Midterm prep COM 327 March 4, 2014

Theoretical Foundations Themes Theoretical foundations James Carey: Ritual & Transmission models Michel Foucault: Power Political economy Marxism, the media & culture industries Labor Political economy of social media Political economy of games Cultural studies Stuart Hall: encoding/decoding Gender Sexuality Race Military Theoretical Foundations Political Economy Cultural studies

Theoretical Foundations #1: Foucault Discourse Set of underlying, implicit ideas, meanings & beliefs that shape our social, political, economic institutions. Established “truths” about the world. Systems of differentiation Means of dividing people up into categories that are regarded as “natural”, but that reflect differences in social, economic, political power. Eg. Male vs female; heterosexual vs homosexual; white vs black POWER. “management of possibilities”; the conditions by which you have certain opportunities, privileges & rights that others don’t (or vice versa) Theoretical Foundations Political Economy Cultural studies

Theoretical Foundations #2: Communication as Culture James Carey. “A cultural approach to communication.” Key concepts: Ritual vs transmission model of communication Theoretical Foundations Political Economy Cultural studies

Communication as Culture Carey’s theories were rooted in media & cultural studies. Raymond Williams: “Culture is ordinary” – culture is what we do every day. Culture is created through communication. Marshall McLuhan: “Medium is the message” – the ‘content’ of communication is inseparable from the media used to deliver it. Erving Goffman: “Dramaturgical” view of communication – we perform different versions of our selves under different communicational contexts (e.g. at work vs at school vs at the game) Theoretical Foundations Political Economy Cultural studies

Political Economy #1: Marx & the Media Based in historical & journalistic observation of conditions of labor in 19th century Capitalist society is defined by the struggle for power between the ruling elite and the lower (and middle) classes Those who own the means of production vs those who work for them. Capitalism is marked by rapid growth (transportation technologies then -> communication technologies now) Political Economy Theoretical Foundations Cultural studies

Political Economy #1: Marx & the Media Key concepts: Class struggle Alienation Commodification Political Economy Theoretical Foundations Cultural studies

Political Economy #2: Culture Industries Adorno & Horkheimer Ideology From standpoint of capitalism, ‘content’ doesn’t matter Goal of culture industries is to make productive workers & willing consumers Political Economy Theoretical Foundations Cultural studies

Political Economy #3: Political Economy and Mass Media Vincent Mosco Neoliberalism is the ideology that says that all aspects of society (education, healthcare, law, etc) should be dictated by market forces, aka “the bottom line”. Labor is the key focus in political economic analyses of media. Understanding the ‘work’ we do that supports corporations, whether or not we are paid for that work. Political Economy Theoretical Foundations Cultural studies

Political Economy #4: Working for Play N. Dyer-Witherford & G. de Peuter. “‘EA Spouse’ and the crisis of video game labour.” Key concepts: Immaterial labor Affective labor Precarious labor Playbor Political Economy Theoretical Foundations Cultural studies

Theoretical Foundations Working for Play New media industries (like lots of forms of work) demand that workers put in extra time, work longer hours, represent the company when they’re not working, and ‘love their job’. The shift from material labor to immaterial labor means that jobs are less secure, workers have fewer rights, and corporations are less accountable to their workers than in the past. Political Economy Theoretical Foundations Cultural studies

Political Economy #4: Let’s be Friends Christian Fuchs. “The political economy of privacy on Facebook.” Key concepts: Liberal vs Contextual Privacy Political Economy Theoretical Foundations Cultural studies

Theoretical Foundations Let’s be Friends Facebook relies on the unpaid (and ‘affective’) labor of users Facebook (like MMOGs) require individual users to protect themselves from harm & surveillance Political Economy Theoretical Foundations Cultural studies

Cultural Studies #1: Encoding / Decoding Stuart Hall Cultural studies involves examining the discourses underlying media “texts”. Key concepts: Deconstruction Close reading Encoding/decoding Dominant (hegemonic) vs counter-hegemonic reading Cultural studies Theoretical Foundations Political Economy

Theoretical Foundations Reading Culture Hall used Marxist theory (society is characterized by struggle between ruling elite & working classes) to frame communication as a political struggle over meaning. 1) Mass media serves the ruling class, BUT - 2) People have the power to interpret media in ways that do not align with, and can be resistant to, the dominant ideology. Cultural studies Theoretical Foundations Political Economy

Cultural Studies #2 Gender Key concepts: Sex and gender are not the same thing Sex = biological category But there is more variation within sexes than between sexes Gender = the set of beliefs that reads sex as the most ‘natural’ way of organizing social / economic / political / cultural relations “Gender discourses” = underlying assumptions about men vs women designed to keep us in our proper place in society. Cultural studies Theoretical Foundations Political Economy

Cultural Studies #3 Sexuality Alexander Doty & David Gauntlett Queer theory unsettles “heteronormative” discourse that views heterosexuality as natural & homosexuality as unnatural “Queer interpretation” is possible even when characters are not explicitly queer Key concepts: queer theory heterocentrism homoeroticism Cultural studies Theoretical Foundations Political Economy

Cultural Studies #4 ‘Militainment’ Mainstream media is characterized by an increasingly close relationship between popular culture & the military-industrial complex The role of the press to safeguard society from a large & powerful military industry is called into question Cultural studies Theoretical Foundations Political Economy

Sample question Ideology & the “culture industries” According to Adorno & Horkheimer, what role does ideology play in capitalist society? Give examples from contemporary popular culture to support your argument. Work in pairs to discuss topic / approach Outline (explain) key concepts Devise thesis statement Come up with examples Write equivalent of ½ to 1 full essay book (double-spaced0