Media Representations and Audiences

How do media representations relate to audiences?

The media portrays different social groups in different ways. Audiences can interpret these representations in multiple ways and apply them to reality.

Fig. 1 - The media represents different social groups in different ways.

The importance of representation in media

Media is a lot simpler to interpret than text. It's easier for people of different ages and educational backgrounds to understand an image rather than a piece of writing. This results in media having a more significant influence on an audience.

For this reason, it's important to look at media representations in sociology, as they can explain why we have ingrained stereotypes in society. Stereotyping is a large part of media representation.

Sociologists believe it is essential to examine media portrayals as they can influence our perception of different social groups. Stereotypes are often used in the media to represent these groups, but are not always accurate to reality. They often manifest as exaggerated characteristics of a particular social group, person or place.

The benefits of representation in media

It doesn't take much research to know that Western media has been historically lacking in their representation of diverse groups. For young and impressionable media consumers, being represented can be very beneficial, whether this is in their favourite television shows and movies, or even in their educational textbooks.

When handled correctly and sensitively, media representations of marginalised groups can help to reduce stereotypes surrounding these groups. A meaningful representation of a person of colour, someone with a disability or someone from the LGBTQ+ community can help demystify harmful assumptions and create a closer attachment to their experiences.

Furthermore, positive media representations can also help their consumers by increasing self-esteem and encouraging a more confident self-identity.

Active audience theory

One of the ways that media representations can change perceptions is through our interpretations of media.

Morley's (1980) audience reception theory, also known as active audience theory, is the idea that all pieces of media have intended messages for the audience. These messages are created by the makers of the media product. The audience can receive the messages in three ways:

• Preferred reading: they fully understand the intent of the message.

• Negotiated reading: they understand the intent, but adjust it to align with their values.

• Oppositional reading: they disagree with the message.

In addition to this, Stuart Hall devised the idea of passive and active audiences.

The selective filter model

Continuing from this, Klapper (1960) created the selective filter model. It represents how audiences don't passively accept messages. The model aims to show that media only has an effect after it has passed through 3 filters:

• Selective exposure: the audience chooses to consume specific media dependent on their interests, education, gender etc. This results in different groups experiencing different media influences.
• Selective perception: the audience may not accept the messages in the media piece. Some audiences notice the messages, but decide to either ignore or reject them.
• Selective retention: the messages have to ‘stick’ in the audience's mind for them to have a better chance of remembering them. Messages they agree with are more likely to be retained.

Violent representations in the media

An important consequence of media representations is their influence on young audiences. In particular, violent representations in the media are studied by sociologists to see their effect on children.

Bandura et al. (1963) explored how media depiction of violence affected young audiences. He conducted a study where children were shown videos of adults attacking a self-righting doll.

In many cases, the children mimicked this behaviour when presented with the same doll. They concluded that violent media representations can lead to copycat violence.

Fig. 2 - violence in media can affect young minds. But, by how much?

Identity theory

Gauntlett (2008) explored the relationship between media consumption and audience identity. In his book Media, Gender and Identity, he stated that the media could:

He discovered that we take different representations from the media to create our identity. For example, if we see a character using a certain phrase, we may adopt that into our vocabulary.

This can be either a conscious or subconscious decision, but we still take some of our identity from representations in the media. The heavy exposure we experience from media representations helps to build our fluid identities.

Cultivation theory

George Gerbner's cultivation theory, coined in the 1960s, suggests that prolonged exposure to media changes how we view the world and conduct ourselves.

Therefore, it can be inferred that the more we see certain representations in the media, the more we believe them. This theory reinforces mainstream ideologies and can be applied to several aspects of our media. The more media we consume, the more likely we are to interpret the representations as reality. This becomes an issue in society when the representations we see are not an accurate reflection of society.

Let's explore this by looking at representations of crime and gender within media and how audiences may interpret them.

Media representations of crime

Crime is commonly featured in media for entertainment purposes. Crime television series and documentaries are growing in popularity. However, the representations of criminal activity within media are often far removed from reality, as Ray Surette (1978) stated.

Lack of realism in media representations of crime

For instance, typical crimes that we may see in mainstream media are not so common in real life. Violent crimes such as murder are often portrayed widely in media. However, they are rare in society. The conviction of these criminals also occurs at much higher rates onscreen than it does in actuality. These fictional ideas present to the audience a warped view of reality.

Media representations of crime: the age fallacy

The criminal acts shown in mainstream media are statistically different to what we experience in society. Felson (1998) came up with the theory of 'the age fallacy' to articulate how crime victims are often portrayed as older, middle-class women. This is the most common demographic for victims of crime on TV.

However, official statistics show that this is inaccurate - those most likely to be the victims of crime are young, working-class men. This 'age fallacy' can be seen throughout various types of media.

Media representations of crime: the dramatic fallacy

In addition to 'the age fallacy,' Felson also identified the 'dramatic fallacy'. This idea relates to how criminal acts are represented in media. Extraordinary crimes like murder and rape are overplayed, whereas ordinary crimes like shoplifting are underplayed.

This 'dramatic fallacy' is constantly repeated within entertainment media because it is more engaging for audiences to, for example, watch a murder unravel than tax fraud. Although more entertaining, it's not an authentic representation of criminal activity and creates unnecessary panic.

Fig. 3 - Crime is overrepresented in media, creating moral panic and a warped view of reality.

Gender representation in the media

The media tends to represent different genders in distinct ways. Sociological theorists focus mainly on the negative aspects of gender portrayed in modern media, particularly representations of women.

Women and the male gaze

A British sociologist, Laura Mulvey (1973), introduced the 'male gaze' theory.

The male gaze can be seen throughout different forms of media, particularly in film genres with a predominantly male audience, e.g. action and sci-fi.

Lack of diversity in media representations of gender

Women are often sexualised for the male gaze in media because the media industry lacks gender diversity. It is common in many countries for women to be underrepresented in management jobs in media organisations. The perspectives of filmmakers and media CEOs inevitably influence the content of media.

So, if men hold most film and media roles, we will likely only see male views of the world, including their perceptions of women, within their work. This is how the male gaze was created.

Men and hypermasculinity in the media

Meanwhile, male characters in media products are presented as 'overly masculine'. Their key characteristics are being strong, aggressive and lacking emotion. Earp and Katz (1999) report on masculinity within media and state, suggesting that the media helps to normalise violent masculinity rather than framing violence as a deviation from masculinity.

Earp and Katz say that the increasing amount of violent male characters in media has consequences in real-life society. The norms we see on screen are accepted within society. This means that the media 'normalises' male violence and stereotypical hypermasculinity.

These gender stereotypes in media products can be seen in many well-known, culturally relevant films and genres. However, times are changing. There are many characters in the media who go against these stereotypes. They are changing the audiences' perceptions of 'ideal' masculine and feminine behaviours and ways of being. Not all mainstream media does this, but a good proportion of it does.