1. Representation
Exam: Section A

2. A media Studies
Key Concept

3. A media Studies
Key Concept
Re-presentation

4. Representation is…

5. Representation is…
The process by which the
media presents the “real
world” to an audience

6. Media texts construct
meanings about the
world…

7. • photographs

8. • photographs
• films

9. • photographs
• films
• websites

10. • photographs
• films
• websites
• posters

11. • photographs
• films
• websites
• posters
• television programmes

12. all texts helping us to
make sense of the world

13. they construct meaning
and re-present the world

14. stereotypes

15. stereotypes
What are they?

16. stereotypes
What are they?
Why are they important?

17. stereotypes
a form of representation in which
groups of people are characterised
by attributing to them qualities that
some individuals possess and which
later become associated with the
whole group.

18. a stereotype - punks

19. a stereotype - punks

20. a stereotype - punks

21. a stereotype - punks
punks are associated with safety
pins in their clothes, body piercings,
Mohican hair cuts and aggressive
behaviour.
This is a stereotype of a punk

22. a stereotype - punks
punks are associated with safety
pins in their clothes, body piercings,
Mohican hair cuts and aggressive
behaviour.
This is a stereotype of a punk

23. but many punks are
not like this and
many people who
dress and behave this way
are not punks.

24. single mother

25. single mother

26. single mother

27. single mother

28. stereotypes
widely circulated ideas about
particular social groups

29. stereotypes
widely circulated ideas about
particular social groups

30. stereotypes
widely circulated ideas about
particular social groups

31. stereotypes
widely circulated ideas about
particular social groups

32. stereotypes
widely circulated ideas about
particular social groups

34. ACTIVITY
Working in pairs,
use Google images to find
another typical stereotype
and then show that it is
not always true

36. stereotypes
Why are they important?

37. stereotypes
they are an essential
tool for media producers

38. stereotypes
they are an essential
tool for media producers
this means that they are
essential for you in your practical
coursework

39. stereotypes
they are an essential
tool for media producers
they are essential for you
in your practical coursework

40. stereotypes
used as a shorthand to condense
what could be a lot of complex
information and detail into a character
who is easily recognised and
understood

41. stereotypes
used as a shorthand to condense
what could be a lot of complex
information and detail into a character
who is easily recognised and
understood

42. stereotypes
used as a shorthand to condense
what could be a lot of complex
information and detail into a character
who is easily recognised and
understood

43. stereotypes
An essential tool for media
producers because they
make it easier for the audience to
understand the character and his or
her role in the text

45. 4
The characteristics
of a stereotype

46. stereotype characteristics
categorisation and evaluation
1 of the group being stereotyped

47. stereotype characteristics
emphasis on some easily
2 grasped features of the group,
suggesting that these are the
cause of the group’s position

48. stereotype characteristics
A tendency to evaluate the
3 group negatively

49. stereotype characteristics
A tendency to evaluate the
3 group negatively
(not always the case)

50. stereotype characteristics
an insistence on absolute
4 distances and boundaries
(from other groups) where
the idea of a spectrum of
difference is more appropriate

52. representation is…
not just about how we
see people, places and
objects but how we
interpret what we see

53. representation is…
not just about how we
see people, places and
objects but how we
interpret what we see

54. interpretation…
depends as much on who
we are as what
we, see, hear or read.

55. interpretation…
we all see things differently

56. We all see things
differently, depending on…

57. We all see things
differently, depending on…
• our culture

58. We all see things
differently, depending on…
• our culture
• our education

59. Questions we
should always
ask…

60. How accurate are
representations?

61. How accurate are
representations?
What is the truth?

62. How accurate are
representations?
What is the truth?
Is it possible to be wholly
accurate?

64. A film representation of
a character consists
4
of at least factors

65. representation consists of…
the character - gender,
1 ethnicity, age, sexuality
and look

66. representation consists of…
the collective cultural
2 background and views
of the producer/director
and institution

67. representation consists of…
the audience’s reaction
3 to the character

68. representation consists of…
the audience’s reaction
3 to the character
(also depends on cultural
background)

69. representation consists of…
When and where the
4 representation takes place.

70. representation consists of…
When and where the
4 representation takes place.
Cinema/home/laptop/
classroom/friend’s house, etc.

71. representation consists of…
When and where the
4 representation takes place.
(the viewing context)

72. How far can we trust the
representation to be an
accurate portrayal?

73. In whose interest is it that
the representation is
made in this way?

74. How do we relate to
the representations?

76. mediation

77. mediation
The process by which a media text
represents an idea, issue or
event to an audience

78. a real event
mediation
audience

79. mediation
Seeing something through a lens
changes the perspective, shape and
size of a person and so how the
audience perceives that person.
It has been mediated

80. 3
There are
to mediation
elements

81. mediation…
SELECTION
1 Whatever ends up on the screen
much more will have been
left out

82. mediation…
ORGANISATION
2 the various elements will be
organised carefully in ways
that real life is not

83. mediation…
ORGANISATION
2 real life is chaotic and often
random – film and TV is not

84. mediation…
ORGANISATION
2 real life is chaotic and often
random – film and TV is not
this leads to…

85. mediation…
FOCUSING
3 The audience is encouraged
towards concentrating on
one aspect of the text in
favour of the others.

86. mediation…
FOCUSING
3 Panning, zooming,
cutting to a close-up, directing
the audience’s attention

87. mediation is …
• SELECTION

88. mediation is …
• SELECTION
• ORGANISATON

89. mediation is …
• SELECTION
• ORGANISATON
• FOCUSING

90. mediation is …
• SELECTION

91. mediation is …
• SELECTION
• EMPHASIS

92. mediation is …
• SELECTION
• EMPHASIS
• CONTROL

93. making any media text is…
• SELECTION
• EMPHASIS
• CONTROL