Media+Studies

Media Studies Unit Media studies is a huge subject, and we won't have time in this unit to do much more than scratch the surface.

We started with some basic notes on the six roles of the mass media (and definitions for both "Mass media" and "popular culture"). 1. The media supply information about important events both at home and on the other side of the world. Without the media to keep us informed, we would know little about what happens beyond our daily lives. 2. The media influence what we think about and talk about, from the latest hit movie to Canadian politics, to a celebrity scandal or a medical breakthrough. Our knowledge-and our opinions-are shaped by the information and viewpoints the media provide. 3. The media allow us to expand our personal experience. They allow us to share in adventures like an African safari, or to witness the horrors of war or famine. 4. The media show us the images we come to accept as normal. Media personalities, models and performers set standards of appearance, language and behaviour that influence us all. 5. Advertising and public relations messages reach us through the media, persuading us to buy products, accept ideas, and adopt positive images of institutions and corporations. 6. The media entertain us. We spend a lot of our free time listening to music, watching TV and movies, or surfing the Internet.

Here is the Media Triangle, in case you all couldn't read my writing on the board (it got pretty bad!). Codes and Conventions

Film Genres

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