Week 5

Chapter four entitled ‘Unravelling the Web of Discourse Analysis’ (Bell and Smith, 2007) defines discourse analysis as looking at the texts visual imagery and sound, including both spoken and written word. Concerned with both form and social context it aims to find out the texts social significance.

   However, discourse analysis has to be adapted to each text, it’s not a one-size-fits-all model. Interpreting a text on a deeper level helps us to gain understanding of the context. Discourse analysis branches off into many different approaches, for example; socio-linguistic analysis, linguistic analysis, content analysis etc. However, a common theme throughout all approaches of analysis is the qualitative methodology.

   ‘Critical discourse analysis’ has become increasingly popular for it’s attention to the role of power in discourse. The recognition of the relationship between power and discourse has encouraged greater critical analysis. ‘Without discourse there is no social reality, and without understanding discourse, we cannot understand our reality, our experience or ourselves’ (Phillip and Hardy, 2002). The main concern comes with how the discourse may shape our thoughts and constructions of our identity. Discourse analysis continues to evolve and develop, and research is continuously undertaken to keep up.

   The influence of the media on culture, politics and social life is great, but it is argued as to whether or not the media constructs or reflects reality. The news for example takes raw material and transforms them into something we can understand, but they are more than capable of promoting false understandings. Another example is news articles, in which go through many people before they reach the reader such as, writer, editor and sub-editors. The news therefore has it’s own discourse.

   This links to my online article, discussing discourse analysis in terms of photography. A photograph is encoded as a system of signs and signals for a reader to decode, much like a written text.  Arguments differ on how we should interpret an image in terms of understanding it. Photographs give us messages in which each person will decode differently. So therefore, this text shows how discourse analysis of images is also varied, and we are never sure if we are seeing a reflection or construction of reality.

   This has made me think differently about the way I view images, and what the intentions of the producer were, and exactly what they wanted the viewer to decode. This is often a view we seen repeated throughout the media, as everybody questions what they are reading/seeing and whether it is true.

   One option for undertaking research could be a focus group to monitor reactions to certain programmes or images, seeing if they believe it to be a correct realistic view of reality.

Bibliography:

1.     Bell, A; Smith,P  (2007) ‘Unravelling the Web of Discourse Analysis’ pg. 78-100

2.     Linnecar, C (2012) ‘Discourse Analysis’ Available at: https://ilrb.cf.ac.uk/citingreferences/tutorial/theexamples5.html