Textual analysis : a practical introduction to studying texts in media and cultural studies

Even though plenty of academic attention has been given to consumers and audiences of media, it is essential for students and scholars in social sciences and humanities to take the actual content of popular media culture seriously. Why can a film or pop song be considered sexist, racist and/or homophobic? What makes a popular television soap so relatable? How do sitcoms employ humour to tackle societal taboos? Such questions demand an understanding of how popular media content works and, more importantly, how audiences can make sense of them. Even though you can explore meaning-making practices by means of qualitative audience research, this chapter aims to highlight that an understanding of the actual texts is equally important. To understand how people make sense of popular media culture, you need to understand how a popular culture text or group of texts are constructed.

ISBN:9781529730418

Publication year:2022

Accessibility:Closed