Media Analysis Techniques
4th Edition
Published on 18. August 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
280 pages
978-1-4129-8776-9 (ISBN)
Description
In the Fourth Edition of Media Analysis Techniques, author Arthur Asa Berger once again provides students with a clearly written, user-friendly, hands-on guide to media research methods and techniques. The book empowers readers to make their own analyses of the media rather than just accept how others interpret the media.
Media Analysis Techniques begins by examining four techniques of media interpretation-semiotic theory, Marxist theory, psychoanalytic theory, and sociological theory-that Berger considers critical for creative people to acknowledge if they are to understand how their creations translate to the real world. Application chapters then link popular culture to these four theories.
Written in an accessible style that demystifies complex concepts, it includes a glossary, study guides, and the author's own illustrations.
Media Analysis Techniques begins by examining four techniques of media interpretation-semiotic theory, Marxist theory, psychoanalytic theory, and sociological theory-that Berger considers critical for creative people to acknowledge if they are to understand how their creations translate to the real world. Application chapters then link popular culture to these four theories.
Written in an accessible style that demystifies complex concepts, it includes a glossary, study guides, and the author's own illustrations.
More details
Edition
4th Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Thousand Oaks
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
369 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4129-8776-9 (9781412987769)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Arthur A. Berger
Media Analysis Techniques
Book
12/2013
5th Edition
SAGE Publications Inc
€99.23
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Arthur Asa Berger is Professor Emeritus of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts at San Francisco State University, where he taught between 1965 and 2003. He has published more than 100 articles, numerous book reviews, and more than 60 books. Among his latest books are the third edition of Media and Communication Research Methods: An Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches (2013), The Academic Writer's Toolkit: A User's Manual (2008), What Objects Mean: An Introduction to Material Culture (2009), Bali Tourism (2013), Tourism in Japan: An Ethno-Semiotic Analysis (2010), The Culture Theorist's Book of Quotations (2010), and The Objects of Our Affection: Semiotics and Consumer Culture (2010). He has also written a number of academic mysteries such as Durkheim is Dead: Sherlock Holmes is Introduced to Sociological Theory (2003) and Mistake in Identity: A Cultural Studies Murder Mystery (2005). His books have been translated into eight languages and thirteen of his books have been translated into Chinese.
Content
PART I. TECHNIQUES OF INTERPRETATION
1. Semiotic Analysis
A Brief History of the Subject
The Problem of Meaning
Social Aspects of Semiotics: The Individual and Society
Saussure on the Science of Semiology
Signs
Forms of Signs
Signs and Advertising
Material Culture
Objects and Identity
Signs and Truth
Activities and Performances
Music and Sound Effects
Facial Expressions as Signs
Hyperreality
Language and Speaking
Connotation and Denotation
The Synchronic and the Diachronic
Syntagmatic Analysis
Paradigmatic Analysis
Intertextuality
Dialogical Theory
Metaphor And Metonymy
Codes
Semiotics of the Television Medium
Some Criticisms of Semiotic Analysis
A Checklist for Semiotic Analysis of Television
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
Annotated Bibliography
2. Marxist Analysis
Materialism
The Base and the Superstructure
False Consciousness and Ideology
The Frankfurt School
Class Conflict
Alienation
The Consumer Society
John Berger on Advertising
Bourgeois Heroes
Hegemony
The Problem of Media Consolidation
The Danger of Being Doctrinaire
Grid-Group Analysis
Mary Douglas and "Shopping"
Marxist Criticism in the Postmodern World
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
Annotated Bibliography
3. Psychoanalytic Criticism
The Unconscious
Sexuality
William A. Rossi on Sexual Aspects of the Foot and Shoe
The Oedipus Complex
On the Importance of Myth
Id, Ego, and Superego
Freud's Structural Hypothesis Applied to Culture
Symbols
Defense Mechanisms
Dreams
Condensation and Displacement
Aggression and Guilt
Stereotypes and Aggressive Humor
Freud and Beyond
Jungian Psychoanalytic Theory
Archetypes
Psychoanalytic Analysis of Media: A Cautionary Note
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
Annotated Bibliography
4. Sociological Analysis
Emile Durkheim on Our Social Nature
Some Basic Concepts
Avarice
Bureaucracy
Class (Socio-Economic)
Culture
Deviance
Ethnicity
Functionalism
Lifestyle
Marginalization
Mass Communication and Mass Media
Postmodernism
Race
Role (Social)
Sex (Gender)
Socialization
Status
Stereotypes
Values
Uses and Gratifications 2
Genres and Formulas
Content Analysis
Leo Lowenthal on Content Analysis
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
Annotated Bibliography
PART II. APPLICATIONS
5. Murderers on the Orient Express
Organizing a Mystery
Detectives as Semioticians
Social and Political Dimensions
Poirot as Revolutionary
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
6. Seven Points on the Game of Football
Football Is a Game of Signs
Instant Replay and the Modern Sensibility
Football Socializes Us
Statistics About Televised Football
Why Baseball Is Boring
Football as an Alternative to Religion
The Marxist Perspective
Football and the Psyche
Concluding Remarks
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
7. The Maiden With the Snake: Interpretations of a Print Advertisement
Signs in Signs: A Primer on Applied Semiotics
The Maiden in Paradise: A Case Study
A Paradigmatic Analysis of the Fidji Advertisement
Psychoanalytic Aspects of the Fidji Text
An Aside on Moisturizers and Anxiety
Final Comments on Perfume and Anxiety
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
8. All-News Radio and the American Bourgeoisi
News and Alienation
News and Ruling-Class Ideology
Commercials and Anxiety
Caught in the Middle
News from Internet and Social Media
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
9. Video Games: A New Art Form
Are Video Games an Art Form or a Medium?
New Technologies and Video Games
Janet Murray on Interactivity and Immersion
Video Games and Addiction
Video Games and the Problem of Violence
Social and Physical Problems Caused by Video Games
Video Games and Sexuality
Conclusions
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
10. Cell Phones, Social Media and the Problem of Identity
Media Use by 8 to 18 Year Olds
Social Media
A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Youth and Social Media
The Cell Phone as Sign: A Semiotic Perspective
Marxist Perspectives on Cell Phones
Conclusions
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
Appendix: Simulations, Activities, Games, and Exercises
Anatomy of a Tale
Paradigmatic Analysis
Dream Analysis
Writing a Therapeutic Fairy Tale
Origin Tales
Radio Scripts
Television Narrative Analysis
The Propp Game
Metaphors
Advertising Analysis
Playing Aaron Wildavsky
Textual Analysis
Glossary
References
Name Index
Subject Index
About the Author
1. Semiotic Analysis
A Brief History of the Subject
The Problem of Meaning
Social Aspects of Semiotics: The Individual and Society
Saussure on the Science of Semiology
Signs
Forms of Signs
Signs and Advertising
Material Culture
Objects and Identity
Signs and Truth
Activities and Performances
Music and Sound Effects
Facial Expressions as Signs
Hyperreality
Language and Speaking
Connotation and Denotation
The Synchronic and the Diachronic
Syntagmatic Analysis
Paradigmatic Analysis
Intertextuality
Dialogical Theory
Metaphor And Metonymy
Codes
Semiotics of the Television Medium
Some Criticisms of Semiotic Analysis
A Checklist for Semiotic Analysis of Television
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
Annotated Bibliography
2. Marxist Analysis
Materialism
The Base and the Superstructure
False Consciousness and Ideology
The Frankfurt School
Class Conflict
Alienation
The Consumer Society
John Berger on Advertising
Bourgeois Heroes
Hegemony
The Problem of Media Consolidation
The Danger of Being Doctrinaire
Grid-Group Analysis
Mary Douglas and "Shopping"
Marxist Criticism in the Postmodern World
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
Annotated Bibliography
3. Psychoanalytic Criticism
The Unconscious
Sexuality
William A. Rossi on Sexual Aspects of the Foot and Shoe
The Oedipus Complex
On the Importance of Myth
Id, Ego, and Superego
Freud's Structural Hypothesis Applied to Culture
Symbols
Defense Mechanisms
Dreams
Condensation and Displacement
Aggression and Guilt
Stereotypes and Aggressive Humor
Freud and Beyond
Jungian Psychoanalytic Theory
Archetypes
Psychoanalytic Analysis of Media: A Cautionary Note
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
Annotated Bibliography
4. Sociological Analysis
Emile Durkheim on Our Social Nature
Some Basic Concepts
Avarice
Bureaucracy
Class (Socio-Economic)
Culture
Deviance
Ethnicity
Functionalism
Lifestyle
Marginalization
Mass Communication and Mass Media
Postmodernism
Race
Role (Social)
Sex (Gender)
Socialization
Status
Stereotypes
Values
Uses and Gratifications 2
Genres and Formulas
Content Analysis
Leo Lowenthal on Content Analysis
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
Annotated Bibliography
PART II. APPLICATIONS
5. Murderers on the Orient Express
Organizing a Mystery
Detectives as Semioticians
Social and Political Dimensions
Poirot as Revolutionary
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
6. Seven Points on the Game of Football
Football Is a Game of Signs
Instant Replay and the Modern Sensibility
Football Socializes Us
Statistics About Televised Football
Why Baseball Is Boring
Football as an Alternative to Religion
The Marxist Perspective
Football and the Psyche
Concluding Remarks
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
7. The Maiden With the Snake: Interpretations of a Print Advertisement
Signs in Signs: A Primer on Applied Semiotics
The Maiden in Paradise: A Case Study
A Paradigmatic Analysis of the Fidji Advertisement
Psychoanalytic Aspects of the Fidji Text
An Aside on Moisturizers and Anxiety
Final Comments on Perfume and Anxiety
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
8. All-News Radio and the American Bourgeoisi
News and Alienation
News and Ruling-Class Ideology
Commercials and Anxiety
Caught in the Middle
News from Internet and Social Media
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
9. Video Games: A New Art Form
Are Video Games an Art Form or a Medium?
New Technologies and Video Games
Janet Murray on Interactivity and Immersion
Video Games and Addiction
Video Games and the Problem of Violence
Social and Physical Problems Caused by Video Games
Video Games and Sexuality
Conclusions
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
10. Cell Phones, Social Media and the Problem of Identity
Media Use by 8 to 18 Year Olds
Social Media
A Psychoanalytic Perspective on Youth and Social Media
The Cell Phone as Sign: A Semiotic Perspective
Marxist Perspectives on Cell Phones
Conclusions
Study Questions and Topics for Discussion
Appendix: Simulations, Activities, Games, and Exercises
Anatomy of a Tale
Paradigmatic Analysis
Dream Analysis
Writing a Therapeutic Fairy Tale
Origin Tales
Radio Scripts
Television Narrative Analysis
The Propp Game
Metaphors
Advertising Analysis
Playing Aaron Wildavsky
Textual Analysis
Glossary
References
Name Index
Subject Index
About the Author