representation theory for A level media, part of theoretical research.

1. Representation
Theory
Applied to a Documentary
Production

2. What is representation?
The oxford dictionary defines representation as “The description or
portrayal of someone or something in a particular way.” this is the
way that I will be understanding and interpreting the word
representation. It is the most closely linked to the media term and
interpretation of media “Media representations are the ways in
which the media portrays particular groups, communities,
experiences, ideas, or topics from a particular ideological or value
perspective”.

3. Problems With
representation?Representation can be a grey area as it can be related with bias,
especially in the media. Most of the time one group or another will feel
that they are not being represented fairly. This might be on purpose to
give a bad representation or simply by not completing research to
represent all groups involved fairly.
This is because every time we see a media text or production we are
not seeing reality but someone else's own interpretation and version of
it. This can be a big problem with documentaries even if the
documentary was an actuality film and it was just an observation of life
the cameraman still chose to shoot in one place and not another. When
it is said it seems obvious, however it is a point many of us forget when
we are enjoying a media text or production. Even if it is coming from a
non bias source as far as the consumer is aware of the final production
or text has been changed from the real event to end up with something
that varies from the original event. This idea is called mediation and it
goes on all the time in any media production especially the news.
When it is broken down there is no real way to prevent myself from
mediating my production however I will be mediating my documentary
to represent an equal view of education. I have to select the most

4. Mediation: what to look
for?When looking out for mediation there are three distinct things to look for:
- Selection: This is what the mediator selects to show the viewer or reader. They pick the
most relevant and interesting images or clips to best capture the event they are trying to
convey. I will be applying this to my documentary by capturing way too much footage so I
can then select the best footage to use afterwards that best shows what the voiceover is
explaining.
- Organization: When the scenes are carefully organized to best suit the shot, this is
basically mise en scene. Even down to the smaller detail of remixing a backing track. I will
be using organization to create a simple school scene for example a classroom that is
universally recognized this could mean rearranging books or placing things such as paper or
pencils. I do not want to skew the reality too much with set dressing however I can alter and
organize things to appear better.
- Focusing: Is when media outlets whether this is a TV production or a newspaper try and
focus our attention on a certain aspect or character, this is done through camera work,

5. Dominant Ideology
Dominant ideology is quite a straight forward theory it says
what it is, dominant ideology is the idea that a vast majority
hold. The group of ideas that the group hold creates this
dominant ideology. The dominant ideology can often result
in stereotyping and perhaps an unkind view on some ideas
and views because that’s what the media want the dominant
ideology to be.
These ideas can change as new ideas get presented to the
dominant group and things become up for debate and
change. But it takes something to spark that change. A way
of injecting a new idea to the masses.
That last part of the dominant ideology is key to my media
production as I want to encourage debate and change the
dominants view on educational fairness and how the current
views are skewed. I am not looking to change the dominant

6. Intentional View
The intentional view is saying it as you mean it, when someone is presenting there view they mean the view and words
they are putting across the the audience. Putting it simply they mean what they are saying. This can be accompanies
by clips and images to reinforce there points. This is very common practice in the media and news, for example during
an election certain news outlets will align with one party or another each intentionally making the opposing side look
bad by pushing left or right wing views.
The most important view in this theory is that of the person presenting the view as it they are in theory telling the
viewer there view. They are presenting an idea for the viewers to agree with and follow. They use images and video to
help back the view they hold.
The creator wants the person consuming the content to have the same meaning from what they do.I don’t want to indoctrinate people with my views as I am looking to create
debate and just open up people maybe give them the other side of the
argument to make things rounded I do not want to press and intentional
view on the consumer of my content as I do not feel that is fair. I will be
strong with my opinions but I feel creating an intentional view
documentary is just flipping people to my side of the argument which
defeats the object as I want debate and two sides to blend to have an
idea that pleases both sides. I do understand the idea of an intentional
view such as Martin Luther King who needed to take an intentional view
which was completely right for the group he was targeting but with a
documentary about educational it is not necessary.

7. Stereotyping
A dictionary definition of stereotypes is: “A standardised usually
over simplified mental picture or attitude that is held in common
by members of a group”.
We naturally simplify things to help us make sense of groups or
people which are more complex. This is an innocent and
simply put way of explaining things, however stereotypes
generally have negative connotations as being offensive to the
group they are representing. Sometimes the stereotype is
intentionally offensive for comedic effect. Harry Enfield is
known for his many characters many of which could be seen
as offensive.
Stereotyping is a natural function of the human mind whether it
is good or bad. Stereotypes have no logical base or truth
behind them it is just down to the individual and how the
stereotype is constructed.

8. Stereotyping
Stereotyping in the media can be broken down into 4 stages. There are more stages and ways of breaking
down stereotypes but the following 4 things are the most commonly seen and often the biggest
contributors to stereotypes.
- Appearance: This includes the physical appearance of a character or person E.G. clothing, posture,
cleanliness and sound of the voice. Appearance is key in showing the reputation and feel of the
character. This may be positive or negative. For example news readers appear smart and well kept
wearing suits. This makes them appear reputable and the audience can trust them. The characters/
presenter in my documentary will be just like this as I want there appearance to be smart so the
audience engage and respect what they are saying. Documentary presenters are stereotyped to be
smart and well learned people so I want to conform to this stereotype. For the students in the
documentary I don’t want to stick to one general stereotype I would like to include a nerd stereotype,
cool and perhaps scruffy. This creates a realistic classroom environment and makes it more believable
for the audience.
- Behavior: Behavior is the typical things that the stereotyped group do for example a group of youths
are often seen as being deviant and antisocial. This isn't necessarily always true however it does
happen and that’s the behavioral stereotype that is labelled to the whole group. I can apply this to my
production by knowing the behavior stereotypes of and match it to the appearance stereotypes I have

9. Stereotyping
- Peculiar to the media construction in the way that fits the medium: This sounds confusing to understand but
after some further research I gathered that simply put a serial killer will be stereotyped the same way no matter what
genre or type of production they are in. this can be seen with serial killers in movies such as silence of the lambs
and real life serial killers such as Fred West. Both completely different one being fictional and the other being very
much real. However they are both shown the same way in the media with things such as close ups, emotive
headlines in newspapers. This is done so the audience can understand the comparison between normal behavior
and behavior that is way out of the ordinary. applying this to my production I
will be able to take direct inspiration from real life stereotypes and place them directly into my documentary as it is
something that the audience will be able to relate to. I obviously wont be choosing serial killers or anything way out
like that. But I can directly emulate
- Comparison: The fourth and final part of a stereotype that I need to take into consideration when producing my
documentary is comparison. The comparison happens between the typical stereotype and what is to be considered
“normal behavior”. For example if I film a classroom full of children all 100% focused on their studies and the
teacher does not have to move a muscle to control or teach them as they are eager. This is not considered “normal
behavior” but if I had a blend of studious and perhaps less focused then I have not made a definite definition of one
normal classroom as the blend creates comparison, however the viewer does not know which Is the “normal
behavior”