1. Richard Dyer (1979)
Stereotypes
Many of the debates and critical approaches to representation
focus upon stereotypes, which, according to Dyer, involve a
number of processes: The complexity and variety of a group is
reduced to few characteristics. An exaggerated version of
these characteristics is applied to everyone in the group as if
they are an essential element of all members of the social
group. These characteristics are represented in the media
through media language. Those who have power stereotype
those without power.
Quote:
David Buckingham
Collective identity
The media do not just offer us a transparent ‘window on the
world’ but a mediated version of the world. They don’t just
present reality, they re-present it
Collective Identity: the individual’s sense of belonging to a
group (part of personal identity); the idea is that through
participating in social activities –in this case, watching films and
television - individuals can gain a sense of belonging and in
essence an identity that transcends the individual.
Quotes:
“A focus on Identity requires us to pay closer attention to the ways in which media and
technologies are used in everyday life and their consequences for social groups”
For example, a soap involves multiple perspectives and no consensus: ambivalence and
contradiction is characteristic of the genre. There is no single 'hero' to identify with and
the wide range of characters in soaps offers viewers a great deal of choice regarding those
with which they might identify. However, think about the role of other types of media;
film, newspapers, magazines, music videos, etc.
“Identity is fluid and changeable”

2. David Gauntlet
Identity is mediated
Identity is now consciously constructed, and the media
provides some of the tools to help us construct our
identities. The media contains a huge number of messages
about identity and acceptable lifestyles. At the same time
the public have their own diverse set of feelings. The media
and media consumers are engaged in a dialogue.
Quotes:
“Representations are only meaningful when processed in the minds of individual audience
members”
“The social construction of identity today is the knowing social construction of identity. Your life is
your project. The media provides some of the tools which can be used in this work”
Stanley Cohen (1972)
Moral Panic
HOW DOES IT WORK? According to Cohen, the media
overreact to an aspect of behaviour which may be seen as a
challenge to existing social norms. However, the media
response and representation of that behaviour actually helps
to define it, communicate it and portrays it as a model for
outsiders to observe and adopt. So the moral panic by
society represented in the media fuels further socially
unacceptable behaviour
Quotes:
“A condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to
societal values and interests; its nature is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion
by the mass media”

3. Stuart Hall
Audience Reception Theory
Preferred/dominant reading- when an audience
accepts the message encoded in the text
Negotiated reading- where an audience largely
accepts what is encode in a text but draws on
sociological and cultural contexts, personal
experiences and opinions in order to create
meaning
Oppositional- when an audience rejects the encoded message
Here the emphasis was put on audience reception and on texts open to more than one
reading. What message is encoded by journalists, filmmakers, and what is decoded by
audience
Roland Barthes
Mythologies
Barthes theorized that mythologies are formed to
perpetuate an idea of society that adheres to the
current ideologies of the ruling class and its media
He argues that an audience looks for signs to help them
interpret what they see.
How myths are constructed
The signifier- a word, image, symbol, etc that can be interpreted
The signified- the message behind the signifier
The sign- the meaning, how we interpret the combination of the signifier and what is
signified (the sum of the signifier and the signified).

4. Antonio Gramsci
Cultural hegemony
The ruling class create a ‘common sense’ ideology where
their own ideologies and values become the norm. These
ideologies and values are constantly being reassessed and
redefined over time.
The idea that there is such a thing as a ‘collective’ identity relies on individual assumptions
that they share all or some of the same values, thoughts, beliefs, interests, customs, etc
with a large amount of other people.