LO3: Theories of Representation

Representation - How the media shows us things about society but this is careful mediation.

Key Theory 1 - Tim O'Sullivan
For representation to work there has to be a shared recognition of people and places. All representation therefore have ideaologies behind them.
Ideaology refers to a set of ideas which produces a partial and selecive view of reality.


Key Theory 2 - Richard Dyer (1983)
Audiences should question the representations they see in media texts.
What does the representation imply? Is it typical of the world or deviant?


Key Theory 3 - Laura Mulvey (1975)
Male gaze.
Women are objectified in media texts and passive objects.
Audiences are positioned to view the women from the point of view of a heterosexual male.


Key Theory 4 - Stuart Hall (1995)
Western/ white cultures continue to misinterpret ethnic minorities as in the media due to underlying racist tendencies.
E.g. non-white as 'the other', evil, barbaric.


Key Theory 5 - Edward Said (1987)
Says that people of colour are represented as humourous, pittied, exotic, dangerous etc.


1. The representation of Cobb in the film - a concerned father who has made mistakes in the past, is recognised in society as many parents feel this way about looking after their children, regardless of gender.
2. Challenging the representation of Cobb will raise questions about the world he lives in and what it represents. For example, Cobb is a concerned father, but he is also a career criminal, so this could suggest that the world is deviant to ours, because concerned and successful-looking father can still be career criminals.
3. Inception disproves Laura Mulvey's theory. This is because the woman that is featured most in the film, Aridanne, dresses modestly, without being objectified as her intellect is explored and is shown to be intergral to the plot. She is also shown to not be submissive, taking control in the final scenes to save the day, which is the opposite of Mulvey's theory.
4. The theory of Stuart Hall is partially supported in Incpetion. This is because the antagonist at the start of the film is Asian, and was portrayed as barbaric as he ordered the death of the protagonist's friend. However, this changes as him and another ethnic minority join the team, and they are shown to be valuable, and not seperated due to their ethnicities.
5. There are only two ethnic minorities in Inception. Both are parts of the team, although they are smaller roles. Neither are the comic relief in the team (which instead is a British person), and although one was villified at the start (which supports Said's theory), by the end both are considered the 'good guys'.