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