2. What is representation?
• Representation is particular way a person or group is presented to the public.
There are many ways for people to be represented and these include:
• Gender
• Class and status
• Age
• Ethnicity
• Regional identity
• Sexuality
• Disability and ability
3. Eachrepresentationbrokendown
• Gender – Males and females. Males are typically represented as strong, masculine and
bold. Females are typically represented as weak, feminine and emotional.
• Class and status – The social hierarchy. The social classes include A (Upper, middle
class), B (Middle class), C1 (Lower, middle class), C2 (Skilled, working class), D
(Working class) and E (Casual Workers). The upper class as represented as wealthy
and intelligent whilst the working class are represented as low-paid and living in urban
areas.
• Age – This can be broken down to further groups which include, kids, youth and the
elderly. Kids are represented as cute, whereas the elderly are seen as grumpy.
• Ethnicity – The race of a person. The main ethnic groups include White, Black and
Asian. White people are generally presented as heroic, whereas Asian people are
represented as nerdy.
• Regional identity – This is where an individual is from within the regions of the UK. The
different regions include Scotland, Wales, Ireland, England, London,
Manchester/Newcastle/Liverpool, Essex, Yorkshire, Cornwall/Somerset, South
England and North England. People from Essex are represented as glamourous,
whereas people from Manchester are seen as ‘chavs’.
• Sexuality – There are several types of sexuality and the main ones are heterosexual,
bisexual and homosexual.
• Disability and ability – Someone who has a disability would be represented as
dependent, whereas people without a disability are represented as independent.
4. Representationtheories
• John Berger – ‘Men look, women appear’, his theory is that women are only used
for the objectification of themselves within all media platforms. This can be seen
in films, magazines or TV shows.
• Bell Hooks – The colour codes, she argued that women who are light skin are
considered more beautiful in the western ideology of beauty, whereas dark
women are more used within the hip-hop seen solely for their objectification.
• Laura Mulvey – The male gaze, she argues that films have a constant pattern of
presenting women as passive objects for the desire of men. Therefore, audience
are made to see women from the perspective of a straight male.
• Stuart Hall – Audience reception theory, he says that the media often combine
class and race together, which means the audience usually think of a specific class
being associated with a particular race. Also, white cultures are more dominant
in the media and that anyone in the media scene who is non-white is presented as
‘the other’.
5. Representationof our protagonist
• Within our production, the protagonist is a teenager who is represented as a
member of the typical youth community. This is shown instantly through the use
of mise-en-scene of the house and clothing he wears, which shows he is still living
with his family and wears typical youth clothing. However, he is represented as
mature in the sense that he is looking after his younger brother while his parents
are away. Throughout the film he is represented as strong and caring till the end
where he is seen as more vulnerable.
6. Representationof our antagonist
• Within our production, the antagonist is a kid who is represented as both a
stereotypical and counter typical kid. He is represented as kind and childish
throughout the beginning of the production, however this changed towards the
middle and end of the production as he is more represented as a violent and
careless kid, which goes against the typical child representation.
