Representation

Nowadays, people in the media can use any picture, video or even a single word to completely change a certain opinion on something.

For example, in this video Russell Brand highlights, in a comedic but ultimately serious manner, how Bill O'Reilly manipulates the argument against immigrants in the US on Fox News:







There are several key definitions used to summarise representation:

Bonjour: Above is a
stereotypical Frenchman

Stereotypes: These are used so the audience can instantly understand a character and make assumptions.

Archetypes: This is the ultimate stereotype. An example of this is an English person watching cricket, eating scones and drinking tea.

 

Counter type:  This is someone or something that doesn't conform to the traditional stereotype.

 

Mogul: This is the person who has control over editors and owns a media outlet who has great power and can manipulate issues to suit what they want. An example being Rupert Murdoch. 

 

Representation: This is the way people or events are presented to the audience. This is normally done in a way in which viewers can identify with. So if you were making a film about drug dealing in an urban ghetto it is likely the characters would be represented with specific stereotypes, for example being black or mixed race.

The Male Gaze (Laura Mulvey):

In Laura Mulvey's opinion, the cinema puts the audience in a males position, with the women on screen seen as an object of desire. Mulvey suggests two distinct modes:

• "Voyeuristic" - women as whores
• "Fetishistic" - women as unreachable Madonna's

Although recently there's been change.Such as in the new James Bond movies, as you can see below:

Role Reverse: The women in Spring Breakers (left) are all scantily dressed and are composed in a way which suggests promiscuity. They are seen as sexual objects. James Bond (right), is being portrayed as a sexual icon.

The Bechdel Test:

The Bechdel test asks if a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. Many contemporary works fail this test of gender bias. This is a prime example of how the media represent women and men.

The test revolves around the idea of two women having a conversation:

1. The conversation have at least two (named - important) character women in it)).
2. They have a conversation with each other.
3. The conversation has to be about something other than a man.

Representation Task



In this particular scene of Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle, some little boys are behaving mischievously on an overcrowded train which is travelling through the Indian countryside.

 

This scene represents the Indian community to be very poor and impoverished. The little boys cheekily move through the train stealing food. This highlights that crime is a problem in the region. The train is very cramped and in poor condition, this further helps create a stereotype that the Indian community is lacking in widespread wealth. Some of the people's clothes are dirty and have holes in which gives the stereotypical impression that the people are unclean and lack sanitation.