Research Log D

Representation 
By Steve Baker
Published 2007

"Mediation

1. Selection - Whatever ends up on the screen or in the paper, much more will have been left out - any news story has been selected from hundreds of others which the producers decided for you were less interesting, any picture has been chosen from an enormous number of alternatives. D1

2. Organisation: The various elements will be organised carefully in ways that reveal life is not: in visual media this involves mise-en-scene and the organisation of narrative, in the recording of an album the production might involve remixing a track. Any medium you can think of will have an equivalent to these. This organisation of the material will result in... D2 

3. Focusing: mediation always ends up with us, the audience being encouraged towards concentrating on one aspect of the text and ignoring others. If you are watching a film the camera will pan towards an important character, in a tabloid the headlines will scream, for your attention. It can be easy to ignore how different from our everyday lives this is. If you are walking through a field, you are unlikely to see a sign saying "look at this amazing tree." You make your own decisions about what is worth our attention. The media text, through mediation tries to do this for us." D3 

"Any representation is a mixture of:
1. The thing itself.
2. The opinion of the people doing the representation.
3. The reaction of the individual to the representation.
4. The context of the society in which the representation is taking place." D4 


"Here are some things that are generally agreed to be part of the dominant ideology in Britain:

• People should put their families first.
• People should work for their money and not show off too much about how much they have.
• Women should behave modestly 
• Women should look after their appearance." D5

1.  Appearance - this can include, physical appearance and clothing as well as the sound of the voice. e.g. "all teachers wear dreadful clothes".
2.  Behaviour - typical things that people in this group might do. "Grannies like to knit".
3. The stereotype is constructed in ways that fit the particular medium.
4. There will always be a comparison whether real or imaginary with "normal" behaviour." D6

Hegemony 

The hegemonic model says that the ruling classes maintain their power through control of ideas rather than force. In hegemony, the ruling classes, govern by consensus: they control the way the media represents the world so as to influence the way people think about the world, and the ruling class. This can become a running battle between rivals. " D7