Representations Essay

Select one production and evaluate in relation to representation

               

            Representations in music videos tell us about the world, but they mediate reality: they represent idea for audiences. For a representation to be meaningful there needs to be shared ideas and beliefs. In my A2 music video, I paid extreme attention to the representations of youth that I portrayed and achieved this through focusing on visual and technical codes.

            Ann Gould suggested six key stereotypes of youth representation in the media. One of these included a self-destructive stereotype and I believe that this would be of our oppositional reading. At the beginning of our music video we show a montage illustrating the relationship between our lead female and an unidentified male. An extreme close up, point of view shot, shows our character peering through a wine bottle. The image outside the bottle is distorted, this was achieved by using a field depth tool. Our preferred reading is to obtain the assumption that the bottle represents her entrapment and the distorted outside world represents the world which she wishes to be and does not belong. However, due to the stereotypes that Ann Gould suggests, our oppositional reading would be that our character is under the influence of alcohol, hence the blurred image and therefore being "self-destructive".

           Another representation that I tried to put forward was the idea of freedom and this was my preferred reading. I used an extreme close up of the wine bottle previously shown smashing against a wall. I wanted to represent the bottle smashing as our main character finally getting her freedom and escaping her trapped world. However, looking at the idea of Ann Gould's stereotypes of youth being self destructive and violent, the oppositional reading is easy to see. It would be that the youth abuse alcohol and violent.

           I also tried to represent youth by celebrating their age and culture. As our artist, the three DJs, have hidden identities and I decided to use children's masks. The colourful, animal masks represent the inner child in the youths that we are trying to represent. However, the artists have specifically been put in costumes that show legs and stomachs. Laura Mulvey would argue that this is called male gaze - the girls body's are used to be objectified and for men's display. Moreover, the camera is focused on the bodies and the faces are out of focus. However, our preferred reading was that we are simple embracing youth, celebrating it's culture and playing on the idea of hidden identity.

            The end of our music video shows a wide shot of our main character from over the shoulder on top of a building. This is then followed by a series of black and white shots which should be interrupted (preferred reading) by the audience as flashbacks. It then returns to the wide shot prior the flashbacks with the lead character missing. This leaves an enigma code, as Roland Barthes would suggest as the text is open, and it is for the audience to decide whether she has killed herself or not. The representation that was intended through this end scene was that the youth are humanised – almost like they have feelings too. However, feminists would argue that this represents female weakness (oppositional reading) due to the fact that she has possibly ended her life over male supremacy.