Part 1: What were 2 points from this week’s reading that stood out to you as particularly important and/or interesting? Why so?
In production contexts, there is a remarkable theory called Auteur theory which the word Auteur was taken from French, which means author in English. As the definition in Media and Society by O'Shaughnessy et al (2016) pointed out the theory represents the producer's filmmaking style. It is easier to understand that the director is also the author of that film, leaving a unique impression on the film through the filmmaking process so that the audience watches, will know the filmmaker through their artistic interpretation throughout the film. To be more specific, to build his style of filmmaking, the director will build for himself a creative framework of characters, effects content, perspective, etc. But that does not mean that the success of the film depends only on the director, but also on other positions in the filmmaking process. This is the theory that has made many filmmakers famous for their uniqueness.
Next, in the book Media and Society by O'Shaughnessy et al (2016), it is mentioned that there are many ways to understand the relationship between audiences and media, and among them are ""Observational learning" and "cognitive scripts". Simply understood, it is the observational and cognitive learning from movie or television scripts that present problems and how to behave when encountering those problems, thereby helping us when playing the role in the role in that exact situation, we will tend to behave like the previous classic behavioral situations that television brought. Most of the situations in the script are taken from real or fictional experiences. The audience will imitate real life if the situation in the movie is similar. This theory shows us the beneficial influence of media on people in a positive way.
References
O’shaughnessy, M., Stadler, J., & Casey, S. (2016). Media & Society (6th ed., pp. 87–99). Oxford University Press.
Part 2: In your own words, explain:
The difference between open and closed texts
Gilyazova (2021) examines how open and closed texts differ, emphasizing how openness may be interpreted by the reader and how it can be used manipulatively. Open texts are open messages, meaning the media texts the manufacturer creates do not have a specific message. This requires the audience to have their own thoughts. This open message style helps increase creativity and express the richness of each layer of meaning. Closed texts are a type of closed message, meaning that the manufacturer wants to send a specific message through the product and wants people to understand its meaning without wandering thoughts. Normally, the closed message format will be applied in communication products of a formal and academic nature.
References
GİLYAZOVA, O. (2021). A Text in the Communicative Dimension: The Relationship between the Open and Closed Text in the Context of Umberto Eco’s Ideas. Selçuk Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 45, 191–208. https://doi.org/10.21497/sefad.944022
The three types of decoding Hall proposed
Stuart Hall pointed out three reader states of message decoding: dominant/hegemonic/preferred readings, negotiated readings, and alternative/oppositional readings. Dominant readings are when the public accepts the code of the message producer. More specifically, the reader completely agrees with the message given. Next to negotiated readings is the public in a mixed position between accepting and rejecting a message. A message that the reader agrees with one part but rejects the other part. Finally, oppositional readings mean when the public understands the message but refuses to decode meaning that the reader understands the message but does not agree with it.
Briefly describe a media text you engaged with recently and reflect on your reading position in relation to it (using terms/ concepts from the lectures and readings in the unit so far)
The media text I want to talk about is the photo of a tomato being thrown by Reuters (news agency) taken at the National Gallery in London, England on October 14, 2022. It is a floating painting. "Sunflowers" by Van Gogh. In the photo are two protesting girls throwing tomatoes at the photo to decode the meaning of "Just Stop Oil". The reason for doing that is because the British government had to increase fuel and gasoline prices too high because the country's income was unstable making working families in the UK unable to afford the expenses, causing the crisis. Rising cost of living crisis. That makes them angry and think that people's lives and food should be what the government cares about and protects, not putting money into preserving art and heritage. They say, is art or human life important? In my opinion, I have decoded the message but I am in a state of disagreement with the message because the painting and art are not related to the lives of the people and the problem of the crisis of a nation. should handle it themselves rather than damaging the world's common cultural values. The protesters' actions are too extreme and misleading because the value of a painting or artistic product is a witness to human improvement over decades. So not only was this protest unsuccessful, but it also personally destroyed their own cultural heritage.
References
Reuters. (2022, October 14). UK climate change protesters throw soup at van Gogh’s “Sunflowers.” Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-climate-change-protesters-throw-soup-van-goghs-sunflowers-2022-10-14/
