Introduction to Representation

Introduction to Representation


 

Decide whether the representation of each group is a Dominant or Alternative ?

Dominant  |||  Alternative

- Dad
- Daughter
- Friendship groups at school 
- French people
- Kidnapper
- Americans - (Liam Neeson)

What stereotypes can you identify in the trailer ?

 In this clip we can see that the Kidnapper who is at most power in this moment in time is male and the females are the ones who are the vulnerable ones to the kidnapping and the ones who are powerless without the male figure with them. In addition we see that the hero is also the male and not any female.


Why might the Taken trailer offend or alienate certain groups ?

The Taken trailer may offend feminist groups as the movie portrays a    somewhat patriarchal society in which the males are the more dominant and the females are the victims of the kidnapping and are seen as the powerless ones. On the other hand, this trailer may bring in action lovers, and people who love action movies, this may be more of male film as it is male dominant

Theories of Gender

Discuss the theories of gender in relation to The Killing (20 marks)

Laura Mulvey - 'Male Gaze/female gaze': Women see themselves through the eyes of men and are not sexualised by men. Audiences are forced to view women from the point of view of a heterosexual male or a male is sexualised in fragrance adverts for a women demographic. 

Bell Hooks - 'Feminism is for everybody': The colour codes: lighter skinned women are considered more desirable and fit better into the western ideology of beauty. Black women are objectified and sexualised in hip-hop reflecting the colonialist view of black women.

Van Zoonen - Van Zoonen believes the media portray images of stereotypical women and this behaviour reinforces societal views. 

In ‘The Killing' we see that the detective and the protagonist is a female. This is already seen as surprising for people as usually in the media/films, according to Laura Mulvey ‘women see themselves through the eyes of men' We see that she controls her team and is not in any way sexualised or controlled by a male. She is the dominant one in the show as all the decisions are made by her. We see that she always wears jumpers and dresses in black. She does not live in the patriarchal society, meaning that it is a male-driven society - if anything, the women in ‘The Killing’ are driving the society. We see this through both the characters, Sarah Lund (detective) and Rie Skovgaard (political secretary)
Van Zoonen believes the media portray images of stereotypical women and this behaviour reinforces societal views.


Why is The Killing relevant to Haesmondhalgh theory about cultural industries?

The term ‘cultural industry’ refers to the creation, production, and distribution of products of a cultural or artistic nature. Culturalindustries include television and film production, publishing, music,as well as crafts and design. In The Killing

Theorists

Todorov - 'All narrative have the disruption of equilibrium and is eventually restored'

Theories/Theorists - Glossary

Laura Mulvey - 'Male Gaze/female gaze': Women see themselves through the eyes of men and are not sexualised by men. Audiences are force to view women from the point of view of a heterosexual male or a male is sexualised in fragrance adverts for a women demographic. 

Bell Hooks - 'Feminism is for everybody': The colour codes: lighter skinned women are considered more desirable and fit better into the western ideology of beauty. Black women are objectified and sexualised in hip-hop reflecting the colonialist view of black women.

Stuart Hall – 'Dominant, Oppositional and Negotiated Readings of Representation': Stuart Hall’s theory is also useful in understanding how some representations reflect the dominant culture e.g. patriarchy. However, some representations can be negotiated or even misunderstood (oppositional)

Steve Neale – 'Genre are instances of Repetition and Difference': Genre is familiar to audiences through the repetition of conventions like a physically strong, dynamic, violent, male hero in Action Adventure Video Games but is challenged by a female lead character in Tomb Raider and Beyond. 

Levi-Strauss - 'Binary Oppositions': In terms of villain-hero, male-female, killer-victim. 

Deborah Knight - 'Thrill comes from the prolonging of the inevitable'

Claude Levi-Strauss - 'Conflict is based around the binary opposites and are the central climax of a narrative structure.'

Judith Butler – 'Queer Theory': Gender is what you do, not who you are; identities are not fixed and they cannot be labelled.

The Killing - Theorists

The Killing is a show that gained critical acclaim and was seen as innovative in terms of its representation of female characters. In what ways do you agree and disagree?

In ‘The Killing' we see that the detective and the protagonist is a female. This is already seen as surprising for people as usually in the media/films, according to Laura Mulvey ‘women see themselves through the eyes of men' We see that she controls her team and is not in any way sexualised or controlled by a male. She is the dominant one in the show as all the decisions are made by her. We see that she always wears jumpers and dresses in black. She does not live in the patriarchal society, meaning that it is a male-driven society - if anything, the women in ‘The Killing’ are driving the society. We see this through both the characters, Sarah Lund (detective) and Rie Skovgaard (political secretary)
Van Zoonen believes the media portray images of stereotypical women and this behaviour reinforces societal views.


The Killing uses narrative codes appropriate to genre. In what ways do you agree. Refer to theorists.
  
The narrative codes in The Killing are appropriate to genre because
the according to Todorov theory of narrative the action codes lead from one action to another. We can see this when a suspect is questioned and then we soon find out that they are not the killer so then we start to ask questions about who else it could be.