CS203 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Kurt Andersen, Raymond Williams, Alternative Facts
Midterm now due on oct 27
END OF LAST LECTURE
Review
Synchronic: when you examine structures of a language at a single point in time (relates to
desaussure and functionalist linguistics)
Diachronic: language over time, how it is created (raymond williams)
Particular words offer denotations and connotations
New
United Colours of Benetton
● Ads were provocative
● Spent tons of money on research looking at what appeals to certain demographics
● Pic seems like white girl is angel, black girl is devil (hair styled like horns)
● Denotative is dictionary meaning - white girl, curly hair, blue eyes, etc
● Connotations are associations - white and black = good and evil
● Plays on myth of good and evil
● Using text/logo/caption works as an anchor (term from Barthes) - helps to locate the
meaning for the view
NEW THIS LECTURE
Ideology
“We all have ideas, where do they come from?” Gang of Four (1981)
● Kurt Andersen book: How America Went Haywire - are Americans stupid? Or used to
rule by religious leader?
● ‘Alternative Facts’ vs Reality - Trump vs Obama Inaugurations
● Women’s March vs Trump Inauguration (women’s march was day after, was full)
● Is Trump lying or does he believe these lies?
● If you are a Trump supporter, might believe that the media is lying and edited the pics
The World of Politics and Media: leads to ‘ideology’
● Trump and Republican politicians attack the media
● Are the media biased against Trump?
● Are the media ‘liberal’ or ‘left wing’? Why would they be?
○ What journalists think doesn’t always matter
● What does it mean? What is liberal or left wing?
● We should be able to trust power figures - they shouldn’t be saying false statements
Ideological Analysis: Why?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
● Do media promote ‘dominant ideology’ or an ‘anti authority ideology’? Do they provide
one ‘worldview’ (aka ideology) or ‘contradictory messages’?
● Media = sites of (dispute over) representations
● Not single text, but across media
● Scholars compare media rep’ns with ‘real world’
● Movements have challenged media over rep’ns - eg women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ
● → are stereotypes reflective of culture? Systematic?
● → stereotypes shift and change, due to struggles of diff movements challenging the
representation
● → ideology is term we want to use to figure out what is going on in society
Advertising Image vs Reality
● Juxtaposition
● Perfect family, american way of living
● Right underneath is line of black people seeking help to survive
Ideology (1796)
● Absolute Monarchy
● The Age of Enlightenment → religion being destroyed by philosophers, people began to
push against monarchs
● Science vs Religion
● The French Revolution (1789-1799)
● Political Spectrum: left to right
● Nation-State
● → power of state resided with king/queen, those with absolute power could essentially do
everything they want, their churches justified absolute power
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
● → dominant ideology was that everyone had their place in society, if you were poor God
made you poor
● → 3 estates: aristocrats, clergy, commons
● → terms left and right come from french revolution - right wanted to bring king back
(reactionaries → conservatives, fascism furthest right), centre usually in sync with
governing party (supported govt), left is more liberal and want revolutionary change,
farthest left basically communists
● → french revolution brought idea of a nation
Antoine Destutt de Tracy (1754-1836)
● Coined term ideology
● Philosopher
● Ideology = study of ideas
● Like zoology
● Enlightenment
● Replace religion
● Education system
● Org’n of intellectuals working for the State
● 3 ideologies came out of French Revolution
● Democracy seen negatively by elites until recently
● Napoleon saw a threat to his power
● Karl Marx father converted to christianity in order to be able to practice law
Karl Marx: ideology
● Negative
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Synchronic: when you examine structures of a language at a single point in time (relates to desaussure and functionalist linguistics) Diachronic: language over time, how it is created (raymond williams) Spent tons of money on research looking at what appeals to certain demographics. Pic seems like white girl is angel, black girl is devil (hair styled like horns) Denotative is dictionary meaning - white girl, curly hair, blue eyes, etc. Connotations are associations - white and black = good and evil. Plays on myth of good and evil. Using text/logo/caption works as an anchor (term from barthes) - helps to locate the meaning for the view. We all have ideas, where do they come from? gang of four (1981) Alternative facts" vs reality - trump vs obama inaugurations. Women"s march vs trump inauguration (women"s march was day after, was full) If you are a trump supporter, might believe that the media is lying and edited the pics.
