media representation Flashcards
Gender Traditional
Mulvey - Introduced the concept of the ‘male gaze’ to characterise cinema as an instrument of male spectatorship - eg Rear Window the film - Mulvey argues that the female main character, Lisa Fremont, is constantly asked to be looked at through Hitchcocks close-ups and choice of costumes - She is often shown in flattering soft light. Also Mulvey discusses the voyeuristic gaze of ‘Jefferies’ who watches her.
Ferguson - He conducted a content analysis of women’s magazines and counted the number of times specific topics were covered. She concluded that they are based around a “cult of femininity” focussing on family, marriage and appearance.
Billington - Women: Are portrayed as subordinate e.g. housewives / in need of being rescued by men. Men: Are portrayed as dominant e.g aggressive / strong / leaders
Easthorpe- Easthorpe argues that a variety of media, transmits the view that masculinity based on strength, aggression, competition and violence is biologically determined and therefore, it is a natural goal for boys to achieve.
Gender Changing
Gauntlett: Media provides alternative gendered images and ideas, which are producing a greater diversity of choice for people when constructing their gender identities - Women are now depicted in a ‘tougher’ way. Younger audiences are now more open to having female as well as male lead characters in films. Discusses the positive effect of female pop stars, such as Lady gaga also promoted financial and emotional independence through their lyrics.
westwood- transgressive female roles in British roles
nixon and mort - new man Laundrette advert marked an increase and change in male consumption patterns - For the first time men were spending more time, money and effort on their appearance so there was a consumption increase in items such as toiletries and male beauty products.
Whannel - Media representations of Beckham are fluid meaning that his good looks, his football skills, competitive spirit and his commitment mark him out as a traditional ‘real man.
Ethnicity Traditional
Van Dijk- criminal, abnormal, a threat, unimportant, dependent
Childrens now fairplay : 86% of heroes are white (video games) 86% black female characters portrayed of victims of violence
Ligali: states that the media has been accused of being institutionally racist due to reporting less incidences of murders against minority ethnic groups E.g. Lack of reporting of Yazidi genocide by ISIS
Ethnicity Changing
Malik- tokenism white British people found that broadcasters were reflecting multicultural Britain to a satisfactory level, other ethnic groups felt that contrasting this was done ‘very poorly.’ however that reality TV was increasingly more inclusive compared to other genres of TV and there has been a shift in how ethnic minority groups are depicted in new forms of media.
Barker- Eastenders can be seen to be changing the way in which ethnic minorities are presented through its storylines. Barker points out that there are now a range of Asian and black characters that reflect the demographic of London more fairly than it used to. He states that it is important to note that ethnic minority characters also hold some significant roles and explains that they are given meaningful attention and stories.
Social Class Traditional
upper class Nairn - Media representation of the monarchy - After WW11 the monarchy developed close ties with the media industry, since then they have been represented in the media as a family that are ‘like us but not like us’ - Lives is presented as a soap opera. Media representations of royalty also reinforce a sense of national identity.
middle class leech- States that middle class lifestyles are presented as the ‘ideal’ lifestyle in media advertising and developed the concept of the ideal ‘cereal packet family’ to describe the image that is sold to us as desirable.
working class Jones- Developed the concept of ‘chavtainment’ when discussing the development of TV broadcasts that portray a negative view of working class people as “bigoted, slothful and aggressive” - Working class gone from being portrayed, historically, as the “salt to the earth”
Newman - Very few films, sitcoms or dramas which give a realistic image of the everyday life of the working class - Working class people are stereotyped and labelled in an unflattering and pitying light.
Social Class Changing
upper class Reiner: Recent media representations of wealthy people are being used to show examples of hard work, success and meritocracy - When people are portrayed as having huge amounts of wealth their success is celebrated by the media – Audiences are encouraged to identify with the culture of consumption and materialism that is portrayed in the lifestyle of the wealthy.
link with Giddens: States that there are now 3 types of upper class: Traditional upper class, Entrepreneurial super rich, Jet-set pop aristocracy
working class Dodd and Dodd - Eastenders - Presents the nostalgic view of the traditional notion of working class communities, but state that this does not accurately reflect a modern day working class culture. Dodd and Dodd do note however, that the show has introduced realism when bravely broaching issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, crime, attempted suicide, abortion, homosexuality and relationship issues – Whilst doing this portray the outdated view of a communal supportive network.
