REPRESENTATIONANALYSIS

REPRESENTATION-SIMPLEISH-EXPLANATIONRepresentation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.The term refers to the processes involved as well as to its products. For instance, in relation to the key markers of identity - Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicity (the 'cage' of identity) - representation involves not only how identities are represented (or rather constructed) within the text but also how they are constructed in the processes of production and reception by people whose identities are also differentially marked in relation to such demographic factors. Consider, for instance, the issue of 'the gaze'. How do men look at images of women, women at men, men at men and women at women?

Representation In The Media: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. 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. 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. 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.

IMAGE ONEMy first Impressions:• Tramp• No job• Poor Clothing• No money• Lives on the streets of New York• Smokes- unhealthy• No home- unshaved and most likely not

washed• Not ashamed- body stance

Who actually is it?Dough Bihlmaier This is him outside the Ralph Lauren shop on Madison Avenue. His job is to search for unusual things to place inside Ralph Lauren stores. His beard is closely shaven and his trousers are rolled up carefully, these close details give away that he choses to style like this.

IMAGE TWO My First Impressions:• Rich man

• Likes the expensive things in life

• Looks like he was born into wealth

• Proud

• Clean

• Enjoys horses and maybe goes to the races

• Likes classic things- oak

• Enjoys socializing

Who actually is he?Ralph LaurenThis image is him in one of his very famous polo lounges. He is a very well known fashion designer and has extreme wealth. This wealth has lead him to become very powerful in the fashion industry. His suit is tailored and very well made giving the obvious impression that he has enough money to enjoy the nicer things in life.

IMAGE THREEMy First Impressions:• Unique

• Does not care what others think

• Own style

• Middle class

• Cares about warmth

• Textiles job

• Odd taste in makeup

Who actually is she?Lynn Yaeger She is a fashion writer for vogue and is constantly at fashion shows to comment on the latest designs. She has expensive jewelry and fur which gave away that she cares about fashion. Her makeup is a mixture of new fashion ideas.

IMAGE FOURMy First Impressions:• Works hard

• Business man- shareholder

• Money to buy nice suits

• Cleanly shaved- cares about appearance

• Takes no silly business

• Likes to look professional

Who he actually is:Ted BundyIn this photo the man sat next to him is his lawyer as he himself was in court on the account of him being a serial killer. He is said to have raped and murdered at least over 20 women, some say more. At this tail he was sentenced to the death penalty and executed later in the year.

IMAGE FIVEMy First Impressions:• Smart- intelligent

• University Professor

• Classy

• Fairly high class

• Sits like he knows it all

• Serious

Who he actually is:Edward the EighthHe was a style icon in his time of reign and was said to have created the Windsor knot most men use in there ties now a days. He left his position as king to marry his wife and then became the Duke of Windsor.

IMAGE SIXMy First Impressions:• Low Class

• Boy about town

• Cares about hair but not so much about clothes

• Likes to look rough

• Young- impressionable

Who he actually is:River PhoenixHe was a very famous actor who was in films such as Stand by Me. He also did some modeling before he sadly died of an overdose. He was seen as a young style icon for boys his age.