Representation Theory

Question 1

What is Stuart Halls representation theory?

Answer 1

• the idea that representation is the production of meaning through language, with
  language defined in its broadest sense as a system of signs
• the idea that the relationship between concepts and signs is governed by codes
• the idea that stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple
  characteristics or traits
• the idea that 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 2

What is David Gauntlett’s Identity Theory?

Answer 2

• the idea that the media provide us with ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our
  identities
• the idea that whilst 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 3

What is Liesbet van Zoonen’s feminist theory?

Answer 3

• the idea that gender is constructed through discourse, and that its meaning varies
  according to cultural and historical context
• the idea that the display of women’s bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element
  of western patriarchal culture
• the idea that 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 4

What is bell hooks’ theory of Intersectionality?

Answer 4

• the idea that feminism is a struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression and the ideology
  of domination
• the idea that feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice
• the idea that race and class as well as sex determine the extent to which individuals are
  exploited, discriminated against or oppressed.

Question 5

What is Judith Butlers theory of Gender Performativity?

Answer 5

• the idea that identity is performatively constructed by the very ‘expressions’ that are said
  to be its results (it is manufactured through a set of acts)
• the idea that there is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender
• the idea that performativity is not a singular act, but a repetition and a ritual.

Question 6

What is Paul Gilroy’s theory of ethnicity and post colonialism?

Answer 6

• the idea that colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and
  ethnicity in the postcolonial era
• the idea that civilisationism constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions
  based on notions of otherness.