 So I will confess that I am so old that I predate the internet or at least the Popularized version of the internet that we know and I remember the start of kind of viral videos That was a thing that I very much remembers. I was an adult when I had one of the first ones I recall is this one you may be familiar with. It's the double rainbow guy, right? That the guy it never appears on camera early. He's just talking about this Double rainbow all the way across the sky man. What does it mean? What does it mean? So is this, you know, this wonderful gentleman here. It's the double rainbow guy And I just remember that for a couple of different reasons it was so significant I think ever him and for to see this I Remember it because first of all it was a viral video and I was like man This thing is it's crazy how we're all connected like this and all seeing this and all seeing it differently But how he was seeing those rainbows differently too struck me that that he had a different perception of those Things that I did and so his question, you know, what does it mean? Oh my god? What does it mean? Right? That's what he kept asking and that really has stuck with me over the years and and very much so on my mind when I think about sociological analysis, which is the critical framework of Critical media studies that we're going to be looking at in this video and in this lesson. So So let's just jump in. What is sociological analysis? Sociological analysis examines the recurrent patterns in media how those patterns influence the interactions of people and how an audience assigns Meaning to symbols used in an artifact just like like I assigned meaning or tried it was trying to figure out the meaning What was the meaning of those double rainbows? And it made me think what would my reaction be if I saw double rainbows? So so how does an audience assign meaning to the symbols that are used in that artifact then? So the origins of sociological analysis really lie in Symbolic interactionism, it's called symbolic interactionism, which is just I'm the character and conduct of people's Social interactions are influenced by the symbolic meanings. They assign to objects events other people and social context so Yeah, how we how we relate to and interact with with the world around us is very Specific and it is it's it is relative and it is personal. So it is different for every person And it is deeply personal based on our frame of reference based on our Our experiences and our knowledge and our views on the world our beliefs our attitudes our values all those types of things That go into our frame of reference so meaning According to symbolic interactionism meaning is relative and personal, but it's also built via social constructs So we sign meaning in part based on the way that we see these things relating To our society and how we're told in our culture that this is good and this is bad or you know How we should kind of think about this that that influences for sure If even if it doesn't totally overwhelm it definitely influences our views on these things So while while are the meaning remains relative and personal It's also influenced and built via social constructs, right and meaning is interpreted It's it, you know, it's not specifically defined. It's it's based on the interpretation of that person right of that individual So yeah, you see in the in the cartoon here one person sees a boat and gets excited one person sees the landing It's excited about different things. So their meaning is interpreted. What does it mean that they see these things? What does it mean that they say these things and Why are they so excited about something so simple and so opposite and because it's interpreted because it's deeply personal and relative Because it's built me the social constructs and because that meaning is interpreted So we can apply it just a little bit or explain it a little bit here further social interaction is a miss It's sort of a process that starts with a symbol on whatever that symbol is whether it's a word whether it's an image whether it's, you know, a Behavior whatever it is that that is symbolic that somebody's trying to use to communicate So there's that symbol starts with a symbol and then we develop that individual meaning when I see the symbol What does that mean to me specifically right? What does it mean to me? Individually as I am experiencing this symbol Then we have de facto in social influence though, right? So not just what does it mean to me? But What does it mean to society and and do I? Fit in with what society says about this symbol and what I should believe her or am I? You know resistant to that am I rejecting that and going a different direction And then of course there's always this evolving interpretation those we interpret things, but that can change Over time we change as we as we age and as we experience new things and learn new things Then our been our beliefs and our attitudes and our values may change along with that and then of course because of that how we View and engage with a symbol will change and that that will be constantly evolving as well So we can apply this Specifically just for a second to give you a demonstration of of social interaction or symbolic interactionism We get that we could look first at the symbol. We'll just take the symbol of the Confederate flag That's one that's been in discussion for a long time now And so one that we're hopefully all aware of and can relate to So that symbol is just the the the Confederate flag right now the flag itself is just in this instance piece fabric With a specific design on it with specific colors, right? But it's just it's just a thing But it is a symbol it represents a specific Depending on your view when we'll get in that represents a specific ideology or specific Geographic area or a specific point in history or or different things like that can could you know do that? So when we see it then we have this individual interpretation. So for some people it's just a symbol of independence of of you know, personal freedom and personal independence and and standing up for what you believe in or it's may Be the the culture of the south so to speak so but whatever when you see that flag you're gonna have a specific Interpretation for you individually. What is it that you think of when you see that flag or what is represent to you individually? Then we're gonna also gonna fold in all these social constructs, right? Like this idea that from generation to generation it's passed down what it means Whether that meaning is that it's that it's pure evil and it's hatred and it's it represents division and and oppression Or if it just represents you know for some people they would say it just represents the cultures of the south doesn't have any connection anymore to The civil war or you know that kind of stuff It really just represents the the ideals or the philosophies that are important to people who live in the southern part of the United States And that's all it's intended to represents According to them so but but we get these social constructs where we're told this is what it represents for this is what it means and so Yes, we start with our individual idea and then we come come up against these social constructs that either Confirm or or work against our individual and then we're influenced by that So then in the end we have this evolving interpretation though It may be that when you're younger when you're a child and you learn these things You know if you learned for example that the Confederate flag is just about Southern culture But then as you get older, maybe you come to learn some of the history of you know the Confederacy in the civil war and the the oppression of minorities and specifically of African-Americans during that time and And before that of course But that it you know that is connected for many people to that and you may start to have conflicted feelings about that Maybe you had a positive feeling about it But over time you start to see that it's that while you still think it represents some good things for other people Maybe it doesn't maybe I shouldn't hang it out Maybe I shouldn't wear wear it on my shirt or whatever until your interpretation may Evolve over time or perhaps the opposite direction. Maybe you grew up thinking it's just really evil and it's wrong and over time you maybe start to See or believe that it's really just a piece of fabric and it's not the flag itself But it's the you know the way that people interpret it and the way that people use it and things like that That's really evil. So maybe you soften up on it a little bit and start to admire it as a piece of art I don't know but the point is your interpretation may evolve over time may change over time on that And that's totally normal. That's symbolic interaction is that's that's when we see these symbols Then we have these individual interpretations, but it's then we factor in the Social influence right the influence of society and then that leads to our interpretation constantly evolve and Then cycles back through around again, and we keep doing this doing it over again, right? We may have a different interpretation and start all over next time we see it So the sociological analysis is really grounded in that symbolic interactionism that connection that we all have to seeing different symbols interpreting them individually, but also having that shared connection through the social construct which causes us to to then Change our interpretation possibly over time incrementally or or all at once depends on the on the moment Okay, the major premises of Sociological analysis that I really want to talk about now that we have an understanding where it came from our first dramaturgy right dramaturgy is this Since that what dramaturgy essentially has to do with impression management for for our purposes we're going to call it impression management and so for critical analysis specifically it's this idea that media convey though the ideal framework for social identity, right? So we were talking about how we have our individual interpretations, but then it's affected by in our society and things Well, where do we get most of those influences? We get them from the people around us are loved ones, right? But we also get a lot of this understanding from the media. So media convey what is Based on our culture supposed to be the ideal framework of social identity In other words, they tell us who we should media tells us who we should want to be Maybe not who we are, but who we should want to be or how we should think about these things. So It's a this is the essence of dramaturgy that it's about impression management and the idea that people want to To fit in in essence, you know So in the end that people want to fit in we want to be part of a culture and part of a society So dramaturgy works on that Shakespeare once said all the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players They have their exits and their entrances and one man in his time plays many parts his acts being seven ages So dramaturgy essentially says that that we are all players in this stage in the stage of life So we're all constantly managing our ourselves on the in the presence that we put out our Our identity we're managing them in the public and for ourselves and so all the world really is a stage and we're We're essentially putting on a play in many ways and so we may have though as Shakespeare points out many parts I can tell you for sure that the person I was when I was in my teens and then in my 20s and even in my 30s It is not the person that I am now in my late 40s what we'll call late 40s That that's different now. I'm a different person. So I have had many lives to be honest and so But so we manage all of that and our identity in part through dramaturgy that is affected by the media then and influenced by that so Dramaturgy has basically these components. I'm gonna get in a detail out of these But but it says we have a stage in essence in other words. Where is this happening? We have the setting. What is the context? What am I wearing? What are the the pieces around me think of yourself on a on a stage if you're performing a play, right? Well the setting or the stage is the stage itself. That's where it's happening The setting then is all those little things all the the set decorations and the the props that you have And so the things that we use to establish our identity and to communicate our identity and communicate an idea That's setting all the different props and things that we might use to do that Part what is the part that you're playing? What is your role? What is your role as an individual as in your workplace? What role do you play there? Not just your job itself But but who are you amongst your co-workers? Are you the Joker? Are you the dependable one? Are you the whatever we all have a part? It's easy to see in family settings, too, right? So the oldest child is the responsible one, right? The oldest child is a responsible one and the youngest is the Irresponsible one and the one who's been babied all their life right in the middle child is the forgotten one and you know All these things we all have these parts that we play them throughout our lives We they really influence how we behave and we have some choice in that Right, we kind of decide this is who I want to be and so we try and pursue that then now The problem is if we're trying to pursue you want to be the Joker and you're not very funny Then that's a problem You know that's gonna be that's gonna be hard for you to play that part But we we can attempt it but we all have these parts that we're going to play throughout our lives and we're gonna support that through Impression management and and trying to convey a particular Identity with people and then team has to do with How do those around us react to that? Again, if I'm trying to be the Joker in the office I need some people around me to laugh At that right and to tell me that I'm funny and to tell other people that I'm funny in that You know when somebody else gets hired they say oh Yeah, yeah, he's these he's the funny guy in the office when you need to laugh you go to him or whatever But or whatever it is We need those people around us to support that and if not they're going to Reject that and eventually we're gonna have to change the part that we're pursuing Because it's just not gonna work. We don't have that team Around us supporting it. So dramaturgy involves all these different elements and media conveys Again, who we should want to be In that sense, right? What part should we want to play? She is desirable And how do we go about doing that? We can see that represented in the media as well So they kind of idealize this idea of who we should want to be And all that goes in yeah, I get so media goes in there and and we get influenced by that That's not to say media is totally to blame. I mean we are thinking You know capable individuals that can take that information and do what we will with it But there's no doubt no question that media Certainly is a large influence in the establishment of this dramaturgy Another major premise of Sociological analysis are in you know one of the things that we look at a lot in sociological analysis is called frame analysis So we're going to take a look at that and this is just the idea that the media frames things I mean they they media All media has to make choices about what they're going to say how they're going to say it What symbols are going to use To to represent that idea and to convey their ideas. So So So we we look at frame analysis as part of this as well So The reality is anytime we come up against an artifact or see an artifact. There's this personal reality, which is for us The experiences that we have the culture the beliefs and attitude belief attitude and value system that we have So it's essentially again our frame of reference. It's everything that makes us who we are That's our personal reality For us as individuals as the audience Then we also have the media frames the meat and the media frames different things They make choices. They have selection on what they're going to include and not include right on newscasts only so long They can't include they can't talk about everything. So they make choices about what they're going to talk about They make a point of emphasis on different things. What goes first? What goes later? What what's gonna Take priority and what are they going to emphasize and spend time on and put in front of us again We think about agenda setting That the media doesn't tell us what to think But they tell us what to think about By those choices that they make and what they emphasize them what they Express is important to us. And then how are they going to present it? How are they going to present? We're going to talk about that In just a second and we'll put this in context But all of that then goes into the individual frame So it's not just the personal reality and it's not just the media frame It's the combination of those things and the confluence of those things where they come together And and how they intersect and then the end result you throw all that in a blender and out comes your individual frame That's the idea. That's the essence of frame analysis So just looking at it in a um a specific context right now as i'm recording this video. There are two Um kind of large-scale conflicts happening in the world. There's the war in ukraine that's been going on for a while now between You know after the russian invasion Invasion of ukraine. So there's still fighting in ukraine very much so and uh, and there's conflict Presently in the gaza strip Area following an october attack in this year on israel. So israel is currently occupying gaza and trying to You know to Exterminate I guess it would be the right word hamas and so there's I mean there's serious armed conflicts going on in two parts of the world and so You may have some connection there your experiences your culture your beliefs attitudes and values will tell you kind of You know, how do I feel about this? How do I what do I think about this? Do I think the The the war in in Gaza and the that israel invading there is just is it just for retaliation? Do I think that the united states should be supporting these if I don't have any personal connection? We still do because as an american citizen We are our government supporting these things and and sending money. So how do I feel about that? Um not even just the wars themselves, but the how do I feel about the us involvement and what level we should be involved in all those types of things You can have different feelings on each of these and we all will have Different and distinct feelings about each of these based on our own frame of reference. So that will be very individual for us very personal But we also are getting information from some place Right and a lot of times in you know, whether it's msnbc fox new cnn Or if it's you know, something totally different if you if you get your news Just from social media or just from late night tv shows or from the bbc or something You know international like that we're all getting our information from somewhere And those folks though are also working on this and on the you know, as all media do selection emphasis and presentation They're selecting which stories they're going to talk about and which ones they're not They're selecting how much they're going to emphasize these different things And how they're going to present them What spin they're going to put on it So for example, um right now While everybody's covering israel and gaza, they're all talking about it differently Okay, this is presenting it in different ways and uh and looking at different aspects of it And some of the news channels have really kind of moved off of the ukrainian war at this point It's been going on for a while. It's not really in the public The forefront of the public mind at this point, but cnn has chosen to really stick with it I'll give them that when I'm you know surveying the different channels. I do see that cnn has really maintained a priority for the ukrainian warm and uh, so They're still covering it. I would say more than the other major news channels are for example, so they've made a choice in terms of selection and emphasis and presentation to continue to have that in the in the forefront So but they all make those choices for both these things And then from that we get our individual frame Based on what our own personal ideals are and connections are with that and then where and how we're getting our information that all gets thrown in the blender again, it comes out with uh with how we feel about it individually now when we look at this though Again thinking about selection and emphasis and presentation I've been relating it to these two wars, but the fact is you know When they're all these places are also covering President trump's trials the many trials legal issues of president trump all the indictments and things that are talking about that And I would say fox and msmc or emphasizing that or prioritizing that Through a greater extent than the other things that are happening at the cnn is doing more to balance those things if that makes any sense and that's not a That's not an endorsement of cnn. In any way, it's just an observation from my perspective on surveying these channels The cnn hat they cover the trials, but they also have maintained as I said keeping ukrainian war in the forefront and also covering israel's invasion of gaza, right so there's all these things that are happening and uh, and so they have to make choices about where they're going And essentially where their audience wants them to be right? That's what it comes down to so but we need to understand that and and recognize how that influences then What we're getting and how we're perceiving these different events and so Those are important things for us to consider sociologically as we think about How we're getting our information and You know again, they're not telling us necessarily what to think although some are sometimes Telling us what to think but but they definitely are telling us what to think about And giving us information on what to think about All right, so But and how does that affect us as a society and how we all What information do we all have and are we all reading from the same playbook? in essence So I hope this gives you some understanding of sociological analysis and some foundation for that's For for for looking at things in that view just to think about how we Perceive things as a society how we understand things as a group how that impacts How we present ourselves our impression management and how we engage in dramaturgy media influences that but also understanding Frame analysis and the impact of media on that again. That's not to place all responsibility on the media We certainly have free will we certainly have the ability to think for ourselves and to understand these things And that's kind of what we're doing here with critical media studies If you have questions about sociological analysis or any other of the critical lenses that we're Looking at as part of this series. Please feel free to email me. I'd love to hear from you there In the meantime, I hope that this will give you some new critical perspective as we encounter media and we do so with a with a mind towards understanding Who we are as individuals who we are as a society and how media impacts and influences all of them