The document discusses various representations and stereotypes related to gender, sexuality, ethnicity and other social identities that may appear in exams. It outlines the marking criteria for related exam questions and explores concepts of representation, stereotypes, and who has traditionally done the representing in Western media through the work of Richard Dyer. Examples of underrepresentation and stereotypes in the television industry are also provided.

1. Lesson 1

2. One of areas below will appear in the exam. We will need
to prepare for ALL areas.
 Gender
 Age
 Ethnicity
 Sexuality
 Class and status
 Physical ability/disability
 Regional identity

3. Your marks for this question are broken down into three
categories.
Explanation/analysis/argument (20 marks)
Use of examples (20 marks)
Use of terminology (10 marks)

4. We will look at two types of representation
1.Representing as Re-presenting
2.Who does the re-presenting? (Richard Dyer 1985)
Richard W. Dyer (born 1945) is an English academic
specialising in cinema. As of 2006 he is Professor of
Film Studies at King's College London.[1] Previously
he was at the University of Warwick. His work is
described as "emphasising the aesthetic and
historical specificity of cultural texts"

5.  Taking a subject mediating I and then representation
 Mimetic theory of representation
 Reflects reality
 Window to the world
 Transparent
 Unmediated
 not mediated : not communicated or transformed by an intervening agency so
realism and sterotypes
 unmediated - having no intervening persons, agents, conditions; "in direct
sunlight"; "in direct contact with the voters"; "direct exposure to the disease"; "a
direct link”

6. 1. Why are some interpretations (re-
presentations) of the world made over
others?
2. What are the ranges of representation in
Western cultures?
Representation of Men – dominate
Representation of Woman – weaker War,
Sexism can be perceived. Politics,
Something that is overridden
by other interpretations.

7. 1. How the re-presentations of reality are never
innocent/neutral. Because it’s a persons view which is
being viewed.
2. How representations are political Because it’s a
persons view which is being viewed.
3. How they always reflect the producer’s beliefs and
values (those doing the re-presenting) this is always
going to represent there ideas.

8. Predominantly white, middle
aged, middle class men
 Mark Thompson Dir Gen BBC –
2004 (replaced Greg Dyke)
 Adam Crozier – Chief Exec ITV -
2010 (replaced Michael Grade)
 David Abraham – Chief Exec CH4 -
Jan 2010- (replaced Andy Duncan)
 Dawn Airey Chair and Chief Exec
of CH5 standing down in 2010.

9.  Women still under represented in the
audio-visual industry
 38%
 ‘ethnic minorities’
 7% total audio-visual workforce
Broadcast TV 9.1%
24% cinema cleaners

11.  What is the definition of a stereotype?
“A widely held but fixed and oversimplified
image or idea of a particular type of person or
thing: "sexual and racial stereotypes”

12.  What stereotypes of women do you
see represented in the media?
 Assistants to other jobs
 Mum/wife
 Shows an underclass to men

13.  What stereotypes of men do
you see represented in the
media?
 Crime- end to be coming the
crime
 Leading character
 Father, Husband figure
 Boys are rebellious etc. in teen
dramas

14.  Gender
 Femininity
 Masculinity
 Sometimes gender is blurred within the Tv
Dramas

15.  Dominant males
 Subservient females
 Masculine ‘action’
 Lack of emotion
 ‘Serious’ storylines
 Romance controlled
 Patriarchal ideology
(narrative closure)
 Male heroes

16.  Female interaction
 Males as ‘partners’
 Relationship issues
 Emotive storylines
 Shared feminine
identity
 Narrative openness
 Confirmation of
patriarchal ideology

17.  Female ensemble dramas
 Widows
 Band of Gold
 Sex and the City
 Desperate Housewives
 Fat Friends
 Bad Girls

18.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVaYcM4V

19.  Female friendship
 Issues that effect
women
 Sex/sexuality
 Career women
 Female point of view

20. Representations of Masculinity
in The Sopranos

21.  Created by David
Chase
 HBO 1999-2007
 Frequently hailed the
‘Best ever drama’
 Who has seen it?

23.  Explore the representations of masculinity in The
Sopranos
 How is representations in The Sopranos similar or
different to previous representations of masculinity in
traditional masculine gangster films/ crime dramas?
 How does The Sopranos draw on the conventions of
traditional feminine texts?
 Here is a clip to get you started. Use Youtube to find more if y

24.  The Sopranos can be seen as
drawing on the generic
conventions and history of the
GANGSTER FILM of cinema –such
as The Godfather etc
 Gangster Film
 The Godfather (Coppola 1972)
 Scarface (De Palma 1983)
 Goodfellas (Scorsese 1990)
 Casino (Scorsese 1995)
 Indeed like previous constructions
of masculinity within the gangster
film the mob boss of Tony Soprano
is represented as a violent, macho,
aggressive man

25.  Sopranos follows the
typical representation of
the masculine within the
‘male-centred’ gangster
film but also male crime
series of TV
 Dominant males
 Subservient females
 Physical action
 Lack of emotion
 Romance controlled
 Male heroes

26.  Lack of respect/security
 Shifts to mob fathers way
of being as head of the
‘family’ business
 Shifts to fathers
positioning in relation to
his own personal family
Across his PUBLIC and PRIVATE life Tony feels the MOVEMENT AWAY from
TRADITIONAL RULES and NORMS that govern his life and SECURED his POSITION as
HEAD of both FAMILIES
The old rules of DUTY, HONOUR and RESPECT for those in positions of authority have
eroded at work
The tradition of respecting your FATHER & HUSBAND as BREADWINNER have also been
eroded with women

27. Laura Mulvey

28. Laura Mulvey – Male Gaze
Influenced by Freud & Jacques Lucan,
Mulvey sees the representation of woman
in film & literature (and therefore society in
general) as being dominated by a male
point of view. Her belief is that the world is
a patriarchy and that men have the
‘active’ roles and woman ‘passive’

29.  To look is seen as active
 She believed the camera acted as a male and
everything we see is from a male point of view

30.  Men play active roles
which drive the narrative
 Women play passive
roles and are seen as
erotic objects which slow
the narrative
 Men far outnumber
women
 Female roles are
sidelined
 Lead roles for women
scarce

31.  Bimbo
 Female’s physical
attractions such as
figure and breasts to
overpower the male
 Easy
 House wife
 Mother
 Intelligent yet willing
to settle down
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0J9FdN8oqA

32.  Two distinct modes of the male gaze of this era:
voyeuristic and fetishistic
 Mulvey argued that women where given two
characters types - sexually active female or the
powerless female
 Films presented images of women that were
produced simply for the gratification of male
viewers
 Various studies in the 1970s found men to be
the dominant characters and decision makers in
film and TV production
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfL09c4cw2I

33.  Where women had important roles they
were far more likely to be shown as…
 frightened
 in need of protection and direction
 offering support to the male lead character(s)
 not independent or self driven
 generally weaker
 still objectified sexually
“Women, in any fully human form, have almost
completely been left out of film….”
L Mulvey

34.  As women's roles change in society so does media
representation.
 Women are still objectified but also likely to be…
 Career driven
 Intelligent
 Confident
 Empowered
 Able (violent)
Remember changes may be made cynically and in
order to make money rather than change ideologies
 How many female action stars who are not
attractive?

35. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-czwy-aVbbU

36.  Uma Thurman represented as powerful
and dominant and independent
 Sword stands in for and castrates phallus
 Adopts male characteristics of aggression
 Not masculinised yet in masculine roles
 Use of low angles, and a masculine
performance

37.  The job of seeking revenge family is given to the
female character thus conforming to stereotypes
where women are seen to be possessed with
family and emotional
 Tight outfit allows objectification
 Voyeuristic pleasures by watching Thurman on
her killing rampage
 Remember male director/industry may still
mean male ideologies

38. Vs
Vs
Evidence of the
female gaze?

39. What is it?
 Misogyny – the contempt or hatred of
women and girls

40.  Gene Hunt (TV
Detective from
Life on Mars,
set in 1970’s
Britain) talking
about politics:
'THERE WILL NEVER BE A WOMAN PRIME MINISTER AS LONG AS I
HAVE A HOLE UP MY A**E.'

43.  How would you define the term misogyny based
on what you have just seen?
This is used to portray woman in a derogatory way
and an inferior gender.
 Can you think of any other examples of
misogyny that you may have seen in any media
text or simply experienced in everyday life?
 Misogyny – the contempt or hatred of women
and girls

44.  Find examples of both male and female characters in
TV Dramas that follow stereotypes and ones that
challenge stereotypes. Using images to support and
discuss how they have been represented through
clothing, location, narrative, dialogue, camera angle etc.
 Present this in your blog, on a powerpoint or in a short
movie like the bond example you saw.
 Link you answers to Mulvey’s Theory

45.  The use of Kirsty and Tyrone in Coronation
Street. They go against conventions as Kirsty
is the abusive partner in the relationship and
beats Tyrone a lot. The twist on the
representation of this is kirsty makes everyone
else believe that she is the one being abused
and this is easier to believe then the truth. The
way this is portrayed shows that men are as
liable to being as abused as woman are.

46.  The use of the gay couple in ‘The New
Normal’ depicts the normality that
homosexuality is shown in today's society.
The idea of one of them is very feminine and
shows the stereotypical homosexual guy with
his flamboyant ways. However the other guy
is against the convention.

47.  Within ‘Prisoners Wives’ they show a
conventional family who with the father in
jail, the son has taken ‘man of the house
status’ and taken a job in the drug dealing
business. The mother is shown to be naïve
and gullible thinking that her husband and
life will change.

48.  In Emmerdale Rachel and Sam are shown to
be a modern day family, two single parents
getting together with their children. This is a
representation of a modern day family as this
occurs more frequently in society.