Cultural Studies, Multicultralism, and Media Culture
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Introduction
a. Hegemony: Those who are in power have power because it is given to them- mutually
agreed on relationship
i. Ideologies- culmination of many things to create a reality that is bought into
b. Pedagogy: theories of teaching
i. Cultural Pedagogy = what the culture teaches us
c. Media Literacy: awareness of media to be ‘less fooled’ = empowerment
i. Individual sovereignty = ability to control your own
actions/viewing/understanding
d. Countercultures subvert/go against the system
e. Cultural studies—requires study of culture in the context of that culture
i. Includes all range of culture (high and low and middle and everything in
between)- no type of culture is ‘better’
Cultural Studies
a. P. 11: “Cultural studies can show how media culture manipulates and indoctrinates us
and thus can empower individuals to resist the dominant meanings in media cultural
products and produce their own meanings.”
b. Media anticipates cultural shifts/can ‘normalize’ new ideas
c. Ideology: “make inequalities and subordination appear natural and just” = the water we
swim in
i. Worldviews perpetuated enough to be perceived as ‘normal’, ‘natural’ and
‘expected’
ii. Promotes dominant group over subordinate groups (depending on the focus)
d. Encoding: put meaning into something
Multiple Perspectives of Cultural Studies Approach
a. Political Economy
i. Important part of the process- the economic history and political context of the
text
ii. Example of “Her”- the time and place it was made shaped the ideology of it
iii. Discursive: Conversation between cultural forces/texts
1. Culture and media are a circular relationship- each reflects the other
2. What we want is often what we have been taught to want
iv. Elucidate: to make clear; highlight
v. Antithetical: against the ideology
vi. Formulaic conventions- the ‘stories’ that are told over and over again, fit certain
genres = predictable formulas
vii. Production constraints- how much the reality of the production influences the
text itself (e.g. pop songs are ~3 min)
viii. Global networks/conglomerates – spread Capitalist agenda to support
hegemony/ elite ideology
ix. Modern media allows for resistance, wider range of viewpoints
b. Textual Analysis
IV.
i. Semiotics- the underlying message/the signs in the text contain meanings
beyond the text itself
ii. Rambo as example- promotes ideology of dominant group
iii. Analysis can vary based on ideological viewpoints/identities
c. Audience Reception
i. Who the audience is, their identities and group identities affect how they
perceive texts
1. There are shared realities and individual realities
ii. Ethnographic studies- studying groups of people’s perspectives on a text
1. How groups appropriate- reclaim or change the meaning- of
texts/ideas/words/etc. produced in one place and used elsewhere for a
different purpose
2. Audiences can subvert the intention of the producer- change the
meaning from the original purpose/meaning e.g. ‘Bronies’
iii. Endemic- phenomena that is widespread throughout
iv. Reception analysis- the group who reacts to the text defines/shapes how it is
received
1. Consideration for how/where things are produced is important
2. Dividing between ‘dominant’ and ‘oppositional’ readings may be not the
best way to analyze receptions
3. Creation of audience spaces via social media allows for new analysis of
reception
4. Media effects: how media influences thinking/behavior of viewers
Multicultural/multiperspectives in cultural studies
a. CS should be from multiple perspectives/viewpoints of cultures
b. Cultural texts/media should be looked at from the three perspectives (production, text,
audience)
c. CS should be critical = address issues of sexism, racism, homophobia, other oppressive
ideologies against marginalized groups (groups pushed out of dominant/central focus)
d. Disseminate- to spread to the wider group
e. Delineate- break down/identify