Contextual and Theoretical Studies
27/11/2009
Lecture 4. Communication Theory. Lasswellʼs Maxim ʻWho says what to whom in what channel with what effectʼ. - ʻwho saysʼ - the communicator. - ʻwhatʼ - what is said. - ʻto whomʼ - who its being said to. - ʻchannelʼ - how its being said. - ʻwith what effectʼ - outcome. ʻThe medium is the messageʼ - Marshal Mcluhan - Powerpoints make things more difficult to understand because we just use bullet-points which represent incomplete thoughts. Traditions of communication theory - Tranmissional models - sending / receiving - Cybernetic. - Information theory - Constitutive models - process of product and re-production. - Semiotics - Phenomenological tradition - Rhetorical - Socio-psychological - Socio-culture - Critical theory. Shannon and Weaver Bell laboratories - 1949 - Shannon - came up with model to represent model for telephone communication. - Weaver adapted this model to all forms of communication - Shannon didnʼt intend for this to happen.
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Contextual and Theoretical Studies
27/11/2009
Cybernetic Model of advertising communication - (See slide 6 - figure 3) - Developed version of Shannon and Weavers model - more confusing. - Sponsor - Who wants the message out there. - Agent - Who pays for it to get out there. - Tested consumers - Focus groups etc. - Actual consumers - General public. ʻCybernetic: control and communication in the animal and the machineʼ (Weiner, 1948) - Weiner - in war and used cybernetic theory to predict what enemies in the war WOULD do - Donʼt be where they are, be where they will be! Semiotics - The study of signs. - Examines signs as if they are part of language. - ʻThe whole world is made of signs to communicate thingsʼ - 3 concepts - Semantics - What is stands for, what it means. - Syntactics - How signs work with each other. - Pragmatics - Practical use and the effect of the sign. - Levi-Strauss, Lacan, Barthes, Julia Kristeva. Language of Medicine - (Language of science) - Signifies the technology. - Other than being used for medicine, the names / the words make no sense. - They work together. Semiotics - How things mean, not What the mean. Semiotic Writing - Barthes. (Panzani Pasta) - ʻItalianicityʼ - Authenticity. - Denotation - Connotation. - You canʼt advertise ʻItalianicityʼ to Italians - it wouldnʼt sell something to them. - ʻStill lifeʼ set up - connotes culture. Code - Weʼre taught that a red triangle means danger - it doesnʼt outright say that it means danger, weʼre told it does. 2
Contextual and Theoretical Studies
27/11/2009
Phenomenological Theory - Based around phenomenon - How something appears in ones perception. - Based on actual, direct experience. - ʻKnowledge is consciousʼ. - Language is the vehicle of meaning. - i.e. If a woman has an abusive relationship with her father, her relationship with any other man, it will ultimately be effected. - How someone relates to something, determines its meaning to them. - ʻExperiencing and interpreting.ʼ - ʻThe process of interpretation is central.ʼ Schools of phenomenological tradition - Key Thinker - Husserl. - ʻYou can objectively experience the world - if you completely block out any form of experience that you have previously had.ʼ - Phenomenology - quite naive. Rhetoric - A series of linguistic devices. - Hyperbole - Exaggerating drama / a situation to an extreme. - Irony - Being ironic - linguistic trickery, convinces us to be on the side of the speaker. - Personification - Personifies something as being a person. - Useful for when thinking of how to persuade someone. - Can be used to change how we use things. Context - Image of boat - the picture on its own, its just an image of a boat. - When the boat is put into context - that it was RMS Lusitania - torpedoed and sank 1200 died. - ʻInescapable sales pitchʼ - Advert on escalator - more likely to pay attention to that because you donʼt expect to see it there. Socio-psychological - Study of individual as a social being - Study is split into 3 areas - Behavioural - If you are continuously punched when you say a certain word, youʼre very like to completely stop saying that specific word. - Cognitive. - Biological. Critical Communication Theory - A synthesis of philosophy and social science. - Messages communicated on the news are not neutral - they always have an agenda, whether its political / social etc. - Always has ideology behind it. - i.e. The Sun now backs labour - not because its better for society, but because of opinion polls, they think labour will win. Summary of traditions - (See slide)
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