XXX Media - Media Representations - XXX

Question 1

What is symbolic annihilation?

Answer 1

lack of visibility/under representation in media as they are condemned in many roles.

Question 2

What is the media gaze?

Answer 2

The way the media views society and represents them.

Question 3

How are the young represented in the media?

Answer 3

Over represented
As social problems (57% negative and 40% on crime,vandalism drugs) - heavy consumers of social networking.
Cohen - youth have become ‘folk devils’ to create and ‘moral panic’. - they are powerless and easy to target and blame.
However can be combated by youth on new media (citizen journalism).

Question 4

What examples of there of children being represented in the media? 8

Answer 4

British children are shown in a positive way: 8 stereotypes - The Headliners 1998

• Victims of horrendous crimes - white m/c children get more attention than minorities - symbolic annihilation.
• Cute - commercials
• Little devils - drama/comedies (Bart Simpson)
• Brilliant - child prodigies
• Brave little angels - long term illnesses
• Accessories - humanise celebs
• Modern - know more than previous generations
• Active consumers - Pester Power = children can manipulate parents to buy goods to increase social status (Heintz Knowles 2002 - children motivated by peer relationships, sports, romance - rarely shown coping with racial/family issues - this is changing.

Question 5

Why are these the representations of youth?

Answer 5

Social construction of youth/childhood.

Social problems - someone to blame.

Question 6

What is the representations of the old in the media? 4

Answer 6

• Under represented (symbolic annihilation)
• Grumpy, mentally challenged, burden, traditional.
• Newman 2006 - upper class elderly portrayed as having high status roles.
• Ford - old men paired with young females but old women shunned to radio. (gender disparity)
• Old is devalued - beauty products aimed to slow down/hide ageing.

Question 7

What are the representations of class in the media? 4

Answer 7

• More favourable of upper/middle class (neo marxists: reflects interests of ruling class). - over representation (symbolic annihilation) of working class,
• Lawler - taste is a symbol of class.
• Stories about rich more likely to be shown.
• McKendrick - poverty marginal issue unless bad - benefit cheat - Weltman: seen as their own fault (poverty, single parenthood.

Question 8

What are the media representations of women? 4

Answer 8

Under represented - female issues marginalised.

• limited number of roles, less visible (roles they have are traditional)
• presented as ideals to appeal to men
• victims by men.
• -Connell (2002) - feminine identity is product of ‘hegemonic ideas’ of how sexes should be socialised and how they should behave as adults. e.g. children’s toys advertisements.

Question 9

What arguments are their for the media sexualising women?

Answer 9

Female issues marginalised e.g. domestic violence, single parenthood.
– focuses on beauty and slimming.
Women’s sport - Newbold (2002) - what little coverage is sexualised and devalued.
Mulvey (1975) - film makers employ ‘male gaze’. (camera lens ‘eyes up’ females for pleasure of men’.

Men’s magazines such as FHM encourage men to dress/look a certain way - feminists argue that they don’t have the same pressure to conform to this ideal.

Question 10

What are the media representations of homosexuals?

Answer 10

Under representation.
3 representations of homosexuals:
- Dyer (2002) - ‘camp’, effeminate men - unchallenging traditional male masculinity.
- Mulvey (1973) - ‘heterosexual gaze’ (story lines constructed and viewed through)
- Gross (1993) - no ‘plain gay folk’ in the media.
– Stonewall survey: 126 hours of TV - homosexuality portrayed for less than 5% of time (negatively 36% of this time).
Gill (2007) sanitization of gay media - Gay men rarely showed sexually (usually as fashion icons, friend etc.)
– women opposite (lesbian women who usually appear in a sexual way). - appeals to heterosexual men.

Question 11

What examples for their for growing tolerance of homosexuality? 4

Answer 11

• growing popularity of gay celebrities (Gok Wan, Alan Carr etc)
• more story lines based around homosexual relationships (Soaps, reality TV)
• new media
• adverts
  Media companies realise their is a large homosexual consumer market. (pluralism)

Question 12

What are the media representation of ethnicity?

Answer 12

Under represented - ETHNICITY VIEWED THROUGH ‘WHITE EYE’ + INTERPRETED THROUGH ‘GRAMMAR OF RACE’. (western gaze) - reinforces stereotypes and prevents positive role models within media.
Glasgow University Media Group (GUMG) - developing countries are seen as problems, disasters, wars etc. (these are only news worthy stories associated with them).
– Marxists say this reinforces capitalist system by showing superiority of white western cultures.
Stuart Hall - ethnic minorities represented as inferior, white males are superior. e.g. native american cowboy films.