A First Look At Communication Theory, 10e (Griffin)
Chapter 27 Cultural Studies
1) Hall maintains that he wants to:
A) become a prophetic mouthpiece for the masses.
B) unmask the power imbalances in society.
C) interpret history with the strict economic determinism central to classical Marxism.
D) All of the answers are correct.
2) What is Hall’s take on Marxism?
A) He suggests it oversimplifies the role of economic determinism but still stands by the idea of
the haves and the have-nots.
B) He argues against its basic and secondary premises completely.
C) He advocates that Marxism is destructive to anyone except the least powerful.
D) He would rather see the triumph of capitalism than further Marxist ideology.
3) Hall’s main concern with corporate control of mass communication is that it:
A) makes media products more expensive for consumers.
B) gives consumers too many choices among viewing options.
C) prevents many stories from being told.
D) forces communication scholars to overemphasize power relations and social structures in their
research.
4) Which of the following is NOT one of Hall’s decoding options?
A) operate inside the dominant code
B) apply a negotiable code
C) substitute an oppositional code
D) formulate a liberating code
5) Hall used the term “hegemony” to:
A) refer to a deliberate and overtly coercive plot for biased reporting.
B) refer to the practice of various media platforms combining forces to uncover a truth.
C) describe the subtle sway of society’s haves over its have-nots.
D) indicate that mass media becomes a reflection of consensus that already exists.
6) Preponderant influence or domination, especially of one nation over another, is:
A) totalitarianism.
B) ideology.
C) consensus.
D) hegemony.
7) Citing the example of the television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Luke Winslow
argues that the media:
A) loses its credibility as a cultural critic.
B) pushes an agenda to show that the “system” works.
C) commoditized American life by selling products with a lifestyle.
D) is overt in its criticism of the disenfranchised.
8) Hall used the term “________” in the dual sense of speaking out on oppression and linking
that subjugation with the communication media.
A) connotate
B) articulate
C) information
D) overdetermination
9) Hall has characterized media hegemony as:
A) having effects that are not total.
B) a conscious plot to retain power within society’s haves.
C) strongly coercive.
D) obsolete.
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10) According to Hall, mass media encourage:
A) masking the struggle for power between society’s haves and have-nots.
B) promoting the myth of democratic pluralism.
C) breaking down of dominant ideologies.
D) producing of consent.
11) Hall doubts social scientists’ potential to find any useful answers to important questions
about media influence.
12) Marxist scholars are dedicated to empowering those who are marginalized in society.
13) Stuart Hall believes that the mass media helps society’s have-nots by promoting democratic
pluralism.
14) Hall believes that the powerless can eventually change the structure of the media and prevent
it from endorsing the dominant ideology.
15) According to Hall, any cultural theory that deconstructs the current structure of media
research establishments should be loudly denounced as supporting the power structure of the
elite.
16) According to cultural studies of Stuart Hall, communication is a unique discipline that should
remain separate from other academic disciplines within the overall structure of the university.
17) Hall claims that survey research can be useful in explaining the power of multinational
corporations over consumers.
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18) Hall’s most positive contribution to mass communication study is his constant reminder that
it is futile to talk about meaning without considering power at the same time.
19) Hall saw corporate clout as only one reason broadcast and print journalism support the status
quo.
20) Hall places less emphasis on rationality and more emphasis on ________.
21) Rather than say, “words don’t mean; people mean,” Hall would like to go a step further and
ask, “________”
22) Though he doesn’t see the powerless as able to enact widespread change, Hall does advocate
that one way the audience can reclaim some power is how they decode. He suggests that they can
operate within the dominant code, apply a negotiable code, or ________.
23) ________ refers to the process by which unquestioned and seemingly natural ways of
interpreting the world become ideologies.
24) According to Hall, what is the current role of media in society?
25) Discuss Hall’s claim that discourse makes meaning. What role do the mass media play in this
process? How is this function of discourse connected to social power?
26) Define and explain the concept of hegemony. What is its connection to mass
communication?
27) Explain and compare the three decoding options that Hall suggests are available to each mass
media consumer. Explain how an audience using each of these decoding options would respond
to post 9/11 media coverage.
28) Elaborate on Foucault’s idea that we must study what people are saying, what people are not
saying, and who gets to say it. Discuss your own example of Foucault’s point.
29) What is the central goal of the proponents of cultural studies in the context of media
consumption? What must happen for this goal to be realized?
30) Would Hall’s analysis of media in society be different if the media were publicly owned? If
so, how?
31) How would Hall account for the trend toward “reality” television?
32) Does the Internet validate or challenge Hall’s assertions about media hegemony?
33) Compare Hall’s adherence to his ideas and works on cultural studies with that of Marshall
McLuhan’s.
34) Compare Deetz’s response to contemporary corporate life with Hall’s approach to mass
communication. How could one use Deetz’s suggestions for improving organizational life for
reforming media?
35) Hall claims that mainstream communication research serves the myth of democratic
pluralism. Identify and discuss a theory you have encountered so far in this book that validates
this claim and a theory that challenges it.