Theories of representation

1. Theories of Media
Representation

2. Representation
Representation in Media Studies refers to
the construction in any medium
(especially the mass media) of aspects
of ‘reality’ such as people, places,
objects, events and cultural identities.
All media texts re-present the real world
to us. They show us one version of
reality

3. Theory of Representation
So the theory of representation in Media Studies
means thinking about how a particular person
or group of people are being presented to the
audience.

4. The easiest way to understand representation is
to understand that watching a film or TV is not
the same as watching something happen in
real life.

5. Representation is a process
Media
Triangle

6. Issues of Power in Representation
Karl Marx was interested in power. He analysed
how how societies are structured and how
they are unfair.
His main proposition was that ‘the masses’ were
controlled by the bourgeoisie (the elite).
The bourgeoisie own the means of production
and therefore have power over the
masses/workers

7. The Marxist Model

8. The Marxist Model developed
Although print and cinema were around when Marx
was writing, the media was less pervasive or
saturated than it is today. Although Marx noted
propaganda, his emphasis wasn’t on the on the
media.
Gramsci in the 1920s, and then the Birmingham
school (Stuart Hall and Raymond Williams),
developed Marx’s ideas in the 70s and 80s
These Media theorists applied Marx’s concepts to
to the mass media especially ideas about
ideological influence ie HEGEMONY

9. Stuart Hall Cultural Theorist
Stuart Hall was born in 1932
in Jamaica. Hall, along with
Raymond Williams is credited
with expanding the scope of
Cultural Studies to deal with gender and race
and helping to incorporate new ideas derived
from the work of French theorists such as
Jacques Lacan and Derrida and Foucault.

10. Hegemony and Culture
Hall’s work covers Hegemony and Cultural Studies.
His theories present people as both producers and
consumers of culture at the same time
Hegemony in Gramscian theory refers to the socio-
cultural production of ‘consent’ and ‘coercion’
For Hall, culture was not something to simply study,
but the site of social action and intervention
where power relations are both established and
unsettled.

11. • Hall became one of the main proponents of
reception theory.
• He also developed the theory of encoding and
decoding
• This approach emphasises the scope of
opposition and negotiation by the audience. The
audience is not just passive.
• Crime statistics are often manipulated, in Hall’s
view, for political and economic purposes.
• Moral panics can be thus ignited in order to
manufacture consent for more repressive laws
and policing. Recent events.

12. Lacan: A French Theorist
Lacan was a psychoanalyst who developed a
theory of how a child forms a theory of
his/her identity.
At a young age the child recognises his/her own
image in a mirror. This is called ‘the mirror
phase.’
The child perceives their reflection as idealised.
The child also begins to consider how others
might perceive them.

13. Laura Mulvey : a feminist theorist
Mulvey extends this idea when she suggests
that the ‘silver screen’ operates like a
metaphorical mirror, reflecting back to the
female viewer, representations of female
identity. But these perceptions are not
genuine reflections of female identity but
representations of idealised feminity
constructed by patriarchy.

14. John Berger: novelist, art critic, painter
and poet
Berger won the Booker prize in 1972 for his novel ‘G’. In
‘Ways of Seeing’, which criticises traditional cultural
western aesthetics for its hidden ideologies in visual
images, Berger writes:
“Men Look. Women appear. Men look at women,
women watch themselves being looked at.”

15. This book has contributed
to feminist readings of
popular culture through
essays that focus on
women in adverts and
oil paintings.

16. Richard Dyer: Star theory
Dyer theorises that a star is an image not a real
person, constructed from a range of materials
eg advertising, magazines, films as well as
music. (similar to Hall)
Stars are constructed,
even if they represent
being real.

17. Stars: 2 Paradoxes
A paradox is 2 statements which contradict each
other.
Dyer theorised that a star has 2 key paradoxes:
A star is simultaneously ordinary and exceptional.
A star is both present and absent.
He also theorised that fans will try and complete
the star image by buying their products,
merchandising, engaging with their meta
narratives and the ultimate satisfaction: seeing
them live. It is impossible to keep up with this
which leads to dissatisfaction

18. In Summary:
Representation is a process that takes places between
media text, media producer and audience.
All representations are constructions.

19. Representation: key questions
When analysing a media text consider:
Who (individual or institution) constructs or
encodes the representation?
What is their purpose?
What or who is being represented?
In what form or genre of media
(Are there any absences?)
Who is the intended audience?

20. Theories of Media
Representation