Representation

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Representation

• The media re-present social groups such as
  gender, race, class groups and occupational
  groups. No media representation can be neutral.
  Because the media is so pervasive in todays
  society, it is important to unpick how these
  representations are constructed.

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Why is representation important?

• Limited and negative representations can create
  or reinforce prejudice towards certain groups
• Without critical awareness, we might accept these
  representations as natural or common sense

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Textual Analysis

• AS Media Studies introduces the idea of textual
  analysis. This means looking in detail at how
  different texts ( television, film, newspapers,
  magazines etc) use particular technical codes and
  conventions to construct meaning. Through this
  analysis, we can question these meanings
  critically.

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What affects representation?

• However, media texts dont exist in isolation. We
  must also consider the conditions of their
  production and reception
• Institutional context
• Genre
• Target audience
• Dominant ideologies

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Budget 14m Opening Weekend 11.28m (USA)
(1,325 screens) Gross 285m (Non-USA)178.406m
(USA)463.4m (worldwide)
Budget 2.5m Gross 6.401m (USA)
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In soaps, women are powerful at home and at work
In horror films, women are often victims of male
killers
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Situation Comedy

• Series of 30 minute episodes
• Focus on relationships within the home or at work
• Impossible or insoluble situations reveal new
  comic possibilities each week
• Cyclical narrative- at the end of each episode
  the basic situation remains the same

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Sitcom and representation

• Lack of narrative progression means that sitcoms
  can be seen as a conservative genre where nothing
  changes. Humour comes through familiarity.
• Representations in sitcom are often
  stereotypical. Humour comes through exaggeration.
• Comedy allows sitcoms to be transgressive. Humour
  comes through characters breaking the rules.

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Gender stereotypes in sitcom

• Many classic UK sitcoms have centered on men
• Men are often associated with misbehaviour and
  are sometimes infantilised.
• Women in sitcoms are often domineering and
  powerful
• Some recent sitcoms have women in the central
  role
• The unruly woman is a common character in sitcom

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Absolutely Fabulous

• Written by Jennifer Saunders, an alternative
  comedian
• Initially broadcast on BBC2 then moved to BBC 1
• Broadcast after 9 oclock watershed
• June Whitfield and Joanna Lumley cast against
  type

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Sitcom and audiences

• Which characters do you identify with?
• Which characters are you encouraged to laugh at?
• Do you feel critical of any of the characters?
• Do you aspire to the behaviour of any of the
  characters?

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WILDCAT Corrie beauty Tracy Shaw mercilessly
beat, kicked and spat at her cowering husband in
a drunken, foul-mouthed onslaught.
 
Drinking "She's got a problem with drink," said
Clare. "I like a drink myself, but Tracy can't
draw the line. I'd watch telly with her at her
home in Manchester and she'd drink two bottles of
champagne on her own, easy. I'd be drinking tea
and she'd be knocking back the booze fine style.
"She might hate me for this but hopefully she'll
get some help because she'll be dead if she
carries on like this. She isn't eating healthily
either. You just have to look at the pictures of
her. DO you have a story about a star? Call us
any day on 0207 782 4444 or e-mail
features_at_news-of-the-world.co.uk  
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ONCE SO CLOSE Clare and Tracy
SEXBOMB Tracy was a wildcat
ONCE HAPPY Tracy and Robert
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Conclusion

• Representations change over time and from genre
  to genre
• Negative or limited representations can affect
  the way we make sense of the world
• Textual analysis can help is become aware of how
  these representations are constructed and help us
  make informed judgements about what we see or
  hear.