Representation Theories

LEVI STRAUSS - BINARY OPPOSITES

1. Levi Strauss said that in the media there are binary opposites, for example: good and evil. 
2. It is our understanding of these binary opposites that helps us to understand a narrative before it has begun.
3. Having binary opposites enables a climax in the narrative.
4. It is a conventional narrative and enables equilibrium, it also links with our ideological values.
5. However, some media products challenge the stereotypes of binary opposites: by blurring the lines between good and evil (for example, anti-heroes such as Batman, James Bond or Deadpool.) 

LAURA MULVEY - MALE GAZE

1. Laura Mulvey's theory on feminism in the media includes 'The Male Gaze', meaning men look at women for their own pleasure, otherwise known as 'voyeurism'. 
2. Three things are included in the theory: how men look at women, how women look at themselves, and how women look at other women. 
3. The male gaze includes: emphasizing the curves on a female body, referring to women as objects, female characters with no discernible meaning in the plot - purely there for male gratification.
4. It also shows how women view media through a male gaze.

JOHN BERGER - WAY OF SEEING

1. Berger states that 'men act, women appear' - men look at women and women watch themselves being looked at. 
2. The "ideal" spectator is always presumed to be male.

RICHARD DYER - REPRESENTATION

1. The representation theory states that everything has representation behind it, and media represents itself to a society and audience in terms of ideology.
2. Everybody can interpret a given representation in a different way.
3. These representation are often shown through the mise en scene and the narrative.
4. "How we are seen determines how we are treated, how we treat others is based on how we see them. How we see them comes from representation."