3. The term representation refers to “the way
the media constructs aspects of real life”
Point of view, messages and values often
underlie media representations.
Representations often reveal the dominant
ideology of the culture which created them
4. The representation of people from other cultures in the media
has changed dramatically since earlier days where they were
defined in terms of their potential for comedy or ‘foreignness’
http://videosift.com/video/Little-Black-Sambo-1935-Racial-
Stereotyping-in-Animation
UK representations of a diverse Britain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39siKorcLIA&safe=active-
BBC Panorama about race issues
Ethnicity is still, although perhaps less frequently, represented
in stereotypical ways or as ‘other:’ as something different
from the mainstream or the norm - suggesting that the
dominant way of seeing things is still white
6. Stuart Hall (1973)
Encoding/ decoding
All media texts are encoded with meaning (through
media language). It is up to the audience to decode these
meanings.What an audience decodes is also determined
by cultural experiences and understanding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUer_ZA4sJs
What is encoded in this text (consider what the dominant
ideology might be)? How might culture/ experiences
influence how an audience might decode the messages?
7. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7907
262.stm- All black episode of Eastenders
What is encoded?What can be decoded?Why
is this representation significantly different to
the Unicef advert?
Challenge: how does media language encode
meanings/ messages?
8. In pairs/ 3s find 2 examples of how ethnicity is
represented in the media.
1 example should portray a predominantly ‘white’
perspective and position the audience to see
characters as ‘other’ (i.e. need sympathy, insight
fear, as exotic)
The other should be a representation in which you
feel is a ‘fair’ representation. One which is not from
a ‘white’ perspective, or one in which the
representation is portrayed as ‘other’ or different.
9. Watch the following extract.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grAgxe94bRs
What messages are being sent?
Are the characters represented in a positive or
negative way?
What is the dominant ideology?
Summarise your thoughts and ideas in a
paragraph and post to your blogs.
10. Watch the following extract again, make notes on how
camera, editing, sound, mise-en-scene creates meaning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grAgxe94bRs
Conduct a micro analysis of the extract by explaining
how the 4 technical areas construct representations of
ethnicity. Do this by taking screen shots of multiple
frames and give a written explanation underneath.
Extension: what is the dominant ideology/ perspective
shown in the extract? How does this influence what is
encoded/ decoded?
