Representation of Britain

The media uses varies theories of representation to portray an image of Britain, this is dependent on where about in Britain the representation is i.e. the north, the south. However no media text ever represents a group or event in society as it has to go through the process of mediation.


A good example is reality TV shows such as the Geordie Shore& Made in Chelsea. These shows reinforce the stereotypes of  certain parts of Britain, the shows attempt to create realistic representations of young people from this area.Geordie shore is set in the north of Briatin i.e. the working class area, the show depicts this as all the characters have ordinary jobs. The characters also live up to the expectations and ideologies that people from the North are Funny, Outgoing and friendly, these ideas are also enforced as the girls are covered in false tan and make-up and the  boys also covered in false tan and muscular. A show that  contrasts Geordie Shore is Made in Chelsea, this is set in the south of Britain i.e. where the richer more sophisticated people live according to ideologies. The characters are elite young people depicted in lavish lifestyles surrounded by money (unlike Geordie Shore). They are shown to speak very posh and are dressed in designer brands. The characters in this show are often shown to be over dramatic and emotionally, they show typical ideologies of posh people i.e. posh people are rude, selfish and bitchy. there are also other reality TV shows that provide similar stereotypes as reality TV has became extremely popular in the past few years. These shows cover places in Britain such as Essex, Wales and Cheshire. although audiences find reality TV very amusing they tend to create more negative reviews than positive, the decoders sometimes instead of taking the preferred reading take the oppositional and find the characters irritating and pathetic. these stereotypes in these shows can change someone's ideas of a certain place in Britain. 

This magazine cover for "countryside" is advertising Britain to tourists as well as targeting people from Britain, it depicts a stereotypical representation of Britain. It is full of mountains grass and beautiful scenery. The magazine is using the Reflexive approach because the image used on the cover line is a simplistic, a natural image of the British countryside - truly reinforcing the idea of what you see is what you get.
The image itself depicts a traditional rural image of Britain that is always very enchanting and almost fairytale like. The use of the rule of thirds allows the audience to focus on the small gate and vast country sides the encoder telling the audience to explore Britain and its true beauty.  Its almost like a command. The main cover line "Welsh Wonder" acts as anchorage to the main cover (image) which again emphasises on the image signifying that Britain's countryside is the vocal point. The main cover line uses the phrase 'exploring the delights of rugged snowdonia' by using the word delights the encoder is signifying to the audience that by exploring snowdoina you are creating happiness for yourself, by doing this you are fulfilling happiness. The word "explore" can be used to reinforce historical elements to the magazine and suggest that by coming to Wales and going to snowdonia you will also be educating yourselves and exploring the finest of British culture. 


One Directions music video for "one thing" is a very typical representation of British culture , the  mediation used in this music shows exterior settings in London such as the city, fields etc which is what some audiences might call an actuate representation where the younger people of britain have grown up and what they do in their everyday life, however bring back the point form ealier this has been media so it will never be true. The video shows grand buildings and posh cars which depicts the best traits of britain itself and reinforces the stereotype that Britain is a classy place. As well as this the audience are shown the image of the five band members who portray the stereotype that British boys are "proper, cheeky, handsome and charming". The organisation and construction of the video depicts CU shots of the boys faces to make a personal identification with the audience (teenage girls)- this would most definitely heighten their emotions becuse this will cause them to feel emotionally connected and believe that the band are singing the song to them, i.e. directly addressing them. The foreground in the music video when the boys are singing (the sky, the bus , the field) is  a clever construction because the image is so simple the the audiences full attention is on the boys i.e. there are no distractions.