Task 5

The Simpsons

Dominant: A dominant reading of The Simpsons is that it is a light-hearted programme that uses stereotypical families and situations for comedy.

Negotiated: A negotiated reading of The Simpsons is that it plays on stereotypes for comedy, which some people may find offensive, but the offence is not intended and it is merely for satire.

Oppositional: An oppositional reading of The Simpsons is that it is a racist and sexist programme that is ruining society as the representation of a typical nuclear family is very negative and our families will end up like that if people keep watching this rubbish.

My view is sort of negotiated, but oppositional to an extent.

Task 3

Media representations rarely challenge the dominant values of society, nor do they give a voice to those with little power. To what extent is this true for the group or place you have studied? Why?

The media industry is dominated by white, middle class males. Media representations often favour this group of people and marginalise others. This is seen with the representations of both women and the working class. Both of these groups of people are represented how the dominant groups in society would view them, which shows the hegemonic class structures of our society.

Before the Second World War, women were under represented in the media. When they were shown, they were represented in the roles that men thought that they should have, mainly as housewives. However, during the war, after women started to gain more power, posing a threat to men, they were represented as femme fatales, dangerous and evil women. This restored hegemony as people gained a fear of women and men were needed to restore natural order.


After the feminist movement, women had more equality as they were represented more. However, the audience were given the male gaze as women were objectified, so although they are given a voice, it is only allowed when they are providing pleasure for males. A post-feminist view is that women have the right to be objectified if they agree with it as they still feel a sense of power by being able to decide whether or not to give men what they want. Therefore, although some would think that women are not given a voice, post-feminists would argue that they are given a voice and they have power as well.


Another group of people who are rarely given a voice are the working class. In the news, the working class are represented as anti social and always getting into trouble. However, after the rise of reality TV, the working class now have more opportunity to represent themselves, and since the increase in the popularity of reality shows, the representations of the working class have changed. Programmes like Big Brother give the working class opportunity to represent themselves, therefore giving them a voice. It is clear that the working class are accepted as they always outlast the higher classes on Big Brother, and every successful contestant is from a working class background. This challenges hegemonic values as the elite no longer have as much power because now that the lower classes have been given a voice, they are more accepted by society.

Task 2

"Media institutions are right to feel threatened by new and digital media." Consider this statement and show how media institutions are reacting to technological developments.

Changing technologies and new and digital media have changed the way that audiences consume media products. User generated content has meant that audiences are no longer just consumers of the media, but producers too. Also, new and digital media has led to more plurality as there are so many more media products available. Although this has created many benefits for audiences, it could be a threat to producers and media institutions as there is less need for them. This is seen in many areas of the media, particularly with the news and TV broadcasting.

The newspaper industry has been in decline since new and digital media gave audiences new ways to consume the news. Online news means that audiences can now get news for free. Also, they can get it when they want, making it more accessible and convenient for audiences. This means that there is less need for audiences to buy newspapers as they can get the same content for free. Also, smart phones mean that audiences can get the news delivered directly to their phones while they are out.

To deal with the threats posed by news and digital media, institutions have had to change their media products. The Evening Standard, once a popular newspaper, is now given away for free as audiences stopped paying for it. Also, some newspaper websites have decided to introduce paywalls to stop audiences from being able to access the news for free. Rupert Murdoch released a new newspaper, The Daily, that is only available on the iPad, making the news less accessible, therefore increasing competition between producers again.

TV broadcasting has also been affected by new and digital media. Online catch up services, such as BBC iPlayer and 4oD mean that audiences can watch TV in their own time rather than at the scheduled time. Time shifting channels such as Channel 4+1 also gives audiences more plurality as they have a bigger choice of when to watch. The declining importance of scheduling is a threat to institutions as it makes it more difficult to target particular audiences. Also, online TV is always accessible so there is no regulation like there is with watershed.

TV broadcasting institutions have had to change so that new and digital media does not threaten them. Sky 3D and Sky HD give audiences a more cinematic experience that is not available online. Also, audiences can now record TV with technologies such as Sky+ so they can do their own scheduling but still watch TV rather than online TV.

Task 1

Compare and contrast the representation of teenagers in the two texts

In the trailer for Bully, teenagers are represented negatively. The protagonist is immediately shown to not be a nice person as he creates conflict with people. He is seen fighting people and intimidating them, which is a common representation of teenage boys. His appearance also signifies that he will be represented negatively as he has a rough appearance because of the way that he wears his clothes, as well as his lack of hair which gives him a thug-like appearance.

The opening for Skins also shows a negative representation of teenagers, however, it is a different representation. The characters of Skins are represented as being hedonistic and not caring about responsibilities. This is shown through the frequent amount of smoking and sex that is seen through the opening, which mirrors the current view of teenagers just caring about drugs, sex and rebellion.

Although both texts represent teenagers negatively, these representations are different. While Bully represents teenagers as disruptive and threatening, Skins represents them as hedonistic and irresponsible, but harmless. However, both of these different representations are dominant as these are the most common representations of teenagers.

Consider the view that the current representation of teenagers is simply another 'moral panic'

To what extent has new and digital media given younger audience the opportunities to shape their own media representations?

New and digital media has given people the chance to represent themselves as user generated content means that they can create their own media. Teenagers are frequent users of new and digital media so they have a lot of opportunity to shape their own representations. Texts such as YouTube, where users can post their own videos, give teenagers the chance to show people what they are like and be seen by a lot of people. Also, social networking websites such as Facebook give people the opportunity of social interaction with younger people, meaning that they can get to know younger people, so teenagers have the opportunity to shape their own representations.

"Media representations favour those with power at the expense of those without." To what extent do you think this statement is true?

Over time, media representations change, and it could be argued that these representations change with the balance of power in both society and the media industry. The media industry is dominated by white males, which is reflected through media products. As Stuart Hall suggests, the white race is favoured over any other, and whenever there is a token black man is a film he will mostly be represented as either the villain or the clown. This idea of hegemony, the power of the elite, is also shown through the representation of women. Before the feminist movement, women were shown in the stereotypical roles of housewives and, later, the femme fatale of the film noir era. This is because of the power of the patriarchal society that some consider we are still living in today. There have been many changing representations of women, and these changes are because of the changes in power.

Before the Second World War, women were subordinated into roles that showed them in what men considered their rightful place as the caring housewife. During the war, women had to take men's jobs while they were out fighting and men felt threatened by the power that women now felt. To sustain patriarchal hierarchy, the femme fatale character was created. This represented women negatively as the femme fatale is a powerful and dominant seductress who proves to pose a danger to men, and peace and happiness comes only with her downfall. A well-known example of this is Phyllis, the femme fatale of Double Indemnity. Phyllis is represented as the villain who lures Walter into crime. At the end of the film, the only resolution is to murder Phyllis, and the man has to be the one that restores the peace. This shows that the representations of women in the media favour hegemonic and patriarchal values over the subordinated women.

After the feminist movement, representations of women changed. As women gained more power, there are now less negative representations of women, although they do still exist. In Ashes to Ashes, the woman is still subordinated and is faced with misogyny from Gene Hunt. However, it could be said that the representations of gender roles in Ashes to Ashes satirise patriarchy to make audiences question it. This is also shown in Doghouse, where the misogyny from male characters leads to their downfall. While some argue that women are still being subordinated and objectified in the media, a stronger interpretation is that women decide to be sexualised by self-objectifying. This is seen in lads mags, as the women decide to pose in these pictures for the pleasure of men. They play up to the male gaze as not only do men gain pleasure from being voyeuristic, but the women get pleasure from knowing that they are being watched. It can be said that women gain a sense of power by luring men in and deciding what they get to see. Therefore, these representations of women do not favour anyone as there are benefits for both the active females and the passive males.

Although media representations of the working class in reality TV seem to favour those in power, the audience generally enjoy watching them. The majority of reality TV contestants are working class and through the construction of reality TV, it seems that producers try to make the contestants look common and try to represent a lot of their negative aspects as conflict is popular on reality TV. However, the audience seem to like the characters and working class contestants are more likely to win than someone from a higher socio-economic background. Although the way that the working class are represented seems to favour those with power, the way that audience members views them is against this.

It has been said that media representations often reflect the social and political concerns of the age in which they are created. Discuss.

Over the years, media representations have been constructed in order to reflect the zeitgeist of different years. The media often play on stereotypes to make representations easily identifiable to audiences. However, these representations change over time as the way that groups of people are viewed changed and the media has to keep up with this. Also, issues and debates to do with the ways that groups of people are perceived changes the way that they are represented in the media to avoid controversy.

In the film noir era, women were mainly represented as femme fatales. This was because of the threat to patriarchy that they posed after the Second World War as they had more power after doing jobs for men. As the media is a male dominated industry, the representation of women changed from showing them as housewives to showing them as evil seductresses to be aware of. The earlier representation of them as housewives showed women the role that men decided that they should be in, and the later representation of the femme fatale showed men the dangers of women with power. Femme fatales were shown to use their sexuality to lure men. As Goffman states, "Men are shown in positions of intelligence. Women are physically portrayed in sexual or reclining poses with blank or inviting expressions", and this was shown in the film noir era, and is still being shown now.

After the feminist movement came post-feminism. Since the 1990s, women have self-objectifying themselves and using their sexuality. This is shown through lads mags, as although it can be said that women are being subordinated, they are still in power as they are the ones who decide what the men can see in photographs.

Another representation that has changed over time is the representation of the working class. The working class used to be represented in films and the news as a separate group of people who the hegemonic society look down on. However, after the rise of reality TV in the 2000s, the working class are given more of a chance to represent themselves positively. The majority of Big Brother contestants are working class, and it is these people who the public vote for as their winners. When there are higher class people in Big Brother, they are less admired by the public and are evicted early. This challenges hegemonic values as the working class are shown to be more likable than the higher classes.

Reality TV has also shown a change in the representation of different races. In the famous Big Brother race row, the public sympathised with Shilpa Shetty, the Asian, and Jade Goody, the white character, was represented as the villain. This is partly due to mediation, as Shilpa Shetty was shown as a victim. This could be because in current society, race is an issue so representing the Asian as the villain would have been risky as it could have been controversial.

Media representations do reflect the age that they are created. The representations of both women and the working class have changed over time, and reflect the views of society at the time.

Did the washing machine change the world more than the internet?

I think that the washing machine has changed the world more than the internet. The internet provides audiences with information and entertainment, and some would say that the powers of the internet are endless. However, the internet did not bring anything new, but just changed the way in which we consumed things, not always for the better. We now live an immediate society where people expect things straight away and in the most convenient way, which could be breaking our society down. People have less time to talk to each other as social networking means that they can talk online while doing other things. Also, people have less time to spend on more intellectual things, such as reading, as so much time is spent on the internet. The washing machine is more beneficial to us as it gives us more time to spend with people and to do more worthwhile things because people do not have to wash by hand. It gave women liberation as rather than washing clothes, they had the opportunity to be independent. Also, while the internet is a want, the washing machine is a necessity.