Representation in the media

Media is just a representation of reality.  Every media form from a video or magazine is a concept of some ones perception of reality codified into a series of signs and symbols that are put together in certain ways to make audiences perceive it how the producer wants them to. Producers use people’s perceptions of reality and construct their piece if media to fit people’s expectations. For example the colour red could denote danger, fear, death, or anger. This perception of a colour has been made this was via media. Media and real life walk hand in hand creating a relationship that we recognise.

Extension/restriction of virtual experiences

Every time you watch a documentary or a programme that features a faraway place in the world, you mentally extend your experience and knowledge of life on this planet. The downside to this is that we only know what we are shown. Producers can pick and choose what they want the public to see so this means our experience is restricted and we don’t see the whole truth.

Truth or Lies

We only see what producers want us to see, and their footage is usually controlled by people politically in power. This sort of control was used as propaganda in the first and Second World War. By selecting certain footages, they could control what the public believed. This still goes on today in regards of the war in the Middle East. A lot of footage taken by journalist’s are not allowed to be shown to the public as it will give a negative view on the British Army. This gives the public a bias view and is basically lied to.

Representation of gender

Gender plays an important part when analysing media. Representations in media set out what it means to be a male and what it means to be a female. Without the use of media there would be no distinction between the two sexes other that physical features. The use of media has made it that girls wear pink and boys wear blue. Without these representations men could walk around with a dress on and it would be acceptable but because of the expectations set by media it is not acceptable.

Representation of race

The use of films and other types of media have created racial stereotypes that have stuck in people’s minds as ‘normal’. Racial stereotyping is seen as more serious as gender stereotyping. For example a stereotype for Native Americans has been set from old Wild West films, where the cowboys and the Indians were at war. The Native Americans were perceived to be the attackers when they were the victims from invasion.  Also racism caused major concern in the 2007 celebrity Big Brother house where Shilpa Shetty was subjected to racial abuse from her housemates.

Case study Jersey Shore

The characters of Jersey Shore are ethnically Caucasian but they class themselves culturally as Italian- American, even though none of them are born in Italy. They then class themselves as in an even more specific subset as ‘guidos’ or ‘guidettes’. The TV show raised a lot of controversy as other Italian- Americans object to this negative portrayal of their culture and ethnic group. Within one season, the show created a worldwide fan base and became extremely popular. A TV drama called Bones features the stereotype ‘Guido’s’ and ‘Guidettes’. These groups of people are treated harshly in the show for comic purposes and are singled out. This wouldn’t be acceptable if it was done to other races. Jersey Shore has made their culture a joke.

Representation of age

Our perception of age is controlled by what we see in the media. TV shows such as Inbetweeners portrait teenagers to be immature, sexually frustrated, lazy, greedy, and unreliable. Stereotypes for older people are, grumpy, whining, slow, out dated, weak, un able to use technology, and hard of hearing. People notice these stereotypes and constantly try to go against them. This mainly occurs in older women. They dye their grey hair, go through painful plastic surgeries, and wear youthful clothes just to make themselves appear younger. This pressure on women is put on by the media. The ideal way to look is displayed in glossy magazines that women read. People associate looking younger with beauty, so when they deviate from these norms they try rectifying it with age defying treatments that come at a price. Although some people desire to be younger, some decide because they are getting old they must become lazy and stop living their life. But actors such as Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone push for action roles in films even though they are veering into their sixties. They appeared in blockbuster action films in 2010 such as RED and The Expendables.