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Media
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is the Circuit of Culture? | A model for analyzing media through production, consumption, representation, identity, and regulation. |
| Why is the Circuit of Culture important? | It shows that meaning is produced through multiple, interconnected processes—not just content. |
| What is the Hypodermic Needle Theory? | The idea that media has direct, powerful effects on passive audiences. |
| : Who proposed the “limited effects” theory? | Paul Lazarsfeld. |
| What is the two-step flow of communication? | Media influences opinion leaders first, who then influence others. |
| What is a filter bubble? | A personalized media environment created by algorithms that limits exposure to diverse viewpoints. |
| What did the Frankfurt School argue about mass culture? | It pacifies audiences and discourages critical thinking. |
| What does “Panem et Circenses” mean in media studies? | Entertainment and distraction are used to control populations. |
| What is wage labour? | Selling one’s time and labour for money. |
| What is capital accumulation? | Money invested to generate more money. |
| What is the audience commodity? | Audience attention sold to advertisers. |
| How does David Lyon define surveillance? | Systematic attention to personal data for influence, management, or control. |
| What is the Panopticon? | A model of power where people self-discipline because they might be watched. |
| What is surveillance capitalism? | The use of data to predict and modify human behaviour for profit. |
| What is horizontal integration? | Owning multiple companies in the same industry (e.g. Disney + Marvel). |
| What is vertical integration? | Controlling multiple stages of production and distribution (e.g. Comcast + NBC). |
| What is media convergence? | The merging of technologies, industries, and audiences. |
| What does it mean to say media is a “flow”? | Media is continuous, always available, and on-demand. |
| How did streaming change music consumption? | Shift from ownership to access. |
| What replaced human gatekeepers in streaming platforms? | Algorithmic recommendation systems. |
| Why are some video games considered cultural platforms? | They function as ongoing social and cultural spaces, not just products. |
| How is livestreaming connected to labour? | Creators perform unpaid or precarious digital labour. |
| Why is TikTok considered an AI platform? | Content circulation is driven primarily by algorithms, not social connections. |
| How is TikTok consumption both passive and active? | Passive scrolling + active participation (duets, stitches). |
| What is unpaid digital labour on TikTok? | Users create content and data without compensation. |
| How does TikTok shape identity? | Through algorithmically rewarded trends, aesthetics, and performances of self. |
| What are the three core components of AI? | Data, labour, and compute. |
| What does Kate Crawford argue about AI? | AI hides vast human labour and environmental costs. |
| What is “enchanted determinism”? | The belief that AI’s expansion is inevitable and neutral. |
| Why is media political? | It structures power, labour, identity, and culture. |
| What is the main takeaway of the course? | Media platforms are infrastructures of power, not neutral tools. |
| What is the Dead Internet theory? | The idea that much online content is automated, algorithmic, or generated rather than human. |
| What does “the medium is the message” mean? (McLuhan) | Media shape society more through their form than their content. |
| Who is Harold Innis? | A political economist of communication focused on media, power, and empire. |
| What is a monopoly of knowledge? | When control over communication gives power to elites. |
| What is time bias vs space bias? | Time-biased media preserve culture; space-biased media extend power over distance. |
| What is present-mindedness? | A focus on the present caused by fast, space-biased media. |
| What does “media are extensions of man” mean? | Technologies extend human senses and capacities. |
| What are hot vs cold media? | Hot = high definition, low participation; Cold = low definition, high participation. |
| What is figure/ground? | Content (figure) is shaped by its media environment (ground). |
| What is the Second Enclosure? | he privatization of digital commons (data, attention, culture). |
| What is the attention economy? | A system where attention is scarce and monetized. |
| Who is Dallas Smythe? | Theorist who argued audiences are commodities sold to advertisers. |
| What is the audience commodity? | Audience attention and data sold for profit. |
| What is a prosumer? | Someone who both produces and consumes media. |
| What did Neil Postman argue in Amusing Ourselves to Death? | Media prioritize entertainment over critical thought. |
| What is semiotics? | The study of signs and meaning. |
| What is the difference between signifier and signified? | Signifier = form; Signified = concept. |
| What is denotation vs connotation? | Literal meaning vs cultural meaning. |
| What is myth (Barthes)? | Ideology disguised as natural or common sense. |
| What is encoding/decoding? (Stuart Hall) | Media meanings are encoded by producers and decoded by audiences. |
| What are Hall’s three audience readings? | Dominant, negotiated, oppositional. |
| What is the hypodermic needle theory? | Media have direct effects on passive audiences. |
| What is the two-step flow? | Media influence opinion leaders first, then others. |
| What is a filter bubble? | Personalized media that limits exposure to diverse views. |
| What is the Frankfurt School? | Critical theorists who analyzed capitalism and mass culture. |
| What is the culture industry? | Mass-produced culture that pacifies audiences. |
| What is capital accumulation? | Money invested to produce more money. |
| What are the three functions of media? | Logistics, commodification, ideology. |
| What is the circuit of culture? | Production, consumption, regulation, representation, identity. |
| What is convergence? | Merging of technologies, industries, and audiences. |
| What is surveillance? | Systematic monitoring of people to manage or influence behaviour. |
| What is the Panopticon? (Foucault) | Power through constant visibility and self-discipline. |
| What is dataveillance? | Continuous digital data monitoring. |
| What is surveillance capitalism? | Profit from predicting and modifying behaviour via data. |
| What is simulation? (Baudrillard) | Media produce realities rather than represent them. |
| What is hyperreality? | When simulations feel more real than reality. |
| What is media ecology? | Media form environments that shape behaviour and perception. |
| What does Fortunati argue about phones? | They are both material and symbolic artefacts. |
| What is platform capitalism? | Profit through platforms that extract data and attention. |
| What is digital labour? | Unpaid or underpaid work by users and workers. |
| What is engagement optimization? | Designing platforms to maximize time and interaction. |
| What is platformization? | Cultural activity becoming dependent on platforms. |
| What does access over ownership mean? | Users rent content rather than own it. |
| What is algorithmic governance? | Algorithms regulate visibility and behaviour. |
| What is digital enclosure? | Locking culture into proprietary platforms. |
| What is the magic circle? | The boundary separating game worlds from everyday life. |
| What are live-service games? | Games designed for continuous monetization. |
| What is gamification? | Using game mechanics to influence behaviour. |
| What are loot boxes? | Gambling-like reward systems in games. |
| What is user-generated labour? | What is micro-celebrity? |
| What is parasocial interaction? | One-sided emotional relationships with media figures. |
| What is the For You Page? | TikTok’s algorithmic content feed. |
| Why is AI a media system, not a mind? | It predicts patterns but does not understand. |
| What is Crawford’s triad? | Data, labour, compute. |
| What is invisible labour? | What is invisible labour? |
| What are environmental externalities of AI? | Energy use, water consumption, carbon emissions. |
| What is the monopoly of AI knowledge? | Control of AI by a few corporations. |
| What is the politics of refusal? | Rejecting the idea that AI expansion is inevitable |
| What is Minerva’s Owl? | A concept (from Hegel, used by Harold Innis) meaning that understanding and theory only fully emerge after historical events have already happened—media and social changes are understood in hindsight, not in advance. |
| What is the Printing Press | A space-biased medium that enabled the mass reproduction of texts, standardization of language, expansion of literacy, and centralized political and religious authority, contributing to the rise of modern states and empires. |
| What is Empire and Communication (Harold Innis)? | Innis’s argument that empires depend on dominant communication media to maintain control over space and time; shifts in media technologies reshape power, administration, and the rise or decline of empires. |
| What is the Tetrad of Media Effects? (McLuhan) | A framework for analyzing media through four questions: |
| A framework for analyzing media through four questions: | Enhances: What does the medium amplify? Obsolesces: What does it push aside or replace? Retrieves: What older practice does it bring back? Reverses: What does it turn into when taken to extremes? |
| Who was Marshall McLuhan? | A media theorist who argued that media shape society more than content, summarized by “the medium is the message.” |
| What does Fortunati mean by the mobile phone as a technological artefact? | The smartphone is both a material object and a cultural object shaped by social use. |
| What is the social shaping of technology? | Technologies are shaped by social, economic, and political forces, not just technical design. |
| What are material vs. symbolic dimensions of technology? | Material refers to physical infrastructure; symbolic refers to meanings and social practices. |
| What is appropriation (user innovation)? | Users adapt technologies in ways not intended by designers. |
| What is space-time bias? | Media favour either control over space or durability over time. |
| What are Active Audiences? | Audiences actively interpret media rather than passively receiving messages. |
| Q: What is the Information Society? | A society where information production and communication drive economic and social life. |
| Who is Neil Postman? | A critic who argued media prioritize entertainment over critical thinking. |
| What is Media and Meaning? | Meaning is created through systems of signs, not individual words or images. |
| What is the Structure of Meaning? | Meaning is created through systems of signs, not individual words or images. |
| Who was Ferdinand de Saussure? | A linguist who founded semiotics and argued meaning comes from differences between signs. |
| What are Signs? | Units of meaning made up of a form and a concept. |
| What are Charles Peirce’s Types of Signs? | Icons (resemble), Indexes (direct connection), and Symbols (learned meaning). |
| What is Bread and Circus? | Entertainment and material comfort used to distract and control populations. |
| What is Capitalism? | An economic system based on private ownership and profit through wage labour. |
| What is Class Division? | The separation between social classes based on access to wealth and power. |
| What is Class Struggle? | Conflict between classes over resources, labour, and power. |
| logistics | Media move goods and people |
| commodification | turn attention into profit |
| ideology | shape beliefs |
| What is production | The processes through which media is created, including labour, technology, ownership, funding, and the economic conditions shaping content. |
| What is consumption | How audiences use, interpret, and engage with media, including habits, meanings, and everyday practices shaped by platforms and technology. |
| What is regulation | The laws, policies, platform rules, and social norms that govern how media is produced, distributed, and used. |
| What is representation | How media portrays people, groups, ideas, and reality, shaping meaning through images, language, and symbols. |
| What is identity | How media shapes and expresses who people are and how they see themselves through cultural meanings and practices. |
| What are the origins of surveillance? | Surveillance developed with modern states, colonialism, and industrial capitalism to manage populations. |
| What is the Information State? | A state that governs through data collection, monitoring, and information control. |
| What is privacy? | The ability to control access to personal information and limit surveillance. |
| What is social sorting? | Using data to categorize people for control or management. |
| What is identification? | Determining who someone is using data. |
| What is classification? | Grouping people into categories. |
| What is assessment? | Evaluating people’s value or risk. |
| What is visibility (in surveillance)? | Making individuals observable to systems of power. |
| What is assessment? | Evaluating people’s value or risk. |
| What is visibility (in surveillance)? | Making individuals observable to systems of power. |
| What is consumer surveillance? | Tracking consumer behaviour for marketing and profit. |
| What are biometrics? | Bodily data (face, fingerprints) used for identification. |
| What are platform companies? | Firms that mediate interactions while extracting data and attention. |
| What is racializing surveillance? | Surveillance practices that disproportionately target and classify racialized groups. |
| What are Baudrillard’s States (Orders) of Simulacra? | A theory describing how representations relate to reality in stages: |
| What are biometrics? | Bodily data (face, fingerprints) used for identification. |
| A theory describing how representations relate to reality in stages: | Reflection of reality – images mirror a real original Distortion of reality – images mask or alter reality Masking the absence of reality – images pretend something real exists when it doesn’t |
| What is racializing surveillance? | Surveillance practices that disproportionately target and classify racialized groups. |
| What is present-mindedness? | A focus on the immediate present caused by fast media. |
| What are Baudrillard’s States (Orders) of Simulacra? | A theory describing how representations relate to reality in stages: |
| What are monopolies of knowledge? | Concentrated control over information and communication. |
| A theory describing how representations relate to reality in stages: | Reflection of reality – images mirror a real original Distortion of reality – images mask or alter reality Masking the absence of reality – images pretend something real exists when it doesn’t |
| What are communication infrastructures? | The physical and digital systems enabling communication (networks, data centres). |
| What is present-mindedness? | A focus on the immediate present caused by fast media. |
| What does smartphone history show? | A shift toward constant connectivity and platform dependence. |
| What are monopolies of knowledge? | Concentrated control over information and communication. |
| What is the political economy of smartphones? | Analysis of labour, resources, data extraction, and profit behind phones. |
| What are communication infrastructures? | The physical and digital systems enabling communication (networks, data centres). |
| What are critical futures and resistance? | Imagining alternatives to dominant tech systems and resisting inevitability. |
| What does smartphone history show? | A shift toward constant connectivity and platform dependence. |
| What is vertical integration? | Controlling multiple stages of production and distribution. |
| What is the political economy of smartphones? | Analysis of labour, resources, data extraction, and profit behind phones. |
| What is the global supply chain? | Worldwide networks of labour and production. |
| What are critical futures and resistance? | Imagining alternatives to dominant tech systems and resisting inevitability. |
| What is resource extraction? | Mining materials (lithium, cobalt) needed for devices. |
| What is vertical integration? | Controlling multiple stages of production and distribution. |
| What is the audience commodity? (Smythe) | Audience attention sold to advertisers. |
| What is the global supply chain? | Worldwide networks of labour and production. |
| What is attention scarcity? | Limited attention becomes valuable in digital economies. |
| What is resource extraction? | Mining materials (lithium, cobalt) needed for devices. |
| What is engagement optimization? | Designing platforms to maximize user time and interaction. |
| What is the audience commodity? (Smythe) | Audience attention sold to advertisers. |
| What is livestreaming? | It functions as a long-lasting cultural platform, not just a game. |
| What is attention scarcity? | Limited attention becomes valuable in digital economies. |
| Why is Grand Theft Auto V significant? | It functions as a long-lasting cultural platform, not just a game. |
| What is engagement optimization? | Designing platforms to maximize user time and interaction. |
| What is the logic of interactivity? | Media require user participation, shaping outcomes through interaction. |
| What is livestreaming? | It functions as a long-lasting cultural platform, not just a game. |
| What is game theory (in media studies)? | The study of strategic decision-making within rule-based systems. |
| Why is Grand Theft Auto V significant? | It functions as a long-lasting cultural platform, not just a game. |
| What are streaks, badges, and points? | Gamification mechanics used to increase engagement and retention. |
| What is the logic of interactivity? | Media require user participation, shaping outcomes through interaction. |
| How is gambling related to games? | Chance-based reward systems blur lines between play and gambling. |
| What is game theory (in media studies)? | The study of strategic decision-making within rule-based systems. |
| What are live-service games? | Games designed for continuous updates and monetization. |
| What are streaks, badges, and points? | Gamification mechanics used to increase engagement and retention. |
| What is the political economy of video games? | Analysis of labour, monetization, and platform power in gaming. |
| How is gambling related to games? | Chance-based reward systems blur lines between play and gambling. |
| What are live-service games? | Games designed for continuous updates and monetization. |
| What is the political economy of video games? | Analysis of labour, monetization, and platform power in gaming. |
| What is the three circuits model? | Production, consumption, and regulation in game economies. |
| Why are games social spaces? | They enable interaction, community, and identity formation. |
| What is toxicity and gatekeeping in games? | Exclusionary behaviour that limits participation. |
| What are e-sports? | Competitive gaming organized as professional entertainment. |
| What is toxicity & moderation? | Platform efforts to manage harmful behaviour. |
| What is surveillance capitalism? | Profit from predicting and shaping behaviour using data. |
| What is commodification of data? | Turning personal information into a marketable asset. |
| What is the audience commodity? | Audience attention sold to advertisers. |
| What is the creator economy? | Monetizing content creation across platforms. |
| What is the global digital labour chain? | Worldwide networks of often-invisible digital labour. |
| What is the critique of social media? | Platforms exploit labour, data, and attention. |
| What is transactionality? | Social interactions become exchange-based |
| What is conditionality? | Access and visibility depend on platform rules. |
| What is differential susceptibility? | People are affected by media differently. |
| What is a microsystem? | Immediate social environments shaped by media. |
| What are affordances? | Platform features shaping communication (asynchronicity, scalability, persistence). |
| What is selectivity? | Users choose what content to engage with |
| What is identity performance? | Curated self-presentation for visibility. |
| What is micro-celebrity? | Strategic self-branding for attention. |
| What is virality? | Rapid spread of content through networks. |
| Why is TikTok important? | It exemplifies algorithmic culture and attention economies. |
| What is the US-China tech rivalry? | Geopolitical conflict over control of technology and data. |
| What is infinite scroll? | A design feature that continuously loads content to maximize time spent. |
| What are push notifications? | Alerts designed to re-engage users and pull them back into platforms. |
| What is algorithmic curation? | Automated selection and ranking of content based on user data. |
| What is persuasive design? | Design strategies that steer user behaviour toward engagement and profit. |
| What is surveillance capitalism (Zuboff)? | An economic system that profits from predicting and shaping behaviour through data. |
| What is gig economy surveillance? | Monitoring and managing workers through digital platforms and data. |
| What does prediction, not understanding mean in AI? | AI predicts patterns without genuine comprehension. |
| What is synthetic content? | Media generated by AI rather than humans. |
| What is training data vs inference? | AI systems (LLMs, diffusion models) that create text, images, or audio. |
| What is training data vs inference? | Training teaches models patterns; inference generates outputs. |
| What is AI-augmented communication? | Human communication assisted or mediated by AI tools. |
| What are training data pipelines? | Systems for collecting, cleaning, and managing data for AI. |
| Who are clickworkers / ghost workers? | Hidden labourers who label and moderate data for AI |
| What is compute infrastructure? | The hardware and systems (servers, chips, networks) required to run AI and digital platforms. |
| What are data centers? | Facilities that store and process data, forming the backbone of digital media and AI systems. |
| What is the GPU bottleneck (NVIDIA)? | Limited access to high-performance GPUs concentrates AI power in a few corporations. |
| What are environmental externalities of AI? | Hidden environmental costs such as water use, energy consumption, and carbon emissions. |
| What is supply chain extraction? | Mining lithium, cobalt, and rare earths needed for digital technologies. |
| What is corporate concentration in AI? | Control of AI infrastructure by a small group of tech giants (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, NVIDIA). |
| What does capital intensity of AI mean? | AI development requires massive financial investment, favouring large corporations. |
| What is platform monetization in AI? | Generating profit through ads, subscriptions, or sponsored prompts in AI systems. |
| What is consumer lock-in / ecosystem control? | Designing platforms that make it difficult for users to leave. |
| What are copyright and training data disputes? | Legal conflicts over using copyrighted material to train AI models. |
| What are regulatory models (US/EU/China)? | Different state approaches to AI governance: innovation-focused (US), risk-based (EU), state-controlled (China). |
| What is the politics of refusal (Crawford)? | Rejecting the idea that AI expansion is inevitable and demanding alternatives. |
| What does AI as an instrument of surveillance mean? | AI is used to monitor, predict, and control behaviour for states and corporations. |
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