Media Representation
Actual Definition:
Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the
mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects,
events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations
may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.
My Definition:
The media is any form of communication that can be transmitted to many people. This can be in the form of television, music, books and film. There are certain groups that are treated differently in their presentations in the media and the effect is that they are treated differently in society. For example: We often stereotype Indian people as owning a corner shop, this is because this image is bombarded on us in the media, e.g. on popular television soaps such as EastEnders and Coronation Street.
Yes, the representation of particular groups is an issue, and something we'll go on to consider in more detail, especially when we study TV drama. However, the (scary?!) reality is that everyone and everywhere we see in the media is being represented in some way or another - sometimes accurately and fairly and sometimes not!
ReplyDelete