Media Analysis Techniques

Abstract

PART I. TECHNIQUES OF INTERPRETATION 1. Semiotic Analysis A Brief History of the Subject The Problem of Meaning Social Aspects of Semiotics: The Individual and Society Saussure on the Science of Semiology Signs Forms of Signs Signs and Advertising Material Culture Objects and Identity Signs and Truth Activities and Performances Music and Sound Effects Facial Expressions as Signs Hyperreality Language and Speaking Connotation and Denotation The Synchronic and the Diachronic Syntagmatic Analysis Paradigmatic Analysis Intertextuality Dialogical Theory Metaphor And Metonymy Codes Semiotics of the Television Medium Some Criticisms of Semiotic Analysis A Checklist for Semiotic Analysis of Television Study Questions and Topics for Discussion Annotated Bibliography 2. Marxist Analysis Materialism The Base and the Superstructure False Consciousness and Ideology The Frankfurt School Class Conflict Alienation The Consumer Society John Berger on Advertising Bourgeois Heroes Hegemony The Problem of Media Consolidation The Danger of Being Doctrinaire Grid-Group Analysis Mary Douglas and Shopping Marxist Criticism in the Postmodern World Study Questions and Topics for Discussion Annotated Bibliography 3. Psychoanalytic Criticism The Unconscious Sexuality William A. Rossi on Sexual Aspects of the Foot and Shoe The Oedipus Complex On the Importance of Myth Id, Ego, and Superego Freud's Structural Hypothesis Applied to Culture Symbols Defense Mechanisms Dreams Condensation and Displacement Aggression and Guilt Stereotypes and Aggressive Humor Freud and Beyond Jungian Psychoanalytic Theory Archetypes Psychoanalytic Analysis of Media: A Cautionary Note Study Questions and Topics for Discussion Annotated Bibliography 4. Sociological Analysis Emile Durkheim on Our Social Nature Some Basic Concepts Avarice Bureaucracy Class (Socio-Economic) Culture Deviance Ethnicity Functionalism Lifestyle Marginalization Mass Communication and Mass Media Postmodernism Race Role (Social) Sex (Gender) Socialization Status Stereotypes Values Uses and Gratifications 2 Genres and Formulas Content Analysis Leo Lowenthal on Content Analysis Study Questions and Topics for Discussion Annotated Bibliography PART II. APPLICATIONS 5. Murderers on the Orient Express Organizing a Mystery Detectives as Semioticians Social and Political Dimensions Poirot as Revolutionary Study Questions and Topics for Discussion 6. Seven Points on the Game of Football Football Is a Game of Signs Instant Replay and the Modern Sensibility Football Socializes Us Statistics About Televised Football Why Baseball Is Boring Football as an Alternative to Religion The Marxist Perspective Football and the Psyche Concluding Remarks Study Questions and Topics for Discussion 7. The Maiden With the Snake: Interpretations of a Print Advertisement Signs in Signs: A Primer on Applied Semiotics The Maiden in Paradise: A Case Study A Paradigmatic Analysis of the Fidji Advertisement Psychoanalytic Aspects of the Fidji Text An Aside on Moisturizers and Anxiety Final Comments on Perfume and Anxiety Study Questions and Topics for Discussion 8. All-News Radio and the American Bourgeoisi News and Alienation News and Ruling-Class Ideology Commercials and Anxiety Caught in the Middle News from Internet and Social Media Study Questions and Topics for Discussion 9. Video Games: A New Art Form Are Video Games an Art Form or a Medium? New Technologies and Video Games Janet Murray on Interactivity and Immersion Video Games and Addiction Video Games and the Problem of Violence Social and Physical Problems Caused by Video Games Video Games and Sexuality Conclusions Study Questions and Topics for Discussion 10. Cell Phones, Social Media and the Problem of Identity Media Use by 8 to 18 Year Olds Social Media A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Youth and Social Media The Cell Phone as Sign: A Semiotic Perspective Marxist Perspectives on Cell Phones Conclusions Study Questions and Topics for Discussion Appendix: Simulations, Activities, Games, and Exercises Anatomy of a Tale Paradigmatic Analysis Dream Analysis Writing a Therapeutic Fairy Tale Origin Tales Radio Scripts Television Narrative Analysis The Propp Game Metaphors Advertising Analysis Playing Aaron Wildavsky Textual Analysis Glossary References Name Index Subject Index About the Author