Week 7 Interpretation and Identification
What is identification? Emotional experiences & (Dis)pleasure of "being in someone else's shoes" "Identification" vs. "Point of View" Identification = Visual/audio techniques + storytelling devices + personal participation (Point of view not interchangeable w/identification, but can be one aspect of it) We bring characters to life by lending a bit of ourselves to figures on screen
Form & Style Syntagmatic vs. Paradigmatic choices o Syntagmatic=choosing what order to put things in Paradigmatic=what things to choose Encourage us to take up certain position in the story: to identify w/camera within the story world Camera occupies a # of positions impossible in real life Cinematography: camera angles, distance, movement Editing Sound Cinematography + editing + sound = Constantly repositioning viewer from shot to shot, scene to scene, encouraging us to experience and interpret meanings in a certain way "Spectator Position": theoretical position we occupy in order to make sense and feel emotion from media text More than just comprehending, but personal feeling or emotional attachment from identifying w/camera
Components of Identification How do visual & narrative techniques interact to form this engagement? 1. Alignment: gaining info about a character a. Spatial attachment - how much time we are presented to a specific character (attached to them) b. Subjective access - insight given about a character' thoughts, background C. Point-of-view - how spectator positions us to feel about certain thing (encouraged to align ourselves with one side of story) 2. Allegiance: moral evaluation of a character a. Character actions b. Casting (ex, Taylor Swift as lead may come with preconceived notions of character) C. When it comes to allegiance, don't have to 100% approve, usually just find them morally preferable to others Limits of Identification
We don't necessarily identify ONLY with the protagonist Actual process more fluid Multiple simultaneous identification: identifying w/ several characters at once We have some power to reject/resist identification and/or meanings encouraged by media text Not all media makers WANT seamless identification o Some want critical distance
Identification & Ideology Doing "ideological work" o Makes certain cultural norms and value feel natural o Recreates/reinforces power relations oGender, race, sexuality, class, etc. Meaning & Interpretation News AND Entertainment Media = Cultural conversations about our most intimate values, beliefs, ideas, and confusions Cultural Model: Understanding how media reinforce certain fundamental beliefs, create others, & ensure that some beliefs are impossible to embrace. Ideology: o Sets of social values, ideas, and feelings by which people collectively make sense of the world o A world view that is naturalized; a taken for granted, common sense view about how the world works. Ideology in Media Texts: "...the assumptions that remain consciously hidden, yet are often unconsciously understood when most people watch a movie or 'read' a text." Certain meanings (and values) are emphasized and presented as natural/obvious, while other possible meanings/values are discouraged and/or left out completely. "Ideological Work" of Media Texts: o Reaffirm reproduce, and sometimes challenge dominant ideology
Telling Stories, within Ideologies Story: sequence of events