Key Concepts: Representation

>More than 30% of advertising still portrays women as slim blonde bimbos under the age of 30; >Over half of the men featured in adverts are over 30; >Male actors in adverts are nearly always dark-haired; females are typically blonde; >Only 11% of men featured in adverts are slim and muscular;  >Women are rarely shown in the driving seat when men and women travel together. 

Ofcom  

>The media do not present reality; they 're-present' it. The media present a selection of reality. >In the case of TV Drama, the scriptwriter, camera operator, the editor and the producer all make selections and changes before the drama is broadcast.  >Magazines and newspapers go through a similar process of selection involving the journalist, the picture editor, sub-editor and the editor. >This process of selection is called MEDIATION. >These manufactured versions of reality are based on the values of the producers and, in turn, the values of the larger society and culture.

>A media representation is a depiction, a likeness or a constructed image of something in real life.  >A representation can be of: >individual people (Barrack Obama, Jade Goody, David Beckham); >social groups (age groups, gender, racial groups); >ideas (law and order, unemployment); >events (2010 Olympics, FA Cup Final)  

A representation can be a single image, a sequence of images or a whole programme or film;  A representation can take the form of written words, spoken words or song lyrics.   

>Representations invite audiences to understand them and agree with them in certain preferred ways. However as we saw with Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model the audience do not have to agree with the preferred meaning of the representation. >A representation is composed of repeated elements - the more we see these elements repeated, the more representation will appear natural or 'normal'. >We are invited to either identify with or recognise the representation - in TV Drama we are positioned to identify with lead characters - this is through their dialogue and repeated use of the close-up.  

>The media make categories of people, events or ideas - categories include labels such as 'the unemployed', 'asylum seekers' or 'chavs'. >Representations contain a point of view - all representations contain the point of view of the people who made them; the IDEOLOGY of the producer affects the representation. >Representations have a mode of address - hidden behind the apparent naturalness of the representation will be some assumptions about who you are. This is the mode of address the producer takes; does the producer assume you will share their values? 

Adapted from:Media & Meaning: An Introduction

Stewart, Lavelle & Kowaltzke

 

>Noam Chomsky says 'the media serve the interests of state and corporate power, which are closely linterlinked, framing their reporting and analysis in a manner supportive of established privilege and limiting debate accordingly' >To get a deeper understanding of the ways representation functions ask the following questions about media texts: >Who made it?>When was it made?>Where was it made?>What are its social/political/cultural origins?>What are its purposes?>Who benefits from the representation or whose point of    view does it support?