L13 - Hall and Stereotypes

Hall's Representation theory

Hall states that there is no fixed meaning. It is essential that meaning can be changed.

Power/authority try to fix and naturalise meanings to imply that their representation is the only possible meaning.

They aim to close language, close meaning and stop the flow. Am example of fixing meaning is stereotyping. Absence is equally important when decoding representations.

How the theory is USEFUL when exploring News

• can be applied to any media product, including newspapers
• applies particularly to the way in which newspaper headlines and photos ty to fix the meaning of a representation
• highlights the role of power in representations - both the general distribution of power in society and newspapers' institutional power - but also the audience's power to decode representations in different ways.

How the theory is LIMITED when exploring News

• Does not explain anything specific to newspapers as it is a general theory of representation.

Stereotyping

• The power of media representation lies in REPETITION. When some representations are constantly repeated they can result in stereotyping.
• A stereotype may be based in reality but can still be inaccurate because of this 'catch-all' quality. Stereotypical judgements can be positive or negative, though both may be inaccurate.
• Stereotyping is more likely in media products, such as newspaper headlines or photographs that have to generate meaning quickly and do not have the time to portray subtle and nuanced representations.

Gender Stereotypes in the Daily Mirror

• The Femail page of the Mail Online portrays the Mail's traditional world view that presents women as concerned with housework and also preoccupied by aging. The article, "Time to replace your Botox habit for good! FEMAIL tests products that could tide you over in the crisis."
• One article, titles, "Dad-of-two builds his Staffie an impressive kennel for FREE - using recycled materials such as old window frames and dining tables" promotes the stereotype of men as practical and 'hands-on'. The connotations of the Staffie adds to this stereotypical image of masculinity. It would be a different story if the kennel was for a cute little dog.
• The Mail prides itself on its robust 'no-nonsense' style, which means that it may not be overly concerned about gender stereotyping.

Gender Stereotypes in The Guardian

• The Guardian, predictably, confronts and questions gender stereotypes. This article displays the question of the 21st century woman's desire to 'have it all' (possibly a stereotype in itself?) Headline: "The more is stay at home, the more grubby it seems".
• The writer of this feature article wants 'a life bigger than [her] mother's' but also wants to uphold high standards within the household.
• Although this questions the role of women, I would argue that it is still pretty troublesome and diminishing of the 'stay at home mum'. You could argue that the stereotype of the 'stay at home mums' as having a small life is destructive. 

Under-represented or misrepresented groups

• Under-representation and misrepresentation are both heavy terms.
• Under-representation implies that there is some kind of mathematically correct proportion of representations that each social group should receive.
• The term misrepresentation implies that there is some kind of truthful representation from which actual representations deviate from (like how Hall believes that you cannot fix meaning; it is ever changing.)
• Therefore, accusations of misrepresentations are always judgements.

Under-represented or misrepresented groups

- In practical terms, analysing under-representation and misrepresentation in any media product is best reduced to the following factors:

• Use of stereotyping
• Diversity of representations
• Opportunities of self-representation.

Diversity of Representations

• Diversity combats under-representation by increasing the number of representations of different social groups.
• In turn, the more diversity, the LESS misrepresentation as we will start to avoid simple stereotypes or limited representations.
• For example, the actor who played Eastenders' first gay character in the 1980s complained that his one character had to represent the whole gay community. This is called TOKENISM. This inclusion of one token minority character to 'tick the box' of diversity.

In your opinion, to what extent has the range of LGBTQ+ characters in recent years eradicated misrepresentation?

Write a response to question with examples where possible. You may discuss the issue of tokenism and contrast to a modern, more nuanced representation of a range of characters.

Since the 1980s, the world of LGBTQ character representation has evolved and grown within the world of media products. 

Representations of heterosexuality does not only exist in movies and TV shows, but in advertisements as well. While a plethora of individuals do not see this as an issue, the overabundance of man/woman relationships in the media can cause multiple problems with peope who identify within the LGBTQ spectrum. This refers to the concept of heteronormativity, the belief in which heterosexuality is the default setting within mankind. This mindset is seen as destructive to people who are not heterosexual, as it promotes that idea that being gay, bsexual, transgender, et cetera, is abnormal. 

It can be argued that the LGBTQ community does have media representation, with people such as Ellen DeGeneres and Neil Patrick Harris being openly gay. While this is true, the media does a poor job of accurately representing people within the spectrum. Shows such as Friends, which was set in the 90s, depict LGBTQ characters in a stereotypical fashion. Friends feature an alleged transgender woman. The show depicts Chandler's father as a cross-dresser who performs in drag shows. This representation creates an inaccurate image of what a transgender woman is. These incorrect ideas lead to misrepresentations with preconceptions about LGBTQ individuals. As great as the show was and still very much is, it shows the audience the show's very 1980s-view on people other than white or heterosexual.

Furthermore, during the 1980s, Colin Russell was Eastenders first homosexual character, and the actor who played him felt as if he was carrying the weight of all of the gay community in just one character. Hall's theory can link to this as the more diversity that we see within media products, means that less misinterpretation will occur, and considering that this was TV's first gay character being represented, it wasn't exactly the most