Mass Media and Culture: A Critical Approach Chapter 1 Mass Media and Culture: A Critical Approach

What is CULTURE? defined as “the symbols that individuals, groups and societies use to make sense of daily life and to articulate their values” includes both products and processes communicates the values of a society through products or meaning-making forms

What are MASS MEDIA? Mass Media are the culture industries that mass-produce and distribute cultural products, which can include songs, novels, newspapers, movies, online services, magazines, comic books, DVDs, video games, textbooks, radio programs, cable TV, advertising, sports events, and so on Mass Communication is the process of designing and delivering cultural messages and stories to large and diverse audiences through media channels

FIVE HISTORICAL ERAS of media and communication: Oral Written Print Electronic Digital

Pre-Industrial Cultures Oral Meanings are specific and local Knowledge is passed by showing and telling Memory is crucial Elders are repositories of knowledge, as are storytellers Myth and history are intertwined

Pre-Industrial Cultures Written (c. 3000 BC) Ideogrammatic alphabets (Egyptian, Sumerian, Chinese) give way to syllabic [sound based] alphabets (originally from Sumerian cuneiform) Developed to enhance business record keeping Effects of Literacy Meaning and language became more uniform Communication could occur over great distances and long periods of time Memories, history and mythology could be recorded on first papyrus, then parchment,

Industrial and Post-Industrial Cultures Print Invention of the Printing Press in China Block presses invented in 600 AD, with movable clay type by 1000 AD Invention of the Printing Press in Europe Johannes Gutenberg (1397-1468, Germany) studied metallurgy, sold trinkets to religious pilgrims invented movable metal type printing first printed “Indulgences” for Catholic Church printed 200 copies of two-volume Gutenberg Bible

Impact of Print Wider availability of written material led to higher need for literacy among middle and working classes Increased interest in education to empower the middle classes to compete with heredity aristocracies Broader distribution of ideas and information led to increased technological progress Printing served as model for industrial mass production Increased literacy led to both democratic self-expression as well as interest in censorship Reading also triggered emphasis on nationalism and individualism After industrialization, more need for books both to entertain and to inform

Industrial and Post-Industrial Cultures Development of Telegraph (1840s) separated communication from transportation transformed information into a commodity coordinated commercial and military operations Forerunner of electronic communication Electronic and Digital Communication create mass market for information and entertainment

Social and cultural changes with advent of mass media democratization of knowledge and literacy nourishing ideal of individualism facilitation of large social movements

LINEAR MODEL OF COMMUNICATION sender message channel receivers gatekeepers feedback senders-->messages-->receivers

Alternative model based on belief that audiences are NOT merely passive receptacles of message audience members can can interpret the meanings of media messages differently based on their own values and viewpoints

Mass media and public perception mass media can alter a society’s perception of events and attitudes For instance: news coverage of civil rights movement (example: the murder of Emmett Till) Hill-Thomas hearings & sexual harassment News coverage of Bush-Gore in Florida and doubts about voting systems in US

Public debates about media Ancient Greece: art and drama early 20th century America: working class popular culture ongoing concerns about children’s exposure to sex and violence in media

Concerns about media today fragmentation of media audience perceived lack of quality, “family values” overabundance of information dangers of cyberspace for youth sex and violence in media loss of face-to-face community

Developing a CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE DESCRIPTION Outline content Note structure Identify characters, conflicts, themes,ideas Research ANALYSIS Focus Isolate and analyze patterns Define area of analysis

Developing a CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE INTERPRETATION Determine meanings of patterns Answer “so what?” (significance) EVALUATION Make an informed judgment based on previous steps, not on personal reaction Conclude, perhaps with a recommendation