Representation

In the exam you could be asked to analyse the use of 'representation' on one of your media texts.

It is important to remember that representation mean to RE-PRESENT, that is, the media show us things as a version of the truth, they can never show the truth.

TASK 1 

On your blog select the 'characters' from your video and screen shot each main 'character'

TASK 2

Next you you need to decide what 'type' of character you have represented, generally there are just three 'types' as described below

Character Typing

There are three different kinds of character typing:

1. An archetype is a familiar character who has emerged from hundreds of years of fairytales and storytelling.
2. Stereotype is a character usually used in advertising and marking in order to sell a particular product to a certain group of people. They can also be used ‘negatively’ in the Media – such as ‘asylum seekers,’ or ‘hoodies’.
3. A generic type is a character familiar through use in a particular genre (type) of movie.

Explain which type of character(s) you have used and connect to existing texts (i.e. music videos or films)

TASK 3

Annotate you character screen shots with answers to the following questions (the codes referred to are narrative codes) 

Key Questions about Specific Representations:

1. What is being represented?
2. How is it represented? Using what codes? Within what genre?
3. How is the representation made to seem 'true', 'commonsense' or 'natural'?
4. Whose representation is it? Whose interests does it reflect? How do you know?
5. At whom is this representation targeted? How do you know?
6. What does the representation mean to you? What does the representation mean to others? How do you account for the differences?
7. How do people make sense of it? According to what codes?
8. With what alternative representations could it be compared? How does it differ?
9. A reflexive consideration - Why is the concept of representation problematic?