp also came up with a narrative theory this was the idea that in every narrative there is always someone playing a specific role. If you look at the film The Incredibles it proves his theory to be true, so do most of the James Bond Films. The Hero the hero leads the narrative and is usually looking for a quest or something to solve. A Villain causes conflict with the hero and makes the task harder A heroine a prize or reward for completing the task for example if you are a female hero your heroine could be the man of your dreams. Or it could be money. A Father this character offers the reward to the hero for completing their task Helper they help the hero in completing their task and could be known as a side kick A donor they give the hero something that will help them to complete the task this could be a clue or a piece of information or equipment A mentor this character is there to guide the hero through the film and ensure that they are on track to completing their task or mission. These two theorists look at narrative, we also looked at Katz and Blumler and the uses and gratifications of certain media. There are four different reasons as to why someone may use a certain type of media. Information: - Finding out relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings and society - Seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and decision making - Satisfies curiosity and general interest - They can learn and self-educate themselves - May also gain a sense of security through having the knowledge

Personal Identity: - They may find reinforcement in personal values - They may find models of behaviour and people they look up to - They may also gain an insight to themselves and make them realise what they really believe and who they really are Interrogation & Social Interaction: - They gain an insight into other peoples circumstances and may feel empathy towards them - Identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging, feeling part of the group - It allows them to have something to talk about and is a basis for conversation and interaction with others - It is a substitute for real life situations and relationships, they can take a break from real life and be elsewhere for a while - Helps to carry out social roles - Enables one to connect with friends and family, if they all sit down and watch something on television at the same time every day Entertainment: - Allows them to escape from their real life and feel escaped or diverted from their problems - They may find it relaxing and calming - They may find it aesthetically pleasing and enjoy it - It could be something they do just to kill spare time - It might be sexual arousing and pleasurable - It allows people to release their emotions and feel empathy and pain for others The general idea of uses and gratifications is that people use media to fill their needs as listed above, the media does not control them and they are not made to use media, but people chose to use media in order to fulfil their specific needs. Semiotics: This is the study of which you would look at the language of signs, it deals with the meanings that we associate with specific images or signs. The signifier is the thing that we are looking at for example a sign saying stop. The signified is the meaning that we attach to the sign for example, you will need to stop as most probably something will be coming. This links in with two key definitions that we use in AS Media constantly; Denotation this is the literal meaning of something for example a sign that says danger literally means that there is danger ahead Connotation this is an idea or feeling that is evoked by a word or image for a person in addition to its literal meaning. For example if you saw the sign saying danger you might think of a cliff edge whereas someone else may think of a tiger.

Reception Theory: This theory is one that I had not looked into before but it makes perfect sense to me. It is that if you make 10 people all different gender, age, nationality and class, read the same text would they interpret it differently? Of course the answer is yes. This idea was based on Stuart Halls encoding and decoding model of relationships between text and the audience. The text is encoded by the producer of the text and decoded by the audience, however at the end there may be two totally different takes on the same text. However because the producers now know the codes and conventions of what their audience is going to read, they can specifically aim the text at their preferred target audience. This means that the audience will have some preferred reading.