Representation refers to how media constructs versions of reality through symbols and signs. All media texts selectively portray people, events, and concepts in intentionally composed ways. John Berger's theory is that in traditional representations, men act and women appear, with women taught to see themselves through a male gaze and view themselves as objects to be looked at. Some horror films have challenged this by portraying women as survivors or villains with power over men. Marxist perspectives, like those of Karl Marx and Antonio Gramsci, view society as unfairly structured by a powerful elite (the bourgeoisie) who dominate the working classes (proletariat) through ideology and state control. Some horror films represent this unequal power dynamic and unfair social control.

1. Representation
INVESTIGATION

2. Representation refers to the construction in any medium, especially the mass media of aspects of
‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts.
Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.
all media texts are re-presentations of reality. This means that they are intentionally composed, lit,
written, framed, cropped, captioned, branded, targeted and censored by their producers, and that
they are entirely artificial versions of the reality we perceive around us. When studying the media it
is vital to remember that every media form, from a home video to a glossy magazine, is a
representation of someone's concept of existence, codified into a series of signs and symbols
which can be read by an audience.

3. John Berger- said: “men act and women appear”
Berger points out that traditionally, men and women have different types of social presence. Men
are measured by the degree of power they offer. The power may be in any number of forms, for
example moral, physical, economic etc. A man’s presence suggests what he may or may not be
able to do to or for you. In contrast to this, a woman’s presence indicates what can or cannot be
done to her. Every thing she does contributes to her presence. She is born into the keeping of
men, and from childhood is taught to survey herself, with the result that her being is split into
two, the surveyed and the surveyor. Her own sense of being is replaced by a sense of being
appreciated by others – ultimately men. He acts, she appears, and she watches herself being
looked at. ‘The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns
herself into an object – and most particularly an object of vision: a sight.’
How does this theory link to the horror genre?
John’s theory on representation is shown in horror genre films and they take advantage of this
representation of women been seen as weak and vulnerable. However it has came to my
attention that many horror films have started to go challenge this representation. In recent horror
films the female characters are the survivors and the men are the ones to die first. Also some
films also have the women as the villain that kills the men which tells the audience that the
women is in control and have all power which subverts the theory. Examples of these horror films
that have turned the tables on the gender stereotypes and representation are films such as I Spit
on your Grave, Jennifer's Body and Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003).

4. Karl Marx and Antonio Gramsci – Marxist perspectives
Karl Marx was interested in power. He did a lot of work thinking about how societies are
structured and how they are unfair. His main idea was that the masses (he called them the
proletariat) were controlled or dominated by the elite (the bourgeoisie). The powerful elite
(bourgeoisie) own the means of production and therefore they have power over the workers
(proletariat). This unfair social dominance serves the elite but it is exploitative of the workers
and society is kept like this because it suits those at the top. The main way this is done is
through the superstructure of society (the way people are influenced) namely religion,
education, law, politics. He called all this stuff the ‘ideological state apparatus’. If this didn’t
work, then the bourgeoisie would crush their working classes using the military state apparatus
like the army and the police.
This theory is represented in some horror films were the bourgeoisies has a lot of power and
control over the lives taken the film. A example of this is the film ‘The Purge’ this film clearly
follows the theory and represents the society as unfair. In the film we see the government as the
bourgeoisies sending in military state apparatus to kill innocent working classes that are less
wealthy, in a way of lowering the population. Also there are the wealthy families that have a
sense of power and dominance to buy proletariat's and kill them for there own entertainment.
There are also horror films such as Cabin In the Woods that also follow this representation
theory of wealthy, controlled and dominated characters in society given the power to end
peoples lives.