Theories and approaches for Q1 on the OCR AS Media exam

1. LEARNING OUTCOMES – BY THE END OF
THIS SESSION YOU WILL BE ABLE TO:
1) Describe the difference between ETHNICITY and RACE
2) Identify issues surrounding the stereotyping of ethnic
minority groups in the media
3) Give at least three examples of media texts that offer a
dominant and alternative representation of ethnicity in
the media
4) Explain what ‘tokenism’ is and why it is problematic,
giving at least two examples

2. Which ethnicity do you see?
Can you recall the last time you saw a sikh
represented in the media?
Do you think sikhs are often represented
POSITIVELY or NEGATIVELY in the media?

3. Which ethnicity do you see?
When was the last time you recall seeing this
ethnicity represented in the media?
Do you think Romany gypsies are often
represented POSITIVELY or NEGATIVELY?

4. Which ethnicity do you see?
When was the last time you recall seeing this ethnicity
represented in the media?
Do you think people of mixed race are often
represented POSITIVELY or NEGATIVELY?

5. Which ethnicity do you see?
When was the last time you recall seeing this ethnicity
represented in the media?
Do you think Chinese people are often
represented POSITIVELY or NEGATIVELY?

6. Which ethnicity do you see?
When was the last time you recall seeing this ethnicity
represented in the media?
Do you think Muslims are often represented
POSITIVELY or NEGATIVELY?

7.  When examining ethnicity we need to consider:
 Who is being represented
 How our understanding other ethnicities is formed by
media representations
 How representations evolve over time, but are based on
historical background, for example, the impact of the
slave trade on contemporary representations of black
Africa characters
 The impact of stereotypes on different sectors of the
audience
REPRESENTATION OF ETHNICITY

8. What is the difference between ETHNICITY and RACE?
Your ethnicity refers to your CULTURAL IDENTITY. This could
be shown by:
Your RACE is defined by the fact that you descend from a
common ancestor giving you a clear set of racial
characteristics, e.g. your skin colour or facial features

9. How did people from other cultures used to be
portrayed in the British media?
Often ‘foreignness’ was emphasised - and
laughed at.
This type of comedy is no longer accepted on British
television.

10. Representation in the 1970s:
TV shows like Love Thy Neighbour and Til Death Us Do
Part dealt with the issue of the increase in immigration.
The Fast Show: Channel 9 Why do you think
this sketch was criticized?
Goodness Gracious Me Who are we
laughing at?

11. In the media today…
Evidence suggests that despite some progress, ethnic
minorities are generally under-represented or are
represented in stereotyped and negative ways across a
range of media content.

12. Activity 2: Representation of ethnic
minorities is, by and large, based on
stereotypes. (In pairs, 3 mins) Can you think
of recent examples of media texts that offer
stereotypical portrayals of black culture?
WHY do you think such stereotypes (a) are
created and (b) continue?

13. In his study, Alvarado (1987) identified the following stereotypes:
Exotic
Dangerous
Humorous
Pitied
ALVARADO’S THEORY (1987)

14. Representation of Ethnicity –TV Drama:
extract: Top Boy season 1 ep 1. (2011)
Channel 4 Top Boy 2011 (season 1 ep 1)
Channel 4
Watch the next section of Series 1 Episode 1
of ‘Top Boy’ (4oD, available on Youtube).
Deconstruct the codes used to create the
representations (audio, visual, technical)
How is the representation constructed?
Link this to theory. (Alvarado) –
dangerous/pitied
Consider audience. Why is this representation
constructed?

15. RECAP: LEARNING OUTCOMES – BY THE
END OF THIS SESSION YOU WILL BE ABLE
TO:
1) Describe the difference between ETHNICITY and RACE
2) Identify issues surrounding the stereotyping of ethnic
minority groups in the media
3) Give at least three examples of media texts that offer a
dominant and alternative representation of ethnicity in
the media
4) Explain what ‘tokenism’ is and why it is problematic,
giving at least two examples

16. •Technial/visual:
Establishing crane shot:
Showing where these
characters are growing up
(Hackney, London). The
council estate informs the
audience there are many
people crammed into one
space, connoting poverty
and the struggle for life the
characters face.
• The location helps to
inform the genre -
gritty urban realism.
• This analysis also
reinforces Alvarado’s
Theory of
dangerous/pitied
(1987). The characters
are victims of their
environment.

17. In “Top Boy (2011)”, Dushane
and Sully represent black people
to be ’dangerous’ as they are
associated with gangs, violence
and drug-use. But, Ra’nell
represents the ‘pity’ category as
he is left to provide for himself
as his mother is taken into a
mental hospital.
•This reinforces Dyers
(1992) utopia of
intensity, audiences are
unlikely to have guns
pointed in their faces
and this text gives them
the intensity missing
from their everyday
lives. The iconography
of the gun connoting
danger/death/violence/
power is further
reinforced by the
character looking down
the barrel of it, this not
only reinforces the guns
iconographic signifiers
but also Alvarado’s
Theory of the
dangerous (1987) and
Earp and Katz’s (1999)
theory of violent males.

18.  How are the representations
constructed? E.g. visual and
technical codes
 Is Four Lions funny? If so,
what kinds of comedy does it
explore? If it isn’t funny
what stops you laughing?
 How might the
representation affect the
audience? Think about
oppositional readings of the
text
 Does it create a
positive/negative/stereotypi
cal representation of ethnic
minorities?
REPRESENTATION OF ETHNICITY: FOUR
LIONS (2010) CHRIS MORRIS
Four Lions is a controversial, low budget British
black comedy, which deals with issues of
ethnicity and identity in contemporary multi-
cultural Britain. Four Lions directed by Chris
Morris, is a comedy about ‘wannabe-terrorists’
in Britain. Omar, Waj, Barry, Faisal and Hassan
are brought together to portray their
relationship with extremism in the Muslim faith.
Four Lions Trailer 2010

19.  Tokenism is a form of under-
representation.
 Minority groups are
represented but at a
minimum ‘token’ level or not
at all
 ‘Token’ characters often
have a reduced role or
capacity in comparison to
characters who fit with the
dominant group.
 Creates an illusion of equal
representation
TOKENISM

20. Tokenism is a problem because:
1. When tokenism is used, the minority group that
are represented have no real power.
2. The ‘difference’ of the minority group from the
‘norm’ becomes a central issue in the text.
3. Tokenism can also reinforce stereotypes. ..
. …For example, soap operas have
conventionally focused on
stereotypical aspects of ethnic
culture.