Media representations are the ways in which the media portrays particular groups, communities, experiences, ideas or topics from a particular ideological or value perspective. Signs and symbols are used at a visual shorthand to represent attributes and characteristics of media products/artists. When we decode these signs we make assumptions about who the character is (usually by comparing them to similar characters/people we have encountered before). "Re-presentation".
It is how something is presented to an audience, representations can change and adapt as music artists or film stars may not want to keep presenting the audience with the same expectations or ideologies.
Laura Mulvey
Focuses on "visual pleasure and narrative cinema". Her studies are based on how women are viewed as sexual objects initially in Hollywood films. This concept of women as sexual objects is also evident in media texts today including music videos and films.
Mulvey's research focuses on women as sexual objects and how they are placed in media texts to be enjoyed by men and objectified. The Male Gaze occurs when the audience is put into the perspective of a heterosexual man. A scene may focus on the curves of a woman's body, putting the viewer in the eyes of a male. However, it is only the male gaze theory if these curves are highlighted within specific conventions such as slow motions, deliberate camera movement and cut aways. The theory suggests that the male gaze denies women human identity, relegating them to the status of objects to be admired for physical appearance this 'masculinizes' the audience.
The concept of the gaze is one that deals with how an audience views the people presented. For feminists it can be thought of in 3 ways:
- How men look at women
Men focus on the sexual features of a woman and see her as an object. Men focus on the curves and the other parts of their bodies and do not always value them as a valid role.
- How women look at themselves
Women are made to feel negative about themselves when viewing other women, they pick faults with their own appearances and gives them low self esteem. Women look at themselves as a comparison and feel inferior to the women in media products. They do not take in to consideration post production and compare themselves to an unrealistic role.
- How women look at women
Women look at other woman to shape their own identity. They take elements of what they like from women they see and try to construct their own identity through what they deem fit and desirable for society.
Criticisms of Mulvey and the gaze theory is that some women enjoy being looked at and they want to be seen as sexual objects, they feel liberated and dominant. The gaze can also be directed towards members of the same gender for several reasons, not all of which are sexual but audiences may view these women as liberating and as role models.
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