Ethnicity Representation

Sports - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24647259

This article from the BBC Sport website represents ethnicity in both a positive and negative light. Firstly, it could be considered a negative representation because of the use of language like 'racist' and 'targeted' which suggests to the audience that the player is being discriminated and treated unfairly because of his ethnicity and race. We can see the emotional response of the player through the use of words like 'furious', 'disappointed' and 'very sad' which are taken directly from an interview. On the other hand, the article could be considered as making a positive representation of Yaya Toure due to his ethnicity as he is taking a stand and threatening to take action against the fans abusing him. He is said to 'want action' which shows him as being courageous and against the minority who believe it is acceptable to mock someone because of their skin colour and ethnicity.

TV Show - Skins

In this clip from Skins we see a muslim father accepting the fact that his son is gay. It is a typical representation of the muslim culture to be against homosexuality but this programme challenges this with a positive representation of Maxxie's father. He respects the choice of his son although he may not understand why, showing that not everyone of muslim ethnicity is completely against the idea of homosexuality even if it is within their own family.



TV Show - Spooks

In this clip ethnicity is represented negatively through the visual codes and language used. The black character is treated like a slave being tied to the chair and interrogated whilst all the white people in the scene stand over him. His ethnicity is referred to as 'your people' suggesting that they are different to everyone else just because of their skin colour. Towards the end of the scene he is threatened with a knife with no way of defending himself, treating him unfairly because of his ethnicity.

Reception Theory on Websites

www.bbc.co.uk - This website explores a wide range of different topics from current affairs to entertainment, lifestyle and sports. The audience who would take the preferred reading would be people from ages 20 to 55 from A to C2 class. These people are likely to have an interest in reading about the news and it's wide range of topics including politics and sport, depending on the individual. People in the audience taking a negotiated view are likely to be younger and slightly lower in the socio economic scale, from ages 15 to 30 in class B to D. This is because they would use the site as a way of finding out about entertainment news and catching up on their favourite TV shows and celebrities. They may not be as interested in the main news or 'knowledge' section of the site but they would use it as a place to access TV clips and shows. Thirdly, the oppositional view would be taken by younger children who are unlikely to understand the topics explored on the site. 

www.asos.com - ASOS is a clothing website which sells a wide range of different brands aimed at all ages as well as their own unbranded products. The audience taking the preferred reading from this site are likely to be aged 15 to 35 in class B to C2. The clothes sold on the site are considered as trendy and fashionable which people from these groups will be looking to purchase. The producer has used eye catching visual codes promoting a sale as well as language like 'FINAL CLEARANCE' which make the audience feel as if they can't miss out on the offer and that they should look at purchasing something. The people taking a negotiated reading from ASOS are likely to be aged 40 - 60 in class B to D. This group is less likely to keep up to date with fashion and the latest trends but may look on the website occasionally to buy clothes at a reasonable price, in events like the 70% sale which is shown in the screenshot above. Finally, the oppositional reading will be taken by people at low and high ages such as 0 - 12 and 65 - 80. These people are unlikely to be interested in the clothes that are sold by ASOS as they are more associated with people of a younger or older age in respectively. These people would not feel attracted by sales and reductions as much as the audiences who take the preferred and negotiated reading as they probably wear clothes of a similar style and are aware of the majority of the brands sold.

www.youtube.com - YouTube is a popular website which is often used for entertainment and informative purposes by the audiences engaged. The audience taking the preferred reading are likely to be people from ages 13 - 28 who will be in classes C1 - E. This audience would use YouTube as a platform to watch videos that they would consider amusing or interesting due to their interests in the topics involved. This could be anything from video games to sports and music. The producer attracts this audience and leads them to take a preferred reading due to sections such as "Recommended for you" which is displayed on the homepage. It takes into account the viewing history of the user and finds other videos which they may also find entertaining. 

Age Representation Homework

Young people



The TV show 'Skins' is an example of a media text which represents young people in a negative light. The name of the programme itself is a reference to use of drugs, showing how the writer has used language to bring out these negative teenage connotations. In the video above we see the characters at a house party drinking large amounts of alcohol, taking drugs and having sex. This depicts the negative stereotype of teenagers entirely. In terms of visual codes, the characters in the video are all wearing clothes that would be considered trendy or fashionable by this age group. This enables the viewers to relate to the show and shows how the writer assumes that this is typical behaviour of all people this age, representing the whole age group in a negative light.

This article taken from the Daily Mail website is also an example of a negative representation of youth. It can be considered as a rich text as it also shows stereotypes of the male gender. The language and mode of address used in the headline has been included specifically to shock the reader and to create a negative light over the teenager. The fact that he is described as a student suits the stereotype in society today that students of around 18-20 spend their time drinking excessively and doing stupid things. Also in the second paragraph it says he was dared by his other friends to do the act, suggesting that this is a typical mentality of most teenagers, boys in particular.

Old people

This article has been taken from the website of newspaper The Independent. It represents people of an old age in a negative light through the language used by the writer. The specific age of the woman has been included in the title of the article along with words like pensioner in order to establish just how old she is. These words often have connotations of being settled and leading un-exciting lives. However this article challenges these ideas through the use of words like 'arrest', 'cocaine' and 'birthday bash'. These are words that are often considered to be negative and related to people of a much younger age. The fact that these words have been selected in this context creates a negative representation of the elderly woman and potentially this age group as a whole. It could represent them as out of control and wild.

Stereotypes of age in media

This is an article taken from The Independent website and creates a stereotypical view of teenagers in modern society. The language and mode of address used portrays teenagers and boys in particular as obsessed with drinking and being out of control. Also the use of social media in the text creates a stereotype as the majority of british teenagers are users of sites like Facebook, labelling everyone of these people as the same. 

Examples for Gender Representation Question

This article has been taken from the site of tabloid newspaper The Sun. We can see that the article has been constructed by the newspaper in order to create a specific representation of Amanda Knox. The fact that they have described her as 'Tearful Knox' makes me think that they are trying to represent her as sad about the events in the article and almost as innocent. In the first line of the article the word 'EMOTIONAL' has been used in capital letters to again re-enforce the fact that she has became unstable and sad after being re-convicted. This supports the common stereotype of women that they are emotionally unstable and possibly weak.

The Sun can be seen here objectifying women and their bodies for the C to D class, predominantly male audience. The story in between the two is a much more serious one which is being used as the leading story on the majority of other sites.

Stereotypes of Young & Old

In this article we can see a stereotypical representation of elderly people, women in particular. The age is included in the headline of murder by poor driving in order to emphasise her age, almost giving a reason for the driving mistake. If '79' was left out of the headline it would create a completely different story with the main focus being away from her old age. A lot of people would have the opinion that some people over a certain age are not suitable for driving and this article represents elderly people as error prone and danger. On the other hand, this could challenge the stereotype of old people settling down and living not so exciting lives. In this case, an elderly person has murdered three people.

                                

This episode of The Inbetweeners is good for representing the life of a stereotypical British teenager. The clothes that are worn in the programme could be considered as fashionable, most likely bought from shops like Topman. The main topics of conversation between the boys in the programme is sex, alcohol and being popular. In this episode in particular, a student house is visited where drinking games are played. This meets the stereotype of students as their lives are often associated with drinking.