,
,
,Hoorcollege 1 – Introduction to media entertainment
Entertainment means:
“Any activity to delight and to a smaller degree enlighten through the exhibition of the fortunes or
misfortunes of others, but also through the display of special skills by other and/or self” (Zillmann &
Bryant, 1994)
“Any kind of game or play” (Zillmann & Bryant, 1994)
Role of fiction
Play as simulation
Media entertainment means:
“Media content designed to be consumed for purposes of leisure (rather than specifically for
information gain, learning or persuasion)” (Oliver, 2009)
“To identify the self with fictional persons or actions” (Bosshart & Macconi, 1998)
“Psychological, affective, cognitive dimensions including suspension of disbelief, exhilaration, fear
and relief, sadness or melancholy, sensory delight achievement” (Vorderer, Klimmt & Ritterfeld,
2004)
“Indeed, the range of terms, including liking, enjoyment, appreciation, attraction, and preference,
used across studies to capture the notion of enjoyment both reflects and reinforces the murky
conceptual terrain” (Nabi & Krcmar, 2004)
Hoorcollege 2 – Media entertainment as culture
The Iceberg model states that there’s only a small part of culture visible. The other 90% (norms, values,
assumptions et cetera) is difficult to see and part of our internal (deep) culture.
What is culture?
“The arts and the values, norms and symbolic goods of everyday life” (Barker & Jane, 2016)
Culture | “At the global level, the arts, science and any other manifestations of humen
intellectual achievement regarded collectively. At the local level, the ideas, customs, and social
behaviour of (a) particular people or society”
Looking at the past | Culture is about tradition and social reproduction.
Looking at the future | Culture is about creativity and change.
, Four basic criteria for cumulative culture …
Teaching
Imitation
Language
Perspective-‐taking
But is this exclusive to humans? Anthropologically speaking …
Meaning is not generated by individuals but by collectives of people.
Individuals who have the same culture roughly interpret the world in a similar way and can
express in a way that they both understand.
Culture serves us, humans, in constructing meaning so that we understand the world in a similar
manner.
Do animals have culture? Sociobiologically …
Animals do have culture, it’s evident from modern evidence.
Is human labor culture?
Some have argued that culture requires freedom and free time. But even the worse labor
condition (slavery) have given birth to everyday practices and lifestylees. Culture is also
represented by ordinary, everyday practices.
Socio-‐economically speaking …
Culture is driven by profit and is mostly produced by elites (Karl Marx)
Marx argued that culture served to justify inequality. For this reason, Marx is
considered a materialist as he believes that the economic (material) produces
the cultural (ideal).
“Distance from profit makes culture more independent, but not necessarily
less ideological” (Raymond Williams)
o For example, TV production is backed by large companies, driven by profit. Independent
artists are far from capitalist production.
Raymond Williams argued that culture can be influenced by profit if it’s born close to it.
This leads to the idea that there might be two types of culture …
High culture | This is independent from commercial needs.
Low culture | This appeals to what is popular because it wants to be profitable.
,
,Hoorcollege 1 – Introduction to media entertainment
Entertainment means:
“Any activity to delight and to a smaller degree enlighten through the exhibition of the fortunes or
misfortunes of others, but also through the display of special skills by other and/or self” (Zillmann &
Bryant, 1994)
“Any kind of game or play” (Zillmann & Bryant, 1994)
Role of fiction
Play as simulation
Media entertainment means:
“Media content designed to be consumed for purposes of leisure (rather than specifically for
information gain, learning or persuasion)” (Oliver, 2009)
“To identify the self with fictional persons or actions” (Bosshart & Macconi, 1998)
“Psychological, affective, cognitive dimensions including suspension of disbelief, exhilaration, fear
and relief, sadness or melancholy, sensory delight achievement” (Vorderer, Klimmt & Ritterfeld,
2004)
“Indeed, the range of terms, including liking, enjoyment, appreciation, attraction, and preference,
used across studies to capture the notion of enjoyment both reflects and reinforces the murky
conceptual terrain” (Nabi & Krcmar, 2004)
Hoorcollege 2 – Media entertainment as culture
The Iceberg model states that there’s only a small part of culture visible. The other 90% (norms, values,
assumptions et cetera) is difficult to see and part of our internal (deep) culture.
What is culture?
“The arts and the values, norms and symbolic goods of everyday life” (Barker & Jane, 2016)
Culture | “At the global level, the arts, science and any other manifestations of humen
intellectual achievement regarded collectively. At the local level, the ideas, customs, and social
behaviour of (a) particular people or society”
Looking at the past | Culture is about tradition and social reproduction.
Looking at the future | Culture is about creativity and change.
, Four basic criteria for cumulative culture …
Teaching
Imitation
Language
Perspective-‐taking
But is this exclusive to humans? Anthropologically speaking …
Meaning is not generated by individuals but by collectives of people.
Individuals who have the same culture roughly interpret the world in a similar way and can
express in a way that they both understand.
Culture serves us, humans, in constructing meaning so that we understand the world in a similar
manner.
Do animals have culture? Sociobiologically …
Animals do have culture, it’s evident from modern evidence.
Is human labor culture?
Some have argued that culture requires freedom and free time. But even the worse labor
condition (slavery) have given birth to everyday practices and lifestylees. Culture is also
represented by ordinary, everyday practices.
Socio-‐economically speaking …
Culture is driven by profit and is mostly produced by elites (Karl Marx)
Marx argued that culture served to justify inequality. For this reason, Marx is
considered a materialist as he believes that the economic (material) produces
the cultural (ideal).
“Distance from profit makes culture more independent, but not necessarily
less ideological” (Raymond Williams)
o For example, TV production is backed by large companies, driven by profit. Independent
artists are far from capitalist production.
Raymond Williams argued that culture can be influenced by profit if it’s born close to it.
This leads to the idea that there might be two types of culture …
High culture | This is independent from commercial needs.
Low culture | This appeals to what is popular because it wants to be profitable.
