Other Terminology

Agenda – A plan or belief system within a group, normally hidden from others. For example there is a belief that the BNP have a racist agenda.

Antagonist – The leading villain in the show (or the one the protagonist has to go up against)

Archetype – A easily recognised type of character that can be found in many stories. For example, the hero, the princess, the damsel in distress, the loyal friend, the villain, the temptress.

Binary Opposites – Two contrasting characters or scenes that are seen in one show, that are clearly meant to be total opposites. For example there may be a sweet innocent girl who is scared and weak, paired against an evil powerful man. They would be binary opposite characters. Binary opposites could be concepts such as good/evil, light/dark, male/female, old/young

Connotation – Hidden Meaning. For example, “the connotation of the main female character wearing black is that she might be evil and have a dark side.”

Conventional – Something that is seen to be “normal”. So a conventional female character would be quite weak, girly, and may be a mother or a housewife.

Dominant Ideology – A set of beliefs that are widely accepted as being the most normal, or the most accurate. For example, the dominant ideology of men is that they are strong, brave and work to provide money for their families.

Homophobia - Actions, behaviours, feelings or words which seem to discriminate against people because of their sexuality. This is normally because the person who is being homophobic believes there is a difference between sexualities and thinks that one sexuality is better than the other.

Juxtaposition – Two different things placed next to each other to create meaning. For example a shot of a baby may be juxtaposed with a shot of a funeral to emphasise the circle of life.

Male Gaze – A theory by a lady called Laura Mulvey which suggests that all media products encourage the characters and audience to “leer” at and “look” at women. For example, “the camera angle looking down Sarah’s cleavage encourages the audience to take a ‘male gaze’ over the female character”

Media Language – Simply means the combination of technical elements such as camera shots, camera movement, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.

Patriarchy – A type of society where men are dominant over women. Many feminists believe that we live in a patriarchal society where women are forced to be weaker and subservient.

Positioning – how the audience are encouraged to interpret a particular situation. For example, “the audience are positioned to sympathise with the female character.”

Protagonist – The leading character in the show, normally a good character

Realist / Realism – A style of TV show / film which attempts to be as “realistic” as possible. For example, “Shameless is considered a realist programme.” Being a “realist” programme doesn’t necessarily mean the show IS completely realistic or accurate.

Racism – Actions, behaviour, feelings or words which seem to discriminate against people because of their skin colour. This is normally because the person who is racist believes that there is a difference between people who have different skin colours and they believe one skin colour to be better than another.

Sexism – Actions, behaviours, feelings or words which seem to discriminate against people because of their gender. This is normally because the person who is being sexist believes there is a difference between the two genders and that one gender is better than the other.

Stereotype – An overly exaggerated representation of a type of person that is normally negative. For example a stereotypical teenager would be a hoodie wearing, knife carrying, criminal who hated school.

Unconventional – Something which is seen to not be “normal.” For example an unconventional female character might be powerful, the boss of a company, and very dominant over other male characters.

Verisimilitude – A feeling of reality / real life created by particular elements. For example, “The series Outnumbered creates a feeling of verisimilitude for the audience by using a real house, every day storylines that would affect an average family, and improvised dialogue.”

Xenophobia - Actions, behaviours, feelings or words which seem to discriminate against people because of their country of origin. This is normally because the person who is being xenophobic believes there is a difference between the countries and that one country is better than the other. Normally xenophobic people discriminate against anyone from a foreign country.