Terminology and theroies
Chomsky, Noam (1928-)
US academic who is recently associated with a radical neo-Marxist critique of US society and the manipulative power of global media organisations. He sees the relationship between profit-seeking media organisations and governments as one of mutual interest in supporting the status quo and this acts as a form of social control. 80% of the population are kept happy by a diet of popular texts such as soap operas, celeb gossip, spotrt and light entertainment.
How does Chomsky's critique relate to my study?
If 'Life isn't all ha ha hee hee' is part of 'popular media texts such as soap operas..' it may be considered as part of supporting the status quo and dominant ideology thus acting as a form of social control. Furthermore, this confirms that the representation of Asians in the drama series are limited and confirms public opinion of Asian culture via the humour used merely enhancing existing stereotypes to ensure they remain pigeonholed and dont break out of their 'false class consciousness'- issues portrayed such as friendship and betrayal diverts attention from the fact that they are part of the aspiring 'proletariat.'
Stuart Hall (1932)
A leading academic figure in culture studies theory..highlights how dominant ideology is reinforced. His 1970s studies of the representation of face on British TV have been the basis of debate on positive, negative or non-existent representations. Hall proposed a decoding/encoding model where the meaning of a text is framed by the produced and decoded by readers in line with their own background and circumstances.
How does Stuart Hall's theory relate to my study?
Hall is perhaps one of very few who has studied the link between race and representation. His focus on postive and negative representations is directly relevant to my study. Furthermore, his theory on the 'racial clown' whereby a tried and tested formula is used to present a typical stereotype who is easily laughed at because of the recognised traits of the character is also present in Life isn't all ha ha hee hee.
Active Audience Theory
In active theories, the beliefs, values, social and education background and life experiences audiences bring to a text are seen as influencing the way they accept, negotiate or challenge the preferred reading.
How does the active audience theory relate ot my study?
Prior research has shown that Meera Syal being comfortable with her dual identity was keen to break away from pigeonholed representations especially the 'Asian' tag so to what extent has Syal successfully represented Asian characters in such a light? Has she achieved the preferred reading or has the use of cliches and formulaic storylines to ensure identification with the characters meant the drama series was not far off from the Ferrairas?
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
The principal public service broadcasting organisation in the UK..it's become a more commercially minded organisation in the last 10 years, openly competing in the market place despite its remit to inform, educate and entertain
How does the BBC relate to my study?
BBC is the instiution that distrubited 'Life isn't all ha ha hee hee' and therefore is vital in looking at how the remit has functioned and affected the audiences' response to the series and the characters in it. It is the BBC's duty to give a well informed and accurate picture of all that is shown..so to what extent have they fulfilled this obligation?
Empathy
The ability to share the emotions or point of view of a group or individual which is encouraged by a shared experience rather than sympathising from a detached postion.
How does the idea of empathy relate to my study?
Many BBC reviews has shown that many viewers related and empathised with the characters despite their ethnic origin since the social experiences and issues were similiar thus encouraging empathy. However, if the representation of 'Asians' is to some extent not accuarate and relfective of reality it can result in alienation-the complete opposite.
US academic who is recently associated with a radical neo-Marxist critique of US society and the manipulative power of global media organisations. He sees the relationship between profit-seeking media organisations and governments as one of mutual interest in supporting the status quo and this acts as a form of social control. 80% of the population are kept happy by a diet of popular texts such as soap operas, celeb gossip, spotrt and light entertainment.
How does Chomsky's critique relate to my study?
If 'Life isn't all ha ha hee hee' is part of 'popular media texts such as soap operas..' it may be considered as part of supporting the status quo and dominant ideology thus acting as a form of social control. Furthermore, this confirms that the representation of Asians in the drama series are limited and confirms public opinion of Asian culture via the humour used merely enhancing existing stereotypes to ensure they remain pigeonholed and dont break out of their 'false class consciousness'- issues portrayed such as friendship and betrayal diverts attention from the fact that they are part of the aspiring 'proletariat.'
Stuart Hall (1932)
A leading academic figure in culture studies theory..highlights how dominant ideology is reinforced. His 1970s studies of the representation of face on British TV have been the basis of debate on positive, negative or non-existent representations. Hall proposed a decoding/encoding model where the meaning of a text is framed by the produced and decoded by readers in line with their own background and circumstances.
How does Stuart Hall's theory relate to my study?
Hall is perhaps one of very few who has studied the link between race and representation. His focus on postive and negative representations is directly relevant to my study. Furthermore, his theory on the 'racial clown' whereby a tried and tested formula is used to present a typical stereotype who is easily laughed at because of the recognised traits of the character is also present in Life isn't all ha ha hee hee.
Active Audience Theory
In active theories, the beliefs, values, social and education background and life experiences audiences bring to a text are seen as influencing the way they accept, negotiate or challenge the preferred reading.
How does the active audience theory relate ot my study?
Prior research has shown that Meera Syal being comfortable with her dual identity was keen to break away from pigeonholed representations especially the 'Asian' tag so to what extent has Syal successfully represented Asian characters in such a light? Has she achieved the preferred reading or has the use of cliches and formulaic storylines to ensure identification with the characters meant the drama series was not far off from the Ferrairas?
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
The principal public service broadcasting organisation in the UK..it's become a more commercially minded organisation in the last 10 years, openly competing in the market place despite its remit to inform, educate and entertain
How does the BBC relate to my study?
BBC is the instiution that distrubited 'Life isn't all ha ha hee hee' and therefore is vital in looking at how the remit has functioned and affected the audiences' response to the series and the characters in it. It is the BBC's duty to give a well informed and accurate picture of all that is shown..so to what extent have they fulfilled this obligation?
Empathy
The ability to share the emotions or point of view of a group or individual which is encouraged by a shared experience rather than sympathising from a detached postion.
How does the idea of empathy relate to my study?
Many BBC reviews has shown that many viewers related and empathised with the characters despite their ethnic origin since the social experiences and issues were similiar thus encouraging empathy. However, if the representation of 'Asians' is to some extent not accuarate and relfective of reality it can result in alienation-the complete opposite.
posted by Pip at 1:15 PM
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