Research Into Representation

According to the Revision Express Media Studied text book ‘Representation relates to the representation of reality in the media’. For example, we are very unlikely to meet David Beckham; therefore our whole knowledge of him comes from the representations in the media. The way the media represent David Beckham greatly influences the attitudes society have towards him. This is the same with everything the media represents, including many social groups such as; age, disability, gender, race, and sexuality.

A moral panic is a public response to a problem that appears to threaten social order. The media are the cause of many moral panics through the over representation and exaggeration of existing problems within society. For example, teenagers are commonly represented as disrespectful and criminal, this being amplified within the media cause society to fear teenagers. However this representation isn’t necessarily true as only a minority of teenagers actually behave in this way.

I’m going to look at the representation of genre, in particular women, as it is women who will star in our trailer. The heightened reality of men and women is represented in the media. For example the ‘ideal stereotypical man’ is tall, muscular, and masculine, whereas the ‘ideal stereotypical woman’ is thin, innocent, angelic, beautiful and feminine. These stereotypes are commonly used in the way men and women are represented.

A big example of the way an ‘ideal woman’ is portrayed is through Disney Princesses. Disney Princesses such as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Cinderella, are all kind hearted, feminine women. They are all portrayed as innocent and beautiful. For example, in Cinderella, her two step sisters are described as ‘ugly’ and their personalities are portrayed as mean, and as a result of this they don’t end up with the Prince. However, Cinderella is portrayed as stereotypical ‘ideal woman’ and she ends up with the Prince.   

Carol Clover’s final girl theory shows that in horror films it is normally the ‘ideal’ girl who survives, and who goes up against the antagonist. The victims of the films are usually the girls who are sexually available, and use drugs, and generally challenge the innocent representation of women. Carol points out that the ‘final girl’ has usually abstained from such activities that would taint her ideal womanly image, and therefore not be punished by being killed in the film like the other women. Therefore it gives a message to the audience that challenging the image of the ‘ideal woman’ results in punishment, and it emphasises the characteristics of the ‘ideal woman’, setting an example to women.

Our main character, Rosie Goddard, is also going to be presented as a stereotypical ‘ideal woman’. The nightmares her character will experience in the trailer will represent her weakness and vulnerability. Her character’s job as a teacher will show her caring, maternal, kind, and feminine nature, which will inevitably provide her with the characteristics of being an ‘ideal woman’. This way, the audience will empathise with her more, and want her to survive, and therefore be satisfied when she does.