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.

Cultivation theory

Cultivation theory looks at TV as a social agent and studies the effect of the exposure it has. According to Chandler, the more we live with TV, the more invisible it becomes. Watching TV alters the viewers attitudes rather than their behaviour as overtime, it will shape their perspective on reality. TV is said to have two order effects on the viewer: one is that it supplies general beliefs, and the second is that it provides specific attitudes and judgements. These effects divide the audience into light viewers and heavy viewers.

Heavy Viewers:
-young
-low socio-economic group
-watching TV more than 4 hours a day
-affected by the world mean syndrome (seeing the world a nastier place than what it really is)

Example:
-After watching Crime programmes (NCIS, Dexter etc...) for a long period of time could leave the viewer with the opinion society is in fact like the one featured on the programmes, therefore supplying them with a negative perspectives.

The theory suggests that television and media possess a small but significant influence on the attitudes and beliefs of society about society. Those who absorb more media are those we are more influenced.

It is suggested that more and more people are becoming scared of walking in the dark after the release of horror films and horrific stories involved in the media today.

Stereotypes of Age in media today

Family forced to sell off 81-year-old's home for care fees STATE should have covered: Relatives receive half their money back after five-year legal battle

• Church organist Barbara Bullock suffered a severe stroke aged 81
• It left her needing round-the-clock care, but no help was forthcoming
• Ruling said fees had to come out of her and her husband's savings
• It then emerged she was entitled to state support for the nursing costs
• But by then the couple had sold their house and paid out £80,000
• Mr and Mrs Bullock both died before the claim was resolved

By JAMES TOZER

PUBLISHED: 22:29, 2 February 2014 | UPDATED: 08:49, 3 February 2014

 

 

 

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They were a hardworking couple from the wartime generation  that never dreamt of claiming anything from the state.

But, despite paying taxes all their lives, when William Bullock's wife Barbara, 81, suffered a severe stroke that left her needing round-the-clock care, no help was forthcoming.

In a sickening example of authorities' reluctance to pay care home bills – even when legally obliged to do so – health officials ruled that the former church organist's nursing fees had to come out of the couple's savings.

This article is a stereotypical representation of old people as it is believed that when people get old, they rely on the state for financial income and support. In the headline they have outlined the age of the woman as 81 is a very old age to live, so therefore grabs the reader attention. Words such as 'severe' and 'reluctance' are used to show the condition the woman is in, and yet the state have done very little to help this.

Representation of Gender examples.

Sexualised/objectified female (advertisement)
The new Lynx Dry advertisement shows a model (Lucy Pinder) bent over taking a turkey out of the oven while wearing only underwear. This shows women in a negative perspective as not only is she made to look like a sexualised object, she is also doing domestic housework at the same time. This type of advertisement shows that society is run by patriarchy as males are the dominant force and this is shown in this image as the woman is made out to be a sexual servant.

Domestic Females

The show, 'The Simpsons' features a typical stereotype of a woman in the media. Marge Simpson is a stereotypically represented as a woman that does all of the domestic housework as well as caring for the children, whilst the husband Homer, does nothing. This is showing women in a negative perspective as they are carrying a 'dual burden' and this often results in Marge showing anger and frustration due to little help from the husband or the children. 

Post-feminism

Dominant/aggressive male

In the music video 'Eminem-Berzerk', Eminem is represented as a powerful and dominant male. This representation is achieved by Eminem often standing alone, and when he does, the camera is looking up at him, giving the viewer the perspective that Eminem is looking down on them. Eminem is using hand gestures often associated with gangs throughout the video as well as having a negative and almost angry facial expression. This is representing him in a violent way however many young males would look up to him and see him almost as a role model. 

Stereotypical males

In the Walking Dead, Rick who is the leader shows features of a stereotypical male in the media. Rick was a sherif before the zombie apocalypse so was obviously a leader, however he took up this role again when the apocalypse happened. Rick is shown as a strong and independent individual throughout, he is extremely brave, can stand up for himself and is a protecter of the others. All of these values make Rick a perfect role model and a typical stereotype of males in film and TV shows. 

This movie poster features Dwayne Johnson. Dwayne is a former wrestler and is renowned for his masculinity and 'hard man' role in movies and wrestling. This reputation is represented in this poster due to the camera angle and pose of the character. This medium long-shot photo has been taken at a low angle providing the viewer of the poster with the impression that the character is very powerful or dominant. The lighting of the photo is soft which is important as if it was hard lighting, Dwayne's facial expressions would have been poorly visible due to the already dark background, so the soft lighting allows the viewer to see the facial expression of the actor and build up more effect. The camera angle is also slanted and due to what is happening in the background of the photo, a dramatic effect is created. The pose the character is in is a dramatic and aggressive one; the character is clenching his fist and tensing his arm suggesting anger and frustration. The facial expression is also very serious and suggests to the viewer that the character is being bothered or troubled about something, which provides the viewer with suspense making the viewer of the poster want to view the film and see what actually happens. The Mise-en-scene of this poster creates a dark and negative attitude for the viewer. This is created through the use of the characters clothing, the horrific scenes behind the character and the eerie location of where the photo has been taken. The clothes the character is wearing are very dark and masculine; this is important for the viewer as if the character was wearing brightly coloured clothing the character would have been out of place and the photo would have been less dramatic and therefore less effective. The collision behind him shows the viewer that the film is a fast pace, high explosive action film and due to the fact he is also wearing very masculine clothes it suggests that the target audience for this film is males, preferably aged 16-35. 

FourFourTwo is a football magazine mainly aimed at the male audience. The image used on this cover shows Balotelli, a footballer renowned for his bad behaviour on and off the pitch. This picture shows Balotelli as a strong and independent person; By the way he is standing, he is trying to show his masculinity through standing straight and slightly opening out his arms; this is a stereotypical representation of men in todays media as men are made to look 'hard' and 'tough' in today's society as a role model for younger viewers. The shirt the footballer is wearing is his teams shirt and from the player slightly smiling in the photo, it suggests that he is proud to wear his shirt. The lighting in the picture is bright and vibrant, and this could potentially suggest that despite his reputation he could be a new person with his new team and the bright lighting is suggesting peace and purity. The photo has been taken at a low angle showing the power and dominance of this male as the footballer is made to look as if he is looking down on the reader.

 

Men's Health is a fitness magazine aimed at men. In this edition Jason Statham is in the main image. Jason is a Hollywood actor involved in many action films. The picture shows Jason as a strong, independent male, someone who would be a role model to many aspiring men who want a muscular body. The pose Jason is in shows his muscular arm and attracts the male audience into wanting to be like him due to how powerful and dominant he looks in the picture. From the films Jason is in, his fans will already know how serious and aggressive he is within his films, and this attitude is reflected in this main image through his serious facial expression and the way he is tensing his upper arm. The T-shirt Jason is wearing is not only fashionable but is also slim-fit to outline his muscles again making him a powerful male and role model for younger men.

 

NME is a music magazine aimed at older teens. Jake Bugg a young guitarist and singer features in this magazine. Jake has a reputation for looking almost sad when in front of the camera and in this photo this sadness is shown. The photo has been taken at Jake's eye level and is a medium shot. From this type of photo the audience sees Jake at a neutral point of view due to the level it has been taken at. As this photo is a mid shot we can easily view Jake's body language and notice that despite Jake's miserable facial expression he is in a very casual and normal pose whilst leaning against a bar and holding a drink. The Jacket which Jake is wearing is zipped up to the top meaning the viewer can only view Jake from the head upwards; This could potentially suggest the enclosed lifestyle Jake lives as he is a very quiet and laid back person. The photo has been edited to be black and white and a possible connotation of this is that it suits the type of music that Jake plays; Jake is almost seen as a modern day 'mod' in today's society and the black and white represents the age of the type of music he is inspired by. The lighting of the photo is soft and this has been used because if the hard lighting was used as well as the black and white editing, his facial expressions would have been poorly visible. Jake has been presented in this photo as very dependent and tough despite only being 18. Jake has been represented in this way to be a perfect role model for male teenagers. The facial expression of Jake sends a message out to the audience suggesting that despite being only 18, he is capable of standing up for himself and saying his own views and opinions; this is re-enforced in the masthead as it introduces Jake as 'The 18-year old enemy of The X-Factor', this shows Jake has voiced his negative views on the TV show. The location of the bar again shows his independence as we associate bars as being a place for adults, so therefore the Mise-en-scene of the magazine has been well placed to represent Jake a role model and almost a 'teenage hero'.

 

 

SHAPE magazine shows celebrities who are exposed as they are only wearing underwear or bikinis. This shows women in a sexualised way however can be a role model for women who aspire that person and want to look particularly like them. In this photo Britney Spears is wearing a White bikini and although the person involved in the magazine is known for her strange behaviour, the white bikini represents innocence and purity. Younger audiences will also look up to this celebrity as although the person is slim, she is not skinny and this is therefore suggesting to young girls that they do not need to be skinny like many of the other role model women who are in the media.

VOUGE magazine is a high end magazine that represents women as powerful and as role models.  In this cover Beyonce is represented as a strong and powerful woman due to the pose she is using. Beyonce is a powerful and independent woman and this is shown on the cover as she is standing alone. The photo has been took with bright lighting making her seem almost angelic like and a true role model for younger audiences. The white on her clothes suggest the innocence and purity of the woman however the black could also re-emphasise the power of this woman and any potential darkness she may hold. Although this photo is clearly edited, it has been edited to represent women in a positive and feministic way and not like a sexualised object.

NUTS is a adult male magazine and is aimed at entertaining the male audience. The picture used shows a celebrity is sexually appealing manner that would attract the male audience. The girl is holding a sexual pose while exposed in underwear; this pose shows that she is not very dominant and more of a sexual object, due to the way she is bending over, making herself more appealing to the male audience.  This sort of image is used as it is sexually appealing to males and would therefore attract them to looking at the magazine and potentially buying it. The bikini the celebrity is wearing is a peachy pink which is a very feminine colour and could represent she is a young and feminine girl which could attract many men. the lighting of the picture is extremely bright and this is done to expose her and show her beauty to the target audience.