Representation in the Media

19 1 Representation in the Media l"X7h en we walk through a Toys R Us or rh(" children's section at a Walmarr, V V colors clearly and symbolically mark which aisles arc fur boys and girls. TI'Pical signifiers for girls' produCTs arc various shades of pink and purple; a much greater color variny marks the. boys' aisles, although darker earth tones and camouflage prel'ail. These colors, o'"cr time, have become identity signals in our culture, symbols and social constructions marking boundaries and helping shape identity. These boundaries, in parr, constrain what it means to be a boy or a girl in our culture. So why is our culture like this, and what role do media pia), in nurturing these symbols and identity markers? In contemporary sockt)'. we dcri\"(~ our sellse.' of self and place through social interactions, as wdl as our experiences with mass media. Understanding who we arc and how we makc scns.e ofthc world rcquires an cxploration of thc mcdia's creativc influencc, as well as a eritical analysis of how media arc dominated by powerful indus· tries that influencc identity, cxperience, and cvents. The media usc languagc, lisuals, codes, and convcntions to tcll us stories about who we are and how IW are supposed to behavc and not to behave. They providc us with rcpresentations--narr.J.til'cs that rcpresent us as indiliduals, as members ofsocicty, and as global citizcns. Bl"{:ausc our mcdia sptem is a commcrcial system, media also reprcscnt us as con sumcrs \Iith specific demographic profiles. Sometimes we closely idcntif}' with thc represcntations conjured up by the mass mcdia, whilc othcr times we resist rcprc scntations that don't capturc the cssenn' of who wc arc, how we behave, or how we expericncc and make s.ensc of the world. In order to bencr comprehend the media's influence on our identity and our understandings of the world, \I'C need to study thc political, economic, and idcological POWCf of media producers. By asking who has thc powcr to represent or ~re - prcsent" idcntity, meaning, and experience, and how such stories are constructed through narratives, we are able to cxamine how crcativc mcaning-making emerges from this process and how it is influenced by cultural, ideological, political, and cconomic faCtors. Bcrausc cultural represcntations contain visual codes of meaning, this chapter on rcprcscnration complemcnts the work on visual litcracy in Chapter 3. As British an 221 222 Chaptcr9 I Representation in the l\l cdia cri tic and cultural historian John Berger explains, k.sccing comes befure words,'" As children we recognize pictures even before we speak; sedng provides us a wa)' to understand the world and our place within it. Visual cu(·s in our culture con vey meaning through methods that arc different from the written word. There fore, we analyze the interconnections between visual literacy and representation. Speci fi cally, we explore how visual culture and media re -present social experience and identi!)' through the matrices of gender, r.JCC, class, and sexuality as they inter sect with commercial (for-profit), mainstream productions. We also study how identities and experiences arc r(·-presented according to idoological, political, and economic irltercsts. As Chapter I suggestS, our narrative approach requires asking: Who gets to tell the Stories of our culture? What arc the goals and objectives in producing such narr.J tives? What is the coment of these Stories, and how do the), produce social discourses? H ow do thesc stories influence audiences, and how do audiences interact with these stories? To answer these questions, our approach will include anal)'zing: • how representations change over time • how "re a lity~ is socially constructed across different media • how representations both reflect and shape the culture from which they emerge • how represe.ntation is both a socialization influence and a form of transfurma tive possibility Thiscombined approach allows us to better understand the media's power in shaping our ~reality" and social experience . The gool is to provide multiple theories and perspectivcs about media in socie!)' to better understand, critique, conceptualize, and reconceptualize our own ways of seeing and shaping culture. Since race, class, gender, and sexuality function as markers of identity through their intersections rather than in isolation, this chapter explores how thes(· categories of identity are formed through a varie!)' of narr.J til'es and representations, /Tom the past to the present. I IDEOLOGY, HEGEMONY, AND MASTER NARRATIVES In today's media-saturated environment, our ideas arc rclared through social discourse-how through our socialization and our institutions (fumil)', education, work, etc. ) we learn to speak about and represent our thinking. Social discourses reflect the valucs, beliefS, and ideas that are pan of the culture, induding the work of those who produce media content. When social discourscs are repeated in a I'arie!)' of media, the), eyentually form patterns of thought that emerge as Ideologies- Ideology, Hegemony, and Master Narratives 223 systems of meaning that circulate the dominant ideas of a society, helping us to process and make value judgments about the world. For example, being cxposc.'d to cultural messages that define us as consumers instead of citizens supports a capitalist ideology that defines us through what we buy oyer other characteristics, values, or beha,10rs. Because these systems of meaning affect so many people, it is important to examine who makes them, and how ideologies serve the interests of those who \\1c1d political and economic power. ,\h instream mass media are owned and con trolled by a few tr:lllsnational global conglomerates, so it's helpful to examine who owns that media and whose interests they serve, better preparing us to assess how certain narratives champion some attitudes and behaviors over others. Giwn that our culture's main stoT)'tellers occupy a privileged space through their social, political, and economic power, it's not surprising that narrati\'es about gender, race, class, and sexuality often mirror the values of the socially dominant groups in a given society. In addition to referring to '"alues, belief systems, and worldviews, ideology sig nals commonsense understandings that arc solidified in the culture. Going beyond a Marxist emphasis (discussed in Chapter 7) on economic factors that reproduce social hierarchies, it is important to analyze how dominant ideas and belief systcms shape our understandings through social texts that have hegemonic power. When a ten has hegemonic pOWCT, it refers to those ideologies reflecting the established mainstream values- and, as such, the dominant social order. However, when ide ologies do not hold that power, they are often marked as marginal or subordinate. Accordingly, when mainstream media privilege certain ideas and belief systcms OVCT others through images, \1suals, and texts, they represent a dominant ideol ogy---one that is carried in consensus or master narratives. For example, the American dream represcnts a master narrative in U.S. culture and is predicated on the idealized notion that everyone can equally attain IH'alth and power by work ing hard and playing by the rules. Historically, examples of dominant ideologies of identity might include erroneous assumptions that males are rugged leaders and cultural heroes, women are sexual objects or nurturing homemakers, whites arc morl' worthy and intelligent than minorities, and heterosexuality is morally superior to homosexuality. One powerful example of dominant ideologies uniting in nrious forms across time is the animated films from the Walt Disney Company. Disnl'y films are known as family-friendly, all -ages entertainment; they offer influential Stories ofmalc heroism, female dependency, heterosexual norms, and the power of whites in society. Classic Disney narrati\'es lik<' S"o~ , White ( 1937), Cinderell" ( 1950), and Slupi"." &"uty ( I 959) maintain heterosexual and sexist norms in which women pursue the love of a desired male m"er their own professional or personal ambitions. Even in a newer film like 71" Little Merm"id ( 1989), Ariel's father provides patriarchal ru Ie over his 224 Chapter9 I Representation in the l\ledia daughters (sons arc interestingly absent). Although in defiance of her father's rules, Arid gives up her voice and is instruCTed to usc.' her ~body language~ to win over a desired male human. Such depictions uphold the tCminist mind/womb dichotomy in which girls and women arc valued for their bodies over their brains. In Bea"ty and the Bean ( 1991), the female protagonist Brtle is initially shown as smart and independent. Howeyer, she is forcefully kidnapped and separated from her futher by a brutal beast. Rather than rejeCT this fOrm of oppression, Belle learns to love her abuser in order to bring OUT the prince in him. Cultural critics and feminist scholars have argued that the film's story underscores a dominant cultural ideology of male power and control over women through a love story predicated upon physical and domestic violence. Moving beyond gender, cultural critics have argued that The Lim. King ( 1994 ) underscores the dominant ideology of whitc suprcmacy in its racial caricaturing. In thc film, African American actors and dialecTS arc embodied in the cartoon as antagonistic hyenas, who plot to murder the king and destroy thc idcals of\\'rutc ruk and civilization. Some newer Disnc}, rcprcscntations do include al ternate dcpictions. M"lan ( 1998) was an important deviation from the themc of romance and mall- hcroism through thc depiction of a young Chinese girl whose heroism saves her country from barbarians. As a roung and unconventional female warrior, Mubn emerges vic torious despite the dangcrs associatcd with her daunting battles. Notwithstanding, critics werc disappointcd by the film's ending, as it shows Mulan returning home to her village in a culturc that pressures young girls to conform to morc traditional ideals of romance and domesticity.

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