Difference between revisions of "Ideological Criticism, Cultural Studies (Discussion)"

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==Basic principles==
+
==Ideological criticism: key terms==
#'''Group 4:''' Explain the original concept of '''ideology''' and how Marx connected it to social classes.
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#Ideology
#'''Group 1:''' Explain Antonio Gramsci's (pronounced "GRAM-chee") concept of '''hegemony'''. Provide an example of hegemony in action.
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#Hegemony
#'''Group 2:''' Explain what the '''television apparatus''' is and Stuart Hall's theory of media '''encoding'''.
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#Discourse, as defined by John Fiske:  
#'''Group 3:''' Explain Stuart Hall's theory of media '''decoding'''.
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##"a language or system of representation that has
#'''All Groups:''' Explain John Fiske's idea of '''discourse'''. Using ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' episode we viewed for specifics: How would you describe the "hillbilly" discourse and how it conflicts with the "Beverly Hills" discourse?
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##developed socially in order
 +
##to make and circulate
 +
##a coherent set of meanings about an important topic area."
 +
#Encoding and decoding, as defined by Stuart Hall
  
 
==Decoding (or reading) a text==
 
==Decoding (or reading) a text==
 +
<gallery mode="packed" heights=200px>
 +
File:Stuart-Hall-and-the-Rise-of-Cultural-Studies.jpg|alt=Stuart Hall|Stuart Hall
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</gallery>
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<gallery mode="packed" heights=400px>
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File:Encoding decoding of broadcast structures.jpg|alt=Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model.|Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model.
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</gallery>
  
'''Group 4 '''
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#'''Group 1:''' Perform a ''dominant-hegemonic'' decoding of ''My So-Called Life''. What would be the result of your reading in terms of representations of gender and sexuality, ethnicity, and youth (vs. middle age)?
 +
#'''Group 2:''' Perform a ''oppositional'' decoding of ''My So-Called Life''. What would be the result of your reading in terms of representations of gender and sexuality, ethnicity, and youth (vs. middle age)?
 +
#'''Group 3:''' Perform a ''negotiated'' decoding of ''My So-Called Life''. What would be the result of your reading in terms of representations of gender and sexuality, ethnicity, and youth (vs. middle age)?
 +
#'''Group 4:''' What do you feel is the ''preferred reading'' of this episode? What is the preferred reading in terms of representations of gender and sexuality, ethnicity, and youth (vs. middle age)? ("Hall and others often presume that the preferred reading encoded on the text by the television apparatus will be from the dominant position," but in this case it probably is not.)
 +
===Cast (from IMDb)===
 +
*Bess Armstrong ... Patty Chase
 +
*Wilson Cruz ... Rickie Vasquez
 +
*Claire Danes ... Angela Chase
 +
*Devon Gummersall ... Brian Krakow
 +
*A.J. Langer ... Rayanne Graff
 +
*Jared Leto ... Jordan Catalano
 +
*Devon Odessa ... Sharon Cherski
 +
*Tom Irwin ... Graham Chase
  
#Perform a ''dominant-hegemonic'' decoding of ''My So-Called Life''. What would be the result of your reading in terms of representations of gender and sexuality, ethnicity, and youth (vs. middle age)?
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==Ritesh Mehta, "''Master of None'': Negotiated Decoding"==
#How could your reading be restated using Morley's notion of discourses encountering one another?
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#Mehta offers "dominant", "oppositional", and "negotiated" "readings" of Asian-American Dev's relationships with various white women over the course of the series (pp. 147-148). Describe those three readings in your own words. How do those readings apply to Dev's relationship with Nina in "The Other Man" episode?
 +
#Mehta argues that the second season of ''Master of None'' "privileges" (offers a ''preferred'' reading, one might say) a different decoding than the first. How so? And can you see this in "The Other Man" episode, which is from the first season?
 +
#If we compare/contrast ''Master of None'' with ''My So-Called Life'', what preferred readings do they offer regarding:
 +
##Angela and Nina, in terms of gender politics.
 +
##Representations of adultery.
 +
##Ricky and Denise, in terms of LGBTQ/race politics.
 +
#How did ''you'' read Mark and Nina's conversion at the end of the episode?
 +
<gallery mode="packed" heights=200px>
 +
File:MasterOfNone S01e05qq00 27 02qq.jpg|alt=Mark and Nina, final scene of the episode.|Mark and Nina, final scene of the episode.
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File:MasterOfNone S01e05qq00 28 41qq.jpg|alt=Denise and Dev, last shot of the episode.|Denise and Dev, last shot of the episode.
 +
</gallery>
  
'''Group 2'''
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===Cast (from IMDb)===
 +
*Aziz Ansari ... Dev
 +
*Lena Waithe ... Denise
 +
*Claire Danes ... Nina
 +
*H. Jon Benjamin ... Benjamin
 +
*Noah Emmerich ... Mark
 +
*Colin Salmon ... Colin
 +
*Todd Barry ... Todd
 +
*Annie Chang ... Caroline
  
#Perform a ''oppositional'' decoding of ''My So-Called Life''. What would be the result of your reading in terms of representations of gender and sexuality, ethnicity, and youth (vs. middle age)?
+
==Strengths/weaknesses==
#How could your reading be restated using Morley's notion of discourses encountering one another?
+
List two strength(s) of ideological criticism, cultural studies and/or production studies. List two weaknesses of these approaches. '''Answers in boldface are the best ones.'''
  
'''Group 1'''
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*'''Group 1 on production studies:'''
 +
**S:
 +
**W:
 +
*'''Group 2 on Stuart Hall:'''
 +
**S:
 +
**W:
 +
*'''Group 3 on Stuart Hall:'''
 +
**S:
 +
**W:
 +
*'''Group 4 on production studies:'''
 +
**'''S:
 +
**'''W:
  
#Perform a ''negotiated'' decoding of ''My So-Called Life''. What would be the result of your reading in terms of representations of gender and sexuality, ethnicity, and youth (vs. middle age)?
+
== Bibliography ==
#How could your reading be restated using Morley's notion of discourses encountering one another?
+
#Jeremy G. Butler, ''Television: Visual Storytelling and Screen Culture'' (NY: Routledge, 2018).
 
+
#Ethan Thompson & Jason Mittell, eds., ''How to Watch Television'', second edition (2020):
'''Group 3'''
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##Ritesh Mehta, "''Master of None'': Negotiated Decoding," second edition, 144-152.
 
+
#Katie Way, "I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the worst night of my life," ''babe.net'', https://babe.net/2018/01/13/aziz-ansari-28355
#What do you feel is the ''preferred reading'' of this episode? What is the preferred reading in terms of representations of gender and sexuality, ethnicity, and youth (vs. middle age)? ("Hall and others often presume that the preferred reading encoded on the text by the television apparatus will be from the dominant position," but in this case it probably is not.)
+
#[https://tvcrit.org/Classes/Jbutler/BUI301/MasterOfNone_S01E05/index.html Screenshots from ''Master of None'']
 
 
==John Caldwell and production studies==
 
To understand how the society and culture of the television industry, Caldwell looks both at "texts" associated with the industry and at the interaction of actual television-producing humans. Explain what he means by each of the following "critical industrial practices" and provide at least two examples of such practices and the meanings associated with them:
 
  
*'''All groups:''' Define '''production culture'''. How is what Caldwell is advocating different from earlier television ethnographers like the CCCS group?
 
*'''Group 4:''' Deep texts
 
*'''Group 1:''' Emic interpretations
 
*'''Group 2:''' Critical industrial geographies
 
*'''Group 3:''' Liminal industrial rituals
 
 
== Bibliography ==
 
#Butler, Jeremy G. ''Television: Critical Methods and Applications''. Mahweh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007.
 
#John Caldwell, “Cultural Studies of  Media Production: Critical Industrial Practices,” in ''Questions of Method in Cultural Studies'', eds. Mimi White and James Schwoch (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2006).
 
  
[[Category:TCF311]]
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[[Category:BUI301]]
[[Category:TCF311 Discussion]]
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[[Category:BUI301 Discussion]]
 +
[[Category:JCM311]]
 +
[[Category:JCM311 Discussion]]

Latest revision as of 19:37, 17 November 2020

Ideological criticism: key terms

  1. Ideology
  2. Hegemony
  3. Discourse, as defined by John Fiske:
    1. "a language or system of representation that has
    2. developed socially in order
    3. to make and circulate
    4. a coherent set of meanings about an important topic area."
  4. Encoding and decoding, as defined by Stuart Hall

Decoding (or reading) a text

  1. Group 1: Perform a dominant-hegemonic decoding of My So-Called Life. What would be the result of your reading in terms of representations of gender and sexuality, ethnicity, and youth (vs. middle age)?
  2. Group 2: Perform a oppositional decoding of My So-Called Life. What would be the result of your reading in terms of representations of gender and sexuality, ethnicity, and youth (vs. middle age)?
  3. Group 3: Perform a negotiated decoding of My So-Called Life. What would be the result of your reading in terms of representations of gender and sexuality, ethnicity, and youth (vs. middle age)?
  4. Group 4: What do you feel is the preferred reading of this episode? What is the preferred reading in terms of representations of gender and sexuality, ethnicity, and youth (vs. middle age)? ("Hall and others often presume that the preferred reading encoded on the text by the television apparatus will be from the dominant position," but in this case it probably is not.)

Cast (from IMDb)

  • Bess Armstrong ... Patty Chase
  • Wilson Cruz ... Rickie Vasquez
  • Claire Danes ... Angela Chase
  • Devon Gummersall ... Brian Krakow
  • A.J. Langer ... Rayanne Graff
  • Jared Leto ... Jordan Catalano
  • Devon Odessa ... Sharon Cherski
  • Tom Irwin ... Graham Chase

Ritesh Mehta, "Master of None: Negotiated Decoding"

  1. Mehta offers "dominant", "oppositional", and "negotiated" "readings" of Asian-American Dev's relationships with various white women over the course of the series (pp. 147-148). Describe those three readings in your own words. How do those readings apply to Dev's relationship with Nina in "The Other Man" episode?
  2. Mehta argues that the second season of Master of None "privileges" (offers a preferred reading, one might say) a different decoding than the first. How so? And can you see this in "The Other Man" episode, which is from the first season?
  3. If we compare/contrast Master of None with My So-Called Life, what preferred readings do they offer regarding:
    1. Angela and Nina, in terms of gender politics.
    2. Representations of adultery.
    3. Ricky and Denise, in terms of LGBTQ/race politics.
  4. How did you read Mark and Nina's conversion at the end of the episode?

Cast (from IMDb)

  • Aziz Ansari ... Dev
  • Lena Waithe ... Denise
  • Claire Danes ... Nina
  • H. Jon Benjamin ... Benjamin
  • Noah Emmerich ... Mark
  • Colin Salmon ... Colin
  • Todd Barry ... Todd
  • Annie Chang ... Caroline

Strengths/weaknesses

List two strength(s) of ideological criticism, cultural studies and/or production studies. List two weaknesses of these approaches. Answers in boldface are the best ones.

  • Group 1 on production studies:
    • S:
    • W:
  • Group 2 on Stuart Hall:
    • S:
    • W:
  • Group 3 on Stuart Hall:
    • S:
    • W:
  • Group 4 on production studies:
    • S:
    • W:

Bibliography

  1. Jeremy G. Butler, Television: Visual Storytelling and Screen Culture (NY: Routledge, 2018).
  2. Ethan Thompson & Jason Mittell, eds., How to Watch Television, second edition (2020):
    1. Ritesh Mehta, "Master of None: Negotiated Decoding," second edition, 144-152.
  3. Katie Way, "I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the worst night of my life," babe.net, https://babe.net/2018/01/13/aziz-ansari-28355
  4. Screenshots from Master of None