Re - Representation

Representation

Do you know what 'representation' means in relation to media studies?

Representation is a specific media concept that you have to understand and be able to apply.

Representation is how media texts deal with and present gender, age, ethnicity, national and regional identity, social issues and events to an audience. 

Media texts have the power to shape an audience’s knowledge and understanding about these important topics.

This makes them very powerful in terms of influencing ideas and attitudes.

In order to analyse media texts to determine how they've represented ideas and issues, it's important to be familiar with some of the key terms.

Key terms in Representation

Construction

This is the way a media text is put together. In a film or television programme this includes the editing and choice of camera angles, in a magazine or newspaper it includes the layout and writing as well as the choice of images.

Mediation

This is the process everything goes through before it reaches an audience.
This can be how a film script is written and re-written before it makes it to production, how newspaper or magazine photographs are cropped and captioned, or how real life events - like a protest or a speech by a politician - are portrayed in a news report.

Selection

This refers to what has been selected to include in a media text.
This can be particularly important in newspaper articles, where selecting certain facts over others can change the angle of a story; what is omitted is sometimes as important as what is included.

Stereotypes

These are a simplified representation of a person, groups of people or a place, through basic or obvious characteristics - which are often exaggerated.For example, Vicky Pollard from Little Britain is a stereotypical example of a working class teenage girl.

They can be used to describe characters quickly, relying on existing audience recognition.
Stereotypes are dangerous as they can lead audiences to generalise about people or places.

Ideology

These are ideas and beliefs, held by media producers, which are often represented in their media texts.

In a newspaper, the ideology of the owner or senior editors could influence the way certain stories are represented, such as lending support to a particular political party.

In a documentary about asylum seekers, the representation of their story could be influenced by the ideology of the filmmaker or producer.

Exam Question 

In the exam your question will be as follows:

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs the representation of x using the following:

camera shots, angles, movement and composition

editing

sound

mise-en-scene

If you get confused by the wording of the question think of it this way instead:


How is X re-presented to the audience by using the following:

• camera shots, angles, movement and composition
• editing
• sound
• mise-en-scene

The 7 Areas Of Representation

The 7 social groups which could be the focus of the questions are as follows:

Age

Gender

Ethnicity

Sexuality

Social Class and Status

Regional Identity

Physical Ability and Disability

Sample Extract

1. Discuss the ways in which the following extract constructs the representation of age using the following:

• Camera shots, angle, movement and composition
• Editing
• Sound
• Mise-en-scene 

A low angle shot of tan leather shoes walking slowly but confidently across the floor suggests connotations of authority. This then cuts to a medium shot of an older teacher and two young pupils. The teacher conforms to stereotypical representations of older age through elements of the mise-en-scene including his dress code, body language but also his tone of voice. He wears an old fashioned cardigan, is standing with his hands in his pockets and is talking in a sarcastic way to the pupils who wear school uniform (signifying binary oppositions of age), stutter and lack confidence when replying. The teacher is then framed centrally between the two pupils. The camera cuts to a two shot in medium close up of him standing next to a younger teacher again promoting his stereotypical age and wisdom by patronising her for not insuring the video camera in diegetic dialogue and using his body language.

This shot then cuts to a scene where we see an older male site manager (the camera shows a close up of his door plaque) and a young male pupil in conversation. The pupil’s body language is stereotypical as he leans against a wall while the non conformist way he wears his tie (not tied up properly, big knot) has stereotypical connotations of rebellious youth culture. The older site manager sounds verbally more confident and although not a teacher is smartly dressed for the work environment with a pencil behind his ear, itself having connotations of work. This frames him in binary opposition to the boy who appears lazy and who is persuaded by the older wiser site manager to go away and write his essay. In a short period of time during these first two scenes clear stereotypes of older age signifying wisdom and youth signifying rebellion are established.

A long shot front on shows two girls and a boy walking into medium shot along a school corridor. Again, the girls’ dress code suggests rebellion while all three are discussing their parents and a problem with a fellow pupil’s parents. This furthers the connotations of their young age and emphasises their vulnerability and reliance on older adults. However, the connotations of age and wisdom are disrupted in this scene as a close up reveals a girl who describes her parents as a “dad who never comes home” and a “mum who is a ho-bag”. This burst of diegetic dialogue is important in challenging age stereotypes representing older people as more responsible, as quirky upbeat non-diegetic music starts. This music reinforces stereotypes of youth culture and the school environment they are in.

In the following scene we see a male teacher positioned higher than his pupils behind a desk in a stereotypical classroom situation. He is framed in medium shot. The mise-en-scene anchors his age, authority and status with objects and props including school desks, books, wall displays and a white board projection representing the younger pupils. In terms of dress code there is also a clear difference between the older teacher and the students as his authority is revealed by his dress code, which includes a shirt and tie but also with sleeves rolled up suggesting he is ready for some serious work. The pupils wear their uniforms casually rejecting stereotypical conformity with one girl wearing larger hooped earrings.

The non-diegetic music changes to something more fast tempo as club music (more upbeat than before) and use of hand held camera introduce two students, Amy and Stuart, in confrontation. The moving hand held camera, increased tempo of the music and framing all add to reinforce the fact that this is a stereotypical school spat between two young pupils. As the teacher rushes in the pace of the editing increases as it appears that the boy is having an asthma attack. The older teacher uses his stereotypical calmness and authority to deal with the situation while diegetic dialogue parallels the anxiety that the editing represents with phrases uttered by the teacher like “where is his inhaler?” The club music is edited into a piece of music with more hip hop connotations and is used as a sound bridge to the next scene cutting to a low angle shot of a man in front of a set of doors.

The camera tilts up to reveal an older Maths teacher looking embarrassed wearing stereotypically young person’s clothing including low slung jeans with high visible underpants, trainers and a music t-shirt. This then intercuts with a shot of a bubbly young girl in high angle standing on the stair trying to reassure him that he looks OK. The camerawork challenges the traditional meaning of low angle and high angle by representing the subject shot in low angle (the teacher) as vulnerable; he is trying to appeal more to his pupils by dressing younger. His vulnerability is reinforced by a two shot of two schoolgirls laughing at him for trying to look more fashionable even though the girl on the stairs states: “what do kids know about fashion?” In this respect the girl on the stairs challenges the stereotype of a younger person by showing stronger affiliation with someone who is older than her rather than siding with those who are closer to her own age. Finally, a medium close up of two teachers reveals one trying to persuade the other to go back to his usual dress code while the presence for the first time of only adults in the frame signifies the end of the non-diegetic music.

Explanation/analysis/argument: 

• Excellent understanding of the way that technical aspects are used to construct a representation. 
• Clear logical deconstruction of text linking directly to the question.

Use of examples: 

• Good range of examples and appropriate sequences analysed to reveal a representation. There are some other examples that could have been referred to but this does not deter from the overall quality of the essay.
• The key focus has been on camera shots, angles, movement, composition, mise-en-scene and sound with some reference to editing, which perhaps could have been developed a little more.

Use of Terminology: 

• Sophisticated use of media language and technical terminology.

QWC (Quality of Written Communication)

Complex issues expressed clearly and fluently, sentences and paragraphs consistently relevant and well structured with few, if any, errors of grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Mark: 46/50 (A Grade equivalent)