Terminology - Week 1

You must read and understand the terms below so you can write an effective analysis of your work.

Stereotypes: Stereotypes are representations of people that rely on ideas about the group that person is perceived as belonging to. It is assumed that an individual shares personal characteristics with other members of that group and thus shares further attributes associated with them. E.g.: blondes are all stupid, people who wear spectacles are clever etc.

Narrative: The way in which a story, or sequence of events, is put together within a text. All media texts have some sort of narrative. In the pack we look at the most used theory of film narrative, that of Todorov who saw films as following a basic storyline pattern of:  equilibrium - disequilibrium - new equilibrium.

Representation: The way in which the media “re-presents” the world around us in the form of signs and codes for audiences to read.


Mise-en-scene: From the French - everything in the frame - It is the combination of sound, costume, image, lighting, music that creates the tone and meaning of the sequence as well as establishing the kind of film we are watching.