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Representing the world

M tudiesSedia

Representation is:the constructed and mediated presentation of people, things,ideas, places etc.

andrepresentation is:the process by which the media present the ‘real world’ (Rayner)

The idea of representation is an important one in understandingmeaning in media texts.

In other words, everything in the media is a representation –everything we see is being represented.Individuals – Chantelle Houghton (Celebrity Big Brother: C42006)Groups – TeenagersPlaces - New YorkNations – IranIdeas – Religion/the familyRegions/Locations - the North of England

Questions we would ask when analysing representations:WHO or WHAT is being represented?HOW is the representation created?WHO has created the representation?WHY is the representation created in that way? What is theintention?WHAT is the effect of the representation?

When starting to consider this concept, it is worth considering theword itself.

Representations are … re/presentations

The media re-presents people, ideas and events. What we see in themedia is in some way a ‘second-hand’ version – it is clearly not thething itself. The representation has been created or constructed bythe selection of specific media language elements. In addition,everything we see in a media text has gone through some processto get to us – this is called mediation.

This is not a happy family – it is a re-presentation of a happyfamily.

This is a professionally-taken andposed picture. Whilst there is no wayto know if the people in the picture arerelated, it is most probable they arenot, but are professional models.

The facial expressions connotehappiness and the framing showsunity and physical closeness. The‘mother’ acts as a nurturer as she hasher arms around two of the childrenand the ‘father’, carrying the child,depicts a caring, masculine strength.The framing of the picture and theangle of the shot focuses our attention on their faces showingthat their happiness is the most important aspect of this groupand other visual clues provide an understanding of a range ofideals about family and gender roles: the female child is sweetand sensitive; the small male child is boisterous and a bit of ahandful (although controlled by a strong yet gentle father);both parents are patient, kind and conservatively dressed – notthe kind of family you’ll see on Supernanny (C4).

This Factsheet provides an introduction to the study of mediarepresentations.1. What is representation?2. The Construction and Mediation of Representations3. Audiences perceptions of representations – including i) the

reflective, ii) the intentional and iii) the constructionistapproaches

4. Why do we need to consider representations?

1. What is representation?

2. The Construction and Mediation of Representations

A news photograph for example may appear to be presenting uswith a factual image but it has been through a process ofconstruction:• the photographer has selected his/her position, lens, angle,

exposure and framing before taking the picture• the picture editor will decide if the image needs to be cropped,

enhanced or in any way altered before inclusion into the paper• an editor will choose which, of the many available

photographs of the image, will be the one chosen for inclusionin the newspaper and, importantly at this stage, the imageswhich do not meet the needs of the text will be rejected

Even then, further mediation takes place:• Will the photograph be large or small?• Will the photograph be on the front page or, less visible, on

page 8?

Placement choices like this, along with cropping and framing, act tofocus the attention of the reader in a certain way.• What headline and text will be used to accompany the

photograph?• Will the photograph have a caption?• Will it be positioned close to another photograph?

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3. Audience Perceptions of RepresentationsA). Representations as Reflections (the reflective approach)Sometimes representations are assumed by an audience to simplyreplicate the real world.

Some audience members may perceive the News, Documentaries andReality TV for example as portraying a straightforward reality. Newsbroadcasts present information as fact and great care is taken to attemptto create an aura of authority and trust. Even with fictional programming,the audience can often perceive what is presented as ‘real’.

Soap Operas concentrate on making media language choices whichgive the appearance of reality as it is an expectation of the genre.Newspapers and magazines discuss fictional characters and eventsas if they were real and, often, dramatic story-lines are discussedand debated as if they are happening to people we know.

This is not to say that the audience necessarily believes there is anAlbert Square or an area in Manchester called Weatherfield butthey need to believe that these places are in some way reflectingthe world as it is. For the British soap opera, this idea is crucial – itis one of the genre expectations the audience will have and it needsfulfilling.

Soaps need to generate an idea of identification within the audience.The characters, places and events must be such that the audiencecan relate them to their own lives and experiences of the world. Thisis a genre convention and an important aspect of the success ofsoap operas.

The Queen Victoria – Part of the mise-en-scene of Eastenders (BBC).The location has been created to look as realistic as possible.(www.bbc.co.uk)

Each of these choices will have an impact on the idea that theaudience takes from the image:• a large photograph connotes importance as does placing it on

the front page of the newspaper,• text can add either a negative or positive connotation to an image,• by placing pictures next to each other the audience can be guided

into making connections between them.

So, even in the most apparently factual representations, choicesare made which means that the image is not simply a recording of anactual event or a person. These images have been selecteddepending on the ideas that need to be communicated by the text.Every decision that is made about the person/place/objectrepresented is made for a reason and this selection process can addto, take away from and alter meaning at each stage of the process.

A representation is the final product after all of the decisions havebeen made. Meaning is made in the construction of the representationand the combination of all the choices come together in order forthe audience to ‘read’ and interpret the information provided.

To summarise, the selection process is:••••• The decision over what is chosen to be represented and what is

rejected;••••• The choices made when organising the representation:••••• The options taken to focus the audience in a certain way.

AQA/OCR/WJEC?Each awarding body cites representation as one of its central conceptsand it is part of the assessment of all textual analyses papers. OCRgives a number of specific representational topics that can be coveredas part of the textual analysis paper whereas WJEC details a range ofmedia forms that should be studied. AQA does not specify what groupsor forms could be examined in textual analysis but expects that ananalysis of representations in the text provided will be part of the examresponse.

The concept is also central to the AS essay based exam topics set byAQA and WJEC.

Representations will be developed further and examined at A2.

All media texts are constructed in this way:factual programming on TV is shot and edited before beingbroadcast;

every aspect of the mise-en-scene of a film text is carefully chosenin order that it creates the right impression on the audience;the words selected in newspaper and magazine articles are part ofthe construction of the final representations.

A theorist called White spoke of the ‘gatekeepers’ - that is thepeople who are part of the decision making process in theconstruction of media texts. Magazine editors, journalists, writers,photographers, directors etc. all play a part in the creation ofrepresentations and act as gatekeepers selecting what informationwill be passed on and how it will be communicated. They selectwhat will (and will not) be represented and how.

Representing the Real in British Soap OperasBritish soaps try to maintain the illusion of reality. This occursthrough the use of specific media language choices in each of thefive categories:1. Lighting – selected to appear as if diegetic. Light appears to

come from natural sources – daylight, streetlights, lamps etc;2. Music – rarely non-diegetic. Pub jukeboxes and radios are

often seen to be the source of music which is often carefullyselected to parallel the dramatic action;

3. Editing - mainly straight cuts to create invisible editing;4. Camera work – predominantly eye-level shots. Mid-shots

and close ups are the main choice as they depict the actionfrom the audience’s eye-level as if they are there observingthe scene. Extreme close ups are also used when the directorwants to show the significance of a specific item or facialexpression;

5. Mise–en-scene – soaps try to emulate a very ordinary setting.Extras are used to populate public areas and houses aredecorated to look ‘lived in’. Dialogue is written to reflect realconversations and clothes chosen to reflect current fashions.

The genre, therefore, emulates a recognisable world whichappears as if real. Of course, in doing so, what is also created areideas about values and ideologies – the attitudes, ideas aboutmorality and acceptable behaviour are also portrayed as real.

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B) Representations as Deliberate Constructions (the intentionalapproach)

Sometimes, representations are seen to be a deliberate attempt tocreate associations and ideas for the audience.

Michael Moore can easily be seen to have a political agenda withhis documentary making. In Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), hisrepresentation of President Bush was carefully constructed to createa specific idea of an idiotic and corrupt man. He selected imagesand quotes carefully which would support his perspective andrejected images and quotes that may have challenged this idea ofthe US president. He juxtaposed these images with news footage,interviews and other images which would anchor his meaning andensure that throughout the film the idea of President Bush wasconsolidated.

Advertising can be seen in this way too as the linking together ofideas and images to a product is used to persuade the audience toact in a certain way.

Men’s shavers/razors are often representedalongside images of cars and planes. Thecolours used in the adverts are those withassociations of masculinity: silver, blackand red dominate in the advertising.Sporting celebrities such as DavidBeckham are used to endorse the productsand the culmination of these elements inthe representation are that razors areassociated with strength and an idea ofmachismo and sophistication. However,there is nothing essentially masculineabout the razor. It is simply a tool that isrequired for a specific purpose.

Women also purchase this tool but when it is marketed to thempastel colours, curved shapes and words with feminine associationare used.

Whether you use a Mach 3 or a Venus, theeffect is the same, the removal of body hair.However, the way the products arerepresented creates very differentassociations, all linked to ideas aboutgender identity and expectations.

These associations are part of therepresentations of the product and are acalculated and deliberate appeal to theconsumer group that is targeted. Nothingforces the audience to accept therepresentations as presented.

Exam HintWhen discussing representations, you will need to considerHOW they are constructed through the media language choicesmade. However, you should also consider WHY they are cre-ated the way they are and impact of the representations: themeaning they create and the effect on the audience which willmean you will need to relate representation to the other mediaconcepts such as audience, narrative, genre, institution andideology.

However, the producers can be seen to be attempting to, as far aspossible, create specific associations and ideas for the audience.

Even though some media texts can be seen to be very deliberatelycreating ideas and associations through representations, this wayof viewing the media can lead to an undermining of the audience.There is an assumption here that these intentionalist methods arealways successful and the audience is ‘victim’ to the ideas createdby the media. It assumes they are passive and unable to recognisethe techniques being used. Clearly this is a simplistic view of theaudience and does not take into account their ability to interpretinformation for themselves. However, advertising does work.Successful products and brands rely on it to alert the audience tothe existence of their product and to persuade them to choose itover the alternatives that are available. They pay large amounts ofmoney for space on TV, in magazines, on billboards etc. specificallyfor this purpose.

Another approach to understanding the way the audience interpretrepresentations takes both these factors this into account andconsiders how the audience is also active in the creation of meaningin representations.

C). The Constructionist ApproachA useful way of thinking about representation is that the meaningsare created by the relationship between the producers, the text andthe audience:• The representation is constructed with a set of ideas and values

(producer’s intent/intended meaning)• The context of the representation is part of the representation

(media language choices, anchorage, media form, placement/location, genre expectations etc.)

• The audience reacts to this representation and this depends ontheir own personal interpretational context: age, gender, political/religious beliefs, nationality etc. (negotiated meaning)

Thinking about representation in this way takes into account thepersonal interpretations made by individuals and accepts that onerepresentation may create different meanings for different audiencemembers. This is a useful way to consider media texts – if the targetaudience for the text is taken into account when thinking aboutrepresentations it can help with determining the different responsesthat texts can create.

In The Day After Tomorrow (2004, dir. R. Emmerich) there is arepresentation of a group of British scientists who assist the heroof the text (an American scientist) by providing him with informationon the impending ecological changes that act as the main conflictfor the film.

The representation shows the British as living in a low-techenvironment and this is in sharp contrast to the technologicallyadvanced laboratory used by the Americans. The British are depictedin extreme peril and the representation uses the stereotype of the‘stiff upper lip’ mentality as they are represented dealing with dangercalmly and pragmatically. They salute the Queen and ManchesterUnited and deal with the crisis by opening a bottle of well maturedwhisky.

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004 - Representing the world Media Studieswww.curriculum-press.co.uk

This representation plays on a number of national stereotypes that may not be as obvious to the target audience of the film. (Even thoughHollywood films are marketed for a global audience the majority of their profits will come from the domestic audience – that is otherAmericans). As a British audience watching this film, we may be struck by the limited view of the British. This representation will beinterpreted differently depending on the perspective of the audience.

This is not to say that the director is ignorant about the British or that he deliberately constructed the British to look weaker than theAmericans. He would have used past textual examples to base his representations on and his own experience of the British which wouldalmost certainly not be as detailed or accurate as the knowledge the British have about themselves as a nation.

Therefore, the representation’s meaning is dependent on who is watching, reading and interpreting the text.

4. Why do we need to consider representations?

Q. Look at a text which represents you (your age group, your gender, your race, your religion). How accurate are these representations?Who do you think is creating the representation? Is it someone like you?

As Media students it is important to recognise how what we see in any media text is a constructedrepresentation rather than a simple reflection of reality. Once this is recognised it is important toconsider the meanings created by these representations and both the reasons why they are createdthe way they are and the effects the representations may have. It is also important to consider thatmost representations are constructed by someone outside the group that is being depicted.

Dyer said: ‘How we are seen determines how we are treated, how we treat others is based on how wesee them. How we see them comes from representation.’ Given the volume of representations we areexposed to whilst accessing the media, it is unsurprising that they are seen to be influential in the waywe the audience make sense of the world.

Acknowledgements: This Media Studies Factsheet was researched and written by Steph HendryCurriculum Press. Bank House, 105 King Street, Wellington, TF1 1NU. Sociology Factsheets may be copied free of charge by teachingstaff or students, provided that their school is a registered subscriber. No part of these Factsheets may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted, in any other form or by any other means, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISSN 1351-5136

Image Web referenceswww.ivillage.co.ukwww.bbc.co.ukwww.amazon.comwww.pharmacy2u.co.uk