Representation.  Definition and explanation.

representation

noun

[MASS NOUN]

1The action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented:you may qualify for free legal representation

2The description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way:the representation of women in newspapers

2.1The depiction of someone or something in a work of art:Picasso is striving for some absolute representation of reality

2.2[COUNT NOUN] A picture, model, or other depiction of someone or something:a striking representation of a vase of flowers

Explanation:

Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.

The term refers to the processes involved as well as to its products. For instance, in relation to the key markers of identity - Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicity (the 'cage' of identity) - representation involves not only how identities are represented (or rather constructed) within the text but also how they are constructed in the processes of production and reception by people whose identities are also differentially marked in relation to such demographic factors.

Consider, for instance, the issue of 'the gaze'. How do men look at images of women, women at men, men at men and women at women?

Representation In The Media 

By definition, all media texts are re-presentations of reality. This means that they are intentionally composed, lit, written, framed, cropped, captioned, branded, targeted and censored by their producers, and that they are entirely artificial versions of the reality we perceive around us.

When studying the media it is vital to remember this - every media form, from a home video to a glossy magazine, is a representation of someone's concept of existence, codified into a series of signs and symbols which can be read by an audience. However, it is important to note that without the media, our perception of reality would be very limited, and that we, as an audience, need these artificial texts to mediate our view of the world, in other words we need the media to make sense of reality. Therefore representation is a fluid, two-way process: producers position a text somewhere in relation to reality and audiences assess a text on its relationship to reality.

This clip is a good starting point to discuss how the media shapes our understanding of the world around us.

EVERYTHING IS A CONSTRUCT.