definition: a 2005 film about the Crusades, set in the 12^th century in Europe and the area around Jerusalem

-          Islamic scholars felt the movie was anti-Islam propaganda

-          Christian scholar thought the film was anti-Christian

definition: opinion held by the left-wing that TV is largely conservative propaganda and a tool for selling things to the masses. TV reinforces the capitalist system by getting people to buy things. What matters on TV are the commercials, not the programs

definition: a concept developed from an 80’s study by Lichter, Lichter, Rothman (social scientists) which showed that businessmen on TV were 7 times more likely to break the law than to contribute it society well being

*significance: reinforces the idea that people who are conservatives will look at TV and see liberal propaganda

definition: typical character (and most heroes) that are portrayed in TV shows

-          White, urban, single, male, lives alone

-          Shows like: JAG, NCIS, Frasier, Seinfeld, House, ER

*significance: Conservatives believes it attacks the idea of family

definition: TV show that ran from the 90's until 2007. It featured a strongly knit and religious family that overcomes problems together with love and loyalty

*significance: good example of TV has counter-trends

- an example of a pro-family show which goes against conservative view that TV is anti-family

definition: A group of people who are not biologically related, but who function together like a family

-          Examples: Cheers, Will and Grace, Crossing Jordan

*significance: example that goes along with the left-wing idea that TV is not anti-family (even though this not a typical biological family)

definition: 1991-present cop and legal show

-          Every episode shows a crime, investigation and trial

-          Every show brings up an ethical/legal/moral problem and both positions of the case are always given

definition: The desires and fears of people within a culture, or the political meaning within said culture; and how either these desires, fears, or political meaning changes over time

-          People like to tell us about their unconscious hopes and fears (what they desire)

definition: recognizably similar stories (the success of one type of story inspire repetition) in: setting, characters, types of conflict, theme, resolution, conventions

*significance: as popularity of certain genres grows and contracts over time, we can infer changes in society’s preoccupations

- TV viewers like familiarity and don’t always support unconventional programs

definition: 1953 western about a mysterious cowboy who rides in and helps a community deal with struggle, and then the cowboy leaves once he has taken care of the outlaws

definition:  1992 western in which a barbarian rides into a town, destroys civilization, and returns to the wilderness; however, the hero is a vicious psychopath. The format of the film follows that of a classical western, but reverses the moral assumptions by presenting civilization as evil

*significance:  $100 million at box office and an Oscar might mean that Americans now view their own community as evil and something to be destroyed

- marked the death of the western

definition: Type of genre whose setting is generally urban and which integrates two story formulas: Romantic (where a romance begins in hostility, but the two fall in love over time); and show (where people put on a show).

-          This integration of stories symbolizes people overcoming individuality and coming together

*significance: Musical is a pro-social genre that tells us that civilization is good and that we can all get along together

-musicals also affirm that two people can be united by love—the myth of the happy family

- musicals in a decline but not like the western

definition:  a genre that brings to life the repressed, unconscious, anti-social impulses in people—those desires that they dare not express in society they allow to be expressed symbolically for them

*significance: ultimately the horror genre was pro-social (not now)

-the evolution suggests that the audience (largely teenage males) want to see self control affirmed less, and irresponsible self expression confirmed more; whereas the monster used to be the villain, he is now the hero in many films

definition: A reference (question asked by Variety) to a television genre, the sitcom; because sitcoms have declined in number in the 21st century

definition: a genre the which  usually features a single person, usually a male—although this person is sometimes situated in a real or surrogate family

-          The person or people (genre is becoming more group oriented – CSI, Law and Order, NYPD Blue) represents authority- - the defender of the rules of right and wrong

*significance: an extremely pro-social genre

definition: 2004 TV show combining several genres: comedy, satire, soap opera, mystery

*significance: modern example of how different genres can be brought together and employed into one program in the creation of stories that defy class genre conventions (but which appeal to the collective subconscious)

definition: Science fiction is called this because of its ability to transcend medium (both film and television) and because it allows our imaginations to transcend the here and now

-          Transcends culture, time, media

-          20 highest grossing films in history 11 were science fiction

definition:  1966-69 original television series that spawned eight films and four spinoff series. In all of the Star Trek series, all of Earth's major problems have been solved and we, as “Earthlings,” are traversing the galaxy spreading enlightenment

definition: Refers (study by a social scientist) to the amount of television an average American will have watched by the time she or he graduates from high school

-          Only 14,000 in school

definition: Refers to the belief that children will see 100,000 acts of violence committed and 8,000 murders before the end of their elementary school education (according to the American Psychological Assoc.)

definition: a social scientists who produced a study that said the more TV watching by teenagers the more sexually active teenagers become (based on increased pregnancy)

definition: Doll that, when you hit it, comes back to be hit again. An experiment was done where kids were shown a video with an adult hitting a bobo doll; when the kids started playing again, they copied what they had seen the adult do (in the video).

definition: 1995 large scale social science study by several universities about the effects of television violence on children; the study produced correlational evidence proving that those who frequently view TV violence demonstrate increased acceptance of aggressive attitudes and increased aggressive behavior (further, the correlational evidence was fairly stable over time, place and demographics).

-          Researchers consistently find that prime time TV contains 4-6 violent acts per hour, and children’s cartoons substantially more

definition: Towns used in a study of television’s effects on school performance. Notel had no television stations, Unitel had one American network, and Multitel had all 3 American networks. After testing children in each town, researchers found that Notel had the highest scores and Multitel had the lowest scores. When the students were retested years after all three towns had all three networks, they found Notel and Unitel scores had fallen to Multitel’s level

definition: Refers to 2000’s documentary “Fat and Happy,” which social scientists found that kids who watched more TV were less active and ate more; yet when they watched less TV, the kids became more active and ate less

definition: Action for Children’s Television, a public interest group which aimed to address 2 major concerns: violence of TV; and excessive commercialization. It was very well known in the 1980s and had a variety of success in convincing Congress to do certain things (such as warning labels to parents before shows that contain violence)

definition: Power adopted in 1791, which says Congress can’t make laws abridging the freedom of speech, press, and expression. However, questions are raised as to whether the Amendment protects certain freedoms like pornography, racism, and inciting riots

*significance: While film censorship violates the 1st Amendment, the government was not explicitly made unable to censor films until 1952

definition: Branch of the Trade Association of motion picture studios created in 1922 which instituted a self-censorship regime. When the Branch gained power in 1934, it wrote a code of things that could/couldn’t be seen or heard; if it didn’t accept a movie script, the film wasn’t distributed; lasted until 1966

definition: 1936 Warner Brothers movie based on a best-selling novel. When the original script was sent to Joseph Breen at the Hays office, Breen rejected the film based on the production code’s provisions. The redone script turned the movie into a confusing story

definition: The 1990s rating that replaced the X rating. It means no one under 17 can see the movie: it is intended for adults only. However, NC-17 movies usually flop because public still thinks they are X-rated

*significance: Demonstrated that the film industry was willing to rate movies themselves to avoid government/external censorship

definition:  D.W. Griffith’s controversial 1915 film which promoted white supremacy and glorified the KKK during and after the American Civil War. It was the first real movie made how WE think of movies: it contained a long complicated story, technical camera shots, battle scenes, and was a huge blockbuster

*significance: The film was free expression, yet served as racist conscious propaganda and increased racial prejudice

definition: 1988 Controversial  Martin Scorsese film adapted from a novel by Nikos Kazantzakis

-Jesus is shown neurotic, fearful, doubtful

- rewrites Jesus’ words, as they are reported in the Bible

-half hour fantasy sequence in which Jesus imagines what his life would been like if he had chosen to live it like a normal man

definition: Self-regulating office within a network. A television show must be passed by this office before it is put on air. However, artists dislike these offices and want their shows their way, resulting in a relationship like that between the Hays Office and movie artists

*significance: Reinforces the greater struggle to get programming on modern TV

definition: 1993-2005 ensemble cop TV show

-          Probably the most egregious of non-cable programs

-          Constant street language

-          Partial nudity

definition: Part of the television rating system that was proposed by the FCC in the 1996 Telecommunications Act and went into effect by January 1997(voluntary). This system was created in response to the public concerns of increasingly explicit sexual content, graphic violence, and strong profanity in television programs

definition:  Detailed content rating after the system was harshly criticized by parent groups and politicians for not providing enough detail on content (1997 the networks agreed [expect NBC] to add more specific labels

-          V: Violence

-          S: Sex

definition: 2003 miniseries about Nancy and President Ronald Reagan, scheduled by CBS to run in Oct 2003

-          When conservatives criticized scenes within the show, critiquing the idea that Reagan was slow to respond to the AIDS epidemic, CBS cancelled the miniseries

-          Leaked copy of script  (protest against the show)

*significance: organized interest group pressure can change the content of TV

definition: (Stewart Ewen-Left Winger) – idea in“Consuming Images” shows a combo of two Steven Spielberg films (ET and Close Encounters of the 3^rd kind)

-          Hits on the way we think about first encounters with alien life

-          Images actually Oreo Ad

definition: idea by (Neil Postman) wrong or right terms don’t apply to images

-we haven’t evolved against seductions of eloquence of images

definition: (Franklin) an idea in Politics of Film that the critics of a liberal Hollywood are giving too much weight to the executive producers and not enough weight to the ideologies of the other contributing members of the movie

definition: (Franklin) a group of people who hold different political view points.

-          Democrats tend to be more culturally and economically liberal, while independents tended to be more culturally liberal but economically conservative. The Independent/Democrat/apolitical viewer is worth “three Republicans” to the filmmaker

definition: (Franklin) idea-"This contradiction, between the real role of media effects at the macrolevel, suggests that most "evidence" that purports to demonstrate a relationship between media, particularly film media, and undesired behaviors, is probably science with an agenda."

definition: 1949 film where "lots of people are killed, most of them Japanese." In the context of the film, these deaths are acceptable. "Were we to evaluate the film's violence in context, most of us would regard it as acceptable violence as opposed to unacceptable violence."

definition: Cognitive deposits built up from repeated media exposure over time. Steyer explains that media exposes children to packaged and distorted stories for maximum marketing effect

definition: A failed government and TV industry high-tech answer to programming excesses. "Embed a V-chip in every television that recognizes the rating codes and give parents the power, via remote control, to block out shows that they deem objectionable." When you give the parents the ability to block programming, you also give them the ability to block advertisements

definition:  (George Gerbner idea) deals with the first problem with media violence and its impact on children - media violence can create an almost paralyzing sense of fear that the world is a violent place where physical aggression is normal. This syndrome is associated with frequent television viewing.

definition: Live-action show once aired on FOX about teenagers who turn into superheroes and battle evil forces from outer space. It is linked to a fortune in licensed merchandise worldwide, but is considered the most violent TV show ever created for kids

definition: a 1994 movie which after watching this movie, five and six-year-old kids wanted ‘stone people’ toys, but gave the toys the names and voices of characters from the actual film. Steyer argues that such placement causes children to bypass their own imaginations and substitute commercial characters and storylines instead

*significance: over-commercialization sells products (turning children into consumers)

definition: (Steyer)Idea that media messages and images so saturate our lives that it's not possible for parents to protect their kids from every potentially harmful media exposure; no matter how hard a parent tries, they cannot keep all forms of media from affecting their kids

*significance: This emphasizes/reinforces the need for parents to take a more active role in filtering media their children consume, even amidst constantly changing times and media outlets

definition:  One of Steyers’ steps to creating a safer media environment for children: it emphasizes the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and process media. Kids would learn to use TV, music and other media consciously and selectively, as well as think critically about the messages and images they receive

*significance: This idea encourages kids themselves to see through hype, and filter media that surrounds them

definition: 1999 film starring Kevin Spacey and Mena Suvari, which addressed such adult themes as homophobia and harassment (award winning)

*significance:  shows that not all is well with the American dream

definition: Concept that violent films have increased profitability when they are down-rated: Since teens are the best market segment, you need teen access to films to make them profitable. Thus, you need R instead of NC-17 ratings, and the age restrictions must be laxly enforced at these movies.

definition:  2008 movie, the third movie of high school musical films. This movie opened #1 its domestic weekend and broke the previous sales record for a musical

definition: a 2007 NC-17 rated movie that has done exceptionally well (especially with women in the US) regardless of being NC-17

definition: French council that blamed TV for “encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, over excitement, troubles with sleep” and other problems (banned TV channels targeted at children under the age of 3)