Media Representation key terms and theorists Flashcards
What is Representation?
the way in which aspects of society and social identity, gender,age and ethnicity are presented to audience through specific media language.
What is mediation?
the process through which media shapes and influences our perception of reality.
Selection and construction
media producers decide what stories to tell and how to tell them. involves selecting certain events, people and details.
Gatekeeping
media acts as a gatekeeper controlling the flow of information. editors and producers decide what content reaches the audience influencing what people think.
Framing
the way media frames a story influences how its percieved including the language used, headlined,images
Audience interpretation
audiences actively interpret media messages and make meaning from them. different people can interpret the same media content based on cultural background,beliefs
Institutional influence
media institutions, including their ownership and economic interests, impact the content produced.
What is a stereotype?
a widely held but oversimplified and generalised belief or idea about a particular group of people. involves reducing individuals to a set of characteristics that apply to all members of that group
What is selective representation?
where certain characteristics, events stories are foregrounded over others to create a specific representation of a person, groups event or issue.
What is mis-representation?
Selective representation creates misrepresentation of people, events,issues, places. focuses on the negative about a person,group,place.
What are countertypes?
A positive stereotype often seen as the reverse of a stereotype. focuses on the positive attributes of groups and people which have been historically defined by negative stereotypes.
What is an ideology?
A set of beliefs and values shared by a group of people
What are dominant ideologies?
tends to be more conservative role of the individual and traditional structures such as the nuclear family, embedded within mainstream media texts which reflects the ideological beliefs
What is encoding?
the physical construction of the text through a set of signs.
What is decoding?
the understanding/interpretation/reading of the text by audience.
Stuart Hall theory
- emphasises the importance of visual representation
- representation to present the word suggests something was already there
- representation as that which stands for something else
- encoding creates representations and the audience decode representations
What is hegemony?
leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over others. those who are being controlled don’t know they are being controlled
Goffman’s theory
- Goffman links social interaction to a theatrical performance, where individuals are actors on a stage, managing their impressions to fit social norms and expectations
- states that there is a front stage where individuals perform and present themselves in a manner that they want others to see.
- the back stage where individuals can relax and be themselves, away from the public eye.
Explain impression management ( Goffman’s construction of our identity)
- process by which individuals attempt to control the impressions others form of them. involves managing both verbal and non verbal cues to influence how they are perceived.
Explain techniques ( Goffman’s construction of our identity)
- included controlling information, adjusting appearance and behaviour, manipulating settings to create a desired impression
Explain role performance ( Goffman’s construction of our identity )
- each individual plays multiple roles in their daily lives e.g. student,friend,employee which depend on the context and the audience.
Explain consistency ( Goffman’s construction of our identity)
- successful self-presentation often requires consistency between roles and the expectations of the audience
Explain sign vehicles ( Goffman’s construction of our identity )
- tools and resources individuals use to convey information about themselves e.g clothing,speech,body language,setting
What is discourse?
refers to the ways in which language, communication and media are used to construct and convey meaning within a society
What is gender?
- refers to the social and cultural roles, behaviours, attributes that a society considers appropriate for men and women. based on how people identify themselves, making it a fluid.
What is gender stereotyping?
involves oversimplified and beliefs about the characteristics, behaviours, roles of men and women
What is patriarchy?
- A social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and control of property.
What is matriarchy?
- a social system in which women hold primary power, roles of leadership, moral authority, social privilege.
What is misogyny?
- the hatred, dislike,mistrust of women showed in discrimination,denigration and violence against women.
What is misandry?
- the hatred,dislike of men which involves prejudice and discrimination against men and can be seen in attitudes or behaviours that degrade men.
What is feminism?
- a social, political, and cultural movement that seeks to achieve equality between genders. advocates for women’s rights and interests aiming to dismantle systems of oppression and inequality.
What are Laura Mulvey’s key ideas on the heterosexual male gaze?
- the gender power asymmetry is a controlling force in cinema and constructed for the pleasure of the male viewer which is deeply rooted in patriarchal ideologies
- states that women are not placed in a role where they can take control of a scene, simply put there to be objectified
What is the male gaze Laura Mulvey?
- women are presented as objects of male pleasure, both the camera’s perspective, characters within the film, audience’s viewpoint men presented as active agents driving the narrative forward while women are passive objects to be looked at and desired
What is voyeurism?
- the pleasure derived from watching others , without their knowledge or consent. the viewer holds control over the objectified subject
What is scopophilia?
- the pleasure in looking, audience’s enjoyment of watching characters in a way that objectifies them
What is voyeuristic scopophilia?
taking pleasure in observing another person as an object without their awareness
What is narcissistic scopophilia?
deriving pleasure from identifying with characters, particularly the idealized figures of one own gender
What is fetishistic scopophilia?
occurs when the woman’s body is exaggerated or fetishized to counteract the threat she represents to the male viewer.
What is role of camera techniques
techniques like close ups and slow motion can fetishize parts of the female body
What is the female gaze? subjective experience
the female gaze centres on the inner lives and perspectives of female characters focusing on their thoughts feelings, personal experiences rather than their physical appearance
Female gaze - empathy and relatability
aims to create a sense of empathy and relatability with female characters, allowing audiences to see and understand the world through their eyes
Female gaze - agency and empowerment
women are portrayed as active agents with their own desires, goals, autonomy, rather than passive objects of male desire or active
Female gaze - representation of relationships
emphasises the depth and complexity of relationships whether romantic, familial or platonic highlighting emotional intimacy and connection
Sexualisation/Raunch Culture ( Post feminism )
refers to a trend in contemporary society where the hyper sexualisation and commodification of women’s bodies are normalised and celebrated
Sexual objectification ( raunch culture )
women are frequently portrayed as sexual objects for the pleasure and consumption of others
Normalization of explicit content ( raunch culture )
explicit sexual content becomes mainstream and widely accepted often blurring the lines between empowerment and exploitation
Empowerment narrative ( Raunch culture )
framed as a form of empowerment where women are seen as taking control of their sexuality
Commercialisation
sexuality is commodified and used as a marketing tool to sell products, music, movies and other forms of entertainment, often targeting young audiences
Liesbet Van Zoonen - Post Feminist Theory
gender is constructed through discourse its meaning varies according to cultural and historical context
argues that media representations of gender and deeply rooted in patriarchal ideologies
Van Zoonen ( impact on audiences )
media representations influence how audiences perceive gender roles and power dynamics in real life
Van Zoonen ( social learning )
audiences particularly young people may internalize these representations, adopting them as norms and expectations for their own behaviours.
Van Zoonen ( constructing reality )
discourse is a way of constructing reality the way gender is talked about and represented in media creates and maintains societal norms and beliefs about gender
Hegemonic and hyper masculinity
distance oneself from femininity, restrict emotions, be tough and aggressive, be seen as highly sexual with women.
What is intersectional feminism?
recognizes that different forms of discrimination ( race,class,ability,sexuality)
bell hooks key ideas - intersectional feminist
- introduces the concept of the oppositional gaze as a form of resistance, argues that black audiences can can challenge dominant media narratives by critically engaging with them
- believes feminism is a political commitment
- women are not all discriminated in the same way
- oppression against women varies depending on ethnicity and class
Judith Butler’s ( gender as performativity )
- argues that gender is not something one is, but something one does, series of acts, behaviours, performances that are repeated over time
- performances are unconscious and deeply ingrained, shaped by societal norms and expectations
Judith Butler’s ( stylized repetition of acts )
- Gender identity is constructed through the repeated performance of gendered behaviours
- describes gender as a phenomenon that is being produced all the time and reproduced all the time
Judith Butler’s ( social construction )
- suggests that gender is a social construct, maintained through these repeated performances rather than being an innate quality
- society dictates what behaviours are appropriate for different genders, and individuals internalize and reproduce these norms through their actions
Judith Bulter’s Gender as a historical situation
- gender was shaped by historical and cultural contexts
- gender is seen as fluid and open to change depending of social and historical circumstances
- variation - gender norms and expectations are not universal, they evolve over time and differ across societies, influenced by cultural , political and social changes
Judith Butler’s ( power and discourse )
- the construction of gender is influenced by power dynamics and discourses that dictate what is considered normal or acceptable
- becomes possible to challenge and change oppressive gender norms and stereotypes
Gauntlett’s Theories of identity
- traditional media often perpetuated rigid and stereotypical gender roles, men being depicted as strong and dominant, women as passive and nurturing
- contemporary media has started to offer more diverse and complex representations of gender
Gauntlett’s (fluid and constructed identities)
- gender identities are not fixed but are fluid and constructed through media and cultural interactions
- media offers a range of gender roles and narratives that individuals can adopt, adapt or reject in shaping their own identities
- media plays a significant role in how people understand and construct their own identities
Gauntlett’s (negotiated identities)
- refers to the process through which individuals interpret and make sense of media content, balancing their personal experiences, beliefs, societal norms
Gauntlett’s (active engagement)
- people are active participants in their media consumption, they don’t passively accept media messages but interpret them in ways that fit their personal contexts
Gauntlett’s (selective interpretation)
- individuals may agree with, resist, or reinterpret media portrayals based on their own experiences and perspectives
Gauntlett’s (collective identities)
- involves the shared sense of belonging to group, formed through common interests, values, or cultural backgrounds
Gauntlett’s (shared media consumption)
- media plays a crucial role in forming collective identities by providing shared experiences and narratives
Gauntlett’s (community and connection)
- media enables individuals to connect with like minded people fostering a sense of community this can happen through fan clubs, social media groups where people discuss and share content related to their collective interests
What is ethnicity?
- refers to a group of people who share a common cultural heritage including language, tradition, religion
- based on cultural identity and the social bonds that come from sharing history and practices
Difference between race and ethnicity
- race is associated with physical characteristics e.g. skin colour, facial features
- race is a socially constructed concept with no scientific basis in genetics, whereas ethnicity is about a sense ob belonging to a cultural group
What is racism?
- the individual and systematic manifestation of the uneven distribution of power and prejudice related to culturally defined ideas of race
What is internalized racism?
- lies within individuals, maybe psychologically rooted and reflects historical trauma
What is interpersonal racism?
occurs from bias, when individuals interact with each other, their private beliefs affect their public interactions
What is institutional racism?
- occurs within systems of power, discrimination in schools, workplaces, produce racially outcomes for people of colour
What is structural racism?
Racial bias among institutions and across society, societal factors such as history, culture and ideology
What is multiculturalism?
- refers to the co existence and recognition of diverse cultural, ethnic, social groups within a society.
- promotes the idea that different cultures should be respected, valued and allowed to maintain their unique identities
- in media, this influences how different cultures are respected, encourages a broad range of voices and experiences helping to challenge stereotypes
What is post colonialism?
- focuses and examines the lasting effects of colonialism on former colonies and their societies.
- shows how colonial powers imposed cultural, political and economic dominance over the nations and how these impacts continue to shape the identities, histories, power structures
What is colonialism
- involves the domination and exploitation of one country by another often by force
- European powers colonised much of Asia, Africa and their culture, language and and systems of governance
- the effects of colonialism persist even after the colonisers have left, influencing the political, social, economic structures of former colonies
Edward Said ( orientalism )
- refers to the way Western cultures depict the East ( Asia , Middle East) as exotic backward, uncivilised, and in need of Western intervention or domination
What is hybridity
- the mixing of cultures as a result of colonialism, former colonies often develop hybrid identities, blending elements of indigenous and colonial cultures
Hegemony (Gramsci)
- the dominance of one group over another often maintained through cultural means
- dominant groups use media and culture to maintain their power
- media can perpetuate colonial ideologies by consistently presenting one culture as superior and others as inferior
Post colonial theory (resistance and agency)
- post colonial media often seeks to resist and challenge the dominance of former colonial powers, presenting stories from the perspective of the colonised
- highlighting stories of resistance and resilience empowers formerly colonised
peoples and reclaims their history and culture
What is imperialism?
Refers to a policy or practice by which a country extends its power and influence through colonisation, military force, economic control over other territories or nations, involves political, economic exploitation
What is cultural imperialism?
- focuses on the spread or imposition of one culture’s values, beliefs, practices over another culture.
- Specifically targets cultural aspects such as language, religion, norms, behaviours can be achieved through media education, religion
Benedict Anderson’s imagined communities
- refers to the idea that nations are socially constructed communities, imagined by the people who perceive themselves as part of that group
- despite individuals in a nation never meeting most of their fellow members, they imagine a sense of unity and shared identity
What is nationalism?
- ideological belief and political movement that emphasises the interests, culture and identity of a specific nation or group of people
- promotes the idea that a nation is a distinct entity with a common heritage, language and cultural tracts
- for media studies it is essential to understand how nationalism is often fuelled and propagated through media which can unify a population around shared symbols, narratives and values while also sometimes leading to exclusion or conflict with those seen as outsiders
What is othering?
- refers to the process by which a group or individual is defined and labelled as not belonging to the dominant social group
- people are treated as different, often inferior, weird, other
- used to divide and dehumanise groups
What is marginalisation?
- when a group or an individual are on the edge of mainstream culture
- liminal identity means that they are separate to mainstream society, often excluded or pushed to the edges of mainstream society
Paul Gilroy’s ( diaspora)
- refers to the dispersion of people from their original homeland to various parts of the world
What is the diasporic condition?
- relates to the way that new communities are marginalised by members of the host culture
Gilroy’s (cultural hybridity)
- Emphasises the idea that the cultures of the African diaspora are not static or homogenous but are instead dynamic and hybrid
- Cultures of black people in the diaspora are influenced by a mix of African, European , American and Caribbean elements, creating a unique cultural identity
Gilroy’s (Transnational connections)
- Concept of Black Atlantic highlights the interconnectedness of black communities, music, literature, art and political movements within African diaspora often shares themes and influence eachother
W.E.B Du Bois’ and Paul Gilroy’s ( double conciousness )
- refers to the internal conflict experienced by subordinated or colonised groups in an oppressive society
- having two identities in conflict, constantly navigating between their cultural identity and the identity imposed by the dominant white society
- this leads to a sense of self consciousness, alienation, sense of not belonging and downplay their cultural heritage in order to fit in.
