Representation

What is representation?

Representation is how a particular group of people are generalised through the media and how they are shown to us conveying the typical assets of a certain type of people. One of the main assets of a stereotypical character would be their dress code, usually very specific and allows the audience to spot the 'type' of character on the screen almost instantly. We put these characters into categories using our previous knowledge of stereotypes.

 However, all though producers of movies expect all consumers to perceive the stereotypical characters in the same way, our individual differences allow many different perceptions of the same character to be seen. Factors such as age, what media we regularly consume and our location can have an effect on how we see certain representations in the media. 

"The Bad Boy" - an example being Danny from Grease

Danny wears a black leather jacket, black jeans, black shoes and a white t-shirt. He has gelled hair and is introduced to the audience smoking a cigarette and speaking to a small group of girls. Instantly we can see the bad boy/ladies man stereotype emerging. He has a group of similar looking friends and we group these characters as the same "type". This is further enhanced by the group mid shots that show the audience their friendship, and later their 'clique' when we find out they have named themselves 'T-birds'. Danny, along with the rest of his friendship group, also speak in non standard dialect, regularly using slang with his hometown accent. 

"The Exchange Student" - an example being Sara from Save The Last Dance

Usually shown as an outsider and different to the rest. For Sara in Save The Last Dance, she is the only white person in a predominantly black Chicago school. She dresses relatively similar to the rest of the pupils, however when her friend Chanel takes her to a club, she has to fix up her outfit before they go in and she wasn't dressed to fit the style of the area. They often have a story behind why they moved, usually a tragic past and allows us to get to know the character better. For Sara, it was the death of her mother which resulted in Sara moving to live with her dad whom she doesn't have a very good relationship with.

The foreign student regularly becomes involved with people in their new school, however sometimes they can be alienated. In Save The Last Dance, Sara meets Derrek who she falls in love with. They are regularly shown in two shots to signify their blossoming romance and particularly when they are dancing, showing us how their love of dance has brought them together (the main narrative). However, Sara does face alienation from "The Mean Girl" Nikki who once dated Derrek and "The Bad Boy" Derrek's best friend.

"The Mean Girl, also known as the 'Queen Bee'"- an example being Regina George from Mean Girls

The Mean Girl is always seen to be wearing short skirts, tight tops, high heels, small handbags and a lot of pink. They usually have straight blonde hair and feminine make up. Regina George incorporates all of these assets into her look. She also has dated The Popular Jock, Aaron Samuels and has conflict with The Exchange Student Cady. She is shown in plenty of group shots with her clique, "The Plastics" who also have similar connotations.

The set out of the characters also connotes her "Queen Bee" status as she is always in the middle with her 'sidekicks' Gretchen and Karen on either side of her.

Stereotypical characters that I like like/dislike:

Karen: "The dumb blonde" in Mean Girls.
This character is extremely humorous unintentionally. I also feel a little bit sorry for her when she says stupid comments which spark insults from the mean girl, Regina.

Sandy: "The Exchange Student" in Grease.
She is sweet and innocent and acts how I would put in her situations.