Deck 27: Cultural Studies

Question 1

Hall maintains that he wants to:

A) become a prophetic mouthpiece for the masses.
B) unmask the power imbalances in society.
C) interpret history with the strict economic determinism central to classical Marxism.
D) All of the answers are correct.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What is Hall's take on Marxism?

A) He suggests it oversimplifies the role of economic determinism but still stands by the idea of the haves and the have-nots.
B) He argues against its basic and secondary premises completely.
C) He advocates that Marxism is destructive to anyone except the least powerful.
D) He would rather see the triumph of capitalism than further Marxist ideology.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Hall's main concern with corporate control of mass communication is that it:

A) makes media products more expensive for consumers.
B) gives consumers too many choices among viewing options.
C) prevents many stories from being told.
D) forces communication scholars to overemphasize power relations and social structures in their research.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT one of Hall's decoding options?

A) operate inside the dominant code
B) apply a negotiable code
C) substitute an oppositional code
D) formulate a liberating code

Question 5

Hall used the term "hegemony" to:

A) refer to a deliberate and overtly coercive plot for biased reporting.
B) refer to the practice of various media platforms combining forces to uncover a truth.
C) describe the subtle sway of society's haves over its have-nots.
D) indicate that mass media becomes a reflection of consensus that already exists.

Question 6

Preponderant influence or domination, especially of one nation over another, is:

A) totalitarianism.
B) ideology.
C) consensus.
D) hegemony.

Question 7

Citing the example of the television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Luke Winslow argues that the media:

A) loses its credibility as a cultural critic.
B) pushes an agenda to show that the "system" works.
C) commoditized American life by selling products with a lifestyle.
D) is overt in its criticism of the disenfranchised.

Question 8

Hall used the term "________" in the dual sense of speaking out on oppression and linking that subjugation with the communication media.

A) connotate
B) articulate
C) information
D) overdetermination

Question 9

Hall has characterized media hegemony as:

A) having effects that are not total.
B) a conscious plot to retain power within society's haves.
C) strongly coercive.
D) obsolete.

Question 10

According to Hall, mass media encourage:

A) masking the struggle for power between society's haves and have-nots.
B) promoting the myth of democratic pluralism.
C) breaking down of dominant ideologies.
D) producing of consent.

Question 11

Hall doubts social scientists' potential to find any useful answers to important questions about media influence.

Question 12

Marxist scholars are dedicated to empowering those who are marginalized in society.

Question 13

Stuart Hall believes that the mass media helps society's have-nots by promoting democratic pluralism.

Question 14

Hall believes that the powerless can eventually change the structure of the media and prevent it from endorsing the dominant ideology.

Question 15

According to Hall, any cultural theory that deconstructs the current structure of media research establishments should be loudly denounced as supporting the power structure of the elite.

Question 16

According to cultural studies of Stuart Hall, communication is a unique discipline that should remain separate from other academic disciplines within the overall structure of the university.

Question 17

Hall claims that survey research can be useful in explaining the power of multinational corporations over consumers.

Question 18

Hall's most positive contribution to mass communication study is his constant reminder that it is futile to talk about meaning without considering power at the same time.

Question 19

Hall saw corporate clout as only one reason broadcast and print journalism support the status quo.

Question 20

Hall places less emphasis on rationality and more emphasis on ________.

Question 21

Rather than say, "words don't mean; people mean," Hall would like to go a step further and ask, "________"

Question 22

Though he doesn't see the powerless as able to enact widespread change, Hall does advocate that one way the audience can reclaim some power is how they decode. He suggests that they can operate within the dominant code, apply a negotiable code, or ________.

Question 23

________ refers to the process by which unquestioned and seemingly natural ways of interpreting the world become ideologies.

Question 24

According to Hall, what is the current role of media in society?

Question 25

Discuss Hall's claim that discourse makes meaning. What role do the mass media play in this process? How is this function of discourse connected to social power?

Question 26

Define and explain the concept of hegemony. What is its connection to mass communication?

Question 27

Explain and compare the three decoding options that Hall suggests are available to each mass media consumer. Explain how an audience using each of these decoding options would respond to post 9/11 media coverage.

Question 28

Elaborate on Foucault's idea that we must study what people are saying, what people are not saying, and who gets to say it. Discuss your own example of Foucault's point.

Question 29

What is the central goal of the proponents of cultural studies in the context of media consumption? What must happen for this goal to be realized?

Question 30

Would Hall's analysis of media in society be different if the media were publicly owned? If so, how?

Question 31

How would Hall account for the trend toward "reality" television?

Question 32

Does the Internet validate or challenge Hall's assertions about media hegemony?

Question 33

Compare Hall's adherence to his ideas and works on cultural studies with that of Marshall McLuhan's.

Question 34

Compare Deetz's response to contemporary corporate life with Hall's approach to mass communication. How could one use Deetz's suggestions for improving organizational life for reforming media?

Question 35

Hall claims that mainstream communication research serves the myth of democratic pluralism. Identify and discuss a theory you have encountered so far in this book that validates this claim and a theory that challenges it.