Task 3

Media representations favour those with power at the expense of those without. To what extent do you think this statement is true?
In today’s society the media industry is still controlled by the dominant sex of the male. Men in media are shown to be the ones with a higher status and power. This results in women to be shown as a weaker sex and allow the male pride control.

As we look at the norms in society we have become aware of the hegemonic class who have created these acceptances in life. Simon Cowell is a prime example of power in the media industry, through his many talent shows such as the X factor and Britain’s got talent. He is a man with a lot of power which is shown through his confident speech and serious tone of voice. He represents what he thinks a popstar should be, therefore entailing the key traits for someone who wants to become a popstar. He believes a popstar is someone who conforms to a mainstream audience. This is how people with power are allowed to create general stereotypes for the people of a lower status.

In this recent time, homosexuals have become increasingly publicized in the media due to the awareness brought out by celebrities and the acceptance by the public. On the TV there has been a slightly increasing tendency to feature gay stereotypes, though they are rarely shown enjoying happy lives, stories about gays tend to reinforce conventional values. Even when gay men are portrayed the central focus tends to be on the reaction of others to this as a “problem”. The representations of homosexuals are slowly becoming accepted by society and are being shown more in the media. Celebrities such as Elton John are not afraid of their sexuality which sends messages to the public to be proud. This highlights that people with power influence other, not necessarily at their expense. On the other hand, the representation of homosexuals in newspapers and television is often wrongly constructed as those with power tend to subordinate other groups in order to remain powerful. In television shows such as “Eastenders”', homosexuals are often represented as being loud and promiscuous, for example the character Christian. By subordinating these characters, those in power would want to keep their position at the top and inject ideologies towards the audience that homosexuals are bad for society.

Lad’s mags have become increasingly popular and tend to characterize women as breasts and bottom for men to gaze at. They are seen to be misogynistic and represent women in subversive ways. They hold features such as virgin competitions, “babe” competitions and offering breast enlargements for women. Lad’s mags usually promote the aspiration in young women to become glamour models and promise fame and fortune, in the exchange of half-naked photos. These emphasize magazines only do this for the expense of women and which to only make money from showing their bodies off. The perpetual representations of women as sex objects are dangerous and are shown at the expense of these women.

The representation of women in music videos tend to favour the best, as particularly in hip hop and rap videos, women are also objectified in order to represent the lead male singer as dominant. In Rihanna's “Rude Boy” video, she is dressed in short, revealing clothing and is dancing around the man which is connoting sexual themes. As well as this, her body is fetished in order to arouse the male, as the video and others by artists such as 50 cent and Young Money feature women wearing not much clothing and being controlled by the male figure. Generally, most of these videos subordinate women to allow the dominance of the male.

To conclude, media representations do favour those with power at the expense of those without, as representations of women, homosexuals and business men are often pass judgement and make decisions in the media, as well as other platforms. By separating these two divides in the media, the leaders inject messages into the audience. However, alternative representations of these groups in the media, for example gay people in television shows do show some power and being accepted by society.