Representation theory essay

Representation theory essay

• 1.
  Media Essay on RepresentationTheories Daniela Aboltina
• 2.
  Laura Mulvey Laura Mulvey’stheory is called ‘The Male Gaze’ and it mostly talks about how men see women as sexual objects however it can be debatable whether it’s just men that see women in a sexual way or is it different aspects, such as how women look at themselves and how women look at other women. Mulvey’s theory focuses on ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ which then links to my moving image text (“Cool for the Summer” by Demi Lovato). The male gaze occurs when the audience is put into the perspective of a heterosexual man, which is a good example of my moving image text as most of the song is focused on Demi and it could be argued that she is seen as a sexual object in this video as her clothes are revealing and the movements are quite erotic. In my opinion, the audience of this video is mostly teenagers as this music video is on charts at the moment and that it what most young adults listen to. However, it could be argued that this video is targeted at male audience because of the clothes, but maybe not as nowadays pop stars make videos like this for attention which therefore will get them more money as well as they might do it because they have a big competition so they want to stand out. That's why we don't exactly know the main target audience. Slow motion can be seen a lot during this music video and it is done deliberately to emphasise Demi's movements which links back to Mulvey's theory as she says that the curves on woman's body are highlighted for the effect. But why do record labels make videos such as this? One of the reasons could be that women are made to feel negative about themselves when viewing other women, they pick faults with their own appearances which gives them low self esteem. Women do look at other women to shape their own identities, they take elements of what they like from women they see to try and construct and identity they deem fit and desirable for society. This theory suggests that 'The Male Gaze' denies women's human identity, relegating them to the status of objects to be admired for physical appearance. This masculinizes the audience and my moving image text completely represents that as this video is created to completely pay attention to Demi and her body, however it also shows some scenes from the parties but they include specific conventions such as deliberate camera movements and a few cutaways to tell us the story.
• 3.
  Laura Mulvey A fewlines of lyrics for this song: I just wanna play with you, too Even if they judge Fuck it I'll do the time I just wanna have some fun with you Another reason why Mulvey's theory applies to this video is because of the lyrics. The lines above show how women are represented in society because of the things that get said. However, one of the critiscisms could be that some women enjoy being represented this way and they do want to be seen as sexual objects, it might make them feel liberated and dominant as nowadays men are seem to be the 'dominant' ones however the situation was worse in 20th century. Second criticism is that 'The Male Gaze' can also be directed towards members of the same gender for several reasons which I have mentioned before, not all of which are sexual but audiences may view these women as liberating and as role models.
• 4.
  Richard Dyer Richard Dyercame up with ‘Star Theory’. He says that: “Stars are commodities that are produced by institutions” “Stars represent and embody certain ideologies” “A star is constructed image, represented across a range of media and mediums” He also suggested 4 Key Components: 1 – stars as constructions 2 – audience and industry/institution 3 – ideology & culture 4 – character & personality 1. Stars as constructions Dyer says that music/film artists are artificial images, even if they’re represented as being ‘real people’ and I could link this to my music video by saying how Demi is made up to be a perfect character. Her face skin is highlighted which shows a lot of make up is used and in the modern videos the artists are made to look as good as possible by using loads of make up and for women it is also mostly revealing clothes which can then be linked back to Laura Mulvey’s representation theory. Pop stars have the advantage over film stars in the way that their constructed image may be much more consistent over a period of time. By this I mean that pop stars have a bigger choice of what they want to look like however it depends on the institution they are working with. Most of the time pop stars will dress the same o the red carpet as on the stage, but for the film stars actors will have different clothes on which then reveals their identity. 2. Audience and industry/institution Stars are manufactured by the music industry to serve a purpose – to make money out of audiences, who respond to various elements of a star persona by buying records and becoming fans. I could link this to my music artist because it surely attracts audience’s attention because of her video. A lot of people (mostly men) watch this video, maybe not because of the music but the video itself. Dyer says that record companies nurture and shape their stars as the TV talent show processes have shown us. Because the music industries put money into the artists, they expect them to act like ‘puppets’. They tell them what to do, what to wear, where to perform etc. Sometimes stars don’t have any choice on what they want to look like.
• 5.
  Richard Dyer This showshow the institutions want to make money out of their constructed stars. This can be linked to the first bullet point on the previous slide. Audiences don’t always see that as they might believe that the way stars are presented, is their actual identity. However, it can be argued as some stars have more ‘freedom’ than others. 3. Ideology and culture Stars represent shared cultural values and attitudes that promotes a certain ideology about themselves as an artist and what they want an audience to see what they believe in. Also hegemony is a part of ideology and it is what makes them a 'star' by having such a powerful influence on audience. For example, pop stars all share the same culture as their music is from the same genre and is very similar. Demi Lovato’s music is similar to Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez. The main similarity between all four of them is that they are in the same age group and they have the same genre music. This means that they share the same cultural values and attitudes which therefore promotes a certain ideology. By having dominant desirable ideologies it allows the audience to see their star qualities and make them more desirable. It can be linked to Mulvey’s theory how stars like to be looked at and how they want to represent themselves. It makes the audiences look up to them as advantageous stars and they like it. Also conveying their beliefs and opinions outside music/film helps a celebrity create a star persona. 4. Characters and personality Dyer says that stars provide audiences with ‘ideas of what people are supposed to be like’ and because of this audiences feel the need to conform to these constructions. The more we watch videos of one star, the more we want to look like them, that’s why stars always look so good on videos to be like ‘role models’ for the audience. A star creates a character based on themselves and what they feel the audience want to consume; they promote an image what they feel is desirable for an audience. For example, the way Demi is represented in this video might or might not be her true image and the way she actually is. Some people know her as a star that has done a lot of charity work for people therefore the way she is shown doesn't show her true persoanlity.
• 6.
  Tessa Perkins Tessa Perkinscame up with a 'Stereotype Theory'. She says that stereotypes are assumption we make based on groups of people. In my case, her theory does not really apply to my moving image text, however, 5 of her assumptions are: 1 - stereotypes are not always negative 2 - they are not always about minority groups or the less powerful 3 - they can be held about one's own group 4 - they are not rigid or unchanging 5 - they are not always false 1. People assume that stereotypes are negative, eg. young troublesome youths 'hoodie culture', however youth can also be seen as positive. 2. People assume that stereotypes are aimed at and targeted towards the less powerful but this is not always the case, we can make assumptions and stereotypes about upper class minorities in the same way they would make assumptions about lower class people. However, wwhat is this assumption based on? 3. Collectively, as a representation of people we are based as a group within our college, within our own group we stereotyped people demonstrating even though we all belong to the same institution and hold the same ideologies as a whole, within the group we streotype people based on our assumptions. This makes each of us feel part of the larger community. 4. Once a stereotype has been created, it is a very hard to change however Perkins states that over a period of time it can change and develop. 5. Stereotypes have to have some truth in them or where else would the representation come from? Additionally, I could say that people possibly do 'hold' some stereotypes of my artist, however, it could be argued whether they are negative or positive. Negative stereotypes are usually about minority/repressed groups therefore it shows that more positive stereotypes will be 'held' about Demi rather than negative as she's popular and well- known artist that people 'look up to'.
• 7.
  Tessa Perkins Tessa Perkinscame up with a 'Stereotype Theory'. She says that stereotypes are assumption we make based on groups of people. In my case, her theory does not really apply to my moving image text, however, 5 of her assumptions are: 1 - stereotypes are not always negative 2 - they are not always about minority groups or the less powerful 3 - they can be held about one's own group 4 - they are not rigid or unchanging 5 - they are not always false 1. People assume that stereotypes are negative, eg. young troublesome youths 'hoodie culture', however youth can also be seen as positive. 2. People assume that stereotypes are aimed at and targeted towards the less powerful but this is not always the case, we can make assumptions and stereotypes about upper class minorities in the same way they would make assumptions about lower class people. However, wwhat is this assumption based on? 3. Collectively, as a representation of people we are based as a group within our college, within our own group we stereotyped people demonstrating even though we all belong to the same institution and hold the same ideologies as a whole, within the group we streotype people based on our assumptions. This makes each of us feel part of the larger community. 4. Once a stereotype has been created, it is a very hard to change however Perkins states that over a period of time it can change and develop. 5. Stereotypes have to have some truth in them or where else would the representation come from? Additionally, I could say that people possibly do 'hold' some stereotypes of my artist, however, it could be argued whether they are negative or positive. Negative stereotypes are usually about minority/repressed groups therefore it shows that more positive stereotypes will be 'held' about Demi rather than negative as she's popular and well- known artist that people 'look up to'.