What is Representation?

By definition, all media texts are re-presentations of reality. every media form, from a
home video to a glossy magazine, is a representation of someone's concept of existence,
codified into a series of signs and symbols which can be read by an audience. By giving
audiences information, media texts extend experience of reality. Every time you see a
wildlife documentary, or read about political events in a country on the other side of the
world, or watch a movie about a historical event, you extend your experience of life on
this planet.
The study of representation is about decoding the different layers of
truth/fiction/whatever. In order to fully appreciate the part representation plays in a
media text you must consider
Who produced it?
What/who is represented in the text?
How is that thing represented?
Why was this particular representation (this shot, framed from this angle, this
story phrased in these terms, etc) selected, and what might the alternatives have
been?
What frame of reference does the audience use when understanding the
representation?
Race
Race, like sex, is a set of genetically defined, biological
characteristics. However, like gender, it is also a set of
culturally defined characteristics. Representation of race in
the media can consist of the same sort of rigid stereotypes
that constitute gender portrayal. However, stereotyping of
race is seen as more harmful than stereotyping of gender,
as media representation may constitute the only experience
of contact with a particular ethnic group that an audience
(particularly an audience of children) may have. Racial
stereotypes are often based on social myth, perpetuated
down the ages. Most work on Race & The Media has
concentrated on the representation of black men and
women. This has partly been because there is a strong
African-American counter-culture which provides viable
alternative role models and demands that they are represented. In recent years, the
success of actors such as Denzel Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, Laurence Fishburne and
Morgan Freeman in a diversity of
roles has meant that black characters
in movies and on TV are no longer
'stock' types. However, sometimes
there can still be negative
representations of black people,
portrayals which seem deliberately
designed to inflame the fear and
hatred of other cultures - how
positive a representation is the
archetypal African-American
gangsta?
Age
Age is the most obvious category under which we file people, and there are a whole range
of instant judgements which go along with that categorisation. Age is the easiest way to
categorise someone as "other" than yourself everyone you meet will be, to some extent,
older or younger, a different age than you. And with difference comes... a tendency to
stereotype. In many films, the stereotypes of people due to their ages stay the same. Young
children under 13 are considered cute, innocent and lovable; teenagers are then seen to be
yobs or anti-social and disrespectful, people also
think of alcohol or drugs and teenage pregnancies.
A lot of the list is negative views on todays young society
and the older generation avoid the young because of the
medias views. Ultimately, the youths are an easy target for
the media to use because they cannot really speak up for
themselves without fulfilling the stereotypes. Adults are
stereotyped to be wise, responsible and calm. Its
very rare in a film that these stereotypes are
changed, however there are some such as in the
film RED. This is a film about a bunch of retired
agents that go back on the job, this is subversive
because they are of the age when people assume they do nothing but sit at home. Thanks
to the media, we appear to live in an age obsessed world: a world obsessed with youth
and its attendant beauty. Old people are often subject to the most rigid stereotypes of
all (old = ugly, weak, stupid). The future looks pretty bleak for all of us. I can't even find
any other websites which deal with age and representation.
Gender
Gender is perhaps the basic category we use for sorting human beings, and it is a key
issue when discussing representation. Essential elements of our own identity, and the
identities we assume other people to have, come from concepts of gender - what does it
mean to be a boy or a girl? Many objects, not just humans, are represented by the
media as being particularly masculine or feminine - particularly in advertising - and we
grow up with an awareness of what constitutes 'appropriate' characteristics for each
gender. Most of the time in action and adventure films, men are shown as the
protagonists and the antagonists, because theyre strong, touch and violent. Women are
usually the ones that the protagonists must save, as theyre weak and inferior. They are
also stereotyped as a housewife.
Typically Feminine Typically Masculine
Tough Fragile
Hard Soft
Heroic Weak
Athletic Fragrant
Violent Damsel in Distress
Superior Housewife
Regional Identity
This constitutes the representation of individuals from a certain geographical area. This
geographic area isnt defined in size but by the setting or area a certain show takes place in.
For instance, friends takes place in New York, how do these characters represent New
Yorkers or how do certain settings and situation represent life in New York. Does it seem
true to the city they are living in or are they masking/misrepresenting the city. This is very
interesting to analyse
when the creator is
an outsider, a
stereotypical
representations can
easily be formed.







Class and Status
Classes (eg Made in Chelsea) often shown as rich, clever, snobby, very posh.
Middle Classes (eg My Family) often shown as normal, good family values, well behaved.
Working Classes (eg Coronation Street) often shown as poorer, less happy, less intelligent,
but with strong community links.
Lower / Under Classes (eg Shameless) often shown as being criminals, no family values, no
community links, bad parents etc.
People have often noticed that in many TV shows, people of different classes, dont mix.
And when they are shown together, they are often shown as clashing andbeing very
different.