Throughout the course the concept of representation
was part of our discussions. Whether in context with language, semiotics,
stereotypes, music on screen, or fashion, the questions of how something is
depicted in the media, and moreover, how this depiction alters meanings,
creates new symbols and understandings of different issues, were omnipresent.
To me it was very interesting to connect the discussions on media
representations to self-representation: in what way do we represent ourselves –
and are these representations real? Admittedly, this questions falls more under
aspects of psychology, which is why I found Lisa Blackman’s text very
interesting. However, when talking about societies and cultures it is
impossible not to talk about psychological or philosophical issues. Recently, I
started to learn about meditation, and one important aspect of it is to find
and recognise your true self. By actively stopping to think for short amounts
of time, it is possible to find an inner balance, and to feel at peace with
oneself. Especially in connection with the fact that we are constantly
surrounded by media representations of all sorts of things, such as views on
beauty, ways of living, ideas of success (and how it is supposed to look/feel
like), it is difficult to figure out, what one’s own ideas and opinions are.
That is why I think media studies and discussions on the concept of
representations should be integral parts of education – we have to learn that
media only offers us one tiny window into other worlds, cultures, people and
events.
In his work, Stuart Hall unravels the
different notions of Representation.
He points out that the term itself has two meanings: “to present, to image, to
depict” and, at the other hand, to “stand in for” something (Hall, 2006, minute
3f.). Media therefore not only depicts different people, groups or events, but
the representation carries meaning, and whatever is represented stands in for a
supposedly true meaning. Herein lies the danger of media and cultural
representations: whatever we see or hear about a person, event or thing is
given a new meaning, one image can become engrained in our minds, and suddenly
stands for the ‘whole’ issue. There are a million examples for that, but I had
to think of images of city skylines that represent the whole city, and often
those images do not match reality and leave tourists disappointed when they
finally arrive in, lets say New York City, and walk through crowded, dirty or
rundown areas, instead of seeing the vibrant and exciting places they expected.
The system of representation is crucial in order to make sense of the world around us. Saussure’s linguistic/semiotic
approach to representation shows how our language and communication is
completely dependant on signs, symbols or signifiers. We have ‘mental
representations’ of objects and are able to imagine and express them (Hall,
1997, p.17). Whereas this is easy to comprehend in terms of objects, it is hard
to describe when talking about ‘concepts of rather obscure and abstract things’
such as success, beauty or love (ibid.). And this is where (especially visual)
media comes into play nowadays. As the first picture more or less ironically
indicates is that we often have given concepts of what is beautiful or not on
our minds – and it becomes very obvious when looking at different fashion
styles emerging over time across countries or even internationally. It is this
part of the system of representation where I started wondering about the
concept of the self that we have. If everything we know is based upon
representations, and if we take meaning from mere representations, but never
the ‘real’ – where does that leave the ‘me’? When I look in the mirror or see a
picture of myself, do I see the real me, or am I bound to be distorted due to
images and concepts that where ingrained in my mind via media representations?
This is obviously a very complex and philosophical question, and no room at
this point in time to aim to answer it, yet this is one of the many directions
in which this course caused me to think...
References
Hall, Stuart. 2006. Representation and the Media. In: Challenging Media Lectures
[YouTube Video]. URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTzMsPqssOY
Hall, Stuart. 1997. ‘The work of
representation’ in: Stuart Hall (ed.), Representations:
Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, pp.13-74.
