,TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................... 1
2 COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA SEMIOTICS.................................................................................. 1
2.1 The Definition of sign ................................................................................................................... 1
2.3 Sign functions as conceptualised by Jakobson. .................................................................. 3
2.3.1 The referential function ............................................................................................................ 3
2.3.2 The conative function ............................................................................................................... 4
2.3.3 The poetic function .................................................................................................................... 4
2.3.4 The phatic function .................................................................................................................... 4
3 MEDIA AND VISUAL LITERACY ........................................................................................................ 5
3.1 The three levels of media and visual literacy......................................................................... 5
3.1.1 Media content literacy............................................................................................................... 5
3.1.2 Media grammar literacy ............................................................................................................ 6
3.1.3 Medium literacy .......................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 Application to visual example (cartoon) ................................................................................. 6
4 TEXTUAL ANALYSIS: NARRATIVE AND ARGUMENT ................................................................ 8
4.1 Contributions made by Propp to the field of narrative analysis ....................................... 8
Seven Character Functions ............................................................................................................... 8
Six Sequential Stages ....................................................................................................................... 10
4.2 Two functions from Propp’s model and how these play themselves out or are
portrayed in the advertisement. ..................................................................................................... 14
5 FIELD RESEARCH IN MEDIA STUDIES ......................................................................................... 15
5.1 “Netnography” and state whether the research you are going to conduct can be
described as “netnography” or ethnography. ........................................................................... 15
5.2 Essay in on how you I will follow these steps when conducting participant
observation. ......................................................................................................................................... 16
6. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................... 18
7. SELF ASSESSMENT AND SELF-REFLECTION ......................................................................... 19
SOURCES CONSULTED ....................................................................................................................... 20
ADDENDUM A ......................................................................................................................................... 22
, 1 INTRODUCTION
This assignment will address the following topics: communication and media semiotics,
media and visual literacy, textual analysis: narrative analysis and field research in media
studies. Firstly, I will provide a definition of a sign and discuss its three characteristics.
Secondly, I will select an advertisement and analyse it based on Jakobson's sign
functions, including the referential function, the conative function, the poetic function, and
the phatic function. Thirdly, I will explore media and visual literacy by applying the three
levels of media and visual literacy to a political cartoon of national or international interest.
Thereafter, I will critically discuss the contributions made by Propp to narrative analysis,
focusing on the seven-character functions and the six sequential stages. I will also
analyse a television or magazine advertisement using Propp's model. Lastly, I will conduct
field research in media studies by analysing individuals' responses to political news
coverage on Twitter using Hall's encoding/decoding model.
2 COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA SEMIOTICS
2.1 The Definition of sign
According Fourie (2018), in media studies, a sign refers to any element within a media
text that conveys meaning. These signs can take various forms, such as words, images,
sounds, or symbols. Essentially, a sign is not reality as such, but replaces reality or an
aspect or a concept of reality. A sign is composed of different components which are the
signifier, referent and signified.
1|Page
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through EFT, credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying this summary from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller TheStudentConnection. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy this summary for R100,00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
