Representation

• This can seem complicated but it’s very simple once you get it and possibly the most important of all the key concepts.

• What we see and hear in the media is never real... It is a RE-presentation of reality. When we see young people in the media, they are being re-presented to us. 

• How a person or organisation is represented is really important. 

• A representation could be either positive or negative depending upon the way it is constructed. 

• Costume, the language they use, the location are all part of how meaning is created. Another example might be with race. 

• As Media analysts, we need to look at the representation of characters and organisations critically to uncover whether there is an unfair dominance of negative stereotypes.

• Try watching an episode of The Wire or Skins and think about the representation of young people. Is it good or bad, fair or unfair, is it stereotypical or more balanced? 

• Try watching an episode of Britain’s Next Top Model and thinking about the representation of women, is it positive or negative and why?

• As you watch TV, read magazines, go to see films or listen to the radio, or read the paper or surf the net, try thinking about the key concepts. 

• Why not stop and think – who is the audience and how are they responding? What are the stereotypes being used here and are the representations positive or negative? 

• Which institution made this media text and how are they funded; what is their vision?

• Media representations are the ways in which the media portrays particular groups, communities, experiences, ideas, or topics from a particular ideological or value perspective. 

• Rather than examining media representations as simply reflecting or mirroring "reality," we examine how media representations serve to "re-present" or to actually create a new reality.

• For example, alcohol and beer ads portray drinking beer as a primary component for having a party i.e, Bacardi, Fosters, Guinness. • Land Rover/ Jaguar jeeps create the impression that driving a jeep/ 4WD as an exciting, outdoor adventure. • And, perfume/ aftershave adverts imply the using perfume/aftershave makes one sexually appealing ie - 007, gaultier, beckham, lynx. • These ads all create idealized experiences associated with the uses of these products, experiences that may not jive with alternative perspectives on these experiences:

• Similarly, the Disney Corporation, one of the major producers of film and television, represents stories and fairy tales for children primarily in terms of White, Western, middle-class values.  And,

Mickey Mouse Monopoly - A video examination of Disney and race, gender, and class.

• DisneyWorld/Disneyland creates artificial realities that represent different “worlds” — other “lands” in ways that sanitized and idealize any political, cultural, and ideological differences constituting the unique cultures of those worlds.  For example, “Safari” boat trips represent Africa as a primitive jungle experience.