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Representation in the Media

An explanation of a very important critical perspective you


need to know for the A2 exam and your research project.

Lets put representation into context using the idea of


presentation

The real world is presented to us all the time:

People, groups of people (teenagers), places (London), events (the UK


general election) and ideas (religion) are presented to us in our daily
lives; it is real, we see the truth.

However, the media tries to present the real world to us through the
TV, Internet, Newspapers and films. The media can keep trying but it is
virtually impossible to present the real world through TV, the Internet
and newspapers, but why?

Its because the media always have a plan (an agenda). For
example, to make a media text that is entertaining in some way. For
example, the BBC News. They use cameras, sounds, use editing - this
chops reality up! Therefore, all the media can do is record 'a second
hand version' of these people, events and ideas - it is clearly not the
thing itself. This is why we can only use the term REPRESENTATION.

Explain why there is a warning sign here?

DEFINITION: RE-PRESENTATION IS THE MEDIAS WAY OF


MAKING MEANING. EVERYTHING IN THE MEDIA IS A RE-
PRESENTATION

Construction

The media shape, select, build and mould their idea of the real
world - they construct it according to their plan or agenda. They
want to focus the audience in a particular way.
The key media word we need to use is in our writing is
CONSTRUCTION.

When constructing a media text the media go through a process.


This is called MEDIATION. So what do they do in this process?

Well, for example, a real event may happen in the real world e.g. The
2004 Tsunami that devastated Thailand. The BBC news reported
this event for a TV audience and they think they are presenting facts -
the recording process involved using home video camera shots of the
Tsunami, interviews with people after the event, a BBC news reporter
who didn't see the event happening and is in a London studio, and
recorded camera shots of the event AFTER the event has happened.
The media then need to select and organize the right camera
footage in a particular order to make it part of their plan or agenda.
Maybe their plan/agenda is to have the audience really focus on the
terrible effects of the Tsunami and to really sympathize with this
terrible event.

The media have constructed a re-presentation of the event, and


this whole process it called mediation. The media is in the middle
of the event and the audience.

The Challenge:
Can you draw a little diagram to illustrate the process of mediation?
See this diagram for further help:

The image below is just an image its NOT a real happy family
it is a re-presentation of a happy family that has been
constructed.

This is a professionally taken picture for a magazine. Whilst there is no


way to know if the people in the picture are related, it is most probable
they are not, but are professional models. They have been selected
and arranged in the photo. The photo has been composed for a
variety of reasons.

Even then, further mediation takes place because the


photographer will have to think:

1. If the photograph needs to be large or small?


2. Will the photo have a caption, or have a headline?
3. Who will they select for the photograph?
4. Will the photo have to be cropped/manipulated?
5. And most importantly, what is the plan/agenda of the
magazine institution? e.g. To purely entertain an
audience? To attempt to give factual information?

An example of analyzing re-presentation in a media text

The facial expressions of the mum and


dad connote happiness. The framing
of the photo connotesunity of the
family and physical closeness. The
mother acts as a nurturer as she has
her arms around two of the children.

The father, carrying the child,


signifies his care and masculine
strength.

The framing of the picture and the


angle of the shot focuses our attention
on their faces revealing that their
happiness is the most important
aspect of this group

Both parents are patient, kind and


conservatively dressed which
suggests they are not the kind of
family youll see on Supernanny
(C4).
The Challenge:

Imagine the happy family image is for a media text e.g. newspaper,
magazine, or advert. Create your own a headline, caption and state the
institution and anchor them on the image.

Questions we MUST ourselves when analysing representations:

WHO has created the representation?

WHAT is the PLAN/AGENDA or INTENTION of the institution that is


constructing the media text?

WHO or WHAT is being represented?

WHO (the audience) is the media text aimed at?

HOW is the representation constructed?

WHAT is the effect of the representation?

WHY is the representation created in that way?

WHAT ideologies are constructed within this representation?

The Challenge:

Choose a contemporary magazine front cover, a newspaper article with


photo and caption, or a film poster you like. Analyse it answering all
the above questions. Write a good chucky paragraph.

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