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

From Screenpedia
Jump to navigationJump to search
(→‎Strengths/weaknesses: added this year's)
 
(13 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 +
==Ideological criticism: key terms==
 +
#Ideology
 +
#Hegemony
 +
#Discourse, as defined by John Fiske:
 +
##"a language or system of representation that has
 +
##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
 +
</gallery>
 
<gallery mode="packed" heights=400px>
 
<gallery mode="packed" heights=400px>
 
File:Encoding decoding of broadcast structures.jpg|alt=Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model.|Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model.
 
File:Encoding decoding of broadcast structures.jpg|alt=Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model.|Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model.
−
File:Stuart-Hall-and-the-Rise-of-Cultural-Studies.jpg|alt=Stuart Hall|Stuart Hall
 
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
−
'''Groups 6 & 2'''
+
#'''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)?
+
==Ritesh Mehta, "''Master of None'': Negotiated Decoding"==
−
 
+
#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?
−
'''Group 3'''
+
#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:
−
#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)?
+
##Angela and Nina, in terms of gender politics.
−
 
+
##Representations of adultery.
−
'''Group 4'''
+
##Ricky and Denise, in terms of LGBTQ/race politics.
−
 
+
#How did ''you'' read Mark and Nina's conversion at the end of the episode?
−
#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)?
+
<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.
−
'''Groups 5 & 1'''
+
File:MasterOfNone S01e05qq00 28 41qq.jpg|alt=Denise and Dev, last shot of the episode.|Denise and Dev, last shot of the episode.
−
 
+
</gallery>
−
#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.)
 
  
−
==Readings from Thompson & Mittell, ''How to Watch Television''==
+
===Cast (from IMDb)===
−
#'''Group 3:''' How does Daniel Marcus define "nostalgia" in "''The Wonder Years'': Televised Nostalgia"? Thinking back to our discussion of semiotics, what do you think he means by "denotative authority" and "connotative authority"? What effect does this connotative authority have on the ideological decoding/reading of ''The Wonder Years''—especially in regard to the pilot episode we viewed?
+
*Aziz Ansari ... Dev
−
#'''Groups 4 & 5:''' In "''I Love Lucy'': The Writer-Producer," Miranda J. Banks lists five things for which ''I Love Lucy'' is "celebrated." In addition to these, what significant shift in the behind-the-scenes TV-production hierarchy does she identify? What new title did this result in and which unheralded individual associated with ''I Love Lucy'' fit this title? Why was the Screen Writers Guild wary of this development? How does the episode we viewed play out what Miranda Banks calls the show's "basic plot idea"?
+
*Lena Waithe ... Denise
−
#'''Groups 1 & 6:''' In "''Modern Family'': Product Placement," Kevin Sandler specifies two distinct attitudes toward the iPad's inclusion in the "Game Changer" episode. Summarize these "attitudes". Which do you think is correct and why? Also, how have technological changes necessitated marketing changes that affect narrative? What new techniques have you yourself noticed in TV advertising—especially in online services such as Hulu and YouTube?
+
*Claire Danes ... Nina
−
#'''Groups 2:''' In "''Modern Family'': Product Placement," Kevin Sandler refers to Timothy Havens and Amanda D. Lotz's "industrialization of culture” framework as a way to understand the relationship between art and commerce in TV production. Explain Havens/Lotz's use of these terms: "mandates, conditions, and practices". How can these terms be used to explain the iPad's product placement in "Game Changer"? What is James Grant Hay's assessment of the episode and do you agree with it?
+
*H. Jon Benjamin ... Benjamin
 +
*Noah Emmerich ... Mark
 +
*Colin Salmon ... Colin
 +
*Todd Barry ... Todd
 +
*Annie Chang ... Caroline
  
 
==Strengths/weaknesses==
 
==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.''' Email them to jbutler@ua.edu .
+
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:'''
 
*'''Group 1 on production studies:'''
−
**S: (1) Studying the production of television shows helps the audience find out what the preferred reading is. (2) Allows audience to see the production side of television and how it's used and integrated into the story
+
**S:
−
**W: (1) Don't have to take into consideration the economic or social attitudes of the time (example: ''Modern Family'' with technological advantages). (2) Takes focus away from the actual text itself
+
**W:
 
*'''Group 2 on Stuart Hall:'''
 
*'''Group 2 on Stuart Hall:'''
−
**S: (1) More freedom to interpret a show yourself through Encoding/Decoding. (2) Easier to identify how a episode of a TV show was intended to be understood and compare that to what people are getting out of it that are watching the show.
+
**S:
−
**W: (1) Trying to understand a show in one particular way may limit the understandings of a show, because sometimes multiple meanings can be encoded. (2) Encoding/Decoding has created a standard that may force production companies to try and create a meaning behind everything they produce.
+
**W:
 
*'''Group 3 on Stuart Hall:'''
 
*'''Group 3 on Stuart Hall:'''
−
**S: (1) It allows for more critical inspection or analysis that goes beyond aesthetics of a tv show. You can draw your own meaning. (2) If there's multiple ideology analysis you have multiple ways to look at things
+
**S:  
−
**W: (1) Silences contrary ideologies (2) It’s difficult to avoid being biased and any ideological analysis will be hinged on the critics point of view
+
**W:  
 
*'''Group 4 on production studies:'''
 
*'''Group 4 on production studies:'''
−
**'''S: (1) economics of production will influence the storytelling capabilities, so production studies can help us understand the full meaning. (2) Knowing the modes of production common to certain areas can help identify where real innovation happened and help ground an analysis. (Can't compare ''I love Lucy'''s cinematography to ''Game of Thrones'' without talking about cameras available)'''
+
**'''S:  
−
**'''W: (1) Audiences may not care how something was made to add meaning. (like death of the author concept in literature) (2) It's hard to know all about a production unless you're actually there because the press story will be different from actuality.'''
+
**'''W:  
−
*'''Group 5 on Stuart Hall:'''
 
−
**S: (1) Being able to view shows in the context they were created can allow for greater understanding than when they were initially aired. (2) Nostalgia driven programs like ''The Wonder Years'' were created with a lens that its almost impossible to recreate today
 
−
**W: (1) Its inherently subjective. (2) Once time passes, media isn't looked at through its original lens, its viewed more as what the then current viewers see
 
−
*'''Group 6 on Stuart Hall:'''
 
−
**S: (1) There are multiple decoding positions employed- multiple approaches. (2) Some people subside majority (dominant hegemonic) to avoid conflict.
 
−
**W: (1) Not everyone accepts the concepts of Marxist foundations. (2) More people stand negotiable hegemonic b/c they don't to be on one side or another
 
  
 
== Bibliography ==
 
== Bibliography ==
 
#Jeremy G. Butler, ''Television: Visual Storytelling and Screen Culture'' (NY: Routledge, 2018).
 
#Jeremy G. Butler, ''Television: Visual Storytelling and Screen Culture'' (NY: Routledge, 2018).
−
#Ethan Thompson & Jason Mittell, eds., ''How to Watch Television'' (NY: NYU Press, 2013):
+
#Ethan Thompson & Jason Mittell, eds., ''How to Watch Television'', second edition (2020):
−
##Miranda J. Banks, “''I Love Lucy'': The Writer-Producer,” 244-252
+
##Ritesh Mehta, "''Master of None'': Negotiated Decoding," second edition, 144-152.
−
##Kevin Sandler, “''Modern Family'': Product Placement”, 253-261
+
#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
−
##Daniel Marcus, “''The Wonder Years'': Televised Nostalgia,” 223-231
+
#[https://tvcrit.org/Classes/Jbutler/BUI301/MasterOfNone_S01E05/index.html Screenshots from ''Master of None'']
  
  
 +
[[Category:BUI301]]
 +
[[Category:BUI301 Discussion]]
 
[[Category:JCM311]]
 
[[Category:JCM311]]
 
[[Category:JCM311 Discussion]]
 
[[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

  • Stuart Hall

    Stuart Hall

  • Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model.

    Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model.

  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?
  • Mark and Nina, final scene of the episode.

    Mark and Nina, final scene of the episode.

  • Denise and Dev, last shot of the episode.

    Denise and Dev, last shot 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
Retrieved from "https://screenpedia.org/index.php?title=Ideological_Criticism,_Cultural_Studies_(Discussion)&oldid=3843"