REPRESENTATION 4 of 7 As we have discussed representation is the construction in any medium of aspects of reality such as people, places, objects, events,

cultural identities and other such abstract concepts This is achieved through mediation taking reality and creating another version of it/ the process of changing reality. Here are the three key points of mediation again: SELECTION what is included/ what is left out/ who selects and why? ORGANISATION elements of the text/ arranging the content FOCUS pushed towards certain elements/ what is ignored or taken for granted? Activity 1: Analyse the process of mediation in a print advertisement: SELECTION

ORGANISATION

FOCUS

Constructivism Vs Objectivism Constructivism is the idea that reality is constructed and created so reality is manipulated. Stereotypes are used in power relations. Objectivism is the idea that reality is objective and the media represent what is out there. Stereotypes are used as a means of communication and identification. Activity 2: Which perspective (if any) do you agree with?

Hegemony versus Pluralism There are few facts in Media Studies. The more you read, the more you will discover that academics from different ideological starting points draw different conclusions about the way the media works, and its relationship with its audience. Representation can be considered from two very different ideological standpoints. Hegemony The hegemonic model says that the ruling classes maintain their power through control of ideas and culture rather than force. In hegemony, the ruling classes govern by consensus: they control the way the media represents the world so as to influence the way people think about the world, and the ruling classes. This can become a running battle between rivals. A more sophisticated approach to hegemony argues that the mass media adopt a consensus of what is normal; a commonsense which is actually an ideology. The very nature of common sense means that the audience does not question it. You might think of it as a kind of civil religion: a set of values that the majority of people subscribe to without thinking about it. An Italian Marxist, Antonio Gramsci, developed the idea of Hegemony, suggesting that the power that lies at its heart is constantly being negotiated, rather than enforced. Pluralism The pluralistic model comes from the opposite perspective to Marxism. Pluralism says that the media is diverse, with a wide range of available choices for consumers. Rather than the media influencing consensus, consensus values influence media representations. If particular representations are dominant, pluralists argue, it is because they are popular among the audience, not because powerful media institutions are pushing a particular ideology. After all, the main function of the mass media is to entertain to please their audience: to provide representations that meet audience expectations. This is where stereotypes come in: they pander to the views of the audience. The more media institutions pander to their audiences, the more money they can make.

Stereotypes A standardised, often simplified picture/ attitude held in common by members of a group. A stereotype is a simplification that we use to make sense of a real person or group which is much more complicated. Stereotypes are potentially highly dangerous but stereotyping itself is impossible to avoid, it is a natural function of the human mind and something that we all do in order to survive mentally in the confusing world around us. The fact that we naturally see the world in this kind of shorthand way, with connections between different character traits, allows the media to create simplistic representations which we find believable. Implicit Personality theory explains this process. As humans we use our own unique storehouse of knowledge about people when we judge them. Our past experience is more important than the true features of the actual personality that we are judging e.g. traits exist more in the eye of the beholder than in reality. We each have a system of rules that tells us which characteristics go with other characteristics. We categorise people into types (e.g. workaholic, feminist etc.) to simplify the task of person perception. Once we have in our minds a set of linked traits which seem to us to go together, they form a pattern of connections that can be called a prototype. In other words the mix of traits that we may consider typical of feminists are a prototype of what a feminist is like to us. If we encounter someone in reality or in the media who seems to fit neatly into a prototype, we feel reassured. It confirms our stereotyped view we do not need to think further. Also once a few of the traits seem to fit our prototype, we will immediately bundle onto the person the rest of the traits from the prototype even if we do not know if they fit them in reality. Research has shown that if we find people who do not fit into our prototypes, we will form very strong often impressions of them, it is surprising to us and disconcerting, it forces us to think more deeply. On the other hand, if it is at all possible, we will try to twist the truth to fit in with our prototype, often ignoring traits which do not fit into our neatly imagined pattern of characteristics. This will particularly happen as time passes and we have time to forget things that do not fit in. This can lead to enormous differences between our perceptions of people and the reality. All of this distortion happens naturally in our minds before the media have had their chance to simplify and distort. We do a lot of the business of stereotyping ourselves. .it is almost as if we conspire with the media to misunderstand the world. Activity 3: Describe a stereotype based on what you have encountered in a media text Stereotype Appearance Behaviour Media example

Now identify a role model that challenges this stereotype Ethnicity

Activity 4: Look at the newspaper examples and assess the representation of ethnic groups. Note the evidence of Stability and instability in the world

Rationality and irrationality in the world

Values that emphasise nationalism and us and them e.g. (good = west/ bad = east) attitudes

The presentation of good versus evil

To what extent do the media represent the ethnic diversity of contemporary British society? Activity 5: Using a webpage example, reflect on the ways in which people from ethnic minorities are presented to us and how this builds up a picture of ethnic groups both within and outside our own country1 Name of Webpage: Selection

Organisation

Focus

SELECTION what is included/ what is left out/ who selects and why? ORGANISATION elements of the text/ arranging the content FOCUS pushed towards certain elements/ what is ignored or taken for granted?