Structuralism
Structuralism is a theory that suggests that all ideas have a structure; “structuralists” believe that structures are the “real things” that lie beneath “the surface” or the appearance of meaning. (Sternagel, 2012) When using structuralism theory, we attempt to analyse the meaning or try to see a forming pattern.
In films this theory emphasizes how certain film clips convey meaning through the use of codes and conventions that are similar to the way languages are used to construct meaning in communication. (Sternagel, 2012) However, structuralism film theory differs from linguistic theory as its codifications include more of an apparent temporal aspect, (Sternagel, 2012) in other words, the film is moving in time …show more content…
(Effect)
This model is about the process of communication and its function to society, according to Lasswell there are three functions of communication (communicationtheory.org, 2016); these include surveillance of the environment, correlation of components in society and the cultural transmission between generations.
An example of this theory in practice is as follows:
CNN News – “A water leak from Japan’s tsunami-crippled nuclear power station resulted in about 100 times the permitted level of radioactive material flowing into the sea, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said on Saturday”.
• Who – TEPC Operator
• What – Radioactive material flowing into the sea
• Channel – CNN News (Medium of television)
• Whom – The people of Japan/the public
• Effect – Alerting the people of Japan that radioactive material is flowing into the …show more content…
An active audience member will often interact with the text/show to create a meaning, whereas a passive audience member will passively watch something and it may have an effect on the audience.
The active audience theory argues that media audiences do not just receive information passively, they become actively involved (Shiori, 2015). It often happens when they are making sense of the message within their personal and social contexts. Decoding of a media message may be influenced by such things as family background, beliefs, values, culture, interests, education and experiences (Shiori, 2015).
A passive audience will merely observe the event rather than actively responding to it, there have been a few studies on something called the “audience effect”. Those studies seem to suggest that a passive audience is better for the performers that don’t require a lot of skill in their media (Shiori, 2015).
Post Modernism
Postmodernism in media rejects the idea that any media product or text is of any greater value than another (Hooton, 2010); all judgements of value are merely due to personal taste. Anything can be art, anything can deserve to reach an audience, and culture more-or-less ‘eats itself’ as there is no longer anything new to produce or distribute (Hooton,