Media Analysis Techniques

by Arthur Asa Berger

• ISBN13: 9781412987769
• ISBN10: 1412987768
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-06-29
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

In the Fourth Edition of Media Analysis Techniques, author Arthur Asa Berger once again provides students with a clearly written, user-friendly, hands-on guide to media research methods and techniques. The book empowers readers to make their own analyses of the media rather than just accept how others interpret the media. Media Analysis Techniques begins by examining four techniques of media interpretation-semiotic theory, Marxist theory, psychoanalytic theory, and sociological theory-that Berger considers critical for creative people to acknowledge if they are to understand how their creations translate to the real world. Application chapters then link popular culture to these four theories. Written in an accessible style that demystifies complex concepts, it includes a glossary, study guides, and the author#xE2;#xAC;"s own illustrations.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Techniques of Interpretation	p. 1
Semiotic Analysis	p. 3
A Brief History of the Subject	p. 3
The Problem of Meaning	p. 5
Social Aspects of Semiotics: The Individual and Society	p. 6
Saussure on the Science of Semiology	p. 7
Signs	p. 8
Forms of Signs	p. 11
Signs and Advertising	p. 12
Material Culture	p. 12
Objects and Identity	p. 13
Activities and Performances	p. 13
Music and Sound Effects	p. 14
Signs and Truth	p. 14
Facial Expressions as Signs	p. 15
Hyperreality	p. 16
Language and Speaking	p. 17
Connotation and Denotation	p. 18
The Synchronic and the Diachronic	p. 20
Syntagmatic Analysis	p. 22
Paradigmatic Analysis	p. 27
Intertextuality	p. 29
Dialogical Theory	p. 30
Metaphor and Metonymy	p. 31
Codes	p. 32
Semiotics of the Television Medium	p. 35
Some Criticisms of Semiotic Analysis	p. 37
A Checklist for Semiotic Analysis of Television	p. 37
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 38
Annotated Bibliography	p. 39
Marxist Analysis	p. 45
Materialism	p. 46
The Base and the Superstructure	p. 48
False Consciousness and Ideology	p. 49
The Frankfurt School	p. 51
Class Conflict	p. 52
Alienation	p. 55
The Consumer Society	p. 57
John Berger on Advertising	p. 60
Bourgeois Heroes	p. 61
Hegemony	p. 62
The Problem of Media Consolidation	p. 65
The Danger of Being Doctrinaire	p. 66
Grid-Group Analysis	p. 68
Marxist Criticism in the Postmodern World	p. 70
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 71
Annotated Bibliography	p. 71
Psychoanalytic Criticism	p. 75
The Unconscious	p. 75
Sexuality	p. 78
William A. Rossi on Sexual Aspects of the Foot and Shoe	p. 79
The Oedipus Complex	p. 80
On the Importance of Myth	p. 83
Id, Ego, and Superego	p. 84
The Structural Hypothesis Applied to Culture	p. 86
Symbols	p. 87
Defense Mechanisms	p. 89
Dreams	p. 91
Condensation and Displacement	p. 93
Aggression and Guilt	p. 94
Stereotypes and Aggressive Humor	p. 96
Freud and Beyond	p. 97
Jungian Psychoanalytic Theory	p. 98
Archetypes	p. 98
The Collective Unconscious	p. 98
The Myth of the Hero	p. 99
The Shadow Element in the Psyche	p. 99
The Anima and the Animus	p. 100
Psychoanalytic Analysis of Media: A Cautionary Note	p. 101
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 102
Annotated Bibliography	p. 102
Sociological Analysis	p. 107
Émile Durkheim on Our Social Nature	p. 108
Some Basic Concepts	p. 110
Alienation	p. 110
Anomie	p. 110
Bureaucracy	p. 111
Class (Socioeconomic)	p. 111
Culture	p. 112
Deviance	p. 113
Elites	p. 114
Ethnicity	p. 114
Functionalism	p. 114
Lifestyle	p. 116
Marginalization	p. 116
Mass Communication and Mass Media	p. 117
Mass Society	p. 117
Postmodernism	p. 119
Race	p. 120
Role (Social)	p. 121
Sex (Gender)	p. 122
Socialization	p. 122
Status	p. 124
Stereotypes	p. 125
Values	p. 125
Uses and Gratifications	p. 126
Genres and Formulas	p. 133
Content Analysis	p. 135
Leo Lowenthal on Content Analysis	p. 135
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 138
Annotated Bibliography	p. 139
Applications	p. 143
Murderers on the Orient Express	p. 145
Organizing a Mystery	p. 145
Detectives as Semioticians	p. 147
Social and Political Dimensions	p. 148
Poirot as Revolutionary	p. 149
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 151
Seven Points on the Game of Football (And Some Interesting Statistics)	p. 153
Football Is a Game of Signs	p. 153
Instant Replay and the Modern Sensibility	p. 154
Football Socializes Us	p. 155
Statistics About Televised Football	p. 157
Why Baseball Is Boring	p. 158
Football as an Alternative to Religion	p. 160
The Marxist Perspective	p. 161
Football and the Psyche	p. 162
Concluding Remarks	p. 164
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 165
The Maiden With the Snake: Interpretations of a Print Advertisement	p. 167
Signs in Signs: A Primer on Applied Semiotics	p. 167
The Maiden in Paradise: A Case Study	p. 169
A Paradigmatic Analysis of the Fidji Advertisement	p. 174
Psychoanalytic Aspects of the Fidji Text	p. 175
An Aside on Moisturizers and Anxiety	p. 176
Final Comments on Perfume and Anxiety	p. 177
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 178
All-News Radio and the American Bourgeoisie	p. 181
News and Alienation	p. 181
News and Ruling-Class Ideology	p. 183
Commercials and Anxiety	p. 184
Caught in the Middle	p. 184
News From Internet and Social Media	p. 185
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 186
Video Games: A New Art Form	p. 189
Are Video Games an Art Form or a Medium?	p. 192
New Technologies and Video Games	p. 193
Janet Murray on Interactivity and Immersion	p. 194
Video Games and Addiction	p. 195
Video Games and the Problem of Violence	p. 196
Social and Physical Problems Caused by Video Games	p. 197
Video Games and Sexuality	p. 198
Conclusions	p. 199
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 200
Cell Phones, Social Media, and the Problem of Identity	p. 201
An Epiphany	p. 202
Media Use by 8 - to 18-Year-Olds	p. 202
Social Media	p. 204
A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Youth and Social Media	p. 205
The Cell Phone as Sign: A Semiotic Perspective	p. 208
Marxist Perspectives on Cell Phones	p. 209
Conclusions	p. 210
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 211
Epilogue: Shmoos and Analysis	p. 213
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion	p. 214
Appendix: Simulations, Activities, Gaines, and Exercises	p. 217
Anatomy of a Tale	p. 217
Paradigmatic Analysis	p. 218
A Lévi-Straussian Analysis of Upstairs, Downstairs	p. 219
Steps in Playing Lévi-Strauss	p. 219
Dream Analysis	p. 220
Writing a Therapeutic Fairy Tale	p. 220
Origin Tales	p. 221
Radio Scripts	p. 222
Television Narrative Analysis	p. 222
The Propp Game	p. 223
An Example	p. 224
Metaphors	p. 224
How to Play the Metaphor Game	p. 225
Things to Consider	p. 226
Advertising Analysis	p. 226
Playing Aaron Wildavsky	p. 227
Textual Analysis	p. 229
Semiotic Analysis	p. 229
Marxist/Ideological Criticism	p. 230
Psychoanalytic Criticism	p. 230
Sociological Criticism	p. 230
Glossary	p. 231
References	p. 247
Author Index	p. 253
Subject Index	p. 255
About the Author	p. 259
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.