Representation theory
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?
When we see a person, place, object or idea being represented in a media text, it has in some way been mediated by the very act of representation. A representation is a re-presentation and so images and ideas we see on screen, in print or online are removed from the original object.
2) How does the example of Kate Middleton show the way different meanings can be created in the media?
There are many meanings. For example a photographer takes her picture and if it's an official picture Kate and the royal family will have to have given considerable thought as to the outfit she is wearing and other factors, even her facial expressions. It can also be represented by a photo editor as something else as they have the tools to crop, resize and edit the picture to be something completely different. Photos can go so far as being photoshopped, manipulating the audience as to what they are viewing.
3) Summarise the section 'The how, who and why of media representation' in 50 words.
The expectations and needs of the target audience will always be considered, type of narrative wished to be created and their institutional remit. Producers may choose to go with certain choices in order to represent media, Well known media individual Roland Barthes argues that the naturalisation of ideas acts to hide the ideology from view and is present within the text but we don't recognise it because it comes across as being common sense.
4) How does Stuart Hall's theory of preferred and oppositional readings fit with representation?
Half argued that audiences don't accept the ideology of texts passively but instead draw on their own cultural and social experiences to create their own interpretations. However certain audiences may only partially accept the meanings that are being offered by a text. This was called the negotiated position.
5) How has new technology changed the way representations are created in the media?
Through the introduction of social media profiles and context people can now engage in the act of self-representation. When we post on social media sties like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook we are constructing an idea of ourselves which is then distributed to our followers which is why we need to be careful with how we represent ourselves.
6) What example if provided of how national identity is represented in Britain - and how some audiences use social media to challenge this?
National identity is raised during national sports competitions, like during the 2014 World Cup the sun sent newspapers free of charge to 22 million households in England. The newspaper represented its own concepts of Englishness by symbolic references like the Queen, Churchill and the Sunday roast- to heroes, values and behaviours that the paper defined as appropriate expressions of English identity.
1) Why is representation an important concept in Media Studies?
When we see a person, place, object or idea being represented in a media text, it has in some way been mediated by the very act of representation. A representation is a re-presentation and so images and ideas we see on screen, in print or online are removed from the original object.
2) How does the example of Kate Middleton show the way different meanings can be created in the media?
There are many meanings. For example a photographer takes her picture and if it's an official picture Kate and the royal family will have to have given considerable thought as to the outfit she is wearing and other factors, even her facial expressions. It can also be represented by a photo editor as something else as they have the tools to crop, resize and edit the picture to be something completely different. Photos can go so far as being photoshopped, manipulating the audience as to what they are viewing.
3) Summarise the section 'The how, who and why of media representation' in 50 words.
The expectations and needs of the target audience will always be considered, type of narrative wished to be created and their institutional remit. Producers may choose to go with certain choices in order to represent media, Well known media individual Roland Barthes argues that the naturalisation of ideas acts to hide the ideology from view and is present within the text but we don't recognise it because it comes across as being common sense.
4) How does Stuart Hall's theory of preferred and oppositional readings fit with representation?
Half argued that audiences don't accept the ideology of texts passively but instead draw on their own cultural and social experiences to create their own interpretations. However certain audiences may only partially accept the meanings that are being offered by a text. This was called the negotiated position.
5) How has new technology changed the way representations are created in the media?
Through the introduction of social media profiles and context people can now engage in the act of self-representation. When we post on social media sties like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook we are constructing an idea of ourselves which is then distributed to our followers which is why we need to be careful with how we represent ourselves.
6) What example if provided of how national identity is represented in Britain - and how some audiences use social media to challenge this?
National identity is raised during national sports competitions, like during the 2014 World Cup the sun sent newspapers free of charge to 22 million households in England. The newspaper represented its own concepts of Englishness by symbolic references like the Queen, Churchill and the Sunday roast- to heroes, values and behaviours that the paper defined as appropriate expressions of English identity.
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