Media Representation Flashcards
Overview
Knowledge and understanding of place can be
influenced very strongly by a diverse media including
television, film, photography, art, books, newspapers
and the internet. These are increasingly reaching a
larger, global audience and are therefore very important
in shaping wider perceptions of place. In addition, this
has meant that geographical distance has become less
of an obstacle for learning about places when people
can gain instant knowledge about them from media
sources. The notion of near and far places is becoming
increasingly blurred as people develop attachments to
places they have never visited, through the media.
Photographs
At a time when photo-editing o people is
commonplace, so places can easily be ‘photoshopped’ or
filtered to make them appear different and, in the case
of tourist areas, more attractive. The difference between
a photograph you may have seen of a place and the
reality is often down to differences in weather, the time
or the season, but with advanced technology, people are
increasingly editing photographs to improve the image
or perception of that place. Similarly, photographs can
be selective in what they show. Marketing images tend
to focus on the natural beauty or landscape of places
without disturbance from humans; the reality lor
many tourist places may be very different,
Textual sources
Novels may evoke a sense of place - a feeling
that the reader knows what it is like to ‘be there’
Some places have become so strongly associated
with particular authors and stories that they are
now promoted or advertised as such, for example,
Thomas Hardy’s Dorset and Bronté country in West
Yorkshire and East Lancashire.
While such associations can play a positive role in
representation of place, the reverse can also be true
and the role of popular media can be instrumental in
creating place prejudice’.
The city of Liverpool is one of a number of (mainly
northern) British cities that has historically suffered
from a negative portrayal in the British media.
Unemployment, economic deprivation, gangs,
rioting and drugs problems were all characteristic of
‘Scouse’ depictions in the press in the late twentieth
century, and the city authorities adopted an aggressive
rebranding of the city to distance it from this poor
media image. In 2008 the city was awarded the status
of European Capital of Culture, reflecting Liverpool’s
more positive architectural, musical and sporting
heritage.
Poetry
Poetry has long been used to describe and evoke
a sense of place. There are many famous poets
associated with particular places.
• William Wordsworth is linked to the Lake District.
• Seamus Heaney has written extensively about his
Trish roots.
• William Blake famously described the poverty and
despair of industrial London.
Poets may refer to specific places in personal and
responsive ways but they also enable the reader to
sense and imagine what it is like to be in that place.
Daljit Nagra is a contemporary British poet who was
born in England to parents who are traditional Sikh Punjabi
His poetry enables
the reader to be immersed in the Sikh community
and experience Sikh Britain from the ‘inside. Nagra
has sought to explore the thoughts, feelings and
cultural attitudes of first, second and third generation
descendants towards their own community, other
minority ethnic communities and the indigenous white
- population. His poem Our Town with the Whole of India!
describes the district of Southall in London which
migrants had turned into a Little India’ in the 1970s.
Television and film
The 2015 television dramatisation of the Poldark novels
had a positive impact on the Cornish tourist trade as
viewers, inspired by the shots of the dramatic coastline
and beautiful beaches, flocked to the county to soak
up the atmosphere. Hits on Visit Cornwall’s website
soared by 65 per cent after the first episode alone and
the property website Rightmove reported that house-
hunting enquiries more than doubled,
On a global scale. The Game of Thrones TV series has
become synonymous with Northern Ireland. It is
estimated that 350,000 tourists come to the region
annually because of The Game of Thrones and spend
an average of £50 million a year. The region’s film
agency suggests that the TV series has brought
over £250 million into the economy since 2010.
These two examples have shown how TV and film can
represent place in a positive way. The reverse can also be
true. Many crime dramas are located in urban areas, but
not all crime occurs in cities. Equally, the sites chosen
for filming can portray the same place in very different
lights. Compare, for example, the representation of
London in EastEnders (BBC, 1985-present) with
the more glamorous skylines and buildings of The
Apprentice (BBC, 2005-present) or the settings for the
crime dramas Sherlock (BBC, 2011-2017) and Killing Eve
(BBC, 2018-present).
Art
Art has long been used to represent place and this is
most famously seen in the landscapg paternesoliche
hters became
synonymous with geographical places:
• Gainsborough and Constable (Figure 8.28) are
known for their landscapes of Suffolk, now
sometimes referred to as Constable Country’.
• French artist Paul Cezanne painted Provence in
southern France.
• Japanese artist Hiroshi Yoshida is famous for his
iconic wood block prints of Japanese landscapes,
The common criticism of such paintings was that they
were pastoral fantasies giving the impression of a rural
idyll, which did not exist for the majority of people
Paintings
Paintings
Paintings may be considered less reliable than
photographs because there is more scope for individual
interpretation and selection. However, they can also show
a deeper understanding of place because they allow the
painter to show more of the character of what is there.
An artistic representation of an urban place can be seen in
the work of L.S. Lowry, famous for his matchstick human
figures and depictions of life in northern mill towns.
Graffiti
Graffiti is writing or drawing that has been put illicitly
on a wall or other surface, often in a public place. It
has traditionally been associated with youth cultures
claiming ownership of a place but the famous UK graffiti
artist Banksy argues that the importance of graffiti is also
to give a voice to people who aren’t normally heard in
the mainstream (Figure 8.31). Many consider graffiti as a
type of vandalism and authorities are keen to remove it
from public areas. Increasingly however, graffiti is being
accepted into mainstream culture and art galleries may
now stock graffiti images. In these places, graffiti is seen
not as being ‘out of place’ but as something which can be
bought and sold. It is also being used as a type of street
art in the regeneration of places.
GIS
GIS and software developers have been engaging in place
for some time.
• Supermarkets employ GIS to map shopping habits
and where customers live.
• Police forces want to know about the links between
crime and place.
• Politicians want to know about place so that they can
focus their time and money on voters.
GIS sources are increasing in number and becoming
more readily available as free online resources. They
could be used in place studies to illustrate changing
demographic and cultural characteristics and economic
change and social inequalities.
