Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Arts and Humanities

The Evolution of Fandom and Participatory Culture

The term ‘fan’ is an abbreviation of the word fanatic, which comes from the Latin word ‘fanaticus’. This term originally carried religious connotations, referring to devotees and having secular faith, but it quickly assumed negative connotations in society.

Henry Jenkins, an American media scholar and lecturer of the second half of the 20^th century, addresses different phenomena related to the fan in his book Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture. He rejects common fan stereotypes such as the comic, nerdy, psychotic, and eroticized fan. Moreover, he expresses the fan as a defensible position within mass culture, challenging the view of fans as a scandalous category... Continue reading "Fan Culture, Social Power, and Virginia Woolf's Feminist Vision" »

The Fan: More Than Just a Consumer

The term "fan," derived from "fanatic," carries connotations of excessive devotion. Media scholar Henry Jenkins challenges negative stereotypes of fans, arguing for their legitimate place within mass culture. In his book Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture (1992), Jenkins rejects common tropes, portraying fans as active participants rather than passive consumers.

Good Taste and Social Distinctions

Pierre Bourdieu's concept of "good taste" helps explain societal perceptions of fans. Notions of taste are not inherent but reflect dominant class interests, perpetuating social distinctions. However, fans disrupt this hierarchy by transforming from consumers into producers and manipulators... Continue reading "Fandoms: Active Producers in Media Culture" »

The Unreliability of Carlito as an Omniscient Narrator in "Carlito's Way"

Carlito's Way (Brian De Palma, 1993) is a crime film that tells the story of Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino), a Puerto Rican criminal who desperately wants to escape the world that led to his incarceration. The purpose of this analysis is to examine Carlito's role as the narrator in the film and how his unreliability affects the audience. We will analyze his narrative function both in a specific scene and in the movie as a whole, explaining how this narration is used to create suspense and mislead the spectator.

Analyzing the First Narrative Intervention

To analyze this phenomenon, we focus on the first narrative intervention of the film. This is the moment when we first see... Continue reading "De Palma's Carlito's Way: Analyzing Narrative Deception and Suspense" »

Linus Larrabee's Lack of Love in *Sabrina*: A Cinematic Analysis

Character Portrayal Through Focalization and Identification

This essay analyzes how the movie *Sabrina* (1954) represents Linus Larrabee (Humphrey Bogart) as the antithesis of love, focusing on focalization and identification. The analysis will center on a specific scene, dividing it into two parts for clarity.

Part 1: The Paris Misunderstanding

In the first part, Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn) and Linus converse, with Sabrina believing Linus is going to Paris. In reality, Sabrina is the one going, unbeknownst to her. The scene employs an external focalization, suggesting Linus is contemplating whether to join Sabrina in Paris or stay. A medium shot captures Linus, while Sabrina, though... Continue reading "Linus Larrabee's Lack of Love in Sabrina: A Cinematic Analysis" »

Chapter 6: New Media and Other IMC Options

Note: The formula for calculating CTR will be provided on the exam paper.

Targeting Strategies

• Contextual Targeting: Placing advertisements based on the content of the page.
• Behavioral Targeting: Based on user history (visited sites).
• Geographic Targeting: Based on zip codes, Designated Market Areas (DMAs), time zones, and GPS coordinates.
• Daypart Targeting: Based on the time of day.
• Affinity Targeting: Reaching users on their favorite websites.
• Purchase-based Targeting: Profiling the customer based on buying habits.

Rich Media Advertising

Online advertising that utilizes a range of interactive digital media, including streaming video and audio.

Tips for Display Advertising (Plummer et al., 2008)

• Color Psychology:

1. The Principle of Compositionality

Compositionality is a fundamental principle in grammatical semantics, which posits that individual meanings combine to form more complex meanings. We interpret utterances based on our knowledge of the meanings of simple expressions and the constructions used to combine them.

The meaning of a complex expression is fully determined by its structure and the meanings of its constituents. By fixing the meaning of the parts and their arrangement, we identify the meaning of the whole. This principle is central to most contemporary work in semantics.

Examples

• “A blue shirt” = a + blue + shirt
• “The teacher is in class” = the + teacher + is + in + class

If we understand the meaning of individual words and apply... Continue reading "Understanding the Principle of Compositionality in Semantics" »

Essential Media and Digital Terminology

Dry Version

A pre-recorded item that includes only the spoken word—that is, no music or sound effects.

Debriefing

A detailed discussion about work that has been done.

Deputy Editor

The second editor in line.

Desktop Publishing (DTP)

Based around a page layout program, which lets you import text from a word processor, clip art from graphics packages, and images from scanners or cameras, arranging them all on a page. It is used to design and publish books, newspapers, posters, advertisements, and more.

Digital Art / Computer Art

Art created with applications that use mathematical formulas to generate beautiful, bright shapes called fractals.

Drop Shadows

The shadow an object creates on a surface.

DivX

A format used... Continue reading "Essential Media and Digital Terminology Defined" »

English Irregular Verbs Conjugation Table

This table provides a list of common English irregular verbs, including their Spanish translation, simple past, and past participle forms.

Corporate Identity and Philosophy

Corporate Identity Touchpoints (Exposures)

• Visual and verbal identity and symbols
• Product appearance
• Environment
• Websites
• Communications
• People
• Co-branding

Key Corporate Communication Areas

• Visual and verbal identity and symbols
• Product appearance
• Environment
• Events
• Internal communications
• Crisis management

Defining Corporate Philosophy

To define corporate philosophy, we must answer three fundamental questions: What do I do? Where do I want to go? How do I do it?

Components of Corporate Philosophy

• Mission: Responds to "What do I do?" (Current purpose).
• Vision: Responds to "Where do I want to go?" (Future goals of the organization).
• Core Values: Responds to "How do I do it?" Determines the way the organization and its employees