2. The Theory Itself
Cultural theorist Stuart Hall describes representation as the
process by which meaning is produced and exchanged
between members of a culture through the use of language,
signs and images which stand for or represent different themes
or ideas.
3. An Example
In this example of a front page of the Daily Mail
newspaper, reading on the main title that “Social
websites ‘harm a child's brain’”, this may show to a
reader the idea of letting children or younger
people around them use social websites and what
it may do to their brain. It also shows a picture of a
child next to the main headline, maybe causing an
effect on the reader of a child’s innocence even
though it is not in the same story and that the
reader wouldn’t want to harm a child’s brain by
bringing them into the online world.
This shows the meaning of the front page to be a
warning to people that it harms younger people’s
brains and is exchanged through the newspaper
form of media and to the Daily Mail’s readers.
4. Another One
This is another example of a front page from
the Daily Mail expressing that Cameron has
been dragged into tax havens storm.
This may show to readers of the Daily Mail that
the meaning of this is that he did not expect it to
happen but he has been dragged into it, which
would be expected as the Daily Mail is a very
conservative paper, maybe showing that they
are on his side and this is the reason why he
has been ‘dragged’ into it and that it is not his
fault.
This links to Stuart Hall’s representation theory
in that the paper is trying to exchange the story
to their readers to show meaning and to
represent what their ideas are as a paper.
