www.curriculum-press.co.

uk

Media Studies
This is a professionally-taken and posed picture. Whilst there is no way to know if the people in the picture are related, it is most probable they are not, but are professional models.

Number 004

Representing the world

This Factsheet provides an introduction to the study of media representations. 1. What is representation? 2. The Construction and Mediation of Representations 3. Audiences perceptions of representations including i) the reflective, ii) the intentional and iii) the constructionist approaches 4. Why do we need to consider representations? This is not a happy family it is a re-presentation of a happy family.

1. What is representation?
Representation is: the constructed and mediated presentation of people, things, ideas, places etc. and representation is: the process by which the media present the real world (Rayner) The idea of representation is an important one in understanding meaning in media texts. In other words, everything in the media is a representation everything we see is being represented. Individuals Chantelle Houghton (Celebrity Big Brother: C4 2006) Groups Teenagers Places - New York Nations Iran Ideas Religion/the family Regions/Locations - the North of England Questions we would ask when analysing representations: WHO or WHAT is being represented? HOW is the representation created? WHO has created the representation? WHY is the representation created in that way? What is the intention? WHAT is the effect of the representation? When starting to consider this concept, it is worth considering the word itself.

The facial expressions connote happiness and the framing shows unity and physical closeness. The mother acts as a nurturer as she has her arms around two of the children and the father, carrying the child, depicts a caring, masculine strength. The framing of the picture and the angle of the shot focuses our attention on their faces showing that their happiness is the most important aspect of this group and other visual clues provide an understanding of a range of ideals about family and gender roles: the female child is sweet and sensitive; the small male child is boisterous and a bit of a handful (although controlled by a strong yet gentle father); both parents are patient, kind and conservatively dressed not the kind of family youll see on Supernanny (C4).

2. The Construction and Mediation of Representations

A news photograph for example may appear to be presenting us with a factual image but it has been through a process of construction: the photographer has selected his/her position, lens, angle, exposure and framing before taking the picture the picture editor will decide if the image needs to be cropped, enhanced or in any way altered before inclusion into the paper an editor will choose which, of the many available photographs of the image, will be the one chosen for inclusion in the newspaper and, importantly at this stage, the images which do not meet the needs of the text will be rejected Even then, further mediation takes place: Will the photograph be large or small? Will the photograph be on the front page or, less visible, on page 8? Placement choices like this, along with cropping and framing, act to focus the attention of the reader in a certain way. What headline and text will be used to accompany the photograph? Will the photograph have a caption? Will it be positioned close to another photograph?

Representations are re/presentations

The media re-presents people, ideas and events. What we see in the media is in some way a second-hand version it is clearly not the thing itself. The representation has been created or constructed by the selection of specific media language elements. In addition, everything we see in a media text has gone through some process to get to us this is called mediation.

004 - Representing the world

www.curriculum-press.co.uk

Media Studies

Each of these choices will have an impact on the idea that the audience takes from the image: a large photograph connotes importance as does placing it on the front page of the newspaper, text can add either a negative or positive connotation to an image, by placing pictures next to each other the audience can be guided into making connections between them. So, even in the most apparently factual representations, choices are made which means that the image is not simply a recording of an actual event or a person. These images have been selected depending on the ideas that need to be communicated by the text. Every decision that is made about the person/place/object represented is made for a reason and this selection process can add to, take away from and alter meaning at each stage of the process. A representation is the final product after all of the decisions have been made. Meaning is made in the construction of the representation and the combination of all the choices come together in order for the audience to read and interpret the information provided. To summarise, the selection process is:

The Queen Victoria Part of the mise-en-scene of Eastenders (BBC). The location has been created to look as realistic as possible. (www.bbc.co.uk)

Some audience members may perceive the News, Documentaries and Reality TV for example as portraying a straightforward reality. News broadcasts present information as fact and great care is taken to attempt to create an aura of authority and trust. Even with fictional programming, the audience can often perceive what is presented as real. Soap Operas concentrate on making media language choices which give the appearance of reality as it is an expectation of the genre. Newspapers and magazines discuss fictional characters and events as if they were real and, often, dramatic story-lines are discussed and debated as if they are happening to people we know. This is not to say that the audience necessarily believes there is an Albert Square or an area in Manchester called Weatherfield but they need to believe that these places are in some way reflecting the world as it is. For the British soap opera, this idea is crucial it is one of the genre expectations the audience will have and it needs fulfilling. Soaps need to generate an idea of identification within the audience. The characters, places and events must be such that the audience can relate them to their own lives and experiences of the world. This is a genre convention and an important aspect of the success of soap operas.

The decision over what is chosen to be represented and what is

rejected; The choices made when organising the representation: The options taken to focus the audience in a certain way. AQA/OCR/WJEC? Each awarding body cites representation as one of its central concepts and it is part of the assessment of all textual analyses papers. OCR gives a number of specific representational topics that can be covered as part of the textual analysis paper whereas WJEC details a range of media forms that should be studied. AQA does not specify what groups or forms could be examined in textual analysis but expects that an analysis of representations in the text provided will be part of the exam response. The concept is also central to the AS essay based exam topics set by AQA and WJEC. Representations will be developed further and examined at A2.

All media texts are constructed in this way: factual programming on TV is shot and edited before being broadcast; every aspect of the mise-en-scene of a film text is carefully chosen in order that it creates the right impression on the audience; the words selected in newspaper and magazine articles are part of the construction of the final representations. A theorist called White spoke of the gatekeepers - that is the people who are part of the decision making process in the construction of media texts. Magazine editors, journalists, writers, photographers, directors etc. all play a part in the creation of representations and act as gatekeepers selecting what information will be passed on and how it will be communicated. They select what will (and will not) be represented and how.

Representing the Real in British Soap Operas

British soaps try to maintain the illusion of reality. This occurs through the use of specific media language choices in each of the five categories: 1. Lighting selected to appear as if diegetic. Light appears to come from natural sources daylight, streetlights, lamps etc; 2. Music rarely non-diegetic. Pub jukeboxes and radios are often seen to be the source of music which is often carefully selected to parallel the dramatic action; 3. Editing - mainly straight cuts to create invisible editing; 4. Camera work predominantly eye-level shots. Mid-shots and close ups are the main choice as they depict the action from the audiences eye-level as if they are there observing the scene. Extreme close ups are also used when the director wants to show the significance of a specific item or facial expression; 5. Miseen-scene soaps try to emulate a very ordinary setting. Extras are used to populate public areas and houses are decorated to look lived in. Dialogue is written to reflect real conversations and clothes chosen to reflect current fashions. The genre, therefore, emulates a recognisable world which appears as if real. Of course, in doing so, what is also created are ideas about values and ideologies the attitudes, ideas about morality and acceptable behaviour are also portrayed as real.

3. Audience Perceptions of Representations A). Representations as Reflections (the reflective approach)

Sometimes representations are assumed by an audience to simply replicate the real world.

004 - Representing the world

B) Representations as Deliberate Constructions (the intentional approach)
Exam Hint When discussing representations, you will need to consider HOW they are constructed through the media language choices made. However, you should also consider WHY they are created the way they are and impact of the representations: the meaning they create and the effect on the audience which will mean you will need to relate representation to the other media concepts such as audience, narrative, genre, institution and ideology.

www.curriculum-press.co.uk

Media Studies

However, the producers can be seen to be attempting to, as far as possible, create specific associations and ideas for the audience. Even though some media texts can be seen to be very deliberately creating ideas and associations through representations, this way of viewing the media can lead to an undermining of the audience. There is an assumption here that these intentionalist methods are always successful and the audience is victim to the ideas created by the media. It assumes they are passive and unable to recognise the techniques being used. Clearly this is a simplistic view of the audience and does not take into account their ability to interpret information for themselves. However, advertising does work. Successful products and brands rely on it to alert the audience to the existence of their product and to persuade them to choose it over the alternatives that are available. They pay large amounts of money for space on TV, in magazines, on billboards etc. specifically for this purpose. Another approach to understanding the way the audience interpret representations takes both these factors this into account and considers how the audience is also active in the creation of meaning in representations.

Sometimes, representations are seen to be a deliberate attempt to create associations and ideas for the audience. Michael Moore can easily be seen to have a political agenda with his documentary making. In Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), his representation of President Bush was carefully constructed to create a specific idea of an idiotic and corrupt man. He selected images and quotes carefully which would support his perspective and rejected images and quotes that may have challenged this idea of the US president. He juxtaposed these images with news footage, interviews and other images which would anchor his meaning and ensure that throughout the film the idea of President Bush was consolidated. Advertising can be seen in this way too as the linking together of ideas and images to a product is used to persuade the audience to act in a certain way. Mens shavers/razors are often represented alongside images of cars and planes. The colours used in the adverts are those with associations of masculinity: silver, black and red dominate in the advertising. Sporting celebrities such as David Beckham are used to endorse the products and the culmination of these elements in the representation are that razors are associated with strength and an idea of machismo and sophistication. However, there is nothing essentially masculine about the razor. It is simply a tool that is required for a specific purpose. Women also purchase this tool but when it is marketed to them pastel colours, curved shapes and words with feminine association are used. Whether you use a Mach 3 or a Venus, the effect is the same, the removal of body hair. However, the way the products are represented creates very different associations, all linked to ideas about gender identity and expectations. These associations are part of the representations of the product and are a calculated and deliberate appeal to the consumer group that is targeted. Nothing forces the audience to accept the representations as presented.

C). The Constructionist Approach

A useful way of thinking about representation is that the meanings are created by the relationship between the producers, the text and the audience: The representation is constructed with a set of ideas and values (producers intent/intended meaning) The context of the representation is part of the representation (media language choices, anchorage, media form, placement/ location, genre expectations etc.) The audience reacts to this representation and this depends on their own personal interpretational context: age, gender, political/ religious beliefs, nationality etc. (negotiated meaning) Thinking about representation in this way takes into account the personal interpretations made by individuals and accepts that one representation may create different meanings for different audience members. This is a useful way to consider media texts if the target audience for the text is taken into account when thinking about representations it can help with determining the different responses that texts can create. In The Day After Tomorrow (2004, dir. R. Emmerich) there is a representation of a group of British scientists who assist the hero of the text (an American scientist) by providing him with information on the impending ecological changes that act as the main conflict for the film. The representation shows the British as living in a low-tech environment and this is in sharp contrast to the technologically advanced laboratory used by the Americans. The British are depicted in extreme peril and the representation uses the stereotype of the stiff upper lip mentality as they are represented dealing with danger calmly and pragmatically. They salute the Queen and Manchester United and deal with the crisis by opening a bottle of well matured whisky.

004 - Representing the world

www.curriculum-press.co.uk

Media Studies

This representation plays on a number of national stereotypes that may not be as obvious to the target audience of the film. (Even though Hollywood films are marketed for a global audience the majority of their profits will come from the domestic audience that is other Americans). As a British audience watching this film, we may be struck by the limited view of the British. This representation will be interpreted differently depending on the perspective of the audience. This is not to say that the director is ignorant about the British or that he deliberately constructed the British to look weaker than the Americans. He would have used past textual examples to base his representations on and his own experience of the British which would almost certainly not be as detailed or accurate as the knowledge the British have about themselves as a nation. Therefore, the representations meaning is dependent on who is watching, reading and interpreting the text.

4. Why do we need to consider representations?

Q. Look at a text which represents you (your age group, your gender, your race, your religion). How accurate are these representations? Who do you think is creating the representation? Is it someone like you? As Media students it is important to recognise how what we see in any media text is a constructed representation rather than a simple reflection of reality. Once this is recognised it is important to consider the meanings created by these representations and both the reasons why they are created the way they are and the effects the representations may have. It is also important to consider that most representations are constructed by someone outside the group that is being depicted. Dyer said: How we are seen determines how we are treated, how we treat others is based on how we see them. How we see them comes from representation. Given the volume of representations we are exposed to whilst accessing the media, it is unsurprising that they are seen to be influential in the way we the audience make sense of the world.

Image Web references

www.ivillage.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk www.amazon.com www.pharmacy2u.co.uk

Acknowledgements: This Media Studies Factsheet was researched and written by Steph Hendry Curriculum Press. Bank House, 105 King Street, Wellington, TF1 1NU. Sociology Factsheets may be copied free of charge by teaching staff or students, provided that their school is a registered subscriber. No part of these Factsheets may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any other form or by any other means, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISSN 1351-5136