Representational theory is a complex notion that deals not only with how factors (e.g. people, places) are represented, but also why certain representations exist and the effect of those representations on the mass audience. Crucially representational theory looks to explore the ideologies behind the representation.
·
Richard Dyer –
Stars. A star is an image (not a real person) that is constructed (as any other
aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (e.g advertising, magazines etc.
alongside films and music. Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the
strength of their meanings. The audience sees their ‘reel image’ not their
‘real’ one. In my music video, it can be assumed that the performer has been
created to be a star, and that the construction behind this star is via
ideologies created through promotional methods. However it can be challenged
that the performer is not a star persona but seems to have this star feel but
is felt to be authentic through the use of ideologies such as the headphones
she’s worn around her neck portrays her compassion and her seriousness for
music and would prefer to be herself rather than a made up pop star.
· Antonio Gramcsi’s
ideas of Hegemony (dominant ideology) Gramsci used the term hegemony to denote
the predominance of one social class over others. This represents not only
political and economic control, but also the ability of the dominant class to
project its own way of seeing the world so that those who are subordinated by
it accept it as ‘common sense’ and ‘natural’. Meaning representations come from
the producers and they can be used to control the way audiences view the world.
Look for dominant or counter representations in your work. As my music video is
a performance video, all based on the performer and the ballerina, there is
this ideology of female empowerment. Even though the song is a break up song,
there is no clue of who the ‘person’ is that broke her heart therefore
empowering this sense of independency of the female performer.
