representation

Question 1

Theories of representation - Stuart Hall (1)

Answer 1

representation is the production of meaning through language, with language defined in its broadest sense as a system of signs

Question 2

Theories of representation - Stuart Hall (2)

Answer 2

stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple
characteristics or traits

Question 3

Theories of representation - Stuart Hall (3)

Answer 3

stereotyping tends to occur where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or ‘other’ (e.g. through ethnocentrism).

Question 4

Theories of identity - David Gauntlett (1)

Answer 4

the media provide us with ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our identities

Question 5

Theories of identity - David Gauntlett (2)

Answer 5

in the past the media tended to convey singular, straightforward messages about ideal types of male and female identities, the media today offer us a more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from whom we may pick and mix different ideas.

Question 6

Feminist theory - Liesbet van Zoonen (1)

Answer 6

gender is constructed through discourse, and its meaning varies according to cultural and historical context

Question 7

Feminist theory - Liesbet van Zoonen (2)

Answer 7

the display of women’s bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture

Question 8

Feminist theory - Liesbet van Zoonen (3)

Answer 8

in mainstream culture the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body as spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body.

Question 9

Feminist theory - bell hooks (1)

Answer 9

feminism is a struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination

Question 10

Feminist theory - bell hooks (2)

Answer 10

feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice

Question 11

Feminist theory - bell hooks (3)

Answer 11

race and class as well as sex determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed.

Question 12

Theories of gender performativity - Judith Butler (1)

Answer 12

identity is performatively constructed by the very ‘expressions’ that are said to be its results (it is manufactured through a set of acts)

Question 13

Theories of gender performativity - Judith Butler (2)

Answer 13

there is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender

Question 14

Theories of gender performativity - Judith Butler (3)

Answer 14

performativity is not a singular act, but a repetition and a ritual.

Question 15

ethnicity and postcolonial theory - Paul Gilroy (1)

Answer 15

colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era

Question 16

ethnicity and postcolonial theory - Paul Gilroy (2)

Answer 16

civilisationism constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions based on notions of otherness.