Representation Theories

Laura Mulvey (1975) The Male Gaze Theory

Initially her theory was applied to Hollywood films and how women are sexualised within the media texts. The male gaze occurs when an audience is put into the point of view of a heterosexual man.
The conventions she applies to her theory are:

• Slow camera movements
• Deliberate camera movements/shots
• Deliberate cut aways

The use of a camera movement changes perception.

She suggests that the male gaze denies women their human rights as they're used as a matter of status and are objectified, their physical appearance is there just to be admired by the men in the media text and the audience. Theory suggests women can watch films from a secondary perspective and that we only view it from a male perspective and the women in the text often have no purpose in the narrative and only exist in relation to the male.

The areas of her theory:

• How men look at women
• How women look at themselves
• How women look at other women

How men look at women:

Suggests they do not always value women as a valid role, even if their is an aspect of defying gender stereotypes in a narrative that is forgotten and the individual is sexualised.

How women look at themselves:

They are made to feel negative about themselves when viewing other women, they pick apart their own appearance which consequently gives them low self-esteem. Look at self in comparison to women in media texts and then feel inferior. Do not take into consideration post production (e.g. Photoshop) and will often compare to an unrealistic model.

How women look at other women:

To shape own identities and compare to manufacture a clear identity. Take an element of what they like and try and construct an identity they deem fit and desirable for society.

Criticisms:
Some women enjoy being looked at and want to be seen as sexual objects to fell liberated, e.g. Beyonce. Not all men look at women as objects, does not consider gay men into her theory. Media texts contradict her theory as some women use their body to be noticed and to be purposely consumed and to gain power.

Richard Dyer (1979) Star Theory

Quotes:
"Stars are commodities that are produced by institutions."
"A star is a constructed image, represented across a range of media and mediums."
"Stars represent and embody certain ideologies."

A viewers perception of a film is heavily influenced by the perception of its stars, publicity materials and reviews which determine the way an audience experiences a media text. A star is an image, not a real person, they have been constructed by institutions for financial gain, they have a manufactured identity and ideology so audiences will want to consume them, it is not a true representation of the person.

4 Components:

• Stars as constructions
• Audience and industry/institution
• Ideology and culture
• Character and Personality

Stars as constructions:

Represented as real people but are artificial images, if the image has a USP (unique selling point) it helps for others to copy/parody the star, the stars representation may be metonymic (image associated) e.g. Michael Jackson's glove, a pop stars image is more consistent as it is not dependent on the input of others (screenwriters/directors) where as a film star would have a less consistent image so it is more challenging to create a direct construct of a star.

Audience and industry/institution:

Stars are manufactured to serve a purpose and make money out of an audience. Industries manufacture and shape stars to what they believe an audience will want, using methods such as The X-Factor and due to this we have seen an influx in boy bands. They want to make money out of their stars so will construct them so the audience will be likely to copy the star.

Ideology and culture:
Have dominant desirable ideologies so the audience sees the star as more desirable, by conveying their beliefs and opinions outside of music and film this helps them create a star persona. They meet certain expectations which makes the persona seem more realistic, stars promote the ideology which audiences will tend to copy and/or idolise them and when stars portray their other ideologies rather than the dominant one it makes them more relatable.

Hegemony:
Stars represent shared cultural values and attributes to promote specific ideology which holds a powerful influence other an audience so the audience will want to mimic the stars qualities and they will conform to the stars ideologies.

Character and personality:
Stars show audiences ideas of what people are supposed to be like and audiences will feel the need to conform. Characters based on themselves and what they feel the audience will want to consume. Constructs of what an audience would like, stars are characters that create personalities to present themselves to an audience.

Paradox of the stars:
Dyer suggests that there are two paradoxes, "ordinary" and "extraordinary"
Stars need to relate to an audience yet have something an audience doesn't have so they can be deemed special enough to be a star as if they were presented in a normal way they would not be desirable and their differences help their star quality.

Star images and the motifs:
Creates an image which is recurring, creating an iconic image which can be used to market a star to an audience. 

Tessa Perkins (1979) Stereotypes 

Stereotypes are assumptions we make based upon different groups of people.

Tessa Perkins theory has five assumptions about Stereotypes:

•         Stereotypes are not always negative (e.g. 'The French are good cooks')
•         They are not always about minority groups or the less powerful ( e.g. 'upper class twits')
•         They can be held about one's own group
•         They are not rigid or unchanging.
•         They are not always false.

Not always negative:

People assume that stereotypes are negative for e.g. young troublesome youths ‘hoodie culture’ 

however youth can also be seen as positive such as graduates.

They are not always about minority groups or the less powerful:

People assume that stereotypes are aimed at and targeted towards minorities and the less powerful

but this is not always the case, we can make assumptions and stereotypes about Upper class 

minorities in the same way they would make assumptions about lower class people. 

They can be held about one's own group:

Although we stereotype others, within our own group we stereotyped people demonstrating even

though we all belong to the same institution and hold the same ideologies as a whole, within the

group we stereotype based on our assumptions. This makes each of us feel part of the larger

community. Basically, in our own groups we have stereotypes as well as stereotypes of others.

They are not rigid or unchanging:

Once a stereotype has been created it is very hard to change however Perkins states that over a 

period of time they can change and develop. For instance the stereotype of a typical family is

changing and now more women are working and more men are becoming stay at home dads.

They are not always false:

If they were false, where would they come from? We see things in the media that help us to

understand stereotypes and we may witness the truth in a stereotype either ourselves or second hand

from somebody else.

There are also implications when using stereotypes:

•        Stereotypes are always erroneous in content (usually wrong).
•        They are (negative) concepts.
•        They are about groups with whom we have little or no social contact; by implication, therefore, they are not held about ones own group- that’s a stereotype of a stereotype. 
•        They are about minority or repressed groups most of the time creating negative representation of the lower class possibly giving the upper-class more power.
•        People either ‘hold’ stereotypes of a group (believe them to be true) or do not. This can lead to negative behavior or wrong assumptions.
•        Because someone holds a stereotype of a group, his or her behavior towards a member of that group can be predicted. This can lead to unfair treatment of members of society 
•        Stereotypes are an invaluable aid to understanding the world and all stereotypes must have a bit of truth or they would not have such an influence.