Representation and Stereotypes

GCSE MEDIA

STARTER

Look at the following groups of people and describe them in pairs using words or phrases.

Think about what they look like, sound like, what they do and how they behave.

1.

OAPs

2.

Gypsies

3.

Americans

How did you do?

Much of what we think is based on what we see and hear in the media. We form an idea from this although this can be a stereotype.

This can be negative and cause people to have prejudiced opinions of groups.

Learning Objectives and outcomes

LO: To understand the idea of representation and stereotyping in the media.

C: I will be able to write about the ways people are represented in the media.

B: I will write about representation and stereotyping in the media.

A-A*: I will recognise positive and negative representations of different people and comment on the ways this can affect groups in society.

Task 1

Look at the following images of people.

For each one comment on the way they are represented, and say whether or not this is a positive or negative representation.

Are any of the images stereotypes? If so, why?

1.Jaynelle – Pregnant and 16 MTV

2.Phil Mitchell – Eastenders BBC1

3.DCI Jayne Tennison – Prime Suspect

ITV

4.Roy Cropper – Coronation Street ITV

Representation

When you study different media you will need to be able to write about the way in which characters have been represented.

This is usually easy to spot because we look at media codes. We look at what people wear and how they act. These codes allow us to make an assumption about a character.

Examples

Marge Simpson RepresentationMarge is represented as a housewife and stay at home mother.She wears gloves and an apron and is smiling which represents her as being happy with her life.The rest of the scene is chaotic, with Homer sleeping and Bart chasing the dog. Marge seems oblivious to this and is focused on her cleaning. This is a stereotypical representation of a housewife.

Task

You will be given some characters from TV and film. For each one, comment on how they have been represented.

C: I will be able to write about the ways people are represented in the media.B: I will write about representation and stereotyping in the media.A-A*: I will recognise positive and negative representations of different people and comment on the ways this can affect groups in society.

Remember:

Plenary

In pairs think about the poster and website you looked at last week for Sherlock Holmes 2.

How were the characters represented?