Representation: blog tasks

 Representation: blog tasks


Create a new blogpost called 'Representation blog tasks'. 

Read the Media Magazine feature 'Representation old and new'. This is in MM51 on page 6 - go to our Media Magazine archive to find the article. Complete the following tasks:

1) Why is representation an important concept in Media Studies?

Traditionally, the power to create representations has been in the hands of media producers working within media institutions. In ‘old’ pre-digital media forms this is still true. A film director makes choices which will determine how s/he will represent the city in which the story is set; a TV producer will decide if a positive or negative presentation of the subject will be created;

2) How does the example of Kate Middleton show the way different meanings can be created in the media?

The photograph of Kate Middleton in the newspaper is a re-presentation of what she looks like, with people controlling and manipulating the image at various stages throughout the process.

3) Summarise the section 'The how, who and why of media representation' in 50 words.

When analysing media representations, consider the creators and their motives. Representations are shaped
by the target audience's needs, genre conventions, narrative goals, and the producing institution's values and
policies. This shows the reasons behind certain portrayals and their societal impact.

4) How does Stuart Hall's theory of preferred and oppositional readings fit with representation?

Stuart Hall's approach shows that audiences actively interpret the meanings of TV content.

Instead of passively accepting the messages, people use their own cultural and social

experiences to create their own understanding. This highlights the dynamic interaction between media and viewers.


5) How has new technology changed the way representations are created in the media?

With the rise of new media, audience members can now construct and share their own media products, and in websites, video-sharing platforms and social media there are more opportunities for people to represent
themselves than ever before.

6) What example is provided of how national identity is represented in Britain - and how some audiences use social media to challenge this?

During the 2014 World Cup, The Sun sent a free newspaper to 22 million households in England which represented its own concepts of ‘Englishness’ by symbolic references – queuing, the Sunday roast, Churchill and The Queen – to heroes, values and behaviours that the paper (and its owners, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corps) defined as appropriate expressions of ‘English identity’.

Watch the clip from Luther that we studied in class (Season 1, Episode 1 - minute 7.40-10.00 - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access the clip). Now answer these final two questions:

7) Write a paragraph analysing the dominant and alternative representations you can find in the clip from Luther.

In the Luther clip, Luther's entrance portrays him as a bad guy. The chase scene shows men being impulsive and violent, seen as masculine traits. Luther's boss is white, showing traditional power structures. The victim is like a princess in distress. The police are shown as incompetent. Luther, who is black, faces off against a white criminal, breaking racial stereotypes. The lead inspector is a woman, challenging gender norms.

8) Write a paragraph applying a selection of our representation theories to the clip from Luther. Our summary of each theory may help you here:

Levi-Strauss: representation and ideology
Mulvey: the male gaze
Dyer: stereotyping and power
Medhurst: value judgements
Perkins: some stereotypes can be positive or true

Mulvey's theory of the "male gaze" is evident in how the little girl victim is portrayed as meeting societal standards of beauty, catering to male desires. Dyler's theory of "stereotyping and power" is seen in the portrayal of Lucifer as a black villain and the white man as the victim. Medhurst's theory of "value judgment" suggests possible racism due to lack of diversity in the police force. Perkins' theory of "positive or true stereotypes" is reflected in the portrayal of the police as untrustworthy due to their reckless behavior, which aligns with reality.


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