How music videos represent different things.

1. Representation
By Meg

2. Whatisrepresentation?
What is the
technical
meaning of
representation?

4. Introductiontorepresentation (HaydonMediaWebsite)
The concept of representation embodies the theme that the media construct meanings about the world – they represent it,
and in doing so, help audiences to make sense of it in particular ways. For representation to be meaningful to audiences,
there needs to be a shared recognition of people, situations, ideas and values. What require closer examination are the
ideas and meanings produced by those representations. There may be shared recognition through the world as represented
through familiar or dominant images and ideas, but there is sometimes little social consensus about how to interpret those
representations, and always the possibility of alternative representations.
A key in the study of representation concern is with the way in which representations are made to seem ‘natural’. Systems
of representation are the means by which the concerns of ideologies are framed; such systems ‘position’ their subjects.
All texts, however ‘realistic’ they may seem to be, are constructed representations rather than simply transparent ‘re
ections’, recordings, transcriptions or reproductions of a pre-existing reality. Representations which become familiar
through constant re-use come to feel ‘natural’ and unmediated. Representation is unavoidably selective, foregrounding some
things and backgrounding others.
Simple Terms:
Media constructs meanings about the world
Needs to be a shared recognition of people/ situations/ ideas/ values- could be through familiar images and ideas
Closer examination of ideas and meanings produced
Representations are constructed, become familiar through constant re-use

5. Whatisrepresentation?
Representation in music videos could involve:
Gender
Age
Sexuality
Ethnicity
Class and Status
Physical ability/disability

6. Whyisrepresentation
important?

7. Whyisrepresentation important?
Music videos never represent the world directly- they’re a
construction of the world. However, they still take
inspiration from the world, and is a demonstration of
reality, or part of reality. Representation matters because
seeing yourself accurately represented matters- if accurate
representations aren’t there, why not? What are the
representations you see and how should they change?

8. GenderRepresentation Example
Why the way we represent certain types of people (in this case women) is important:
Check That Body! The Effects of Sexually Objectifying Music Videos on College Men’s Sexual
Beliefs - Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, K. Megan Hopper, and Wanjiru G. Mbure (written in 2011)
https://comm.arizona.edu/sites/comm.arizona.edu/files/JOBEM_aubrey%20et%20al.pdf
Summary- sexual objectification of women in music video’s perpetuates a distorted portrait
of women, including stereotypes concerning women and their sexuality.
“As expected, the results showed that exposure to sexually objectifying music videos
primed male college students’ adversarial sexual beliefs, acceptance of interpersonal
violence, and, at a level of marginal significance, disbelief in the legitimacy of sexual
harassment.” Works in part with the general “media priming” we have today (where the
images we see in the media stimulates thought in those that absorb the media we see)

9. Whatarethetheories
associatedwith
representation?

10. Theorists/Theories
Laura Mulvey- Media positions the audience as male. When we watch music
videos we watch them as a male, so we are shown the females in a sexual
light
Antonio Gramcsi- Ideas around hegemony. Discusses the ability of the dominant
class to project its own way of seeing the world, the subordinate accept
it as ‘common sense’ and ‘natural’. Representations come from producers,
can be used to control the way audiences view the world.
Stuart Hall- Media appears to reflect reality, actually constructs it. Media
constructs what we think, rather than reflecting it
Richard Dyer- A star is an image which is constructed, rather than a real
person- constructed from advertising, magazines etc. The audience sees the
“reel” image rather than the “real” image. We are presented a constructed
image of a star which we then have opinions about, though it’s probably

11. KeyTerms

12. KeyTerms
Semiotics- the study of signs and sign systems; the social production of meaning by sign systems, how things come to have
significance and meaning
Symbol- an arbitrary sign in which the signifier has neither a direct nor an indexical relationship to the signified, but
rather represents it through conventions
Signifier- any symbol, image or word that can be read (basically anything)
There are three types of signifier:
1. Iconic- these signifiers always resemble what they signify- they're always used to signify something
2. Indexical- these signifiers act as evidence- smoke means fire, sweat is proof of effort, ambulance means someones
been hurt
3. Symbolic- these are visual signs that are arbitrarily linked to referents- crowns are now used to refer to
monarchs, they are a symbol of the monarchy
Denotation- signs signify or ‘denote’ different aspects of our experience of the world. They are the work of that part of the
sign (the signifier) which is immediately recognisable to the reader and which has a direct relationship to a real world
entity or referent. It refers to something literal, as opposed to metaphorical. The colour red for example we know as a
colour in the light spectrum, different from blue or pink
Connotation- these are the meanings interpreted from a sign which link other values to it. For example, the colour red
brings up notions of love, blood, anger, danger, stop signs, heat etc.
Polysemic- literally ‘many signed’- an image in which there are several possible meanings depending on the ways in which its
constituent signs are read
Binary oppositions- sets of opposite values said to reveal the structure of media texts. These define through their opposite
and chose a lesser and greater position. For example, man/woman; weak/strong; black/white; civilised/savage; good/evil
etc
Conventions - ‘un-written rules’ in the production of mainstream texts. Conventions are the dominant codings in any media

13. Representationinmy
musicvideo“LookThe
Part”

14. Whatdoesmymusicvideorepresent?
In regards to representation, my music video is mostly
focused around representing gender and age in conjunction
with each other, considering my music video is representing
the fears of teenage girls. It could be said it focuses more
on gender because this is stereotypically something that most
girls deal with. However, it could also be said to focus more
on age because this is an issue that teenagers deal with and
it just happens to be shown through a girl. Gender seems to
be the most prominent feature of representation.

15. Howisitrepresented?
I am representing the anxieties that come from teenagers
through the mask that my main actor wears as it demonstrates
that she wants to hide her face, as well as the idea that she
is specifically presenting a version of herself to the people
around her. The fact that this then comes off demonstrates
the idea that she learns to shrug off the problem.

16. Howdotheoriesrelatetomymusicvideo?
Laura Mulvey- it could be said that the way I present women is very typical of media since all the girls are
stereotypically pretty with long hair and makeup. Since lots of my shots of Georgina will start at her toes and
move up to her face, this could be seen to be very typical of male directors also. However, I don’t think that I
oversexualise Georgina at all, due to the very conceptual nature of my music video- we are meant to be more
focused on the emotion of the song and the message as opposed to Georgina as a brand that is trying to be sold
Antonio Gramsci- since I am presenting women, it could be said that I am going against the natural hegemony of the
world and the media as I am using the story of women and I am demonstrating my own view of the world which is not
the stereotypical masculine one. However, it could also be said that I am working very much within stereotypes
since it is stereotypically women that have these anxieties and to be truly progressive I should have focused on
men’s feelings
Stuart Hall- I very much appear to be reflecting the media’s general view that teenage girls are only focused on
themselves and their own anxieties. However, I believe that I am sharing my own opinion as a teenage girl and that
I am somewhat going against the media as I am presenting this an issue to be focused on rather than ignored and
considered the norm
Richard Dyer- Overall, it does appear that I am creating a “reel” image of my star since I am going along with
typical conventions of what to do when your star is unknown such as do a lot of close ups and consistently mention
the songs name. However, since we initially show Georgina as an anxious girl, while this could be seen as a ploy
to make her seem more relatable, it could also be seen as very sincere and therefore showing Georgina off as the
real Georgina. While some aspects of Georgina have been changed for the music video such as her look, there is a
lot of influence of her true character.

17. Whatcriticismscouldbemadeofmymusicvideo?
Men are hardly seen in my music video compared to women. I
could be seen as conforming to the stereotypes of women being
weak because of their anxiety, as well as the fact that I am
seemingly ignoring the fact that men also feel these
anxieties. However, I personally believe that my music video
instead shows a very strong female character who manages to
overcome her anxiety. We also don’t follow the stories of the
extras, so it could be said that I too show their own
anxieties as they don’t react.

18. Representationin“Take
MeToChurch”byHozier
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=PVjiKRfKpPI
Take Me To Church Video

19. TakeMeToChurch-Hozier
Representation relates to sexuality- the video revolves
around a homosexual relationship and the community being
against it- one of the men in the relationship is taken from
his home and beaten
Many ideas about what the box is meant to represent. Some
believe it is the hidden sexuality, some believe it is a more

20. TakeMeToChurch-Hozier
Filmed in Cork in Ireland (ironically- see Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_Republic_of_
Ireland#Law_regarding_same-sex_sexual_activity)
Hozier stated, "The song was always about humanity at its most natural, and how that is undermined ceaselessly by religious organisations
and those who would have us believe they act in its interests. What has been seen growing in Russia is no less than nightmarish. I proposed
bringing these themes into the story and Brendan liked the idea."
“According to an interview with The Cut, the song is also about homophobia in general and state oppression of homosexuals
in Russia.”

21. TakeMeToChurch-Hozier
Images of the men’s love are put between the violent attack
on one of the men’s houses as a juxtaposition between love
and hate and a further demonstration that the video is about
the ridiculousness of the attacks on them being in love.
“I’m not condemning the church or religion on the whole, just that one policy [the anti-same sex marriage policy], which
seems so wrong to me. And obviously I’m not alone in thinking that.”
“If you feel offended or disgusted by the image of two people kissing, if that’s what it is, but you’re more disgusted by that
than the actual violence…I think you should take a look at your values, maybe.”