REPRESNTATION

IN THE MEDIA

REPRESENATION IN THE MEDIA n  By definition, all media texts are re-presentations of reality. This

means that they are intentionally composed, lit, written, framed, cropped, captioned, branded, targeted and censored by their producers, and that they are entirely artificial versions of the reality we perceive around us.

n  When studying the media it is vital to remember this - 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.

n  However, it is important to note that without the media, our perception of reality would be very limited, and that we, as an audience, need these artificial texts to mediate our view of the world, in other words we need the media to make sense of reality.

n  Therefore representation is a fluid, two-way process: producers position a text somewhere in relation to reality and audiences assess a text on its relationship to reality.

Extension/Restriction of Experience of Reality n  By giving audiences information, media texts extend experience of

reality. n  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.

n  However, because the producers of the media text have selected the information we receive, then our experience is restricted: we only see selected highlights of the lifestyle of the creatures portrayed in the wildlife documentary, the editors and journalists decree which aspects of the news events we will read about, and the movie producers telescope events and personalities to fit into their parameters.

n  Can you think of some examples?

Truth or Lies? n  Media representations - and the extent to which we accept

them - are a very political issue, as the influence the media exerts has a major impact on the way we view the world. By viewing media representations our prejudices can be reinforced or shattered.

n  Generally, audiences accept that media texts are fictional to one extent or another - we have come a long way from the mass manipulation model of the 1920s and 1930s. However, as we base our perception of reality on what we see in the media, it is dangerous to suppose that we don't see elements of truth in media texts either.

n  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:

Truth or Lies?

n  Who produced it? n  What/who is represented in the text? n  How is that thing represented? n  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?

n  What frame of reference does the audience use when understanding the representation?

1920’s Commercial:

n  http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2856008/vintage_coca_cola_commercial/

n  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5iU66KdM0k

n  http://www.viddler.com/explore/jenniferbarnett/videos/4/

n  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE4KszOCsWI

Analysing Representation

n  The analysis of different sorts of representation forms an important part of Media Studies. The factors of representation most commonly addressed are:

n  Gender n  Race n  Age n  Disability

GENDER AND MEDIA REPRESENTATION

n  Gender is perhaps the basic category we use for sorting human beings, and it is a key issue when discussing representation.

n  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?

n  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

TASK:

n  Construct your own table of 'typical' characteristics

n  Typically masculine n  Typically feminine

DISCUSSION:

n  How might the following objects be 'gendered' through advertising, given that both sexes will use the product?

n  A sports car? n  A diving watch? n  Bottled beer? n  Toilet paper? n  Deodorant? n  Cigarettes n  IPOD n  Trainers? n  A videogame console n  An airline?

ROLE MODELS

n  It is undeniable that the media shapes our conceptions of what it means to be male or female. We encounter many different male and female role models in the course of a day's media consumption.

n  The issue is, that although these different role models may at first glance appear to be very varied, do they actually represent enough of a range of men/women? Are we simply given variations on a stereotype that become sub-stereotypes in themselves?

n  By adopting role models and parading them through the media as people it is desirable to 'be', are we stunting individual growth?

ROLE MODEL CAMPAIGN

n  British n  http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr-rol1.htm n  Canadian n  http://www.dove.ca/en/default.aspx#/cfrb/ n  Do you think it has had any effect?

Representations of Femininity

n  Feminism has been a recognised social philosophy for more than forty years, and the changes that have occurred in women's roles in western society during that time have been nothing short of phenomenal.

n  Yet media representations of women remain worryingly constant. Does this reflect that the status of women has not really changed or that the male-dominated media does not want to accept it has changed?

REPRESENTATIONS OF FEMININITY

n  Representations of women across all media tend to highlight the following:

n  beauty (within narrow conventions) n  size/physique (again, within narrow conventions) n  sexuality (as expressed by the above) n  emotional (as opposed to intellectual) dealings n  relationships (as opposed to independence/

freedom)

REPRESENTATIONS OF FEMININITY

n  Women are often represented as being part of a context (family, friends, colleagues) and working/thinking as part of a team. In drama, they tend to take the role of helper or object, passive rather than active.

n  Often their passivity extends to victimhood n  Men are still represented as TV drama

characters up to 3 times more frequently than women, and tend to be the predominant focus of news stories.

n  Can you think of any examples?

REPRESENTATIONS OF FEMININITY

n  The representations of women that do make it onto page and screen do tend to be stereotypical, in terms of conforming to societal expectations, and characters who do not fit into the mould tend to be seen as dangerous and deviant. And they get their comeuppance, particularly in the movies.

REPRESENTATIONS OF FEMININITY

n  Think of Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) in Fatal Attraction or, more recently, Teena Brandon/Brandon Teena (Hilary Swank) in Boys Don't Cry. America seems to expect its women to behave better than their European counterparts - British viewers adored the antics of Patsy & Edina in Absolutely Fabulous, but these had to be severely toned down (less swearing, NO drugtaking) for the US remake, High Society (which was a flop).

REPRESENTATIONS OF FEMININITY

n  Discussions of women's representation in the media tend to revolve around the focus on physical beauty to the near-exclusion of other values, the lack of powerful female role models, and the extremely artificial nature of such portrayals, which bear little or no relation to the reality experience by women across the planet.

n  It would take almost a whole A-level course to cover these representations and the issues surrounding them in depth

Representations of Masculinity

n  Masculinity' is a concept that is made up of more rigid stereotypes than femininity. Representations of men across all media tend to focus on the following:

n  Strength - physical and intellectual n  Power n  Sexual attractiveness (which may be based on

the above) n  Physique n  Independence (of thought, action)

Representations of Masculinity n  Male characters are often represented as isolated, as

not needing to rely on others (the lone hero). If they capitulate to being part of a family, it is often part of the resolution of a narrative, rather than an integral factor in the initial equilibrium.

n  It is interesting to note that the male physique is becoming more important a part of representations of masculinity. 'Serious' Hollywood actors in their forties (eg Willem Dafoe, Kevin Spacey) are expected to have a level of 'buffness' that was not aspired to even by young heart-throbs 40 years ago (check out Connery in Thunderball 1965).

Representations of Masculinity

n  http://www.metacafe.com/watch/4198414/thunderball_movie_trailer/

n  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl5WHj0bZ2Q

Representations of Masculinity n  Increasingly, men are finding it as difficult to live up to

their media representations as women are to theirs. This is partly because of the increased media focus on masculinity - think of the burgeoning market in men's magazines, both lifestyle and health - and the increasing emphasis on even ordinary white collar male workers (who used to sport their beergut with pride) having the muscle definition of a professional swimmer.

n  Anorexia in teenage males has increased alarmingly in recent years, and recent high school shootings have been the result of extreme bodyconsciousness among the same demographic group.

Representations of Masculinity n  As media representations of masculinity become more

specifically targeted at audiences with product promotion in mind (think of the huge profits now made from male fashion, male skin & haircare products, fitness products such as weights, clothing etc), men are encouraged (just as women have been for many years) to aspire to be like (to look/behave in the same way) the role models they see in magazines. This is often an unrealistic target to set, and awareness of this is growing.

n  Whilst some men are concerned about living up to the ideal types represented in magazines, others are worried by what they perceive as an increasing anti-male bias in the media. There is growing support for the idea that men are represented unfairly in the media.

RACE IN THE MEDIA

n  Race, like sex, is a set of genetically defined, biological characteristics. However, like gender, it is also a set of culturally defined characteristics.

n  Representation of race in the media can consist of the same sort of rigid stereotypes that constitute gender portrayal.

n  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.

RACE IN THE MEDIA n  Racial stereotypes are often based on social myth,

perpetuated down the ages. n  Thus, the media depiction of, say, Native American

Indians, might provide a child with their only experience of Native American Indian culture and characters, and may provide that child with a set of narrow prejudices which will not be challenged elsewhere within their experience.

n  The need for a more accurate portrayal of the diversity of different races is a priority for political agendas, but, as ever, it seems as though it will take a while for political thinking to filter through to programme and film-making.

RACE n  Most work on Race & The Media has concentrated on the

representation of black men and women. n  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.

n  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.

n  Some of the time. However, there are many 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? Yet these are representations coming from within black culture itself..

RACE IN THE MEDIA

n  Attention is now being paid to the representation of other ethnic groups, notably Asian Americans and Latinos, who represent a much larger proportion of the US population than their TV coverage would suggest.

n  Things are changing - on the one hand the success of John Woo and Ang Lee in Hollywood is pushing the boundaries back for Asian Americans, and the Latin Music Explosion of 1999 has led to much wider acceptance of Latino performers (Jennifer Lopez is now in the upper bracket for pay for female actors).

RACE IN THE MEDIA

n  There is anxiety expressed in the UK about the portrayal of ethnic minorities, particularly in soap operas.

n  http://vimeo.com/8231186 n  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYiteaPBlz0 n  http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=LVpSQgMssTQ&feature=related

AGE n  After gender and ethnicity, age is the most obvious

category under which we file people, and there are a whole range of judgements which go along with our categorisation.

n  We quickly deem other people too old, or too young, or criticise them for being immature or fuddy duddy.

n  We criticise mature women for going about as mutton dressed as lamb, and young girls for tarting themselves up as jail bait.

n  Film stars who start to show signs of aging in their forties are swooped on with cries of horror by gossip columnists ("Movie star gets wrinkles... and her tits start to sag" shocker!!) while those who succumb to the surgeon's knife are written about with equal distaste ("Movie star can't raise eyebrows and her tit's DON't sag" equal shocker!!!).

AGE IN THE MEDIA

n  Thanks to the media, we appear to live in an age obsessed world: a world obsessed with youth and its attendant beauty.

n  Old people are often subject to the most rigid stereotypes of all (old = ugly, weak, stupid).

n  The future looks pretty bleak for all of us. n  By denying that ageing is a natural part of the

process, we condemn ourselves to an eternal adolescence and do not acknowledge that our tastes may grow and change.

n  Will you still want YOUR MTV when you're 80?

AGE IN THE MEDIA n  Things are changing, however; as the baby boomers of the 1950s

and 1960s move on towards their 'Third Age', they demand the same consumer comfort they have always done, and also demand the right to see themselves fairly represented on TV.

n  There have been some high profile representations of the elderly in recent years (and I'm not talking about Bruce Willis playing Ross's Dad in "Friends").

n  US sitcom The Golden Girls is perhaps one of the most famous, centring on 4 female characters all determinedly over 50 (and it can make Sex & The City look like Sesame Street)

n  Soap operas too have their part to play in eroding stereotypes - usually because the audience of soaps has a relatively high 'grey' segment.

n  Old people can provide a deeply comic element to television; whilst balancing the humour with frightening vulnerability and pathos: We're all going to die, after all.

AGE IN THE MEDIA n  Soap is no exception. Ralph and Harry were the two best

characters EVER on Brookside… n  Harold gave a lot of laughs on Neighbours, and Percy

Sugden's cantankerous nature kept audiences entertained for years on Corrie.

n  Two of the most powerful Old People in Soap, have, however, been the inimitable Dot and Ethel off EastEnders.

n  Dot has lived a life that would make Job weep, with a no good bigamist husband, a murderous junkie son and now Ashley, the grandson from Hell. Ethel, on the other hand, was a hell-raiser till the end, and even her slide into terminal cancer could not quell her zest for life. Her dignified death, screened in late autumn 2000, was riveting viewing.

n  Old people on TV rock. You heard it here first! n  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srD7bEU9MXA&feature=related

DISABILITY IN THE MEDIA n  The word "disabled" causes much debate. n  The 'dis' suffix is a negative one, implying reversal, and

disabled heads a list in the dictionary of many negative words - disappoint, discard, disconsolate, discourage, disintegrate, dismay, disrepute etc etc.

n  That same dictionary defines the word "disabled" as meaning "Made ineffective, unfit or incapable".

n  Quite rightly, those members of the population who find themselves labelled thus feel tarred with a distasteful brush.

n  The word implies that they are unfit for anything, that they are incapable of effectiveness in any field. Verbal codes aside, the iconography surrounding the word suggests a similar plight, hence the European Union symbol:

DISABLED IN THE MEDIA n  Here is someone who is not simply "in" a wheelchair (are

all disabled people in wheelchairs? I think not...), but who relies on the structure of the chair to give them arms. It is small wonder that the word "disabled" immediately connotates wheelchairs, and concepts such as broken, dependent, pitiable etc etc.

n  Given the semiotics of the situation, it is small wonder that media representation of the disabled is limited and laregely stereotypical. if the word "disabled" can be represented in such a simple symbol as the one before, we are reducing a large and diverse group of human beings to something less complicated than your average road sign.

n  While great strides have been made in recent decades in the representation of gender and race, there are still many prejudices attached to the representation of disability.

n  Or difability - the differently enabled, as our PC friends would have us speak.

IMAGES OF THE DIS/DIFABLED

n  In magazines, the only images of the disabled we tend to see are those in charity advertisements, and their disablity is the main focus of the representation.

n  Often we are encouraged to pity the person represented, or give them support in another way. Ideologically speaking, dis/difabled is not considered sexy, and does not sell stuff.

n  More power then to Benetton, with their use of a Downs Syndrome model

IMAGES OF THE DIS/DIFABLED n  Disabled sport is seen as a very poor relation to its so-

called able bodied counterpart. n  The Paralympics receive a derisory level of coverage (and,

oddly enough, sponsorship... hmmm) but you can check out their website here.

n  Likewise in the movies, disability is seen as a great storyline - one to inspire pity in audiences and Oscar nominations from your peers.

n  Think Tom Cruise in Born On The Fourth of July (Best Actor nom, Best Director win), Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind (Best Actor nom, Best Picture win), Leonardo di Caprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (Best Supporting Actor nom) and Audrey Hepburn in Wait until Dark (Best Actress nom).

IMAGES OF THE DIS/DIFABLED n  These actors are applauded for their fine performances, as

though the representation of disability were a particularly dangerous and skilful thing.

n  While Tom Cruise is prepared to strap himself into a stunt wheelchair, genuinely dis/difabled actors do not get major parts.

n  Amputees get good work in Hollywood as stunt persons, particularly when a film such as AI needs limbless people to attach prosthetics to, but their name is never going to go on the marquee.

n  This is fundamentally wrong - we can only accept the beautiful people pretending to be incapacitated. Is this the equivalent of white actors 'blacking up' to play Othello?

IMAGES OF THE DIS/DIFABLED n  Yet there are exceptions: stand up comedian, actor and

model Francesca Martinez suffers from cerebral palsy but sees no reason why she should not follow a career in showbiz. A successful actress, with several seasons of Grange Hill behind her, she has won awards for her comedy.

n  Timmy! n  One of the most popular representations of disability on

TV in recent years has been South Park's Timmy, the rebel in a wheelchair. DVDs featuring Timmy-based episodes sell well, as does the Timmy plush doll (featuring a detachable wheelchair). Timmy suffers from hydrocephalus, is misdiagnosed as having ADD, and is only able to say one or two words (initially, just his own name, but he graduates to being able to utter the name of his beloved pet turkey - Gobbles).

n  Timmy's Home Page (Unofficial)