Representation Research

Representation 

Representation is the portrayal of a person, thing, group, or anything you can think of. This is one of the most important things in media. It runs the headlines, and the sad truth is that many representations are simply wrong. These often lead to sterotypes which are one of the most common things made up in the media atmosphere. Believe it or not, they can very negatively affect people. A peer reviewed article by Kevin Leo says, "Many Asian Americans and other people of color often struggle with their racial and ethnic identity development-with many citing how a lack of media representation negatively impacts their self-esteem and overall views of their racial or cultural groups." This highlights how representation in the media can seriously damage an individual's mental health. These stereotypes are not just limited to Asian Americans; they apply to anything you can think of. My research made me realize how damaging this could be.

The mass media has a major effect on representation. They hold a great deal of power because they are the ones who control the media landscape. The mass media understands algorithms at a very high level and knows exactly what their users engage with. They keep many people in their filter bubbles, and so many people do not know about this.  They shape the vast majority of the world's reality, and frankly, the number of people who do not know this is a lot higher than it should be. Stuarts hall reprecentation theory states that the media attempts to construct meanings for everyday things. I believe the whole reason they do this is to allow the people in power to stay in power. Not everybody will blindly accept what's portrayed in the media.

Above are 2 pictures of highly contreversial Barrack Obama. Most people, including yourself, probably have a strong opinion about him, wether its good or bad. What you have seen online has almost certainly affected your opinion on him. This is what the Stuart's Media representation is about. The media shaped your opinion on a man you most likely don't personally know, and this is exactly their goal.

Stuart's reception theory says that people have the agency to reject these theories based on their experiences, which leaves it up to the users how they take in representation. This is a skill that few have: the ability to not let the media fully influence your beliefs.

After doing my research i have learned a lot more about representation. I will think twice next time before letting the media affect my beliefs. Understanding this concept is crucial to developing your own beliefs, especially in the world we live in right now and looking forward yaers in advanced.

Citations: 

Hyperakt. (n.d.). Barack Obama: The new hope. https://www.hyperakt.com/work/barack-obama-the-new-hope

Media Studies. (n.d.). Stuart Hall and representation. https://media-studies.com/stuart-hall-representation/

Nadal, K. L. Y. (2021, December 27). Why representation matters and why it’s still not enough. 

Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychology-the-people/202112/why-representation-matters-and-why-it-s-still-not-enough  

Shoot the Projectionist. (2009, August 3). Shepard Fairey + Obama/Joker/Socialism. http://shoottheprojectionist.blogspot.com/2009/08/shepard-fairey-obamajokersocialism.html (shoottheprojectionist.blogspot.com in Bing)