Definition of representation in Media

Media can be described as a representation of real life. You can represent something or someone in a positive or negative way. This can have great effect on viewers at home. The producers are essentially giving a representation of reality. Whether we belive this as a true representation is up to every audience individual however some are obviously false representations like space dramas and cartoons. Stereotypes are a great example of how the media represents something or someone in thw wrong way. In the TV drama Skins the teenagers featured in the series are generally portrayed as drug taking rebels. This can be an accurate representation but only for some teenagers therefore it is a steroetype. It is also hard to find good representation in glossy magazines. These generally include the negative side of representation and are filled with bad aspects of reality. The representation put across is genereally created by the producer. As producer you have to be careful of stereotyping things like age, gender and race.