Theories we have learnt

The communication model:

The communication model







The effects model: (also known as the hypodermic needle)

Uses and gratifications theory:

Here is the uses and gratifications theory video we made, demonstrating how the media is used and messages are percieved.












Semiotics:

Semiotics is the theory of how meaning is created and how meaning is communicated. It is a way of seeing the world, and of understanding how the culture and landscape which we live in has a massive impact on all of us unconsciously.
Our actions and thoughts are dependant upon our ability to interpret cultural messages and conventions instinctively and instantly. For example, when we see a red light at a traffic light, we automatically know how to react to this... to stop. We learn to do this without even thinking about it.

But this is a sign which has been established by cultural convention over a long period of time, and requires a deal of unconscious cultural knowledge to understand its meaning.

• Everyone is a semiotician as everyone is constantly unconsciously interpreting the meaning of signs around them. 
• Signs don't always need to be visual, they can be aural or sonic signs too, such as the sound of as ambulance siren, usually heard before you see the vehicle. 
• We also know signs such as a thumbs up, which has different meanings. In everyday life, a thumbs up would normally mean everything is okay, but in scuba diving, a thumbs up is telling the other person to go to the surface of the water, and finally, having your thumb up by the side of a road indicates wanting a free ride off of someone (hitch hiking)

The male gaze:

The male gaze is how women are presented and perceived in the media. For feminists, it can be thought of in three ways:

1. How men look at women
2. How women look at themselves 
3. How women look at other women

In 1975, Laura Mulvey came up with the theory that in the media, mainly films, audiences have to 'view' characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male.

Mulvey noticed that the camera tends to linger on the curves of a female body, and events which occur to women are largely presented in the context of a man's reaction to these events. This suggests that women are seen as objects or sex icons and is very different for men.