Representation:

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 someones 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.
Key Ideas:
A key theorist in the representation field is Laura Mulvey. Mulvey
argues that the camera always positions the audience as male. The
camera effectively gazes at the female object on screen, thus not
only sexualising them when it may not be a directors intent, but also
proving a problem for the feminist movement (the one supporting
men and women to be equal) in objectifying women through the
media, thus not proving them equals to men. Laura Mulvey offers
the concept that females within the media are reduced to a passive,
objectified state, existing purely for the visual pleasure of a male
audience. However, the concept for my video both adheres to and
opposes her theory. This is through firstly I am only having females
in my music video so this provides a strong representation of
women as well as adhering to Laura Mulveys theory as the
message my video is trying to portray will be through the medium;
the male gaze camera. It also both adheres to and opposes Mulveys
theory through my artists changing personalities throughout the
sequences as sometimes she is passive in the fame industry she
lives in, e.g. being styled by someone else with no input.
Conversely, she is also not passive as she breaks away from the
constraints of fame and its pressures as the video progresses
through stripping back all of the makeup and outfits into more of a
pure, raw form and expresses her inner anger and emotion through
dance. However, when analysing the video it could be argued that
the entire sequence adheres to Mulveys male gaze theorem as she
could always be seen in a sexualised, objective manner through the
way she looks, the camera shots and the body language she
possesses specifically through dance as despite it being an

expression of emotion, it could also be construed as fairly

provocative in her ballet clothing for example.