MIGRAIN: Representation

Representation

Find a YouTube clip from film or TV and complete the activity:

1) List the different people/groups represented in the trailer (men/women/Americans etc.)

2) For each group, decide whether the representation is a dominant or alternative portrayal.

3) What stereotypes can you identify in the trailer?

MEN 
The representation is a dominant portrayal of men. This is because violence, women and obsession is based around men. In addition to this, them being more powerful and dominating. 


WOMEN 
The representation is a dominant portrayal of women. This is them being weak and senseless.


AMERICANS 
The representation of Americans is an alternative portrayal. This is because Americans, although thought of as being a bit crazy, are normally thought of as caring, welcoming and passionate people however in this trailer there is an opposite representation.  


ADULTS
The representation of Adults is an alternative portrayal. Adults are normally associated as wholesome, trustworthy, sensible and reliable people however this advert does not portray that. 

CRIMINALS 
The representation of Criminals is a dominant representation. This is because they are seen as violent and devious and this trailer portrays that. 

POLICE OFFICERS/LAW 
The representation of Police officers is an alternative and dominant representation. This is alternative because police officers are normally seen as strong and able to handle convicts whereas in this trailer the criminal is able to kill the police officers and escape. However, this is also dominant because judges are seen as quite hardcore and punishing and the judge exposes the criminal and then orders him to be referred to prison. 

Stereotypes

The stereotype that I identify in this trailer is that all black people, especially men, are violent and normally posses a weapon. 

Write an in-depth analysis of the representation. 

Apply the representation theories we have learned (you must apply at least three of the theories) and write a minimum of 500 words.

There is a representation of men and women in this clip. This is mostly portrayed through the two main characters presented in this trailer and both are mostly dominant representation. The male protagonist in this trailer conveys a dominant representation of men through his actions as most some of the stereotypes that are based around men, being aggressive, in need of a female, powerful and obsessive, are presented in this trailer. This could relate back to Richard Dyer’s theory as men as a group are complex and there is a lot of versatility within their characteristics however a certain characteristic is taken and exaggerated. This theory is also applied to the concept of stereotyping and power as there are those with more power, for example the main man in the trailer and the judge, and then there is the less powerful like the police officer (it can be interpreted here that as he had a bit of weight that he could not defend himself) and also the women in this trailer especially the main woman as she tried to escape multiple times but the male protagonist always seemed to stop her in her tracks through his strength and domination. She is also a dominant representation of women as she conveys the stereotype of them being subdued and weak and therefore proves this right through her actions and emotions in the trailer. This also relates back to Richard Dyer’s theory. 

Also, there is a dominant representation of criminals as they are normally seen as dangerous, harmful, violent, devious and most of the time are seen as very manipulative and calculating. This is portrayed in the trailer as he is very violent and dangerous and demanding as shown when he kills the police officers and harms other people and also traps the female protagonist quite a lot of time. This can also refer back to Dyer’s theory. 

Another dominant representation that is shown in this film trailer is that (mostly) black men are aggressive. This can link to Medhurt’s theory as he suggests that stereotyping is shorthand for identification and is used to tell audience a lot in a short space of time however can carry value judgements and therefore can be negative on minority groups. This is shown in the trailer as black males are often seen as aggressive and as this idea has been portrayed quite a lot through their over representation in the media and is portrayed through films, including this one, people have started to believe it and therefore there is a negative stereotype attached to them leading to there being a bad representation of minority groups.  

There are also alternative representations in this film trailer as the Americans may often be seen as a bit crazy but are mostly seen as caring, welcoming and passionate people. The opposition is portrayed in this film trailer as a lot of threatening behaviour is shown and there is a sense of psychotic behaviour from the male protagonist. Even though sometimes true, this genuinely goes against the typical stereotypes for Americans making it alternative. 

In addition to this, adults also present an alternative portrayal as they are seen as wholesome, trustworthy, sensible and a reliable age group. This film trailer goes against that as the male protagonist is not trustworthy or wholesome and therefore presents unreliability of adults in the trailer. It is also arguable that the female protagonist also goes against the stereotype of adults as the male ends up holding her child and often a stereotype of an adult parent is that they are supposed to protect their children at all times and therefore she goes against this. 

Another alternative representation in this film trailer is the police officer. The representation of police officers is that they are strong, protectors and skilful. However, as the male protagonist gets away from the officers by shooting them, this shows weakness and shows that they were not thoughtful in terms of the actions that they should have considered regrading a criminal and therefore is an alternative representation of police officers.

These alternative representations could link to Levi’s theory which suggests that representation in the media are informed by ideology and are a set of believes and values of the text. This could be related to this film trailer as some of the producers interpretation on things could have been incorporated into the film as a way to create a dominant or preferred representation, one may be that men are violent and dominating.