Media Representation

 Hi

In this week's video task we were required to watch different videos about media representation and why it is important. We were also required to write a blog post on our opinions on some of the ideas that were discussed in these videos.

The first video I watched was ‘Why Representation Matters’ which in my opinion is a very good question because I feel not many people like myself would know why exactly media representation matters. From this video, I gathered that the reason that media representation matters is because it is a way that allows people to see themselves and also because there are many cultures and people that need to be represented.

At the beginning of this video, Samson Binutu also states ‘I think it's important that people feel like they can watch content that they resonate with.’ which I tend to agree with him on. I also agreed with what Jasmine C. Leyva said when she stated that ‘When you start creating worlds where entire races don't exist, people with bigger body types don't exist, people with different sexual orientations don’t exist you’re creating a lie that does damage to viewers.’ I agree with this because I feel many people try to compare themselves to society's expectations and try to be just like everyone else that they see on social media rather than being themselves which could then lead to those people being greatly affected by their mental health. After all, they feel as though they aren't good enough. Representing these things that were previously listed will allow people to be less affected by these ‘expectations’ and will allow them to see more of the reality of it rather than what others only want you to see.

A second video that I watched was called ‘Stuart Hall’s Representation Theory Explained!’. From watching this video I learned that media representations aren't reflections of things that already have meaning, they are the meaning makers of things that happen in reality. In this video, he used Donald Trump as an example of this concept because many people have their own opinions and thoughts about him based on what they have seen online or heard from others yet not many people have met him in person as stated in the video it makes you realize that everything that you feel about him is controlled by someone else. A lot of society’s understanding of the world is based on the meanings that have been created by the media producers who are in power.

According to this video, I also found that Stuart Hall said that the audience should interrogate a text they should look at who made it and why and really open it up from the inside and to consider what purpose it serves and how it furthers the producer's agenda and only then can people strive to combat the stereotypes that have been made by the media and those in control of the media. I found that this video was very helpful and gave a better understanding of what media representation is and how it affects everyone and causes people to use stereotypes.

The final video that I watched was ‘Miss Representation Female Leadership’. This video goes into a little bit more detail about how we have gendered socialization where politics is considered to be for men, leadership is considered to be a masculine pursuit, and women are discouraged from pursuing ambitious positions. It also explains how the more power women begin to gain the stronger the backlash against them, it also explains how this phenomenon is most evident in the way the media disrespects our female leaders. This video also touches on the idea of women being stereotyped because they are being painted as more emotional than men and therefore they are irrational and can't handle a crisis and therefore they should not be in leadership positions.

I have learned a lot from watching these three videos and have gained a much better understanding of why Media Representation is so important it also gave me a much better insight into what happens when there is a lack of media representation in society.