Representation

Aims/Objectives

To reinforce basic representation theory.

How Mediation Works
Ways to look at representation
Understand Stereotypes
Hegemony v Pluralism

This is about
Place (regional identity)
People (gender, class, ethnicity, disability,
sexuality, age)
Also covers Events and issues
Important to think about the ideas you
have communicated (ideologies) and
whether they are stereotypical or/reinforce
traditional/dominant ideologies or not.

1. Representation Basic Definition

Stuart Hall (1980)
How the media shows us things about
society but this is through careful
mediation. Hence re-presentation.
For representation to be meaningful to
audiences there needs to be a shared
recognition of people, situations, ideas etc.

Mediation
Every time we encounter a media text, we
are not seeing reality, but someone
version of it.
This may seem like an obvious point, but it is something
that is easily forgotten when we get caught up in enjoying
a text. If you see a picture of a celebrity kissing her
boyfriend, you may find it unsurprising that the picture
has been altered and does not show the reality of the
situation, but in fact we should bear this in mind
whatever we encounter in the media.
The media place us at one remove from reality: they take
something that is real, a person or an event and they
change its form to produce whatever text we end up with.
This is called mediation. You should be looking for this
with any media text.

Example 1
Think about a new album by your favourite group, for
example.
This is not just the sound of a few musicians playing
together in a studio. Instead, the reality of the sound that
they might make has been mediated before it reaches you.
Engineers and producers have re-modelled the sound
and artists have packaged the album. Newspapers and
magazines have reported the group and created a
context for the album so that most people probably had
an opinion about it before it came out.
Once again, whatever sound the group made in the studio
has been highly mediated before it gets to you.

Example 2
If you ever go to see a comedy show (Mock The Week)
recorded for the television, you will see the process of
mediation in action.
What might end up as a half hour broadcast, will be
recorded over an entire evening jokes that might
seem spontaneous when watched on the TV will have
been endlessly repeated until just right.
The studio audience will have been trained into
laughing in exactly the right way by warm up men and
the text that finally reaches the public will also be given
context by use of soundtrack music and computer
graphics.
The whole experience of hearing a few jokes will have
been mediated.

Mediation works in 3 ways

James Baker (2007)
1. Selection: Whatever ends up on the
screen or in the paper, much more will
have been left out.
2. Organisation: The various elements will
be organised carefully in ways that real life
is not
3. Focusing: mediation always ends up with
us, the audience being encouraged towards
concentrating on one aspect of the text and
ignoring others.

 Johnathan Bignell (1997) suggests that

news is not just facts, but
representations produced in language and
other signs like photographs. The
newspaper is just one medium of news
communication.
The process of selection (what you choose
to show/ report) is central to the
production of all newspapers (to create a
preferred meaning Reception theory).

2. Organisation
The various elements will be organised
carefully in ways that real life is not
In visual media this involves mise-enscene and the organisation of narrative
In the recording of an album the production
might involve re-mixing a track.
Any medium you can think of will have an
equivalent to these.

3. Focussing
Mediation always ends up with us, the audience being
encouraged towards concentrating on one aspect of the text
and ignoring others.
If you are watching a film the camera will pan towards an
important character.
In a tabloid the headlines will scream, for your attention.
It can be easy to ignore how different from our everyday
lives this is. If you are walking through a field, you are
unlikely to see a sign saying look at this amazing tree.
You make your own decisions about what is worth our
attention.
The media text, through mediation, tries to do this for us.

Task 1. Mediation
You have 5 minutes to write down what
you are representing in your production
(Place? People?).
Pick 1 example write down how you:
1. Selected certain elements to mediate
your representation.
2. Organised these elements to mediate
your representations.
3. How you encouraged your audience to
focus on one aspect to help mediate your
representations.

2. Context of representation
Richard Dyer (1983) posed a few questions
when analysing media representations in
general.
1. What sense of the world is it making?
2. What does it imply? Is it typical of the
world or deviant?
3. Who is it speaking to? For whom? To
whom?
4. What does it represent to us and why?
How do we respond to the representation?

 Those are never the real people

that we are seeing but
representations of them which
have somehow been created.

TASK
What, if anything, are the following people
used as symbols of?
Nelson Mandela
Nicki Minaj
Madonna
David Beckham
Can you think of any other examples of
people who have become symbols?

Task 2
What is your opinion of any of the
following
Beyonce
Justin Bieber
Star Trek fans
Immigrants

 Its unlikely that you know these people

personally
The impression that you have of them must
come from the media. They have given us
descriptions that have affected our views
of these people.
David Beckham, as he is represented in the
media is not just a football player, but also
a symbol of many things which some in the
media think is positive and negative:
fashion icon, adulterer etc.

Society, the individual and

representation
Of course it is too simple to talk just about
the media mediating reality and creating
representations;
we need a more subtle understanding of
the process.
To get this I will look briefly at some
different ideas people have had about how
representation works. You could broadly
separate these into three:

 James Baker (2007) suggests that there are 3

ways to look at representation:
The Reflective view
According to this view, when we represent
something, we are taking its true meaning and
trying to create a replica of it in the mind of our
audience like a reflection.
The Intentional view
This is the opposite of the Reflective idea. This
time the most important thing in the process of
representation is the person doing the
representing, so the producers. (adverts).
.

The Constructionist view

As an individual its up to you to make up your
own mind and the influences of the society that
you live in on the way that you do so.
Any representation is a mixture of:
1. The thing itself.
2. The opinions of the people doing the
representation
3. The reaction of the individual to the
representation
4. The context of the society in which the
representation is taking place.

1. There must be some British

If youve seen the film Independence people who the producers either
encountered in reality or in other
Day, you may have been amused or
annoyed at the way that British People media texts.
were represented as upper class idiots. 2. They formed an opinion of them
that they were stuck up idiots
which they used as the basis of
their representation.
3. As an individual watching this,
If you consider the different parts of
you chose whether to believe the
the Constructionist approach to
representation was valid or not.
representation, they would work
4. In doing this, you were
like this:
influenced by the fact that you are
yourself British an American
watching the film would probably
have come to a different
conclusion.

Society?
Influence of society on what representations
we receive.
a multitude of views so how can we say
that society has an influence on our views
of someone?
We call views about how things should be
and how people should behave an ideology
and if an ideology is shared by the majority
of people in a culture it is called the
dominant ideology.

Dominant ideology in Britain

Used to be opposed to homosexual
practises.
Over time, however, opposition has
changed to tolerance and then to
acceptance for the majority, allowing
openly gay men to present news and
entertainment programmes and enter civil
partnerships with one another.

Create a list of generally agreed

dominant ideologies in Britain
Marriage and family. The right way to
live is to marry an opposite-sex partner and
have children.
What others?

Some dominant ideologies

Capitalism. The production of capital
and consumption of surplus value as a
life goal.
Patriotism. To love, support and
protect ones country and its
people.
Marriage and family. The right
way to live is to marry an
opposite-sex partner and have
children.

Male superiority. Men are

more suited to positions of
power, and more suited to
decision-making at work
and at home.

Constructionist view of
representation

David Beckham having an affair with

another woman behind Victorias back, you
may be shocked and disappointed because
his behaviour goes against what the
dominant ideology suggests married men
and fathers should do. Also because
representations often act as symbols of
other things, you will also be likely to think
that his behaviour shows exactly what is
wrong with celebrity culture / footballers
egos etc.

 Many constructionists believe that this itself has

an effect on what the dominant ideology
actually is after all the dominant ideology is
only the belief of the majority of people so if you
and others like you end up even more sure that
rich people shouldnt flaunt their wealth as a
result of seeing the article, then the dominant
ideology has become a bit stronger. You could
see the whole process that the constructionists
describe as being a kind of negotiation. Over the
years representations are accepted or rejected
by the majority of people and the dominant
ideology is gradually changed.

3. Ideologies behind representation

Tim OSullivan et al. (1998) Ideology refers to a
set of ideas which produces a partial and
selective view of reality. Notion of ideology
entails widely held ideas or beliefs which are
seen as common sense and become
naturalised.
What is important is that, in Marxist terms, the
medias role may be seen as :
Circulating and reinforcing dominant ideologies
(less frequently) undermining and challenging
such ideologies.

Hegemony v Pluralism

Hegemony
Hegemony is the
way in which those
in power maintain
their control.
Dominant
ideologies are
considered
hegemonic; power
in society is
maintained by
constructing
ideologies which
are usually
promoted by the
mass media.

Ideologies and Representation (MARXISM)

A hegemonic view of society fundamental
inequalities in power between social
groups. Groups in power exercise their
influence culturally rather than by force.
Concept has origins in Marxist theory ruling capitalist class are able to protect
their economic interests.
Representations are encoded into mass
media texts in order to do this reinforce
dominant ideologies in society links
therefore to mediation and creating a
preferred meaning for the audience.

Applying Marx to the mass media today

When Marxists apply this
ideology to the mass media they
will argue:
The institutions of the mass
media are owned by the ruling
classes (e.g. Rupert Murdoch,
Richard Branson)
These institutions are used to
indoctrinate the masses into
believing capitalism is good for
all
Media industry workers are
exploited just as other workers
therefore the mass media
exists to serve the
ideological interests of the
ruling class.

Criticisms of Marxist
view=Pluralism

The pluralistic model comes from the opposite

perspective to Marxism.
Pluralism says that the media is diverse, with a wide
range of available choices for consumers.
Rather than the media influencing consensus, consensus
values influence media representations. If particular
representations are dominant, pluralists argue, it is
because they are popular among the audience, not
because powerful media institutions are pushing a
particular ideology. After all, the main function of the
mass media is to entertain to please their audience:
to provide representations that meet audience
expectations. This is where stereotypes come in: they
pander to the views of the audience. The more media
institutions pander to their audiences, the more money
they can make.

Writing analysis

PEE structure
POINT: Ethnicity (Area of representation) is
represented through (micro element).
EVIDENCE: What you DENOTE and What it
could CONNOTE
EXPLAIN: An explanation of how this
subverts/conforms or reinforces stereotypes
- Theory
- Debates

Good answer?
Snoops ethnicity is represented by
cinematography and depth of field.
The shallow focused close up on Snoops face
connotes she is dominant within the scene.
This subverts stereotypical representations of
a young black woman who would normally be
portrayed as more insignificant within a scene
with a white man but here she is showing
confidence and is superior within the scene.

Good answer?
Snoops ethnicity is represented by cinematography
and depth of field.
The shallow focused close up on Snoops face connotes
she is dominant within the scene.
This subverts stereotypical representations of a young
black woman who would normally be portrayed as
more insignificant within a scene with a white man but
here she is showing confidence and is superior within
the scene.
Analysis terminology
Technical terminology

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYj7q_by_
2E

PEE structure
Ethnicity is represented through mise en scene.
Omars costume of a casual black and red
baseball jacket juxtaposes with the white smart
tie he puts around his neck before entering
court.
This mockery of a conformist attitude to dress
smartly before a judge signifies that he is
rebelling and reinforces the stereotypical
representation of black people behaving badly.

Top Boy
Use key questions.
What kind of world is being constructed by
the text?
How are stereotypes used as shorthand to
represent certain groups of people?
3. Who is in control of the text? Whose ideas
and values are expressed through the
representations?
How will audiences interpret/ decode the
representation in the text?
5. What Ideology/message is contained
within the text?

Look up meanings
Intertextuality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T1GO
CCaiWA

 What every rapper loves

about Scarface is this its the
stereotypical ghetto American dream.
Tony Montana was a guy who went
from nothing and turned it into
something. He had a strong work ethic,
he was determined to live a better life. A
dishwasher who overcame obstacles to
live the dream, even if it was rife with
blood and illegality. He was a ghetto
superhero, turbo charged with
testosterone, cocaine, and unlimited
rounds of bullets in his gun.(uses and
gratification theory personal identity?)

HW - Stereotypes
Read handout in Handbook on stereotypes
and do task

MS1 Representation of Men

2013
http://www.slideshare.net/aarchersimmons/
ms1-representation-of-men-2013?related=1

Milestone 2

4. Stereotypes and Countertypes

OSullivan et al (1998) details that a
stereotype is a label that involves a process
of categorisation and evaluation.
We can call stereotypes shorthand to
narratives because such simplistic
representations define our understanding
of media texts e.g we know who is good
and who is evil.

 First coined by Walter Lippmann the word

stereotype wasnt meant to be negative
and was simply meant as a shortcut or
ordering process.
In ideological terms, stereotyping is a
means by which support is provided by one
groups differential against another.
Richard Dyer (1977) the types produced by
different social groups according to their sense
of who belongs and who doesn't, who is 'in' and
who is not creates stereotypes.

 Tessa Perkins (1979) says, however, that

stereotyping is not a simple process. She
identified that some of the many ways that
stereotypes are assumed to operate arent true.
Perkins argues that if stereotypes were always
so simple then they would not work culturally
and over time.
Countertypes are representations that
deliberately go against cultural, hegemonic
stereotypes.

Task 4. Stereotypes
Pick 3 examples.
Did you use stereotypes to represent/tell
stories about place/person/ reinforce
ideology?
If you have used countertypes, how have
you done this?

5. Representing the social

Gender/Race/Age
Gender
Masculinity and femininity are socially
constructed.
Ideas about gender are produced and reflected in
language O Sullivan et al (1998).
Feminism is a label that refers to a broad range of
views containing one shared assumption gender
inequalities in society, historically masculine
power (patriarchy) exercised at right of womens
interests and rights.

 Particularly in relation to music video and

film objectification of womens bodies
in the media has been a constant theme.
Laura Mulvey (1975) argues that the
dominant point of view is masculine. The
female body is displayed for the male gaze
in order to provide erotic pleasure for the
male (vouyerism). Women are therefore
objectified by the camera lens and
whatever gender the spectator/audience is
positioned to accept the masculine POV.

 Age
Representations of age are clearly based on ideas
about binary opposition (Strauss, 1958).
De Fleur suggested that carefully mediated
representations create social value statements
and they change accordingly over time.
Youth groups have been demonised by the
mass media, creating moral panics (Stanley
Cohen, 1972) about youth groups and
subcultures.

 Race
Representations of race are clearly based on ideas
about binary opposition (Strauss, 1958).
Edward Said (1978) that representations of nonwhite groups are based on the notion of the
other, constructed as something exotic
(Hall, 1997).

Task 5. Representing the social

Pick 3 examples.
Look at the theories from within feminism,
racial, age discourses.
Did you represent age/gender/race
stereotypically?
Why did you do this?

Essay
Analyse one of your media productions in
relation to representation.

It is vital for this that you have an

understanding of how representations have
been created in existing media texts as you
will need to reference these with explicit
examples as part of your essay.

Beyonce run the world

 Barthes (1977) suggests that the

newspaper photograph is an object that
has been worked on, chosen, composed,
constructed, treated according to
professional, aesthetic or ideological
norms which are so many factors of
connotation.

 Bignell (1997) suggests, the caption

underneath the picture enables the
reader to load down the image with
particular cultural meanings and the
photograph functions as the proof that
the text's message is true.
Anchors (Barthes, 1977) the meaning.
Link to binary opposition hero/criminal
this can link to Levi-Strauss (1958) and
Propp (1928).

Music Videos
In terms of music videos do we aspire to
emulate the artists shaman as defined
by Carlsson (1999) through the
representations?
Does this lead to a further analysis of subcultures (Dick Hebdige, 1979)
representations in videos actually provide
identities - ideological basis for fans. Sarah
Thornton (1995) described subcultural
capital as the cultural knowledge and
commodities acquired by members of
subcultures raised their status and helped
them differentiate key to representations.

 Michel Maffesoli (1985) identified the idea

of the urban tribe members of these
small groups tend to have similar
worldwide views, dress styles and common
behaviours leads to the decline of
individualism.
Look at the idea of the Collective Identity.
David Gauntlett (2007) argues that
Identity is complicated. Everybody thinks
theyve got one. Artists play with the idea
of identity in modern society.

 Documentary
As part of stereotyping to create meaning
in factual texts such as news,
television theorist John Hartley (1982)
argues that aspects such as the
presenters voices are stereotyped in
order to create shorthand meanings for
audiences at a particular but of drama,
action, light-heartedness etc.
This means they are personalised and this
personalisation creates characteristics
which become stereotyped for the
audience.

John Berger Ways Of Seeing (1972)

Men act and women appear.
Men look at women. Women watch
themselves being looked at.
Women are aware of being seen by a
male spectator

Gay Gaze
It can be argued that we can also have a
gay male gaze (Steve Neale, 1992).
Images which show men in passive,
submissive, sexualised poses lying down,
looking up at the camera so that the viewer
is dominant can be described as
homoerotic. In this case the male subject
will have hands behind their heads in a
pose which could suggest relaxation but
could also be read as submissive and nonaggressive.

POSTMODERNISM AND
REPRESENTATIONS OF REALITY
In a media saturated world, the distinction
between reality and media representations
becomes blurred or invisible to us (Julian
McDougall, 2009).
Modern period came before people were
concerned with representing reality, but
now this gets mixed around and we end up
with pastiche, parody and intertextuality.
For example, Daniel Strinati (1995) details
that reality is now only definable in terms
of the reflections of the mirror.

 Jean-Francious Lyotard (1984) and Jean

Baudrillard (1980) share the belief that the
idea of truth needs to be
deconstructed so that dominant ideas (that
Lyotard argues are grand narratives)
can be challenged.

 Baudrillard discussed the concept of

hyperreality we inhabit a society that is
no longer made up of any original thing for
a sign to represent it is the sign that is
now the meaning. He argued that we live in
a society of simulacra simulations of
reality that replace the real. Think
Disneyland.

 We can apply this to texts that

claim to represent reality
documentary, news. Merrin
(2005) argues that the media do
not reflect and represent the reality
of the public but instead produce it,
employing this simulation to justify
their own continuing existence.