Why is studying representation of women in the media important?

Studying the representation of women is important as women are generally represented negatively within the media. This has become an dominant ideology due to the cultivation theory by Gerbner meaning society gradually expecting that this is the true representation of women. However we know that the media is constructed through a process called mediation meaning that the representation are not true. For example the programme 'i want to marry harry' the girls are there because they want to find prince charming, this would be due to them being exposed to this ideology from a young age, for example in Disney fairy tales, therefore it would seem to be expected of them.

Women are also represented to be purely for male pleasure and entertainment. This representation can be seen in many different medias such as magazines, films and music videos such as 'blurred lines'. In these women are objectified which can be shown though only showing parts of the women's body. Studying this representation of women is important as the more media products which represent women in the way, the more accepted it will become. In many films male characters are given more power and authority than female character and a good example of this would be 'James Bond'. James Bond is the main character in the film therefore the film is named after him on the other hand the female characters are his side kicks or are just therefore him to admire and have pleasure from. This point can be linked to the hegemony theory which states that the media is run by a small group of people and what they will represent is what will become the dominant ideology. For example if the small group of people are white middle aged men, they will represent every other type of person such as women or other races in a negative and less powerful way and will ensure that there group of people(white middle aged men) will be represented positively by having the most power and authority.

Men and young boy are exposed porn on many different levels meaning they create a false idea of how women want to be treated and how they should act. This gives a negative representation for women as they will not be taken seriously as they have been objectified. This point of view follows Richard Dyer's theory that how we are seen determines how we are treated and how we are treated based on the representation we are given by the media.

Brief Encounter

The way women are represented in Brief Encounter

Firstly I looked at the costumes of the female characters; all of them wore long dresses which covered any flesh which could be on show. This is representing these female characters to have self-respect and dignity. Following on from this, I looked at the makeup which appeared to be minimal however it was something in which the women were worrying about throughout the film. This is confirming the stereotype of women, which is that they care about their appearance. This is also known to be a dominant ideology as the majority within society would agree with this.

When looking at the characters in which the females play are another way of representing women. The main female character plays a typical housewife who does the shopping and cooking. In contrast to this the men are seen to play more academic roles such as doctors. This is representing women to be less educated than men and unable to for fill academic jobs. Following on from this, the stereotypical motherly figure is represented through the actions and body language of the female characters. For example when the main female character is the one who is able to compromise with the children and when the older female character comforts the weaker female character by hugging her.

The women within this film are represented to less powerful than the men in many ways. One being when the man feels he is able to touch the women without her permission and another being when the women being the counter has to ask for a man to assist her in getting rid of rude costumers as she is unable to.

When looking at the emotions of the characters, the female characters appear to be more emotional for example when the main female character is crying. The female characters are also represented to feel guiltier when having done something they shouldn't have. However in contrast to this, the main female character is unable to stop herself from seeing the other man showing her to have a weakness in self-control. This sense of self control is further shown by the women nearly jumping in front of the train at the end of the film. 

The theorist Roland Barthes can be linked into this film which is that representations are mythic and in a sense that they appear to be real when they may not be necessary real in reality. For example in brief encounter all the women are represented to carry basic jobs such as waitresses and housewives and that they do not have the authority to be a Doctor like the male characters. We are forced to believe this as all the female characters follow this myth. This can be further linked to the theorist Gerbner with his cultivation theory. This is due to us as an audience being gradually exposed to this stereotype of women being house wives and having less authority than males therefore over time we seem to except this is the norm.

Stereotypes of Women

Introduction to representation of women

Key words

• Representation
• Stereotype
• Denotation
• Connotation
• Challenge
• Mediation- This is the process of taking reality, interpreting it, and then re-presenting it to the audience.
• Male Gaze- The media is made by men for men
• Self representation
• Ideology-are messages or values that are embedded into the media
• Dominant Ideology- An ideology which is accepted by the majority
• Hegemony- the ruling class maintains their power through the use of control of ideas and culture rather than force

Theorists

• George Gerbner- He started the Cultivation Theory.  This theory helps understand the importance of media. 'Drip drip' but slowing down from an immediate effect to a slower more accumulative effect. Cultivation theorists argue that media has long term effects which a gradual.
• Jean Baudrillard- He is known for his concept of Hyper Reality which when something is real however is based on something which is not.
• Roland Barthes- He argues that representations are mythic in the sense that they have an appearance of natural. Representations can be founded on reality or indeed a reality that does not exist.
• Richard Dyer- He quoted 'how we are seen determines how we are treated, how we treat others is based on how we see them, how we see them comes from representation' This means that your only experience of the group being represented might be the media text that the representation is in.
• David Chandler- Representation always involves the construction of reality.
• Henry Jenkins- believed in cultural convergence, meaning when consumers are empowered to edit, annotate and create content for example social networking sites
• Anthony Giddens- believes ideology refers to the influence of ideas on peoples beliefs and actions

Representation of Women in 'Sket'

At the beginning of the clip, the women are fighting which is representing them to be cold and violent which challenges the stereotype of women. 

In contrast to the first screen shot, the women can be seen laying on the floor. This is presenting her to be weak and powerless and from this we can connote that she has been beaten up by the other women.

In this screen shot you can see the women being represented as a motherly figure the the girl which follows the stereotype for women.

Representation of Women in 'Blurred Lines'

In the blurred lines video, women are represented to objectified for the pleasure of a male audience. This shows the male gaze as male pleasure would have been in mind when making the video.

The women in the video are wearing provocative and suggestive clothing that shows a lot of flesh in order to attract the male audience.

Richard Dyer's theory can be applied to the blurred lines video. In this specific video women are objectified for male pleasure therefore this may be how people will begin to see them. This then links to women being objectifies for male pleasure as a dominant ideology as it will be accepts by the majority within society.

Representation of Women in 'Chandelier'

In this music video, the girl is wearing a flesh coloured leotard and is dancing in a way which appears too old for her. This portrays her to be an object that is telling a story rather than a little girl which is what she is.

The subject of the music video is suicide and alcoholism which wouldn't be associated with a young girl, this is seen as very controversial and challenges the stereotype of young women.

Due to the controversy of the video, it was able to gain 1 million views within the first 24 hours of release.

Roland Barthes theory can be seen in the chandelier video due to the theme of the song(suicide and alcoholism) being association with an 11 year old year. This representation can be seen a a myth as this would not be real within society. Therefore this further links to the theorist David Chandler as the video has constructed reality to make a controversial video.

Blurred Lines Parody- self representation

 In this blurred lines parody, the women are represented to be more powerful than the men. This is clearly shown by them placing there shoe on the men while the press ups. This is the creators of the parody trying to represent women to be powerful and have authority over men.

 In the second part of the parody, the women is represented to be clever by wearing smart classes and holding a book which carries a connotation of intelligence. This is showing that female are able to have more challenging jobs apposed to just being house wives which would appear to be the dominant ideology.

In this last part of the parody, the women are represented to have self represented by wearing clothes which cover up the majority of their body therefore challenging the stereotype that they are women are purely for males to admire their appearance and for pleasure.





Henry Jenkin's Theory of cultural convergence can be applied to this parody as the creators of the have been able to create this parody to show a representation of women which is not shown within the media and may be more closer to the real representation of women.