Below are some resources to help you see how journalists or reviewers write about a certain media product. This is the detail we are looking for in classwork or practice work / essays:

​

QUICK LINKS

> Exemplar Writing About Representation

> How Media Products Represent People

> How Media Products Represent Places

> How Media Products Represent Issues

> How Media Products Represent Events

​

WHAT TO WRITE ON REPRESENTATION IN MY WORK

Write a paragraph about how the product represents people, places, issues and events

• In the film how people are generally represented (shown/portrayed)?

  • Explain! Positive and negative representation? Stereotypes? Who is being represented? Why?  Is there a message? Linked to genre?

• In the film how places are represented (shown/portrayed)?

  • Explain! Positive and negative representation? Stereotypes? How are the places or locations represented? Why?  Is there a message? Linked to genre?

• In the film how issues and events are represented (shown/portrayed)?

  • Explain! Positive and negative representation? Stereotypes? How are issues represented? Why?  Is there a message? Linked to genre?

 

Sum up if you think the product is playing to an active or passive audience with the representation of the people, place or issues or events. Is it a Preferred, Negotiated or Oppositional reading?

​

THEORY

​

How Media Products Represent People  > go to top

>>> Lesson Powerpoint- here

​

MEN

Representations of men have changed over the past two decades with the emergence of the 'new man' or 'metrosexual', a man in touch with his feminine side and interested in romance, fashion, health and fitness.

​

However, the main focus is still on the traditional idea of masculinity which is strong, heroic, with the ability to outsmart life's problems and survive against all odds.

​

This kind of masculine representation is seen in action-adventure characters such as James Bond or Indiana Jones.

Sometimes this heroic representation of masculinity is challenged in action-adventures. In Skyfall, we see an ageing James Bond, a more vulnerable hero. This is a more realistic representation of masculinity and age.

​

WOMEN

Representations of women in the media have developed and changed with time to reflect the cultural and sociological changes in society. However, female stereotypes continue to appear in some media texts.

​

Representations of women are often defined by how men see women (termed the 'male gaze'), or by how society expects women to look and behave. Many representations of women concentrate on sexuality and emotions. Others focus on their relationships with their children or romantic partners.

​

YOUNG PEOPLE
Young people are often represented negatively in media texts, which can cause controversy and stimulate debate. Positive representations of young people in the media are much less frequent because positive representations are not as dramatic or entertaining.

​

The main media texts which offer positive representation of young people are usually situations which allow them to represent themselves, within a specific context. For instance, auditions on talent shows such as Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor or celebrations of their good deeds on charity programmes like Children in Need.

​

Are the media portraying "the people" them in a positve or negative way? Is it stereotypical or not? Does it relate to the genre?

Are the media portraying young males or adult males in a positve or negative way? Is it stereotypical or not? Does it relate to the genre?

Are the media portraying young females or adult females in a positve or negative way? Is it stereotypical or not? Does it relate to the genre?

Are the media portraying minorities / religions / differing sexual orientations  in a positve or negative way? Is it stereotypical or not? Does it relate to the genre?

What are the characters portrayed like? What about people with mise en scene?

​​

How Media Products Represent Places > go to top

>>> Lesson Powerpoint- here

​

Media representations play a crucial role in the place image context. Perceptions of places, including countries or tourist destinations, are influenced by the ways in which they are represented by the media. It could be language, colour of skin, sterotypess or key places and national minuments.

​

National identity- National identity is based on the features of a specific country - its culture, traditions, language and politics.

Regional identity- also based on geographical area but can be quite broad (someone could be from the North or the South of England) or more specific (they could be Glaswegian or Cornish).

​

Representations of national and regional identity often focus on certain stereotypical characteristics and customs associated with the nation or region. For example, that the French are romantic, Italians are the best cooks or the Irish are friendly.

​

Stereotypical representations can include the costume or dress of a particular place, for instance in Emmerdale Zak Dingle wears a flat cap and wellies showing he is a farmer from a rural area. Accents and dialects can also be used to represent a particular national or regional identity. The main soaps in the UK feature distinct accents – Coronation Street is set in Manchester,

​

How Media Products Represent Issues > go to top

>>> Lesson Powerpoint- here

​

Issues are important subjects or topics that people discuss and debate. Issues can include things like education, poverty or body image and can often be controversial - like immigration, LGBT rights or climate change. Media representations of controversial issues can be very influential especially if they are the only opinion on a certain subject that a person reads or hears.

​

• Poverty is an issue that is highlighted by the rise in the use of food banks

• The way the media represents body image often comes in for criticism.

• Fashion magazines and some TV programmes tend to represent beauty narrowly - as white, thin and without any imperfections This is an unrealistic representation and can create pressure for young people to conform to an image that may have been created by technological manipulation. Adverts featuring beauty and anti-ageing products are often regarded as unrealistic representations. There have been some challenges to these types of advertising: complaints to the ASA led to two adverts from Lancôme and Maybelline featuring celebrities, Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington, being banned. These adverts were deemed to represent an unrealistic portrayal of the effectiveness of the beauty products and for making unrealistic claims about their products.As a result of this case many advertisements must declare if the image has been digitally altered in post-production, or if implants, hair extensions and other cosmetic enhancements have been used.

​

How Media Products Represents Events > go to top

>>> Lesson Powerpoint- here

​

Events like war, accidents, terrorist attacks, political or celebrity scandals, sporting occasions or criminal trials can all be represented by different media texts in different ways.

​

When analysing how an event is represented, it is important to think about how the representation has been constructed and what might affect it.

Always consider:

• The ideology of the media text: different newspapers have different ideologies or editorial stances that might affect how an event is portrayed. This can be particularly noticeable in political events like elections when some newspapers support certain parties.#

• Codes and Conventions: The mode of address, technical, visual and audio codes, as well as any images used will all affect the representation of an event. The same photo with a different caption can create a very different representation of the same event.

• Mediation:The representation will have been constructed with certain information selected by the media producer. In a gossip magazine there might be an article about a celebrity not looking their best however the context of the photos selected might not be mentioned - they may have been at the gym or be unwell, which would explain why they don’t look perfect. Often the information that has been left out can be as important as what has been included.

• The target Audience: Who the media text is aimed at will affect how certain events are represented. For instance, a quality newspaper and tabloid newspaper will represent the immigration debate in very different ways.

Many people follow events as they unfold on social media. This could be checking for breaking news updates if there has been an accident or terrorist attack, or following a celebrity scandal as it unfolds.

​

Like other representations, social media can sometimes only show one side or opinion of an event. For instance, if you were to follow an election on social media but only looked at posts from one person you would get a very narrow representation of that election.

​

​EXAMPLE 1: MADE UP MOVIE > go to top

​

The film “Where Is Clive?” is a story about crime and gangs in 1920’s New York in the time of the Great Depression. The main 3 characters are Clive, Sergeant Miller and Mario Martinez or Mr M. In the film Clive is a young, confident but grubby individual that is looking for a way to make money. His character is very believable to the target audience of 13 to 18 year old males as his clothes are of that time period but grubby from his environment and his day job as a road sweeper in big city New York. Clive represents hope in an economic downturn but is not a stereotypical villain and “bound” to turn bad as the story develops.  Sergeant Miller….

 

The location of 1920’s New York is a stereotypical big city with the mise-en scene of the 1920’s era. The locations are dark, gloomy and shadowy with the “greyness” of the sky giving the audience a sense of “depression” or “loss of hope” which works well. The….

 

The issues of poverty and despair are shown so well in this film. Clive’s family are poor but there is a real sense of shame and stigma about this and hits the audience square on. As Mark Kermode said about the film “Where Is Clive was written by Joanna Selmey not only to bring the historical aspect of poverty to the forefront but also show that little has changed”. We see that Clive….

 

I think the film attracts an active audience as the film does make you think on issues from socio economic despair to crime and the need to belong. The trailer does not pull any punches on issues of poverty, crime and despair so audiences are drawn to it knowing they will be discussing it on the way home.