MEDIAST 10 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Reality Television, Headon, Tums
Document Summary
All media are texts that can be read for meaning (i. e. : television programs, radio broadcasts, albums, articles, etc. ) Reading requires an active process of interpretation (we are never truly passive when consuming media) There is always an internal cognitive processing of what we are seeing. Media texts are representations that help construct our realities. Moral panics are the societal fear of a new tech"s or cultural form"s negative impact outside of parental control. Displace anxieties for larger cultural concerns is too difficult to confront head-on. So: makes fears more manageable but does little to protect people. Media highbrow stuff at the top: classical symphony, classic literature and poetry, fine art, ballet. Lowbrow stuff at the bottom: celeb gossip sites, reality television, professional wrestling. Some critics incorrectly believe that contemporary media: fosters inability to appreciate fine art (big mac theory, exploits and degrades classics a. Ie: mary shelley"s frankenstein would become frankenberry cereal.
