Analyze media representation in last year’s coursework production. Media representations are ways in which the media portrays different groups in society. For example a social group such as a ‘chav’ would be re-presented within forms of the media, such as a TV drama as the villain. The media actually creates a new reality by exaggerating representations that already exist. A good example to explain this is how perfume adverts represent sexually attractive people, this makes the consumer think that the perfume will make them sexually attractive too. In this essay, I will be studying my pervious media production to examine the media representations I created, whether it was purposeful or subconsciously. At the very beginning of my magazine production I produce an initial ideas presentation. Within these three initial ideas huge stereotypes are made and represented in a number of ways. For example,

I had representation ideas of social groups according to music genres. As you can see I explained ideas such as ‘female artist’ ‘pink’ ‘crowded and fun’. The most outstanding representation made here was of the age. In this initial idea, I created an age range from 13 – 18. Here I was implying that only this range of girls listen to pop music. This is relevant to the question because what I have done here is part of the hypodermic needle theory, it puts ideas into the consumer’s mind that if they are not female ages 13-18, they should not listen to, or have an interest in, pop music.

The other part of my initial ideas followed the same pattern, however maybe more obvious. The idea I had was for an indie music magazine, and one comment really shows media representations. ‘Weird model’ here I was demonstrating ideas of the main image for the magazine, however I created a huge stereotype of a social group.

Representations involve, not only just how identities are represented, or constructed, but also how they are constructed in the process of production. Therefore, throughout the production, there are representations made. Another example is through the flat plan. The adverts that I had put into the flat plan

produce stereotypical representations such as age. There are adverts for, a tattoo parlor, a clothing company with explicit clothes, a club in London and more. These adverts create representations of age because of the limits. This meaning only over 18’s can go to clubs, get tattoos etc. This can relate to the process theory. The process theory explains how the production, how the medium is made, creates a re-reality ( for example a reality is made through the adverts, of a person with tattoos, goes clubbing and concerts.) The final stage of this theory is the reception. The reception stage explains how the consumer is influenced by the

representations. In my example, the consumer could be influenced to go clubbing and get tattoos for example. A key study of these representations is how they are made to seem natural. The images in the main production such as in the contents page portray this,

This image shows how the people at the club are relaxed and happy, and this creates a ‘natural’ representation. It implies to the consumer must enjoy drinking and clubbing to be one of the people in the social group that read the magazine. In professional mass media, when media institutions want the audience to think something about a person, within a text, they play on existingrepresentations of people in the media. In my production, I created a character based on an existing

representation. This was implied through semiotics such as her long hair, perfect skin and easy route to fame. She was created to look like a perfect girl with an amazing voice. A genre of character that many girls dream to be. The images are the main example of how I did this, and also the flattering clothing. In summery, my media production creates quit a lot of representations, such as age, gender and social group in particular. The stereotypes that I created and recognized have very dominant ideology. Perkins argues that stereotypes contain complex understanding of roles and status in society, which the media ‘brainwashes’ an audience, particularly the young, to learn and understand. The dominant ideology of the stereotype is that clubbing, drinking, tattoos etc. is the norm, and this is shown in a variety of ways, throughout production and in the final medium.