Download Representation

Lesson Objective 11th March
Aims/Objectives of today’s lesson:
• Analyse and revise ideas of representation
• Apply that knowledge to tv drama extract
through textual analysis
Representation
By definition, all media texts are re-presentations of reality. This
means that they are intentionally composed, lit, written, framed,
cropped, captioned, branded, targeted and censored by their
producers, and that they are entirely artificial versions of the reality
we perceive around us.
When studying the media it is vital to remember this - every media
form, from a dvd to a glossy magazine, is a representation of
someone's concept of existence, codified into a series of signs and
symbols which can be read by an audience. However, it is important
to note that without the media, our perception of reality would be very
limited, and that we, as an audience, need these artificial texts to
mediate our view of the world, in other words we need the media to
make sense of reality.
Egs. News, Music
Representation
• Every time we encounter a media text, we are not
seeing reality, but someone's version of it. This
may seem like an obvious point, but it is
something that is easily forgotten when we get
caught up in enjoying a text. The media place us at
one remove from reality: they take something that
is real, a person or an event and they change its
form to produce whatever text we end up with.
• This is called mediation.
What/Who is being represented? Communities, religions,
families, or individual representations AND who is not?
• CAGES (class, age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality)
regionalism, disability, professions, religions, politics
In groups discuss about the various representations in
the media of the following event, person or places:
What images come to mind and what words would you
use to describe them?
Representation = image + point of view?
• New York
• Football fans
• Ascot
How about a representation you’re very familiar with – the teenager.
What words would you use to describe media representations of the teenager?
Have a look at the following media image representations of teenagers….
Teenage representations
Are you emo, goth, chav or trendy?
When considering representation it is important to consider these points:
• Is the representation based on reality? Or are stereotypes relied on?
• Does the way certain groups are represented alter how audiences think of
them? Eg asylum seekers, travellers
• To what degree will the representation of certain groups be accepted by
the audience?
The picture on the right is of Tony Soprano from The
Sopranos, an American drama series about modern
day mafia members in New Jersey. Some ItalianAmericans have complained that this programme
represents all Italian-Americans as being criminals
who are violent and corrupt. They say that this
creates an unfair impression of their community.
What is a TV Drama?
http://library.thinkquest.org/04apr/00328/dramajen.htm
Some useful links:
http://www.tv.com/drama/genre/5/summary.html
http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/drama/index.html
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/482184/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_television_drama
A look at different representations of Asian Americans on TV ...
AAS Asian American Representation in Lost and other ...
TV DRAMA
• Dramatic programming is television content that
is scripted and (normally) fictional. This excludes,
for example, sports, news, reality and game
shows, stand-up comedy and variety shows. Also,
by convention, the term is not generally usually
used for situation comedy or soap opera. Most
dramatic programming for TV falls within other
standard categories such as miniseries, made-forTV movies or certain rather circumscribed
dramatic genres.
With reference to specific examples
from camera, sound, editing and mise
en scene from the following extract,
discuss the way it constructs
representations of gender (Lost) and
ethnic minorities (Britz)
ABOUT THE SHOW
Awarded the 2005 Emmy and 2006 Golden Globe for Best Drama Series, "Lost"
returns for the second act of its third season of action-packed mystery and
adventure -- that will continue to bring out the very best and the very worst in
the people who are lost.
After Oceanic Air flight 815 tore apart in mid-air and crashed on a Pacific
island, its survivors were forced to find inner strength they never knew they had
in order to survive. But they discovered that the island holds many secrets,
including a mysterious smoke monster, polar bears, a strange French woman
and another group of island residents known as "The Others.“
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_of_Lost
Representation of Muslims
• 81% of British Muslims think the War on Terror is a war
on Islam. 91% think the War on Terror has increased the
threat of terrorism in Britain. . Thirty six Justice bills, six
anti-terror bills and five asylum and immigration bills
have been introduced in Britain since 1997. Many young
Muslims feel this legislation is aimed directly at them.
• A Populous survey in June 2006 found that 50% of British
Muslims aged 18-24 feel that Britain's laws are applied
unfairly to the Muslim community.
The Story
Riz Ahmed and Manjinder Virk play brother and sister Sohail and Nasima. Sohail
is an ambitious law undergraduate who signs up with MI5 and, eager to play a part
in protecting British security, begins an investigation into a terrorist cell.
His sister Nasima is a medical student in Leeds who becomes increasingly
alienated and angered by Britain's foreign and domestic policy after witnessing at
first hand the relentless targeting of her Muslim neighbours and peers. With action
set in Pakistan, Eastern Europe, London and Leeds, both feature-length episodes
detail a tragic sequence of events from two distinct perspectives. At the heart of
this thought-provoking drama is a revealing examination of British Muslim life under
current anti-terror legislation. Britz ultimately asks whether the laws we think are
making us safer, are actually putting us in greater danger.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V5Bgo1MbTQ