Theory

OCR Spec

•MEDIA FRAME WORK INCLUDES:

–Media Language

•semiotics, including Barthes

•narratology, including Todorov

•genre theory, including Neale.

–Media Representation

•theories of representation including Hall

•theories of identity including Gauntlett.

Definitions

Genre - a style or category of art, music, or literature.
Propps Theory -

Semiotics - the study of signs and their meaning in society.

Barthes Theory

Narratives like a ball of string

Roland Barthes was a semiologist.

If you imagine a text is like a ball of string, can it be unravelled in one way or in many ways?

House of Cards is an example of a TV show with multiple narratives. It has 4 different narratives which intertwine with eachother, Frank Underwood, Claire Underwood, Peter Russo and Zoe Barnes. Franks story is the main narrative of the show with him being the central character and the other stories branching off of it, creating new narratives.

Open or closed?

texts may be

• ' open ' (i.e. unravelled in a lot of different ways) or

• ' closed ' (there is only one obvious thread to pull on).

Barthes also decided that the threads that you pull on to try and unravel meaning are called narrative codes and that they could be categorised in the following five ways:
Narratives in long form dramas are usually open to keep the show going and keep the audience interested in the things that are happening within the show, also it is helpful for when a character needs to leave the show, meaning the show doesn't have to finish.

The Hermeneutic Code/ENIGMA CODE

• The Hermeneutic Code refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the reader.

 • The purpose of the author in this is typically to keep the audience guessing, arresting the enigma, until the final scenes when all is revealed and all loose ends are tied off and closure is achieved.

The Proairetic Code/ACTION CODE

• The Proairetic Code also builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the reader guessing as to what will happen next.

• Action code - applies to any action that implies a further narrative action. For example, a gunslinger draws his gun on an adversary and we wonder what the resolution of this action will be.

• The Hermeneutic and Proairetic Codes work as a pair to develop the story's tensions and keep the reader interested. Barthes described them as:

• "...dependent on ... two sequential codes: the revelation of truth and the coordination of the actions represented….."

The Semantic Code

• This code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word.

• The semantic code - any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation

House of Cards contains a lot of Washington landmarks such as, the white house, the lincoln memorial, and Washington memorial. It also contains the american flag. Most of the Washington landmarks symbolise politics and leaders along with memories of great american leaders. The american flag symbolises the different states, and the 13 original colonies, and  Liberty, Equality & Self-Government / freedom, life, liberty. Frank Underwood, the main character in house of cards, doesn't follow these values and goes against them, very quickly.

House of cards uses enigma to mirror the way the government keeps secrets from the public. This is because the show keeps Franks plans mostly secret, until it happens, he also speaks to other characters (mostly Zoe) quite secretively and in riddles.

How does the enigma code apply to Telegraph Headline “the Brexit Mutineers”

The enigma code applies to the telegraph headline "The Brexit Mutineers" by not really explaining how these politicians are "brexit mutineers" and grabbing the readers attention.

Todorov Narrative

The primary function of most films is to tell a story..  The mise en scene, cinematography, editing and sound are entirely subservient to the narrative, creating a seamless flow that centres the viewer within the story.

Todorov’s theory (Equilibrium and Dis-equilibrium)

Todorov in 1969 produced a theory which he believed to be able to be applied to any film. He believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern. They all went through stages:

•the equilibrium,

•disequilibrium,

•acknowledgement,

•solving

and again equilibrium

Narrative Theory

Narrative conventions.

Film narratives share a number of features that audiences expect:

•The role of the protagonist
•The problems faced by the protagonist
•The resolution of these problems

The narratives of most films are centred on one or two main protagonists
•Their lives are disrupted by an outside event, or presence of an unfulfilled desire
•The plot is then about removing that disruption or fulfilling that desire
•The rest of the events in the plot are usually initiated by the protagonist and have a clear cause and effect relationship to other events

Captain Phillips also has this theory, of the start, the disruption, and the resolution. Captain Phillips is the protagonist of the movie and is a captain of a freighter ship, the ship is attacked by some pirates who board the ship and attack the crew. In the end everything is resolved. 

In house of cards at the start everything is fine, frank is promised a promotion and has a loving wife, this is the equilibrium, then frank doesn't get the secretary of state position that he was promised by walker, which is where the disruption/disequilibrium occurs. he acknowledges this by trying to get the position of president by trying to impeach the current president, in the end he becomes president. 


In what way does Todorov’s theory apply to the following News stories?
1. England is fine, 
2. Russians poison Russian ex-spy and his daughter, and a police officer.
3. Media talking about it, theorise on who ordered the attack (most likely Putin).
4. ~23 Russians diplomats expelled from England .
5. Things go back to normalish, bit different, scared of russia

Neale’s Genre

Neale’s theory of repetition and differerence in Genre• "Genres are instances of repetition and difference"•"Difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre"

Neale’s theory of repetition and differerence in Genre

What That Means:

•Steve Neale is saying that a film and it's genre is defined by two things:

•How much it conforms with a genre's stereotypes and conventions.

•He says that a film must conform to these conventions enough that it can still qualify and be identified as a film of that genre.

•How much a film subverts the genre's stereotypes and conventions.

•He says that a film must subvert these conventions enough that it is still viewed as a unique film, not just a clone.

some examples of these are the star wars movies. A new hope (1977) Conforms to Genre expectations of a sci-fi and action film.

•Sci – Fi film -   special effects, hero and anti hero, epic struggle over good and evil

•Action film – follows Structure of Propp where the protagonist is sent on a quest to rescue a princess.

The last Jedi (2017) Conforms to Genre expectations of a sci-fi and action film.

•Sci – Fi film -   special effects, hero and anti hero, epic struggle over good and evil

•Action film – follows Structure of Propp where the protagonist is sent on a quest

Subverts the action film genre

•As the (main) protagonist is female

•Plot twist focus on female empowerment

To what extent does HOC conform to genre expectations of a

Political thriller/Drama

1.About politics

2.Plot twists

To what extent does HOC subvert the genre expectations of a political thriller/drama?

1.Anti-hero

2.Slow paced (thrillers are usually faster paced)