Author Archives: anoushkadani

Summary of Reading: This week’s chapter suggests that in the post-modern era we are “forced to be free” (7). In the pre-modern era, social constructions of reality were binary in nature. Such societies did not entertain the possibility of other different world views existing alongside their own. In the modern era, people began to suspectContinue reading “Welcome to the Post-Modern World”

Summary of Reading: This week’s reading discusses propaganda and its mechanisms for effectiveness. According to Delwiche, propaganda is “developed by an organized group and systematically disseminated with the intent of prompting certain attitudes and behaviors” (93). Propaganda is diverse and encompasses advertisements, TV, video games, political leaflets and more. Outside Example: One example I thoughtContinue reading “From the Green Berets to America’s Army: Video Games As a Vehicle for Political Propaganda”

Summary of Reading This week’s reading focuses on the nature of our discussions on emergent or new forms of media. Macnamara suggests that in our discourse on new kinds of media, we tend to exaggerate in the claims we make and in the viewpoints we hold. One example of this is “endism” which refers toContinue reading ““Myths and Cyberbole, Trends and Tipping Points””

Summary of Reading: This week’s reading focuses on the impact of electronic media on social behavior. One theory the author discusses to with regard to this topic is the work of the sociologist Erving Goffman. Goffman proposes that we “are constantly changing costumes and roles” as we learn conventional behavior and adapt to the demandsContinue reading ““No Sense of Place”: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior”

Summary of Reading: The book chapter discusses how creating the “Other” is part of a media maker’s basic toolkit. To keep the audience engaged, media makers create protagonists bearing similarities to the viewer, positioning them closer to us as we identify with them. Conversely, media makers create Others who “either oppose the protagonist or presentContinue reading “Role Models and Stereotypes”

Summary of Reading: When producing media, taking “unconnected anecdotes, ideas or bits of tape” and shaping them into a coherent storyline is a difficult job. Using movies as an example, the chronology or order in which a story plays out can affect the audience in multiple ways. For example, placing the end scene at theContinue reading ““Keep or Kill”: Story Structure”

Summary: This week’s reading centers on how advertisers create effective and persuasive commercial texts. Textuality is the specific mode of making advertisements on the basis of specific signification systems built into the products marketed. The signification systems are constructed based on a signifier’s connotations, creating connotative chains from which a mythic subtext can be gleaned.Continue reading “Persuasive Signs: The semiotics of advertising”

Summary: “Debbie does Salad” suggests that sex porn and gastroporn are extremely similar. Both forms of entertainment cater to basic human needs (sexual desire and hunger respectively). To quote Bob Tuschman, TV producers create a “sensual lush world, begging you to be drawn into it” (57). Although we want to be part of that world,Continue reading “Debbie Does Salad”

Summary of Reading: A sign is “anything- a color, a gesture… that stands for something other than itself.” (4). Semiotics is the study of what a sign stands for, how it is presented and why it indicates something. The referent is the thing to which a sign refers, either concrete or abstract. A concrete referentContinue reading “What is Semiotics?”

Summary: The chapter first discusses the differences between quantitative and qualitative research. While quantitative research is based on statistics and objective data, qualitative research is interpretive, showcasing a “variety of values, meanings and truths” (4). Qualitative researchers use a variety of different methodologies based on their research question(s), their theoretical framework and historical context relatingContinue reading “Quantitative Research vs. Qualitative Research”