Media Representation

Representation is how media platforms choose to portray a certain group of individuals, this category can range from gender, age groups, social class, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, religion and social issues. The way in which the media "represents" these individuals is often stereotypical and may not be 100% accurate.

When a group is presented by the media, the prosumers often takes into consideration the ideal depiction of the individual (stereotype) and "re-present" them in a new context and in a way which they think is correct and represents them best, this allows the media text to be in charge of what the audience can interpret; this does not mean that the media presents people as how they really are.

Stereotypes are best examples of how the media chooses to represent someone or something. A stereotype is never 100% accurate or true, but slightly over exaggerated in terms of context. For example, a gender stereotype made by modern-day media could be that men are the better sex, they are meant to be strong and smarter than women. Another prime example would be a cultural stereotype, that all Muslims are terrorists.