REPRESENTATION - St Marys Downpatrick代表-圣玛丽帕特里克.pptVIP

REPRESENTATION of Gender in the Media All media texts are re-presentations of reality. They are entirely constructed versions of reality. When studying the media it is vital to remember this - every media form, from a home video to a glossy magazine, is a representation of someones concept of existence, encoded into a series of signs and symbols which can be read by an audience. However, it is important to note that without the media, our perception of reality would be very limited, and that we, as an audience, need these artificial texts to mediate our view of the world; in other words we need the media to make sense of reality. Therefore, representation is a fluid, two-way process: producers position a text somewhere in relation to reality and audiences assess a text on its relationship to reality. Extension/Restriction of Experience of Reality By giving audiences information, media texts extend experience of reality. Every time you see a media text, you extend your experience of life but in a second-hand way (vicarious). However, because the producers of the media text have selected and constructed the information we receive, then our experience is restricted. Truth or Lies? Media representations - and the extent to which we accept them - are a very political issue, as the influence the media exerts has a major impact on the way we view the world. By viewing media representations our prejudices can be reinforced or confronted. Generally, audiences accept that media texts are fictional to one extent or another - we have come a long way from the mass manipulation model of the 1920s and 1930s (the hypodermic needle effect). However, as we base our perception of reality on what we see in the media, it is dangerous to suppose that we dont see elements of truth in media texts either. The study of representation is about decoding the different layers of truth/fiction/whatever. In order to fully appreciate the part representation plays in a media text you must consid