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Chapter 1
The dialogical theory elaborates that verbal utterances are tied to things that have been said before and to phrases that we expect to be made in the future (Berger 31). The dialogical theory is a theory that describes utterances as containing things said in the past and something that will happen in the future. Since the dialogical approach defines living dialogues, the word in those living conversations is geared towards a future answer. Thus, the word provokes, anticipates, and structures itself on the answer to be given.
The dialogical theory has been shifted from verbal utterances to texts, which leads to intertextuality. Intertextuality is the conscious or unconscious use of materials from other previously created texts. The best example of intertextuality is a parody, which is the humorous imitation of texts.
Parody utilizes dialogical theory so that people and especially comedians and meme-makers, make the reference of earlier texts to either critique or produce humor of the text ( Berger 32). For the dialogical theory to apply in this case, audience members must be familiar with earlier texts to create a connection between the texts and the humorous imitations.
The dialogical theory is essential in media analysis because it promotes continuity of past and future texts. For instance, scholars can appropriate work done by people in the Middle Ages through the dialogical approach. Scholars can reference those texts because there is a common cultural ground between people living in those ages and those present today. Additionally, the dialogical theory is essential in media analysis because it provides an evidence source of both past and future text. The media applies a dialogical approach to political issues, where the media references past texts to draw meaningful information or help forecast future political climate.
Chapter 2
Hegemony is the domination or rule of one state or nation over another. The author suggests that since control is mostly associated with power and coercion, hegemony is more pervasive and subtler (Berger 62). Hegemony is a dominant concept that transcends culture and ideologies. It is a whole body of expectations and practices, on the entire living, including our assignments of energy, our senses, and our shaping of individual outlook and the world. Hegemony is the ideological, cultural, economic, or social influence or dominance over a group.
The media is an excellent example of an instrument of hegemonic dominance. Hegemony in media analysis is positively linked to the problem of media consolidation. Media consolidation is because, due to the hegemonic aspect, a minimal number of people control the media, making the media an all-powerful agent. As of 1982, the author lists four media companies with the largest revenue command in the United States market. They include Disney and Time Warner, among others. These giant media corporations form alliances with other media corporations to reinstate their power ( Berger 64). These alliances are created based on increasing profits and advancing political agendas. They take advantage of their hegemony to favor an election candidate who will be friendly to them in passing certain legislative functions suiting the media companies.
Hegemony in media analysis allows the media to influence the perceptions of their viewers strongly. Without hegemonic dominance, it would be challenging for media houses to attract a large following or viewers or gain the same viewers’ trust. Media houses have learned to personalize hegemonic dominance to suit the interests of their viewers. Therefore hegemony is crucial in media analysis as it helps in shaping people’s ideas concerning the world.
Chapter 3
Id, ego, and superego are part of Fred’s structural hypothesis on mental functioning (Berger 85). Id comprises the psychic representatives of the drives; the ego deals with functions related to the individual’s relationship to the environment. In contrast, the superego consists of the moral precepts of our mind and outstanding inspirations.
Id, ego, and superego are mental functioning aspects in which the Id is present at birth, while ego and superego develop later due to an individual’s interaction with the environment.
According to (Berger 86), Id ego and superego are applicable in real-life media analysis in understanding texts. For example, in Star Trek, Spock is an ego figure, Kirk, whose German meaning is church represents the superego, and McCoy is an id figure. The Spock is emotionless, making him the ego. Kirk is the enterprise commander, which gives him the mandate to dictate what has to be done, making him the superego, and McCoy acts from his emotions, making him the id figure.
The concepts of id, ego, and superego are crucial in media analysis as they make it possible for the mass media to conduct successful social media, films, and heroic research. Through this analysis, several texts and cultural areas have been found to contain id, ego, and superego components. For instance, texts featuring religious messages or the police are superego, while television programs that invoke sexuality and pornographic videos are ideally id texts. Lastly, television shows, such as interviews and news, are ego texts. Therefore, these concepts are essential in categorical analysis and classification of the different texts in the media and their roles in viewers’ lives.
Chapter 5
Signifiers are the items or things that we read. Signifiers constitute a drawing, a photo, or a word. Signifies and the signified together, they form a sign (Berger 227). Signs are classified into three; iconic signs are drawings of the intended object, such as the picture of a tree. Indexical signs are signs that show a direct link between the meaning of the sign and the sign.
A good example is a leaf. A symbolic sign shows a conventional connection; for example, in German, a tree’s symbolic sign is an arbor. Every signifier has a signified. A signified is the idea being portrayed by the signifier.
Signifiers and the signified are applied in advertising analysis in media analysis. The signifier and the signified are used in advertisements with people, objects, compelling copy, and backgrounds.
Signifiers and the signified are essential in creating links between a sign and the meaning the sign is supposed to bring out in an advertisement. For instance, in the text “Arrival,” a blonde housekeeper is a sign whose signified is innocence, and the village sign means a small town.
Works Cited
Berger, Arthur A. Media Analysis Techniques. , 2019. Print.