EMST 3010 Final Exam Study Guide
Representation matters - ANSWER "to be seen on screen is to be validated"
Acculturation - ANSWER if you see something on screen it becomes part of your
memory (becomes part of who you are and what you consider to be important)
content on screen has huge effects on the different perceptions of different groups and
classes of society
-Cosby Show: normalized the notion of a non-threatening, middle-class
African American family "just like you"
-Modern Family: legalization of gay marriage, gay couple star on show because gay
couples actually happen in real life
Aspiration - ANSWER ex) a black woman played the role of communication engineer in
space
(from early Star Trek) —> only colored woman in a role like this in the 1960's —> gives
other black women the idea that they can be that too (see possibilities)
Symbolic Annihilation - ANSWER under-representation and misrepresentation (TV from
1950's... no
African Americans, no queers, if minority was shown they were black, not Hispanic or
anything else.... obviously not the correct dynamics of the 50's... all those people did in
fact exist, just not on the screens... notion of not mattering)
Representation - ANSWER it's not just "good" or "bad" —> it's more complicated...
representation strives for mediocrity (one figure doesn't have to hold the weight of an
entire identity)
Visibility - ANSWER you don't always know what religion a character is... shows often
make something invisible visible but not central to the concept of identity
Authenticity - ANSWER are shows obligated to cast people to identify the same as the
characters?
-is it problematic that lead character of transparent is in real life a heterosexual
cisgender male?
-Superstore character —> example: someone plays a role in a wheelchair but is not
crippled in real life
Frequency - ANSWER what identifiers we see most often (almost everyone we see on
,television is middle to upper class, narrow standard of body types, beauty standards,
ages = homogeneity. It's when the homogeneity gets broken up that we notice things)
Media culture outside of film and television - ANSWER > can include advertising (moms
are shown in cleaning product commercials) (breakfast to sell sausages... mom and dad
and 2.5 children) (words used in news stories to describe whoever is being described)...
basically all the stereotypes
you can think of
Dimensions of difference - ANSWER ○race
○ ethnicity
○ gender
○ sexuality
○ creed (religion or what you believe in)
○ class (socioeconomics)
○ abledness (differing degrees of mental illness)
POSITIONALITY - ANSWER the place from which you stand according to how you
identify... where you position your identity
OTHERING - ANSWER separate from "the norm"... there is a central point of
positionality and then
anything other than that becomes centered in relation to that point (think of solar
system...everything that's not the sun is still technically situated based on the sun)
-"Others" get made 2-dimensional (get lumped together)
INTERSECTIONALITY - ANSWER the experience of othering as a bonding experience
rather than a separating experience... the argument of a total de-centering
STANDPOINT THEORY - ANSWER perspectives are individual, non-essentialized,
shaped by social, cultural, political experiences... whatever your standpoint is will
shape whatever you consider to be valuable
-(your perspective shapes what is heard, relevant, important, and believed)... This
theory helps explain how we talk about media (think of Selma... about American
history...interesting standpoint.. Selma was written by a white man but directed by a
blackwoman... the white man character was portrayed as 1-dimensional, which is
something we're not used to)... The director's perspective was indeed different from the
writer's
, -Think of "the Help" ... it makes you think black people need to be saved by white
woman (based on a novel by a white woman and directed by a southern white man)
ESSENTIALIZING - ANSWER reduction of a person's complexities to their core identity
COLORBLINDNESS - ANSWER you are going to cast in respective of race... whoever is
the best one for the role will get it... creates problems however because colorblind
casting doesn't take into account systematic issues and can have backfires
First Amendment - ANSWER Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.
Things NOT COVERED by the first Amendment - ANSWER -Private restriction
-Unprotected speech
-Consequences
Private Restriction - ANSWER for example Instagram can choose what speech is
deemed "illegal" on the app
Unprotected Speech - ANSWER meaning that there are certain kinds of speech where if
they're legally determined to be one of those kinds of speech than it's not protected by
the amendment
Consequences - ANSWER Congress won't make a law that restricts you from "doing it"
but you could still get fined or go to jail for saying certain things... there are still
consequences
Protected Speech - ANSWER -Satire
-Opinion: fact-oriented sources
(like newspapers, magazines, news sources) have to have a clear distinction between
their news and their editorial
-Privilege speech: applies largely to judges and lawyers
■ absolute = lawyer is stating that a
person committed a crime (even if
it's not proved yet)
■ qualified = reporters can report
what the lawyer said (so they can
Representation matters - ANSWER "to be seen on screen is to be validated"
Acculturation - ANSWER if you see something on screen it becomes part of your
memory (becomes part of who you are and what you consider to be important)
content on screen has huge effects on the different perceptions of different groups and
classes of society
-Cosby Show: normalized the notion of a non-threatening, middle-class
African American family "just like you"
-Modern Family: legalization of gay marriage, gay couple star on show because gay
couples actually happen in real life
Aspiration - ANSWER ex) a black woman played the role of communication engineer in
space
(from early Star Trek) —> only colored woman in a role like this in the 1960's —> gives
other black women the idea that they can be that too (see possibilities)
Symbolic Annihilation - ANSWER under-representation and misrepresentation (TV from
1950's... no
African Americans, no queers, if minority was shown they were black, not Hispanic or
anything else.... obviously not the correct dynamics of the 50's... all those people did in
fact exist, just not on the screens... notion of not mattering)
Representation - ANSWER it's not just "good" or "bad" —> it's more complicated...
representation strives for mediocrity (one figure doesn't have to hold the weight of an
entire identity)
Visibility - ANSWER you don't always know what religion a character is... shows often
make something invisible visible but not central to the concept of identity
Authenticity - ANSWER are shows obligated to cast people to identify the same as the
characters?
-is it problematic that lead character of transparent is in real life a heterosexual
cisgender male?
-Superstore character —> example: someone plays a role in a wheelchair but is not
crippled in real life
Frequency - ANSWER what identifiers we see most often (almost everyone we see on
,television is middle to upper class, narrow standard of body types, beauty standards,
ages = homogeneity. It's when the homogeneity gets broken up that we notice things)
Media culture outside of film and television - ANSWER > can include advertising (moms
are shown in cleaning product commercials) (breakfast to sell sausages... mom and dad
and 2.5 children) (words used in news stories to describe whoever is being described)...
basically all the stereotypes
you can think of
Dimensions of difference - ANSWER ○race
○ ethnicity
○ gender
○ sexuality
○ creed (religion or what you believe in)
○ class (socioeconomics)
○ abledness (differing degrees of mental illness)
POSITIONALITY - ANSWER the place from which you stand according to how you
identify... where you position your identity
OTHERING - ANSWER separate from "the norm"... there is a central point of
positionality and then
anything other than that becomes centered in relation to that point (think of solar
system...everything that's not the sun is still technically situated based on the sun)
-"Others" get made 2-dimensional (get lumped together)
INTERSECTIONALITY - ANSWER the experience of othering as a bonding experience
rather than a separating experience... the argument of a total de-centering
STANDPOINT THEORY - ANSWER perspectives are individual, non-essentialized,
shaped by social, cultural, political experiences... whatever your standpoint is will
shape whatever you consider to be valuable
-(your perspective shapes what is heard, relevant, important, and believed)... This
theory helps explain how we talk about media (think of Selma... about American
history...interesting standpoint.. Selma was written by a white man but directed by a
blackwoman... the white man character was portrayed as 1-dimensional, which is
something we're not used to)... The director's perspective was indeed different from the
writer's
, -Think of "the Help" ... it makes you think black people need to be saved by white
woman (based on a novel by a white woman and directed by a southern white man)
ESSENTIALIZING - ANSWER reduction of a person's complexities to their core identity
COLORBLINDNESS - ANSWER you are going to cast in respective of race... whoever is
the best one for the role will get it... creates problems however because colorblind
casting doesn't take into account systematic issues and can have backfires
First Amendment - ANSWER Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or
of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.
Things NOT COVERED by the first Amendment - ANSWER -Private restriction
-Unprotected speech
-Consequences
Private Restriction - ANSWER for example Instagram can choose what speech is
deemed "illegal" on the app
Unprotected Speech - ANSWER meaning that there are certain kinds of speech where if
they're legally determined to be one of those kinds of speech than it's not protected by
the amendment
Consequences - ANSWER Congress won't make a law that restricts you from "doing it"
but you could still get fined or go to jail for saying certain things... there are still
consequences
Protected Speech - ANSWER -Satire
-Opinion: fact-oriented sources
(like newspapers, magazines, news sources) have to have a clear distinction between
their news and their editorial
-Privilege speech: applies largely to judges and lawyers
■ absolute = lawyer is stating that a
person committed a crime (even if
it's not proved yet)
■ qualified = reporters can report
what the lawyer said (so they can
