1. INTRO TO MEST 3
Review : Representation &
Ideology

2. •Theory tests
•Progress updates on individual case studies
•Terminology tests
•File checks
•‘What in the world…?’ quizzes and discussion
GETTING STARTED

3. •Annotated research
•Media Glossary
•Notes on relevant theories
•Relevant images
•Bibliography
•Scrapbook!
CASE STUDY

4. •It is vital as a media student to keep up to date with national and
global events and issues as well as being informed about social,
cultural and political news.
•10 minute discussions (Hint:tests!!!) at the start of the lesson
•Score chart
‘What in the world…?’

5. •Body of British hostage given to Iraq authorities
•Behind the music: The YouTube war is over – but at
what cost?
•Brown faces scrutiny on plans for young jobless
•Helmand poppy farming falls by a third
•Manchester duo deny plot to copy Columbine
massacre
•Pressure grows on government in row over Megrahi
•Channel 4 to launch 'creative overhaul' as it axes
********?
‘What in the world…?’

6. The body of a third British hostage in Iraq was today delivered to Iraqi
officials in an apparent step closer to freedom for the only one of five
kidnapped Britons now thought to be alive, the computer programmer Peter
Moore.
The Iraqi army and a security company retained by the British embassy
received the remains around midday. The body is believed to be that of either
Alec Maclachlan, from Llanelli, Wales, or Alan McMenemy, from Dumbarton,
Scotland.
The families of both men were told in August that they had almost certainly
been killed.
‘What in the world…?’
Body of British hostage given to Iraq authorities
• Remains of third hostage not yet formally identified
• Only one of five kidnapped men is thought to be alive

7. YouTube/Google have finally come to an agreement
with PRS, but don't expect to find out the details any
time soon.
Access all areas … the big names are back on
YouTube. Photograph: David J. Green/Alamy
After long, drawn-out negotiations, PRS for Music and
YouTube have finally come to an agreement over rates.
It's good news for British music fans, since YouTube's
blocking of premium music videos on their site will now
be lifted. What it means for songwriters financially is still
a mystery however, since the agreement is covered by a
Non-Disclosure Agreement.
‘What in the world…?’
Behind the music: The YouTube war is over –
but at what cost?

8. Brown faces scrutiny on plans for young jobless
Conservatives demand details on pledge to create
85,000 opportunities for young unemployed
Gordon Brown was pressed yesterday to give fresh details of measures he
said would create an extra 85,000 jobs and training opportunities for young
people.
The prime minister claimed more than 150 employers, including Royal Mail,
Centrica and Morrisons, will provide apprenticeships, work or training.
He said the deal meant that any unemployed person aged 18 to 24 will be
given an opportunity of a job or training or education within 10 months of
going on the dole from April 2010, rather than within 12 months of losing a
job as previously promised.
‘What in the world…?’

9. Helmand poppy farming falls by a third
• UN hails success as UK troops tackle drug networks
• Opium output falls slower as farmers increase yield
Britain's anti-drugs campaign in Helmand has made its first major
breakthrough, according to UN figures released today that show poppy
cultivation in the Afghan province fell by a third this year.
After years of costly struggle against Helmand's entrenched networks of drug
dealers the province has recorded a dramatic drop in opium poppy growing,
thanks in large part to farmers switching crops to cash in on high wheat prices.
‘What in the world…?’

10. Manchester duo deny plot to copy Columbine
massacre
Two teenage loners plotted a massacre at their own school to murder teachers
and pupils before killing themselves on the 10th anniversary of the Columbine
shootings, a court heard .
Matthew Swift, now 18, and his friend, Ross McKnight, 16, both from Denton,
Greater Manchester, planned to bomb a shopping centre and then go on a
killing spree at Audenshaw high school, a jury at Manchester crown court was
told.
Swift was a former pupil at the school while McKnight, his friend, still attended
the school in year 11.
‘What in the world…?’

11. Pressure grows on government in row over Megrahi
Downing Street approved decision to include man convicted of Lockerbie
bombing in prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, report claims
Downing Street today came under further pressure to explain the
circumstances surrounding the release of the man convicted of the Lockerbie
bombing amid reports that a decision that could have paved the way for him to
serve his sentence in Libya was approved by No 10.
‘What in the world…?’

12. Channel 4 to launch 'creative overhaul' as it axes Big
Brother
Broadcaster to invest extra £20m in drama and overhaul its programming line-
up as dropping of Big Brother frees up airtime
‘What in the world…?’
Channel 4 said today that it will use the axing of Big Brother for the "most fundamental creative
overhaul" in its 27-year history, with measures including an extra £20m a year for drama.
The broadcaster is pitching the axing of the long-running reality show, which has provided the
backbone of Channel 4's schedule for the best part of a decade, as a chance for creative renewal,
with an overhaul of the programming lineup and a refocusing on its public service broadcasting remit.
Channel 4's decision to scrap Big Brother after next year's Celebrity version and the 11th main
summer series will free up 200 hours of peak-time airtime from 2011 on the main network and digital
entertainment service E4

13. You have already encountered representation during your AS study
and will understand that it is a difficult concept.
Representation can be understood as how groups, events, places
and experiences are represented in media texts.
It can be a depiction or description of something, someone or an
event.
It may involve symbolising or standing in for what is being
represented, for example, red roses or hearts are used to symbolise
love and romance.
REVISING REPRESENTATION

14. There are a number of factors to consider in trying to understand why
representations are constructed as they are; a necessary element
of A2 Level study.
Although these factors are often inter-related they can be grouped as:
•The genre and the audience of specific media texts
•The creators of the text, their institution and the medium they use
•The cultural, political and social context in which the text is
produced
TEXTS AND CONTEXTS

15. Understanding the context in which media texts are produced includes
keeping up to date with and understanding the current media debates
and issues that are taking place in both the popular media and the
academic study of media.
Looking at the media supplement of the Guardian newspaper on
Monday’s or reading the online version from the Guardian’s website
are good ways of doing this.
ADDRESSING ISSUES

16. Try to build up a file of extracts or printouts, or make notes of any of
the following areas:
•Changes in media technology and the digital revolution
•Debates about regulation and censorship of the media
•Any moral panics about the media and within the media
•Globalisation
•Debates about the effects of media on its audience
•Debates about news values utilised in media
•Changes in the ownership and control of any media institutions.
ADDRESSING ISSUES

17. REFLECTIVE VIEW :
A reflective view of representation suggests that while the media
does reflect reality, it also mediates it through the media
language and narrative to give a certain perspective.
ADDRESSING ISSUES

18. CONSTRUCTIONIST VIEW :
The constructionist view of representation is a more complex
understanding of representation. You have already encountered this
approach at AS. This approach suggests that our understanding or
knowledge of the world is constructed by representations, found
in a range of media texts utilising media language and narrative.
ADDRESSING ISSUES

19. Sometimes a constructionist approach is clear to see, for example, the
British media coverage of the final Rugby World Cup match in Paris in
October 2007 focused on the penalties, the ‘disallowed try’ and how
‘bravely or impressively’ the England team played.
This version was constructed through the media process of
representation. The South African media naturally, focused on the
positive aspects of South Africa’s game – portraying a different version
of reality to a different audience.
ADDRESSING ISSUES

20. Representations are influenced by the cultural, political and social
contexts in which they are produced.
A reflective approach to representations will see media representations as
reflecting the values, ideologies and political and cultural concerns of a
particular historical moment.
ADDRESSING ISSUES

21. A similar debate around whether media simply responds to changes in cultural,
social and political environments, or in fact influences those changes can be
framed around the women’s magazine Cosmopolitan.
The magazine remodelled itself in 1965 to become a more sexually aware and
‘sassy’ publication in line with changing attitudes to sexuality and the
beginnings of the feminist movement.
Was this change a reflection of the cultural attitudes of the era or
did it contribute to changing those attitudes?
ADDRESSING ISSUES

22. Task 1: Think about how the types of media texts, films in particular,
that arose after the 9/11 tragedy.
In what way were they a response to the events that happened?
How were the texts influenced by the social and political concerns of the
time they were produced?
ADDRESSING ISSUES

23. Example Text : Ladder 49
ADDRESSING ISSUES

24. Both reflective and constructionist perspectives on representation are
concerned with power.
A reflective approach focuses upon the relationship between texts and reality
and the way in which reality may be distorted or changed in the interests
of powerful groups.
A constructionist approach is concerned with who has the power to ensure that
their versions of reality is the accepted and dominant one.
ADDRESSING ISSUES

25. Task 2: Analyse the following adverts in terms of the representations
constructed within it.
1. Who or what is being represented? How are they being represented?
Use the key concepts to help you deconstruct the text.
2. How might you apply the Reflective View to this advert?
3. How might you apply the Constructionist View to this advert?
4. Why do you think the representations have been constructed in this
way?
5. Who does this construction / value message benefit and why?
ADDRESSING ISSUES

26. ADDRESSING ISSUES
 Bisto Advert
 Conservative Party
Political Broadcast
 US Army
Recruitment ad

27. The beliefs represented about groups and institutions are given the force
of being ‘naturalized’. They are endorsed by a discourse of common
sense.
Views about what is OK or not OK are endorsed by common sense.
Opposing views are therefore made difficult, to the point of impossible, to
conceive of. Representations feed back into these beliefs, to confirm or
oppose them. This circularity creates dominant meanings, which in turn
reinforce the dominant aspects of ideology.
COMMON SENSE / NATURALIZATION

28. The NATURALIZATION of the beliefs behind representations is also
part of ideology.
It makes natural and common sense that which is neither of those
things.
Some will argue that being gay is unnatural. This is far from true: the
study of any species reveals frequent examples of same-sex
bonding.
COMMON SENSE / NATURALIZATION

29. Some have tried to argue against immigrants
and immigration on the grounds of ‘common
sense’. But there is no common agreement on
the sense of such racist views.
There isn’t even any material sense to them,
given the declining numbers in European
populations and workforces.
COMMON SENSE / NATURALIZATION

30. It can be said that ‘common sense’
and ‘naturalization’ of views are
themselves manifestations of
ideology-hegemony or the
invisible exercise of power at work
– ways of stopping people from
seeing that representations are
actually going against their
interests.
COMMON SENSE / NATURALIZATION

31. In what way can you apply the idea
of ‘naturalization’ to this text?
Do you think this is an example of
hegemony?
COMMON SENSE / NATURALIZATION

32. A set of ideas, or a world view, which produces a partial and
selective version of reality often to protect the interests of
powerful and social groups.
IDEOLOGY
The idea of ideology serves the
interests of those with power in
society. It has its roots in the
19th century writings of Karl
Marx, who argued that the
property-owning classes were
able to rule by ideas which
represented as natural the class
relationships of production,
therefore justifying their own
wealth and privilege.

33. IDEOLOGY
The notion of ideology entails widely held beliefs or ideas, which
may often be seen as ‘common sense’, legitimising or making
widely acceptable certain forms of social inequality. In doing so,
ideologies are able to disguise or suppress the real structure of
domination and exploitation, which exists in society.
The dominant ideology, in Marxist or marxian theory, is the set
of common values and beliefs shared by most people in a
given society, framing how the majority think about a range of
topics, from art and science to politics and economics.

34. The media’s role may be seen as :
•Circulating and reinforcing dominant ideologies; or
•(less frequently) undermining and challenging such ideologies
**Example of how the media challenges and reinforces dominant
ideologies – comparison between the representation of family
life in 2 popular American TV series, The Waltons and The
Simpsons.
IDEOLOGY

35. Close-knit extended family living in rural area
Family managed to stay happy and overcome all of its problems
through mutual love and support.
Heroic male members (John/John Boy) who head the household
THE WALTONS

36. Working class family, riven with chaos and conflict
Selfish behaviour of male members (Homer / Bart) who are
responsible for many of the problems
THE SIMPSONS

37. The Simpson’s popularity was/is unsettling for many Americans, not used to
the darker side of family life being a subject for comedy, (as reflected in
the comment of US President Bush in 1992-‘I want families to be more like
The Waltons and less like The Simpsons’).
As such The Simpsons can be seen as a media text which is capable of
subverting traditional values underpinning American institutions such as the
family and education. However, it has to be noted that as a family The
Simpsons do retain their unity, largely through the love and patience of
Marge, the family matriarch.
Q. Can you think of any other American TV series’ which you
consider challenges or subverts traditional American values?
In what ways do you think it is ideologically subversive ?
THE SIMPSONS

38. Example
 Family Guy

39. REPRESENTATION OF
HOMOSEXUALITY
EXAMPLE CASE STUDY

40. Key questions and controversies regarding the relationship
between mass media and sexual orientation include whether
portrayals of homosexuality and bisexuality in the media:
•Promote social progress by encouraging understanding of gays,
lesbians, and bisexuals; promoting cultural tolerance toward
them; and encouraging support for LGBT civil rights.
•Undermine the moral fabric of society, for the same reasons.
•Cause more people to identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, or
cause more people to engage in those behaviours.
•Promote or undermine stereotypes.
•Are simply a reflection of existing social attitudes.
REPRESENTATIONS OF HOMOSEXUALITY

41. Although homosexual acts were decriminalized in some parts of
the Western world, such as in Denmark in 1933, in Sweden in
1944, in the United Kingdom in 1967, and in Canada in 1969, it was
not until the mid-1970s that the gay community first began to
achieve actual, though limited, civil rights in some developed
countries.
•A turning point was reached in 1973 when the American
Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, thus
negating its previous definition of homosexuality as a clinical
mental disorder.
REPRESENTATIONS OF HOMOSEXUALITY

42. The bewildering death toll wrought by the AIDS epidemic at
first seemed to slow the progress of the gay rights movement,
but in time it galvanized some parts of the LGBT community into
community service and political action, and challenged the
heterosexual community to respond compassionately.
•Major American motion pictures from this period that
dramatized the response of individuals and communities to the
AIDS crisis include An Early Frost (1985), Longtime Companion
(1990), And the Band Played On (1993), Philadelphia (1993), and
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989), the last
referring to the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, last
displayed in its entirety on the Mall in Washington, D.C., in 1996.
REPRESENTATIONS OF HOMOSEXUALITY

43. ‘Carry On…’ films
1958-78
Slapstick, farcical British comedy
Overtly ‘camp’ male characters
Homosexual in real life but played
comic character
The only way being ‘gay’ was
acceptable to British society in 70’s
and 80’s?
REPRESENTATIONS OF HOMOSEXUALITY

44. ‘Camp’ characters
Has representation in the media
really moved on?
REPRESENTATIONS OF HOMOSEXUALITY

45. ‘Queer as Folk’ & ‘Tipping the Velvet’
Controversial programming – looking at
more ‘realistic’ representations of
homosexuality
Ratings winners, although criticised for
explicit scenes
Do these programmes demonstrate
society’s acceptance and understanding?
REPRESENTATIONS OF HOMOSEXUALITY

46. •Representations of homosexuality in
advertising – still relying on ‘traditional’
images / ‘myths’
•Is homosexuality still seen as the
‘other’?
•Naturalization?
REPRESENTATIONS OF HOMOSEXUALITY

47. •Brokeback Mountain – Ang Lee
(2006)
REPRESENTATIONS OF HOMOSEXUALITY

48. MEST 3-SECTION B
Representation of Teenagers
Representations of Liverpool