Problems of Representation

Representation

The way in which individuals or groups are depicted in politics, media, or society, often emphasizing the importance of diverse voices and perspectives.

signifying practices

are the behaviours and methods people use to create and convey meaning through shared culure, symnols, codes and conventions. Encoding of author and decoding of audience.

what does reprentation do?

connecs meaning and language to culuture

WHy is representation so essential to the exchange of meaing

because unless meaning and concepts are represented in signifiers and we share the signifiers and the meaning we cannont communicate about those meaning and concepts.

The reflective/ mimetic approach

meaning lies in the real world and can be reflected faithfully. We assume that language reflects a meaning which already exists.

The intentonal approach

The author imposes their unique meaning on the world through signs and language constructed by individual intention and interpretation.

The constructionist approach

we construct meaning using representational systems; the material world in not equivalent to the symbolic practices and processes through which we represent it, we suggest that meaning is constructed in and through languages. We. We

subject

is the entity or concept that a representation refers to, shaping the interpretation and understanding of the message conveyed through language. Can only exist within an existing framework

issues related to representation

authenticity, sterosypes reality, intention, politics, the media, context, the role of the spectator in completing media

interpretation

meanings shift and slide so inevitably the codes of a culurre imperceptibily change

audience creates meaning based on previously acquired culutral compentencies, meanig does not ensure consumption of that meaning as encoders intended.