Here it is: all the key words and terms you need to know for Media Studies. Unfortunately, the pictures didn't copy across for some reason, but you've got them on the paper copy that went home in your holiday envelopes. Your homework is to make sure you know what each of these terms means and how to spell them by the time you come back in January. You will not be tested on them, but you will need to be able to use them in your controlled assessment and any exam preparation work we do.
Merry Christmas!
MEDIA STUDIES KEY TERMS MEGALIST!!!
Antagonist
The
character in a story who makes life difficult for the protagonist. Usually, but
not always, a villain, e.g. Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.
Camerawork
The positioning and
movement of the camera in a film or television programme, usually referred to in terms of
shots, e.g. long shot, close-up, etc.
Countertype
The opposite of a stereotype, i.e. a character who is
somehow different from what we expect, e.g. Lara Croft, because she is a female
action hero.
Editing
The cutting between shots in a film or television
programme. Generally speaking, in action sequences, the shots get shorter as
the action builds up so it feels like things are happening more quickly.
Ethnicity
This
refers to whether a character is white, black, Chinese, etc.
Gender
This
refers to whether a person is male or female.
Generic convention
Something
we expect to see in a particular genre, e.g. explosions in an action adventure
or love in a romance.
Genre
This
word refers to types of film/game/TV programme, e.g. action, sci-fi, rom-com,
etc.
Mise en scene
Everything
we can see in a scene, e.g. costume, scenery, props, etc.
Misogyny/misogynist
A misogynist society is one where people believe that men
should work and earn money while women stay at home cleaning the house and
looking after the children. Similar to sexism.
Objectify
To objectify someone is
to view them as an object and quite often involves men viewing women as sex
objects.
Protagonist
The main character in a story, around which everything
happens, e.g. without the character of Superman, there would be no storyline in
the Superman films. Usually, but not always, the hero.
Soundtrack
Everything you hear in a film/TV programme/game. Can be
divided into:
·
Diagetic:
everything the characters can hear, e.g. gunshots, talking, a door slamming,
etc.
·
Non-diagetic:
everything we can hear which the characters can’t, e.g. the music (unless it is
coming out of a radio in the scene) and voiceover, i.e. a narrator explaining
what is happening or one of the characters thinking.
Stereotype
A
character who looks and behaves exactly as we expect them to, based on their
gender, ethnicity and/or job. A Mexican man who speaks with a strong accent, is
covered in tattoos and deals drugs for a living is an ethnic and gender
stereotype.
Submissive
When someone is being
controlled by someone else, e.g. a female following instructions given to her
by a male, they are in a submissive position.
Subvert
When
you take a common idea and reverse it, e.g. a female action hero subverts the
stereotypical idea of the action hero as a male.
