Representation

Question 1

Stuart Hall

Answer 1

• Representation is the production of meaning through language, with language being a system of signs
• The relationship between concepts and signs is governed by codes
• Stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits
• Stereotyping occurs where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate groups are constructed as ‘other’

Question 2

Gauntlett - Identities

Answer 2

• Media provides us with tools to construct our identities
• In the past media conveyed singular, straightforward messages, now media offers us a more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from whom we may pick and mix ideas

Question 3

Liesbet van Zoonen

Answer 3

• Gender is constructed through discourse, and its meaning varies according to cultural and historical context
• The display of women’s bodies as objects is a core element of western patriarchal culture
• The visual and narrative codes used to construct the male body as a spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body

Question 4

bell hooks

Answer 4

• Feminism is a struggle to end patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination
• Feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice
• Race and class as well as sex determine the extent to which individuals are oppressed