The document discusses representations in media texts. It explains that representations focus on certain attributes like age, gender, race, etc. to portray individuals. Signs and symbols are used as visual shorthand for these attributes, allowing audiences to categorize characters based on comparisons to other similar representations. The document also contains sample intro paragraphs from movie scripts that provide details about characters through dialogue, descriptions of appearance, and setting details to represent them in specific ways for audiences.
2. WHAT IS REPRESENTATION?
Understanding representation is all about understanding the choices that are made when it comes to
portraying something or someone in a mass media text. It's impossible to portray every aspect of an
individual in a photograph, or even in a feature film, so certain features of their personality and
appearance get highlighted, and are often enhanced, when it comes to constructing the
representation that the audience will see. When representing a person, media texts often focus on
their:
Age
Gender
Race/Ethnicity
Financial Status
Job
Culture/nationality
Signs and symbols are used as a kind of visual shorthand to represent these attributes. When we
decode these signs we make assumptions about who the character is (usually by comparing them to
similar characters we have encountered before), and this allows us to put them in a category and
"read" them in context.
3.
4. INTRO BULLET BOY
The opening seconds of the movie the screen is pitch black and then
white titles appear and slowly fade in and out as another one comes up.
The idea of the white titles is so they contrast with the black to make
the opening more eye catching. The main title of the film is the
opposite, the background is white and the title is black it also takes up
most of the screen unlike the others.
5.
6. The music of the intro has a slow pace and is very repetertive. The
movie opens with a blured long shot of a young black man in prison
laying on the bench then the camera starts to focus and that’s when the
police officer comes in allowing the prisoner to leave because his time
is up. The lighting is fairly dark to give the audience an element of
mystery.
7.
8. In This scene we find out more about the character due to the formal
questions that he is asked by a police officer, such as his name and date
of birth. To which the prisoner reply's “ Rickie James Gordon, born
1984”
9.
10. INTRO
The movie opens with a shifty looking white tall male on a street corner selling
stolen items for 10 pound each. Because people are cautious of buying of stolen
goods the man who is selling gets one of his friends to say “ that’s a bargain, ill take
one!” pretending to be an ordinary customer and once one person buys there is
instantly a huge crowd around him throwing money at the criminal for his stolen
products. Suddenly after 9 or 10 sails he sees the police running towards him,
therefore him and his friend both run away down alley ways to fast paced up beat
popular music. They both sprint away throwing away the stolen items because if
they are found with it it will be used as evidence therefore clearly this isn’t the first
time they have committed a crime like this. The clothes the actors ear can tell a lot
about a person for example in the opening the criminal is wearing all black – black
over coat and scarf he is also fairly well dressed because the smarter he is dressed
the more appealing he seems to his customers.
11.
12.
13. INTRO
The film opens with a black middle age man outside an airport who is from a small illegal
Taxi company and offers to give people a lift when the taxi they have already booked
does not show up I know this because he says to a customer “ I give lifts when the system
fails”. This man is an illegal immigrant currently living in New York and works in various
places just to get a small amount of money. Such as being a Taxi driver and the front desk
man of a cheap Hotel.
He is wearing very beat up old clothes which consist of a leather brown old jacket and a
shirt as well as a jumper in his best attempt to look smart for tourists who come to the
country.
The opening scene is just a mid shot of him asking if people need a car ride. After this the
title sequence comes in, it is white and the background is black this is because it wants to
be contrasting and eye catching, furthermore behind the white title is says the name of
the film in a dark red colour almost like blood and in a very medieval font, this is to show
people the type of film that they are watching and in this case they are watching a crime
thriller that potentially contains a lot of graphic scenes .