ENG3U Media

Ideology and Media Analysis: A Brief Guide

Ideology is a term used to discuss the fundamental values and beliefs of a group, society, or culture. These beliefs are widely accepted views about the roles of men and women, good and bad, the nature of the “good life”, etc. Ideologies are reinforced by the dominant institutions in society through constructed representations of the world, and symbol systems which often justify the current social structure or ways of living.

Mass media plays a significant role in conveying these “broadly held” views and how the world 'really' works and should work. These ideas can create audiences who just accept current practices and their roles in society as “normal. The broadly held views become the dominant ideologies of a society or culture.

Ideology Specific to Advertising

In advertising, ideologies are conveyed through a specific process where meaning is transferred; that is, an abstract idea, belief, or value becomes represented in a product or service. Often a form of shorthand takes place and stereotypes are used to convey the message.

How is meaning transferred? Most advertising is about linking a particular product or brand to a particular set of qualities or beliefs in the consumer's mind. This linkage is often achieved through juxtaposition — the simple imposition of the qualities on the product, in the hope that the consumer will make that connection themselves. The product is then linked with ideology.

Ideological Analysis: Some Questions to ask of the Advertisement

1.  What are the assumptions about what is “natural”, just and right?

2.  Who or what has power? How are they made to appear as if they are normal or good? What negative aspects are excluded?

3.  Look for binaries, or oppositions (good/evil, natural/unnatural, tame/wild, young/old). Which aspect of the binary is privileged?

4.  What people, classes, areas of life, experiences, are 'left out', or silenced?

5.  What cultural assumptions and what 'myths' are represented? What is mystified or mythologized? (e.g. a natural setting for cigarette smokers, a gentle rocking chair in a white room for motherhood)

Adapted from: http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/Advertising/advertising.php?pageID=ideology

And Dr. John Lye’s, An Introduction to Ideology (1997)

Examples of Dominant Ideologies in Contemporary Advertising

The Role of Men and Masculinity: men are powerful and strong associated with violence

The Role of Women and Femininity: women happily do housework and child rearing

The Purpose and Value of Technology: technology connects us, and is always an improvement over nature’s design

Old vs Young: (Binaries) Young is always preferable to old

Reading of an Advertisement : Encoding/Decoding Theory

“The Encoding/decoding model of communication was first developed by cultural studies scholar Stuart Hall in 1973. Hall's essay offers a theoretical approach of how media messages are produced, disseminated, and interpreted. Hall has had a major influence on media studies and his model claims that audiences are presented with messages that are decoded, or interpreted in different ways depending on an individual's cultural background, economic standing, and personal experiences. For example, since advertisements can have multiple layers of meaning, they can be decoded in various ways and can mean something different to different people.”

Hall claims that readers of a media text can identify ideology from three different positions:

Dominant Position / Oppositional Position / Negotiated Position
Readers of the advertisement interpret the ideology directly, and decode it exactly the way it was encoded. “The consumer is located within the dominant point of view, and is fully sharing the texts codes and accepts and reproduces the intended meaning.” Often readers identify with the cultural beliefs and biases as they are represented in the text. / Readers understand the literal meaning, but form their own ideological interpretations. The readers’ beliefs are directly oppositional in relation to the dominant code, and although they understand the intended meaning, they do not share the text's ideology. Often readers are not part of the cultural beliefs and biases represented in the text. / This position is a mixture of accepting and rejecting ideologies in the text. Readers identify the dominant ideology, but are not willing to completely accept it the way the encoder has intended, raising potentially unintended meanings supported through the identification of codes and conventions. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encoding/decoding_model_of_communication - cite_note-Active_Audience-2

(Source: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encoding/decoding_model_of_communication)

Example of Ideological Reading:

Dominant Reading: A dominant reading of this ad identifies the association between the codes, masculinity, and the product. The man in the image is upright with a look of self-confidence, and leading an active life. The reigns, belt, and partial image of chaps combined with what appears to be a horse’s mane suggest that he is a rancher, an occupation requiring physical work with the dominant belief that this is work is performed by men.

Oppositional Reading: An oppositional reading of this Marlboro ad might reference the irony of an image which relies on masculinity to sell a product which causes impotence in men, as well cardiovascular disease and cancer which tends to sap one’s strength, not to mention the foul smell characteristic of smokers (not something women generally find attractive).

Negotiated Reading: A negotiated reading of the Marlboro ad identifies the masculine image that the advertisement projects combined with the stereotype of the “strong silent type” and acknowledges the health risks associated with this behaviour while linking smoking with glamour and success. Additionally, the ad presents the image of a strong healthy and natural male linked to the outdoors leading a traditional life while the health consequences of smoking manufactured cigarettes makes this ironic.

Source: Sturken, M. & Cartwright, L. (2001). Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. London: Oxford Press.

Reading ideology through analysis of codes and conventions:

To help students deconstruct a media text, they need to understand the grammar and style of media communication. Media texts use signs and symbols, specifically called codes and conventions. Through careful analysis of codes and in particular the use of conventions, the reader is able to discuss the underlying message about values and beliefs.

For example, the ideology of women being innocent, yet sexualized in advertising can be seen by analysing the conventional use of the head tilt, the finger to lips, the pouting mouth, and the chin to the shoulder as see in the following:

Anchorage - the concept of anchorage was coined by Roland Barthes (a semiotician) who called this the process of fixing meaning of a sign. For example, the caption under a photograph (a text that is open to multiple interpretations) fixed or anchors the meaning and guides the reader to understand a more closed message.

Intertextuality in media studies is the concept that each media text is reliant upon and often makes use of similar signs, or codes and conventions to communicate its message.

Useful sites for teachers:

http://brianair.wordpress.com/film-theory/glossary-of-media-terminology/

http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/sem09.html#anchorage

http://media-studies.tki.org.nz/Teaching-media-studies/Media-concepts/Codes-and-conventions

http://www.mediaknowall.com/gcse/keyconceptsgcse/keycon.php?pageID=keyterms