Identity: David Gauntlett (Representation)

Question 1

What did Gauntlett suggest?

Answer 1

The media provides audiences and users with the ‘tools’/resources to construct their own identities

Question 2

How have media products changed in relation to Gauntlett’s theory?

Answer 2

While, in the past, media products tended to convey straightforward messages about ideal types of male and female identities, contemporary media products offer audiences a more diverse range of icons and characters, allowing them to ‘pick and mix’ different ideas.

Question 3

Theory in a nutshell

Answer 3

We use the Internet and other media texts to help us to create our identity. We now have more of a variety of representations to identify with.