Functional analysis holds that something is best understood by examining how it is used.
At the macro level of analysis, mass media perform five functions for society: surveillance, interpretation, linkage, transmission of values, and diversion. Dysfunctions are harmful or negative consequences of these functions.
At the micro level of analysis, the functional approach is called uses-and-gratifications analysis.
The media perform the following functions for the individual: cognition, diversion, social utility, affiliation, expression, and withdrawal.
The critical/cultural approach has its roots in Marxist philosophy, which emphasized class differences as a cause of conflict in a society.
The critical/cultural approach suggests that media content helps perpetuate a system that keeps the dominant class in power. It also notes that people can find different meanings in the same message.
The key concepts in the critical approach are text, meaning, ideology, and hegemony.
Although they are different approaches, both functional and critical/cultural studies can be valuable tools for the analysis of the mass communication process.
