G325 Critical Perspectives in Media Question 1b Key Media Concepts REPRESENTATION
REPRESENTATION “Identity is complicated. Everyone thinks they’ve got one. Moving image identity is constructed and mediated” David Gauntlett Created and someone’s version of reality, or verisimilitude
Representation – How groups, individuals, institutions or social changes are portrayed through the media; how they are re - presented. By definition, all media texts are re-presentations of reality. This means that they are intentionally composed, lit, written, framed, cropped, captioned, branded, targeted and censored by their producers, and that they are entirely artificial versions of the reality we perceive around us.
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Representation refers to the construction in any medium of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Representation always involves 'the construction of reality‘ Daniel Chandler
We need the media to make sense of reality. Therefore representation is a fluid, two-way process: producers position a text somewhere in relation to reality and audiences assess a text on its relationship to reality.
Extension/Restriction of Experience of Reality By giving audiences information, media texts extend experience of reality. However, because the producers of the media text have selected the information we receive, then our experience is restricted. The movie producers contract events and personalities to fit into their parameters. i.e. Teaser trailers
However, Media representations can reinforce or shatter our prejudices
Model
or lawyer?
The study of representation is about decoding the different layers of truth and/or fiction. Richard Dyer: 4 Questions: 1. Re-presentation – how media language is used to represent the world to the audience. 2. Being representative of – the extent to which types are used to represent social groups (stereotypes). 3. Who is responsible for the representation, how the institution creating a media text influences representation – contentious in representation of gender as it is often the men doing the representing. 4. What does the audience think is being represented to them – different readings.
OR an easier way to remember it is: What is being represented? How is it being represented? Who is responsible for/created the representation? How can the representation be interpreted? What is the effect?
STEREOTYPES
According to Tessa Perkins
That stereotypes are always false (it has been argued that they sometimes contain an element of ‘truth’ although ‘truth’ is always incredibly difficult to establish) That they are about other people That they only concern minority or oppressed groups That they are simple That they are rigid and do not change “Stereotyping is not a simple process otherwise they would not work culturally and over time,”
Character Typing • Archetype – a familiar characters from hundreds of years of fairytales • Stereotype – generalisations used to appeal to particular audiences; easily recognisable • Generic type – familiar through particular genres
HOMEWORK ‘Representations in media texts are often simplistic and reinforce dominant ideologies* so that audiences can make sense of them’ Evaluate the ways you have used/challenged representations in your A2 media product. *this is something that you should research in conjunction with YOUR trailer