What is representation?•Representation is the way in which the media constructs aspects of ‘real life’ including people, places, events, culture, ethnicity and issues.

•The media don’t just present reality they re-present it.

Understanding Representation•To be able to understand representation we need to be

aware that part of it is how we see things and this is affected by our own experiences, culture, gender and preconceived expectations.

•Task- write a 50 word description of yourself and then ask the person next to you or someone on your table to write on of you. How are they different?

•They are different because of the person’s subject position - their relationship to the subject matter, which in this case is you.

Some key theories and theorists

The following few slides are there for you to look at when constructing your responses.This Powerpoint will be posted to the blog.

StereotypesAssumptions that are held about a social group.

They are often used in a negative or prejudicial sense and are frequently used to justify certain discriminatory behaviours.

Stereotyping is an important concept in terms of representation.

Stereotype production is based on…

•Simplification •Exaggeration or distortion •Generalisation •Presentation of cultural attributes as being 'natural'.

Does it matter?

Richard Dyer (1983) posed a few questions when analysing media representations in general.1. What sense of the world is it making?2. What does it imply? Is it typical of the world or deviant? 3. Who is it speaking to? For whom? To whom?4. What does it represent to us and why? How do we respond to the representation?

•Dyer (1977) details that if we are to be told that we are going to see a film about an alcoholic then we will know that it will be a tale either of sordid decline or of inspiring redemption.•This is a particularly interesting potential use of stereotypes, in which the character is constructed, at the level of costume, performance, etc., as a stereotype but is deliberately given a narrative function that is not implicit in the stereotype, thus throwing into question the assumptions signalled by the stereotypical iconography.

Tessa Perkins (1979) says stereotyping is not a simple process. She identified that some of the many ways that stereotypes are assumed to operate aren’t true.

•Stereotypes can:•Be positive•Be about social groups that are powerful or not in the minority•Be held about one’s own group•Change over time•Be based in truth

Karl Marx (1900s)

•Developed the concept of ideology•Analysed the way those in power protected their interests (the dominant ideology) by representing their privileged position as being natural.•Consider how dominant ideologies are reinforced/challenged by media texts.

Stuart Hall (1997)Three approaches to representation:•Reflective – representations in the media are accurate recordings of real life.•Intentional – representations are completely artificial and carry the producer’s intent.•Constructionist – a mixture of the two; representations contain a bit of real life, a bit of producer’s intent, and a lot that depends on the audience’s subject position.

Actor Mediation Representation of character

Selection process:

Type of media

Editing

Camera Angle

Costume

Music/speech

The Constructionist process

(Reality) The outcome

Message to the Audience

Actor Mediation Representation of character

Selection process:

Type of media

Editing

Camera Angle

Costume

Music/speech

Orlando Bloom

The Constructionist process

Construction and FocusSo media texts ( and representations) are all constructions – they are built.

Focus – mediation also encourages the audience to focus upon a particular aspect of the media texts to push us towards a certain perspective.

E.g. in a drama the camera may focus upon a particular character or in newspapers and magazines our eyes are drawn to the headlines and coverlines

MISE EN SCENE

Costume, make upLighting - high key, low key, interior, exterior, artificial, back lightingProduction DesignPropsPerformance (body language, facial expressions)Space

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Close up, extreme close up/long shot, mid shot, two shot, POV, high/low/canted angle, over the shoulder, composition, proximity framing, rule of thirds,, deep/shallow focus, depth of field, tracking, panning, zooming, tilting, craning

SOUND

Sound bridge, motif, non-diegetic/diegetic, ambient, instrumental, soundtrack, tone, tempo, dialogue, sound effects, foley, synchronous/asynchronous, incidental, music score

EDITING

Fast/slow pace, long/short takes, fade, dissolve, cut, transition, 180 degree rule, montage/continuity editing, match on action, eyeline-match, cross cutting/parallel editing, simultaneous action

Hence this. . . BACK

Understanding regional identityThink about the following regions and stereotype their regional identity:• Northerners• Southerners• Essex• Scottish• Welsh• Scousers• Yorkshire• Geordies• Mancs• Brummies• Londoners (posh)• Londoners (Cockney/south)

• People from Oslo• People from the north of Norway

Assumptions that are

held about a social group.

Northerners

• ‘Northern Monkeys’, • Loud rude, drink a lot and of

a lower status•Costume= Track suit or

cheap/casual clothes•Dialogue/dialect= Vowel

sounds over-pronounced•Make up= Over the top or

minimal•Class/Status= Low

BACK

Southerners

• ‘Poncy Southerners’ •Arrogant and posh•Dialogue/dialect= Well spoken: ‘

the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.’•Costume= Suit and tie, tailored

clothing and dresses•Props= Brief case•Make up= Classy and to a

minimum•Class/Status= Middle/Upper BACK

Essex• Image conscious• Unintelligent• Love to shop and party• Dialogue/dialect= 'Shut up' 'Oh my God'

= common phrases • Costume: Girls= Revealing/OTT Boys:

Fashionable• Location= Clubs and boutiques• Props: Expensive, flashy, tacky handbags,

up to date mobile phone •Make up= Fake tan, fake eyelashes and

hair extensions• Class/Status= Lower Middle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vTzuZk1OHA BACK

Scottish•Humourless•Hate other nations•Alcoholic and violent•Dialogue/dialect= Strong accent

'och' 'wee'• Costume= Kilt, tartan, sporran• Location= Highlands, cold and vast

open spaces• Props= Bagpipes, haggis, whisky•Make up= Ginger hair and freckles• Class/Status= Lower class (farmers)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp-jVwBGUsI BACK

Welsh•Small, dark haired people•Play rugby, sing in choirs, herd

sheep or mine coal •Dialogue/dialect= Very ‘song-like’

and melodic, slow and exaggerated pronunciation•Costume= Rugby shirts• Location= Rugby pitch, church, pub,

fields with sheep•Props= Sheep•Make up= Minimal•Class/Status= Middle/Lower BACK

Scousers•Dangerous: ‘Why does the river

Mersey run through Liverpool? If it walked it would get mugged’• - Dialogue/dialect= Flemmy,

difficult to understand; 'like' prominent k's• -Costume= Tracksuits, very casual

cheap looking clothing• -Location= Pub/home• -Props= Cheap looking jewellery• -Make up= Minimal, or OTT • -Class/Status= Low

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STIvNjWobzA

BACK

Yorkshire•Dialogue/dialect= 'Ey up’, ‘An' Ah'll

tell thee that fer nowt’ - don’t pronounce ‘t’s’•Costume= Flat caps, tweed jackets• Location= Open fields, country

pubs, Local shops•Props= Whippets/Yorksire terrier

and Yorkshire puddings•Make up= Minimal/pale •Class/Status= Low (farmers)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzAD2GLfaNU

Geordies• Loud, swear a lot•Party animals and binge drinkers•Dialogue/dialect= ‘way eye man’,

difficult to understand•Costume= Revealing, tight

clothing• Location= Busy town centres,

clubs, urban areas•Make up= Over the top, fake tan,

dark hair•Class/Status= Lower middle/

middle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PVQbnvv79I

BACK

Mancs (Manchester)• Loud, rude•Funny and fond of fighting

(Helped coined by Oasis)•Mad fer it!•Dialogue/dialect= ‘Oh, aye’

‘Nowt’•Costume= Manchester United

Shirt• Location= Busy town centres,

raves, football ground•Class/Status= Low/lower

middle BACK

Brummies

•Unintelligent and unfriendly•Dialogue/dialect= 'Yow' heavily pronunciation the 'ow' of 'You' •Costume= Casual/ Cheao•Location= Busy, industrialised centres•Make up= Greasy hair•Class/Status= Low

BACK

Londoners (posh boroughs: Hampstead, Harrow)•Dialogue/dialect= Well spoken, range of vocabulary•Costume= Cashmere jumpers/sweaters and suits•Location= Skyscrapers, swanky bars, posh homes•Props= Briefcase•Class/Status= Middle/upper

BACK

Londoners (Cockney/ South London)•Dialogue/dialect= ‘Gorblimey’, Rhyming slang ‘apples and pairs = stairs’,dropping ‘t’s’. ‘Gerrowta my pub!’•Costume= Flat caps•Location= Busy streets, market stalls•Make up= Minimal•Class/Status= Low

BACK

Key Theorist•Theorist Andrew Higson (1998) writes; “Identity is generally understood to be the shared identity of naturalized inhabitants of a particular political-geographic space – this can be a particular nation or region.” •According to Higson (1989) there are two ways in which the process of constructing images of national/regional identity should be understood; “The first involves an inward looking process, defining the nation in terms of its own cultural history. The second is a more outward-looking process, defining the nation in terms of its difference from others.”

•Higson also argues that; “Representations of national/regional identity are constructed as the narrative of the text unfolds, as characters are pitted against one another, so a sense of identity emerges…but at the same time producers often resort to stereotyping as a means of establishing character and identity.”•Higson goes on to say; “Stereotyping is a form of

shorthand, a way of establishing character by adopting recognisable and well established conventions of representation…the stereotype reduces characters to the most basic form and attempts to naturalise them and the more widely recognisable they become the more readily they are accepted. Except that if a stereotype becomes more widely recognisable it becomes comic”.

The satellite map shows us a city sprawl so we know that the

programme is set in an urban area. However it is the River

Thames than reveals the specific location as being

London.Regional Identity can be

seen by the views we see in the picture. We can see the countryside in

the distance and we can also see an old vehicle of which is only used in the

countryside.

You can tell that this is set in the country also because the background of the first

picture is the country and in the second picture the

house is styled as a country house. Also, what the

characters are wearing symbolises ‘the country’You can tell that this is set

in an urban estate as there are flats in the background

and the people look like they aren't of a high class

because of the clothes they are wearing therefore we would expect them to live there and if there is a show about them then it

would be set here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01QQB_nrOtU

Views at 0.30 show that the setting is in the country and we see straight away that all the views we see are all of this manor also/

We see that the clothes and possessions (van) show low class as the clothes look old and used as the van that the women is driving does too.

We know that they either run or live on a barn as when they open the barn we see a lot of sheep , which can only really be in the country which backs up our other beliefs.

We then see people decorating a house which we can see was very old by the décor for example the curtains are very countrified which means that if the house was oringinally decorated as if it was in the country it is probably in the country.

We then see the sheep again and the farm surroundings which is repeated throughout which only drums in the fact that they are in the country and that that is their regional identity.

Example

In which of the 12 key regions is Emmerdale set?

Is it important to know this?

How could you tell if you didn’t know?

Stereotyping Norfolk (or Norway)In pairs, try to design a media product that would represent Norfolk’s regional identity. Fit your ideas around Hall’s three different views:1.Reflective approach – a fully accurate representation of Norfolk people (e.g. imagine Educating Norfolk)2.Intentional approach – deliberate stereotype Norfolk people in order to present an ideology or narrative structure (e.g. drugs hidden inside turnips; tractor rage)3.Constructivist approach – create an idea that is a mixture of reality and carefully constructed stereotypes to create interest (e.g. a thriller based on the real problem of immigrant seasonal workers – fruit pickers, etc.)Extension – try to use Higson’s theory and come up with an idea that exploits outsiders’ assumptions of Norfolk’s regional identity but also uses an insider’s view.

PracticeBy now you hopefully have an essay ‘superplan’ for Section 1, which will cover you whatever type of representation you are looking at, and help you remember to write about all four areas.

I will show you a clip and give you about 15 minutes to go through the theories and plan how to use them in your response. You will need to try and analyse the clip using Higson and at least one – preferably two – of the general representation theories.Top answers will ‘argue’ a couple of theories against one another.