Representation, Soap Character

As part of studying Representation we were asked to complete a character description about a soap character using Mise En Scene. I have chosen to describe Zac Dingle from the itv1 soap Emmerdale and Jack Branning from Eastenders. I think they are good examples because they both follow there strict stereotypical role.

Zak Dingle the tradition country farm owner, his strong yorkshire accent and way of dress makes it clear to spot his occupation almost immediately. For instance his dress, he wears very traditional farm clothes, tweeds, browns and earthy colours, his flat cap represents his yorkshire heritage. His flat cap is most probably the best form of representation on Zak, this is a old stereotype of Northerners especially the males of Yorkshire.

I have also chosen Jack Branning because I think that he is the typical east-end hard man, dressed in his sharp suit and with his manly stance he gives off all the wrong signals. As the east-end are traditionally more aggressive and 'violent' Jack's character is all of the above, he is dressed as the businessman (looking like he has money) this contrasting to Zak above who looks like he hasn't got any money to spare. His sly smirk makes him look seedy and unkind almost polar opposites to Zak's welcoming yet cuddly face.

I chose these 2 characters just as a short comparison to the ways in which people are represented in like of there place of living and occupation.

7 Key Areas of Representation.

Representation Key Areas.
-Gender
-Age
-Ethnicity
-Sexuality
-Class and Status
-Physical ability and Disabilities
-Regional Identity

Representation, Tessa Perkins and Festinger.

Representation.


In one of our lesseons we were discussing and analysing the different effects of Representationa and Stereotyping. We were also looking at the thories of Tessa Perkins and Festinger.


 Stereotypes overlook individual qualitites and create an easy option for people to catorgorise a certain person and place into a certain social group. This makes it easier for people to place people it a category and judge from there instead of getting to no the person.  The method is commonly used throughout the media, for instance in the form of a advertising commercial and film. This helps people get an instant insight into the characters without having to watch hours of footage of them. E.G. if within the first minute of  movie there was a group of 'chavs' all huddled together in the middle of a park your mind instantly thinks there maybe illegal substances involved such as drugs. This method advertisement is especially important because there very short, so therefore there is not enough time for an character to be fully established. If there is a stereotypical figure involved the onlooker makes an immediate presumption and continues to focus on the rest of the advert. 


After discussing as a class the general term 'Stereotype' we moved on to discuss Tessa Perkins views and opinions on the matter. Tessa believes that not all stereotypes are bad and can be looked at as a positive thing. For example ' The french are all good cook's' 'Black people are all successful athletes' as a french/black person this is a compliment, when we no that this isn't actually true.  Opposing to this stereotypes are sometimes negative. Like the media in the 21st century generally class the youths of today as a stereotypical group of people that like to cause damage and create noise. I no as a youthful figure in the community that this is not necessarily true. This gives all youths a bad name and can deprive them of many opportunities.
 On the other hand Tessa believes there is reality within a stereotype for instance ' lollipop ladies always wear a florescent  coat' we no that this is correct. 


After this we went on to talk about:

The theory of cognitive dissonance 

Argued that we resist adjusting our attitude unless faced with overwhelming evidence against it. Believed that we seek out confirmation of our thoughts/beliefs. this links with PLURALISM ='audience theory'. 

Basically saying that unless we are given hard evidence about a theory we don't believe in we will never begin to think its true.

After this task i went away and thought how i could apply the use of Representation to my work. I think that stereotypes are a great way of quickly giving an insight into somebody life/personality. I would use and recommend the uses of stereotypes when creating an advertising campaign so its easier for the reader/onlooker at first glance to fully understand what is happening.


:)