Eduqas Media Studies representation lessons

1. Learning Objective
• To understand the term ‘mediation’
• To develop understanding of Hall’s
Reception theory

2. What do you see?

3. Look again…

4. Representation…
• These are not the actual thing or person –
they are a representation of the thing.
• Representation means to re-present (i.e. show
again)
• Remember: Individuals and groups of people
are represented in the media as being a
certain way. This is a construct of reality and
NOT reality itself.
• What was Buckingham’s quote?

5. Consider the police
• Do you know any Police Officers in your local
area or Police Community Support Officers?
• If not, have you heard any stories about the
police?

6. We can show the police as caring and
helpful

7. OR
NOT!

8. Mediation
There are three main elements to
consider:
•Selection
•Organisation
•Focussing

9. KEY TERM: MEDIATION
• The media selects what to include from a
range of available sources. This selection will
serve its own purposes.
• A media producer will deliberately organise
the selection to represent a
person/group/viewpoint according to what
they want others to believe.
• They will ensure that the key components of
the text have been focussed on deliberately to
ensure the appropriate reading of the text

10. Students study 90% harder than their parents
NSPCC: Giving your child too much ‘screen time’
is damaging their health
Teenage gangs out of control
Teenage suicide rate on the rise

11. Actor Mediation
Representation of
character/issue
Selection process:
Type of media
Editing
Camera Angle
Costume
Language
Music
Key term: MEDIATION
(Reality)
The outcome
Message to the
Audience

12. Actor Mediation
Representation
of character
Selection process:
Type of media
Editing
Camera Angle
Costume
Language
Music
Key term: MEDIATION
Johnny Depp

13. Every report of an event is a representation of the event, NOT
reality.
Versions of reality:
What you hear and see in the media is controlled by the
person who is informing you –
IT IS ONE PERSON’S REPRESENTATION AND THEREFORE WILL
PRESENT THEIR OPINIONS, BELIEFS AND BIASES.

14. Media representation can have many
interpretations so as to direct the audience
towards a desired outcome or message the
producer can add captions, music, mise-en-
scene, lighting or film from certain camera
angles.
Key Term: ANCHORAGE

15. The Shining

17. What do you think?

18. Look at the picture below and think about
what it means to you.

19. How does the following caption affect the
meaning of the same picture:
Corrupt officer arrested

20. Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory
• Encoding and Decoding (1970s)
– Texts are encoded with meaning (semiotics!).
– Different audiences respond (decode) in different
ways.
– Both encoded and decoded meaning will be
understood in the context of the social and
cultural background of the producer and
audience.

21. Readings
• Preferred reading – the audience uncritically
accepts the preferred (or intended) meaning
of the text.
• Negotiated reading – the message is partly
accepted and partly rejected.
• Oppositional reading – the audience rejects
the message.

22. Consider the image
and the anchorage
used.
Identify the
preferred,
negotiated and
oppositional
readings which are
encoded in the front
page.

23. News Values
• To understand the dominant reading you
must understand the ideology:
– The Daily Mail is a national newspaper with a
large circulation.
– It has selected these stories as the most important
of the day.
– The dominant reading, therefore, constructs the
‘Leave’ vote as being the correct vote for our
society.