Representation Theories

Laura Mulvey- Male Gaze theory

• States how the audience views women who are presented in the media.
• States that the women are there to be seen and that the use of camera portrays them as sexual objects.

Focus:

• How men look at those images
• How women look at themselves from those images
• How women look at other women (do they see them as unrealistic ideologies and are they supposed to conform?)
• Emphasising curves of the female body
• Referring to women as objects rather than people
• The display of women is how men think they should be perceived
• Female viewers view the content through the eyes of a man

This theory describes how the audience or viewer is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male and how the camera uses particular movements to present women in an idealistic way. The man emerges as the dominant power within the created film fantasy and it states that the film gaze with women and men is the same because women look at themselves through the eyes of a man.

Summary:

1. Music videos emphasise curves of the female body
2. Music videos show women as objects rather than people
3. Music videos display women in a way to please men
4. Females view them in the same way as men

Music videos that support this theory

Richard Dyer- Star theory

'To be a star you have to have certain qualities'

'Stars are commodities that are produced by institutions'

'A star is a constructed image, represented across a range of media and mediums'

'Stars represent and embody certain ideologies'

• It is the idea that icons and celebrities are constructed by institutions for financial reasons and are built to target a specific audience or group of people

-Audience and institutions

-Constructions

-Hegemony (cultural beliefs)

This theory says that stars are fake and their job is to be looked at and to make money from.

• Audiences and Institutions

-stars are made to make money and for that purpose alone.

-audiences want to consume what they think/are made to think is ideal.

-institution modifies the stars image around the target audience.

-a star is made based on what the audience want.

• Constructions

-a star is built for an audience and is not an actual person.

-a persona is created to identify with so stars can differentiate between different stars.

-they are built with someones signature to them

• Hegemony

-we relate to a star because they have a feature we admire or share with them.

-some people may attempt to replicate them which could be negative.

'A star is an image, not a real person, that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (e.g. advertising) magazines etc as well as films and music' 1979

Stars that support this theory:

Katy Perry                   Beyonce
 

Tessa Perkins- Stereotypes

What is a stereotype?

Someone who is prejudged on their looks or by what they do and then put into a group because they have similarities, based on characteristics, expect them to have certain ideologies and beliefs.

Why do we stereotype others?
-to identify what someone is like (prejudge)
-because the media puts ideologies in our minds
-to understand people we might not come in contact with

Stereotypes are assumptions we make on groups of people.
Stereotyping is not a simple process and contains a number of assumptions that can be challenged:
Perkins identified 5 assumptions

• Stereotypes are not always negative
• They are not always about minority groups
• They can be held at ones own group
• They are not rigid or unchanging
• They are not always false

Stereotypes are not always negative:

People always assume they're negative

e.g. troublesome youths 'hoodie culture' however youth can also be seen as postive (good in exams)

Not always about minority groups:

we can make assumptions about the upper class

e.g. prime minister

Held about ones own group:
People judge people within their own groups

e.g. we all want to be at wyke to get good grades, however within our own group of people there will still be stereotypes (emos, goths etc.)

Rigid or unchanging:

Once it has been created it is hard to change as changing a mass audiences point of view is difficult to change, however they develop through time
e.g. homosexuality used to be seen as 'weird' and 'abnormal' but now it is legal and people are less judgmental

Not always false:
We witness and read stories in the media to shape our minds and understandings. We may witness it first or second hand however there must be some truth in a stereotype otherwise the ideology behind them would not have existed in the first place
e.g. emo's are thought to listen to heavy metal and smoke etc and many 'emo's' do

Implications of stereotypes:

• Stereotypes are not always erroneous in context (usually wrong)
• They are negative concepts
• They are about groups with whom we have little or no social contact; by implication therefore they are not held about ones own group
• People either hold stereotypes of a group or don't. This can lead to negative behaviour towards a member of that group can be predicted
• Because someone holds a stereotype of a group, his or her behaviour towards a member of that group can be predicted
• Stereotypes are an invaluable aid to understanding the world and all stereotypes must have a bit of truth