Representation Blog Tasks

1) Why is representation an important concept in Media Studies?

They are important as they have the power to shape an audience's knowledge and understanding about the relevant topics around representation.

2) How does the example of Kate Middleton show the way different meanings can be created in the media?

• A picture editor selects the photo from a whole series of images to be used to illustrate a news story. The image may be cropped, resized and, in some cases, photoshopped.

• A news editor will decide on the way the story will be presented, and the use of captions to pin down, or anchor, the meaning of the image.

• The photograph of Kate Middleton in the newspaper is a re-presentation of what she looks like, with people controlling and manipulating the image at various stages throughout the process.

• The Duchess herself, the person, is some distance away from the image that is reproduced.

3) Summarise the section 'The how, who and why of media representation' in 50 words.

All media products have a specific function which will impact on the representations they construct. Producers will consider:

• the expectations and needs of the target audience
• the limitations provided by genre codes
• the type of narrative they wish to create
• their institutional remit.

All representations, then, are the cumulative effect of a collection of media language choices.

4) How does Stuart Hall's theory of preferred and oppositional readings fit with representation?

You may support the implied ideologies, and therefore you might accept the intended meaning. However, some audiences may only partially accept the meanings being offered by a text; Hall calls this the negotiated position. Other audiences might reject them completely (the oppositional position).

5) How has new technology changed the way representations are created in the media?

With the rise of new media, audience members can now construct and share their own media products, and in websites, video-sharing platforms and social media there are more opportunities for people to represent themselves than ever before. Individuals can now engage in the act of self- representation, often on a daily basis, through the creation of social media profiles and content.

6) What example is provided of how national identity is represented in Britain - and how some audiences use social media to challenge this?

Old media forms have always attempted to define and construct an identity for their audience, using certain types of representation to prescribe how people think about themselves and others. National identity is invariably raised during national sports competitions. During the 2014 World Cup, The Sun sent a free newspaper to 22 million households in England which represented its own concepts of ‘Englishness’ by symbolic references – queuing, the Sunday roast, Churchill and The Queen – to heroes, values and behaviours that the paper (and its owners, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corps) defined as appropriate expressions of ‘English identity’.

Watch the clip from Luther that we studied in class (Season 1, Episode 1 - minute 7.40-10.00 - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access the clip). Now answer these final two questions:

7) Write a paragraph analysing the dominant and alternative representations you can find in the clip from Luther.

An alternative representation is the fact that his boss is a woman. A dominant representation is that his colleagues are white as it's not common to see a black police officer.

8) Write a paragraph applying a selection of our representation theories to the clip from Luther. Our summary of each theory may help you here:

Levi-Strauss: representation and ideology

Mulvey: the male gaze

Dyer: stereotyping and power
Medhurst: value judgements
Perkins: some stereotypes can be positive or true

The male gaze = Luther was filmed in a way that makes him appealing through certain eyes.

Power = Care shots give off expectations that Luther has complete control over said relationship.

 

Value judgement = Men with this build or of Luther's skin complexion could come off as intimidating but that is not entirely true.

Perkins = Police are professional, this isn't always true and you could see this when Luther's boss talks about his personal life with him. 

Levi = Producers could've filmed the beginning as a means to show how no matter your past, you deserve a second chance.