Class Notes

Representation

Representation is the ability of texts to draw upon features of the world and present them to the viewer, not simply as reflections, but more so, as constructions. Hence, the images do not portray reality in an unbiased way with 100% accuracy, but rather, present ‘versions of reality’ influenced by culture and people’s habitual thoughts and actions.

we also analyse images and clips using steryotypes we are used to. we often look to these categories when defining a character:

•Age

•Disability

•Gender

•Socio-economic grouping

•Race

•Nationality

•sexuality

Ideology

An ideology is a belief system that is constructed and presented by a media text. Media texts represent the world in order to support a dominant ideology. For example, newspapers often promote the dominant ideology of patriotism through their representation of race and nationality.

Hegemony

 

Hegemony is the way in which those in power maintain their control.  Dominant ideologies are considered hegemonic; power in society is maintained by constructing ideologies which are usually promoted by the mass media.

 

 Representaion of advertisements

The colour pink gives this image a very feminine feel. The pink background, clothes and lipstick are used to bring in the target audience.  This advertisement is for cigarettes, smoking represents an oral fixation which sexualises this image. That added with the fact of her grabbing her hair and the position she is in signifies passion and lust. The words “temptation” and the mention of eye contact focuses attention to her deep eyes. Also a very seductive feature.

she is a symbol to females everywhere that women are equals. The talk about independent descisions make her a 'superwoman' figure. She seems wealthy with her diamond earrings and fancy clothes, yet there is no ring on her finger. Signifying that she is doing well on her own and has time to 'play' around. Looking at her facial and bodily expressions we can see she has a very childlike, playful and seductive personality.

Exam answer rewrite

in the opening sequence we see a shot of a rural countryside, it is daytime and in the background there are mountains and a lake. This gives an indication that it is a scottish highland scene. The next shot focuses on a group of middle age men milling around doing their daily labour and piling tools into a truck. They are wearing outdoor work clothes similar to that of typical farmers, also adding to the rural setting.

The next scene opens on a grey cobbled stone farm that introduces the main characters of the clip. The first, a young man in casual clothing (hoodie/ jeans) in seen to be sweeping the floor, this is a typical look for a young person who is in their late teens. The second character enters the shot from the door of the farm. she is wearing a yellow t-shirt and jeans indicating she is young, the make up and earrings show that she is in her late teens. the shot then pans out to a truck being loaded by the alpha male character, he wear outdoor functional clothing and walks and talks in an authoritative manner. it seems obvious that he has authority over the two younger characters. He asks the young girl to drive a land rover, a typical country vehicle. The shot through the ouside window of the land rover shows that she is incapable of driving, the look of naievity and confusion on her face says it all. She reluctantly drives the land rover and we hear a loud crash, the attention of the other characters look towards the noise in a panick. The scene then moves to a country road where inevitably the land rover has collided with another car. Amy (the young female character) is seen getting out of the SUV as the others arrive to confort her. An older gentleman, in tweed clothing, gets out of the other car. As an elderly yet well spoken and well dressed man, he comes across as quite wise and professional. He then carries on to talk to the group and identifies himself as Amy's headmaster.

The alpha male character and Amy's headmaster are seen in the next scene in an oak, dark wooded room. This comes across as the headmasters study. They pour and drink brandy as they chat, giving indications that this is a private adult talk. The characters seem to fit into this scene, the teenagers would feel out of place in there. as they talk it is revealed that Amy is indeed younger than she claimed to be and that she had not been to school or sat any exams. enraged the alpha male character leaves the room and confronts Amy and another older female character conforting Amy. He drags her away and talk to her one on one. He towers over Amy in the shot indicating authority. They argue and she runs off shouting "i hate you" a typical line for any teenager.

She is then found in the next scene in her bedroom. The rooms seems more childish than a normal adult bedroom, again reminding the audience of her youth. The shot of teddy bears and old photos, the sad look on Amys face as she looks into the mirror show her sadness. Across the bed are gossip magazines and a letter presumably for the older characters to explain her sadness. From these props Amy's youth and innocence is clearly shown. The sad slow music adds tention and emotion to Amy's character.

The next scene is opened by a montage of ther workers working around the countryside, presumably the men we saw at the start of the clip. They are wearing functional outdoor work clothing such as boots and gloves. The anomaly of this is the hoodie wearing teenage boy who seems to be throwing himself into work to fit in and be seen as a man. It is clear he wants to gain some sort of respect by them. the long mid and close up shots of this scene show the skills and perceverance of the workers, expressing their experience. the soundtrack is typical country music suggesting an older demographic.

In this clip age is representated through appearance and roles within a community. The grey beards of the adults suggest wisdom and professionality. The mise en scene of Amy is girly and pink, that added with her behaviour toward the older adults identifies she is a typical teenager.