Tuesday 18 April 2023

How are social groups in this product represented through the selection and combination of media language? Make reference to the front page of the daily Mirror you have studied and the front page of the sun you have been provided with




Underline the key terms


How are social groups in this product represented through the selection and combination of media language? Make reference to the front page of the daily Mirror you have studied and the front page of the sun you have been provided with


Knee jerk reaction


A stereotypical representation of working class identity is used to appeal to a working class audience


Plan


Binary oppositions (Claud Levi-Strauss)

Lexis

Stuart Hall

David Gauntlett - identity/pick and mix

Serif/sans serif

Layout

Stereotypes 

(Curran and Seaton)

Caption

Anchorage

Liesbet Van Zoonen 

(Cultivation)

White working class

Postcolonialism 

Tabloid

Ideology

Masthead

Price

Intertextuality

Gender performativity

Z line rule 

Hegemony

Sexualisation 

Codes

By-line

Mode of address

Lexis 

MES

Main image 

Target audience

Conservative

Labour 





Introduction


DAC - definition, argument, context


Representation refers to the re-presentation of a social group, an issue or an event. Representations always reflect the ideology of the producer, and are an essential way that the producer can anchor the ideology of the audience. The cultivation of these values can reinforce hegemonic norms, and allow the producers of newspapers to maximise profit by targeting and manipulating a specific audience. In this essay, I shall argue the producers of tabloid newspapers use stereotypical representations to appeal to working class audiences, and in doing so, further cultivate stereotypes. This can lead to inequalities in society. In order to explore this idea I shall be referring to The Daily Mirror published by Reach PLC, a left leaning UK tabloid, and The Sun a right wing British tabloid. 


Paragraphs


PEA - Point, evidence, argument 


  • The large san serif font used for the headlines and subheadings constructs a stereotypical and straightforward mode of address. This constructs the target audience as being uneducated and unable to grasp complex ideas. 
  • An explicit reference to gambling is made in both stories about the Grand National and Teresa May’s political problems, which reinforce the stereotypical ideology that working class people are obsessed with and fixated on gambling.
  • The lexis of ‘Crimbo’ is explicitly and stereotypical working class, which again reinforces the status of the target audience. In doing so, this others the target audience, and constructs working class people as a subordinate and undesirable people who can only communicate in basic ways. 
  • The use of layout is simple and straightforward, utilising the Z line rule to create a clear and concise mode of address for the working class target audience
  • The positioning the puff piece stories on the front page of the sun reinforce expectations of gender. The story about a hegemonically attractive female pop star constructs a binary opposition with a male footballer, which reinforces traditional gender binaries. This is further reinforced through the use of lexis. The term ‘hammer’ is symbolic of masculinity and aggression, while the term ‘love’ is proairetic of affection and is stereotypically feminine. 
  • The lexis of ‘The Hundred Grand National’ reinforces the ideology that the working class are preoccupied with earning money, and fixated on acquiring money, constructing a stereotype of working class people as being materialistic. 
  • The biased selection of image used to depict may constructs her as submissive and lacking in power. The high angle reinforces this subordinate mode of address, which reinforces stereotypical assumptions about women and power (van Zoonen)
  • Lexis