Representation of Ethnicity

Big Bang Theory- Raj

Raj is the only main character who is not american in the American comedy, Big Bang Theory. Raj is Indian and is represented as Indian through his accent. However the show represents Raj as a silly and comical character in the company of his friends, although shy in the company of females. This however is changed when Raj drinks alcohol as he becomes very confident with the opposite sex, although Raj is a Hindu and therefore is going against the beliefs of his religion as he is drinking alcohol, something Hindus do no believe in. Strong Hinduism followers would therefore take a opposing reading to the show despite the chance of them being the shows target audience which would potentially be both genders aged 15-24. Raj also does not eat Indian food, in fact he despises it, representing him again in a negative way for Indian culture. 

Representation of Women in Visual texts- Case studies

Music Videos

A good example for showing women in a negative way in music videos is Lily Allen's single 'Hard out here'. The song features Lily and a group of dancers who are all wearing little clothing. This has been purposefully done to represent women as sexualised objects. The dancers are also dancing in a exotic and sexual way to show the patriarchy and dominance of women in society as the dancing are 'twerking' in front of Lily as she acts out to represent the dominant male as if she 'owns' the dancers. This negative representation of women in a text such as a music video comes across as very shocking to the viewer as a music video is something usually very positive. The women featuring in this music video are represented as sex slaves due to the way they are dancing and how they are treated by Lily who is acting out the dominant male role in today's society. This video is serving two purposes: one, to entertain the male audience as males will be sexually attracted to the dancers; and two, to make a statement for feminism and stand up against the dominance of male patriarchy.

 

Body image representation

Silk, Series 3, episode 5.

-Woman: wearing a suit, sophisticated, elegant, formal and courageous

-Hospital patient: Weak, Vulnerable

-Prisoner: Cocky, Independent, also nervous about getting more years in prison.

These characters all have a ranking of importance in the show. The woman is the main character and is therefore the strongest character, which challenges the stereotype of women within TV programmes as they are normally represented in either a sexualised or domesticated way. This woman however is shown as intelligent, sophisticated and powerful due to how often she is on her own in the opening scenes. The prisoner is shown as what can be quite an intimidating character with criminal history of murder. This however does not bother the female detective due to the representation of the character. During an interview scene, the females body language and facial expression is caught in a mid shot, and the viewer can see that her body image does not change when the prisoner enters. The prisoner's body image representation then changes; the character shares his fear of being given more years in prison, and this is shown through a negative facial expression, and the rising tone of voice as he pleads his innocence. This is trying to appeal to both genders, although females would appreciate this scene as the woman is showing no fear and is shown as a strong woman.

Bluestone 42-Series 2, Episode 5

The show is about British soldiers fighting in Afghanistan. The opening scene shows a young soldier about to defuse a bomb. However whilst doing so, is caught in the act by an enemy, the soldier is then shown as vulnerable as he is about to be shot. This representation is shown by the change in the non-diegetic music, change in camera angle and the negative facial expression.

Events and Issues examples

Robbie Rogers- First professional footballer to come out as gay whilst continuing his playing career.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21479520


The BBC have portrayed this story in a positive way. As Robbie is the first ever professional in football to admit he is gay during his playing years, the BBC have covered it in a way that is inspiring  to others. The headline of the article states how he is a 'Ex-Leeds United and USA winger' stating  to the reader the achievements and the high-profile the footballer has. The article has been written in a formal mode of address, as it is informing the reader of a serious topic. The main image of the article shows Robbie playing football, however the angle of the image has been taken at eye level, suggesting that the footballer is 'down to Earth'. The camera shot is a mid shot, and this is so the viewer can see the facial expression and the body language of the footballer. The purpose of this is to provide a positive perspective of the footballer suggesting the revealing of the news should not distract the reader. As football fans will consume the text, and have previously been known to have been harsh towards players, the article has introduced firstly the profile of the footballer, the achievements he has achieved and the news he has revealed, showing that this news has not affected his footballing ability. Galtung and Ruge found that newspapers have common attribute amongst them. One of these attributes that is featured in this article is amplification. The article is amplifying the uniqueness of the event and has represented it in a positive way for his courage of revealing shocking news into the harsh world of football.

Preferred, Oppositional and negotiated audiences

Audi- http://www.audi.co.uk

• Audi's target audience would be 30-60 year olds and therefore this age range would be the preferred audience, as in this age range they would be the most interested in buying an Audi car.
• 18-29 year olds would take a negotiated perspective on the audi website as they may be interested in cars but they may not be ready to get an audi, which is a care often associated with middle aged people. 
• 17 or below would take an oppositional perspective on Audi as they would be too expensive and not necessarily their style or type of car.  

NIKE- http://www.nike.com

• NIKEs target audience is 16-30 year olds and this age range would be the preferred audience as they would be the most interested in purchasing NIKE products as they will be involved in sport or fashion.
• 31-40 would take a negotiated view on the bran as they may not be too keen on the products although they would not mind using or wearing them.
• 41+ would take a oppositional view on the brand as they would associate it with the younger audience and therefore inappropriate for themselves.

Textual analysis of Channel 4's 'Strippers'

Strippers

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/strippers/4od

The programme 'Strippers' follows the work and out of work life of a group of strippers.  Following the uses and gratifications theory, this show would supply entertainment to the viewer. The target audience for this programme would be both males and females aged 18-26 as the show features nudity and would therefore be deemed unsuitable for anyone under 18. Young males would take the preferred part of the reception theory as they will be sexually attracted to the women involved in the show; Where as elder women would take a oppositional view on the show as they may think what the women in the show are doing is wrong. Middle aged women will take the negotiated view on the show as they may watch the show due to curiosity to see what the women's feelings are about the job. Many people may take a negotiated reading of this show as although they understand the meaning, it does not relate to them so it is of no interest for them to decode it. However if a stripper is watching the show they will take a preferred reading of the show, as they see the meaning and can personally relate themselves to the contents of the show. The women in the show are represented in a positive way which is shocking to the viewer due to the negative connotations associated with the job of being a stripper has. Technical codes are used to provide this positive perspective on the women; eye level camera angles are used to show the viewer the girls are on the same level of perspective as them, therefore suggesting they are down to earth girls despite what they do to earn a living. Close up camera shots are used to show the facial expressions of the girls which provides the viewer with an opinion of them. One scene shows one of the strippers, Kim, crying as she realises she took to stripping as a form of rebelling against her dad pushing her too hard, the viewer creates sympathy towards Kim as the close up shows her crying. Scenes like this are included as they make the audience generate a new perspective on women in this job, as they are simply in this business to earn a living. Features of audio codes are used throughout; A voiceover used commonly throughout the show, opens up and scene and previews important information often telling the viewer why the strippers are in the job that they are and they do not necessarily want to be there. Diegetic music which is featured in the strip club can also be heard showing the party like atmosphere that the girls are working in, almost making it seem like a fun and eventful job. These features are included to release the negative connotations that the job of being a stripper has and the viewer is exposed to the perspective from an a actual stripper who is doing it to generate money however at the same time is having fun. The show also shows males in a negative way; The Show's protagonists all say how they feel as if they are the powerful ones and the males are being exposed, despite the women being undressed. This is due to the strippers having the ideology that they are simply taking money off the men for a dance, and this is reiterated throughout. Men are often seen as strong and dominant men and usually more controlling over women, however in this show, the stereotype of males is being challenged against by the women, as although the girls are sexualised which is a usual aspect of the stereotype of women, they are making the men seem foolish by taking money off of them.

Representation of Age.

Young people:

Young people are usually represented in a negative way within the media. The young are usually tagged with the representation of showing anti-social behaviour, being irresponsible and being wild with drugs and alcohol. This representation is used within different modes of the media today. For example, in the show 'Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents', Teens involved in the show are represented as people who get drunk on a regular basis and can't control themselves; this behaviour often results in anti-social behaviour being committed. All of this content is filmed, and along with the use of language and other devices, the viewer is provided with a negative perspective on teenagers today. Language in the show used by the protagonists contains large uses of taboo, suggesting the immaturity of the teenagers, whilst the narrator often hints that trouble is around the corner for the drunken participants.

Old People:

Old people are presented in the media in either a positive or negative way. The elderly are often represented in a stereotypical way by showing them as heavily routine, slow, boring and lazy. An example of this negative representation of the elderly is in the Scottish comedy, 'Still Game'. Still Game is based on a group of elderly pensioners living in a low social class part of Glasgow. The pensioners are shown as lazy and plain as they base their lives around the TV or the local pub. Visual Codes are used to create the suggestion that these are slow-moving pensioners as they wear old-fashioned clothes. A positive representation of elderly in the media is the character 'Hershel' in the American Horror-drama, 'The Walking Dead'. Hershel is one of the strongest characters in the show and is looked up to by the majority of the protagonists. Hershel is represented in a positive way by showing he is strong and independent despite him being elderly.