Feedback - Miss Spencer

Some good but basic research is evident in this post Sophie. You have outlined the concept of representation and thought about stereotypes in general.
This work is at a level 2.
In order to improve you must now make this specific to your genre.
What typical representations do you find in horror?
Think of Genre, ethnicity etc. Give specific examples with images from films you have been researching.

Representation in horror

Representation

Definition; Media representations are the ways in which the media portrays particular groups, communities, experiences, ideas, or topics from a particular ideological or value perspective. The words suggest something was thee already and has been represented by the media.

Representation can change overtime. As many people believe that media is powerful, so it changes people’s attitudes and beliefs.

It's impossible to portray every aspect of an individual in a photograph, or even in a 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- we are quick deem if other people are too old or too young. For example we criticise mature women as ‘mutton dressed as lamb’ and young girls for ‘tarting’ themselves up. Age is often stereotypical as we know the older generations are considered much weaker than younger.
• Gender- Gender- a basic category we use for sorting human beings and it is key when discussing representation. What does it mean to be a boy or girl? Many objects not just humans are represented by the media mostly masculine or feminine, mainly in advertising. We then grow up with awareness of what creates suitable characteristics for each gender. Representations of women across media highlight the following: Beauty, size/physique, sexuality, emotional relations and relationships. Representations of men across media highlight the following: Masculinity, strength, power, sexual attractiveness, physique and independence.
• social class and status -
• sexuality - Main focuses on heterosexuality and homosexuality. Gender ties in with sexuality. Sexuality is often expressed through clothes, props, setting and acting. Heterosexual women are often stereotyped as being loving, pure, alternative and promiscuous. Heterosexual men are known for being respectable, a ‘ladies man’ or a man who has trouble talking to other women. Homosexual women: monogamous, promiscuous and embarrassed and homosexual men are overbearing and also embarrassed. However, these are all stereotypes of sexuality.
• regional identity - Regional identity refers to the part of the united kingdom someone is from e.g. ‘south’ or ‘north’.
  Scottish are often known for drinking a lot of alcohol, loves being out doors, wears kilts and eats haggis.
  Welsh are often known as living in the middle of the countryside.
  Irish are known as living in the country, working in rural areas e.g. farms, being very religious and very friendly.
  English are known for being obsessed with bear and football but the stereotypes can also be opposite showing English people to be very rich, posh, royal ect..
  Manchester/ Liverpool are often known for being chavs wearing tracksuits, drinking a lot, uneducated and aggressive.
  Essex known for being glamorous but cheap, footballers wives, lots of partying and being ‘stupid’.
  Yorkshire shown as living in the countryside and rolling hills and cobbled streets, being old fashioned.
  Cornwall/ somerset are shown as living in rural areas, working on farms.
  South England are shown for being clever, modern, classy, rich. Doing jobs such as being a manager.
  North England are shown as being poorer, bad weather, lower class, aggressive, not very clever doing working class jobs. So the very opposite of south England.
• physical ability -
• Race/ethnicity- representation of race in the media can consist of the same sort of rigid stereotypes that constitute gender portrayal. However, stereotyping of race is seen more harmful then stereotyping of gender. Racial stereotypes are often based on social myths. A lot of work on race and media focuses on the representation of black men and women. There are many negative representations as well as good, for example.

When you're analysing representation, think about the following questions:

• Who or what is being represented? Who is the audience for this representation?
• What are they doing? Are they compatible to genre expectations or other conventions?
• Why are they present? What purpose do they serve?
• Where are they? How are they framed? What surrounds them? What is in the foreground and what is in the background?

Stereotypes;

Media institutions use stereotypes because the audience will instantly understand them. Think of stereotypes as a visual shortcut. They’re repeated so often that we assume they are normal or ‘true’. Representation of a character, appearance or belief. Stereotypes tend to exaggerate as well as simplify and can be positive or negative. Representations are also concerned with the way that people, ideas and events are presented to us. this could be representation in magazines, newspapers, news, soap operas and films. this may include representations of people or events.

Audience positioning- considering how different categories of audience will react to the media. Interaction between other groups.

Cultural ideology- we all have expectations about how certain characters and groups react, behave and operate within society.

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words...

Producers of media texts know that visual representation is a very powerful tool when it comes to persuading your audience what to think about a topic. Here are two pictures of Amy Winehouse, look at how the media have gave her two different representations.

The media gives Amy Winehouse a different identity by creating different stories about the singer. There has been a different choice in framing, lighting, make-up, cropping and costume. Both stories affect her as a star, do you think these are the images of the 'real' Amy Winehouse.