- Propp – 8 character roles: only applies to mainstream texts where characters often pertain to stereotype. Sometimes, can apply to running news stories by analysing a Hero, Villain, False Hero, Princess (or prize), Her Father, Donor, Despatcher, Helper.
- Todorov – Act Structure: Equilibrium, Disruption, Resolution, New Equilibrium.
- Levi-Strauss - texts are often understood by the ways things are placed in binary opposition to each other - the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly, etc.
Audience Theories:
- Blumler and Katz - Uses and Gratifications.
- Stuart Hall – audience positioning and dominant/negotiated/oppositional readings.
- David Gauntlett – Producer as Consumer (Prosumer): thanks to digital media, many consumers of media as also producers e.g. YouTube as cultural phenomenon.
Genre Theories:
- John Hartley – genre is interpreted culturally e.g. Coronation Street or Eastenders could only be understood in terms of the conventions of UK soap operas, American television dramas tend to have a slightly different set of conventions to British television dramas.
- Robert Stam – there are infinite genres. Basically Stam is advancing an argument that genre no longer exists and we do not have to analyse text in terms of genre.
- John Fiske – genre as ‘convenience’ for producers and audiences – this means commercial success is underpinned by the conventions of genre in terms of what audiences expect.
Representation Theories:
Feminist approaches:
- Angela McRobbie – post feminist icon theory suggesting female character are determined, strong, independent and in control but also utilize their sexuality e.g. Lara Croft, Lady Gaga…
- Laura Mulvey – male gaze/female gaze. It suggests the female form is objectified in a range of media.
Other approaches:
- Richard Dyer - Stereotype legitimize inequality by marginalizing certain individuals and social groups. "Media institutions with power make stereotypes of those will less power".
- David Gauntlett – Producer as Consumer (Prosumer): thanks to digital media, many consumers of media as also producers e.g. YouTube as cultural phenomenon.
