Mr Smith AS Representation – Unseen moving image

Race

Stereotyping of race is seen as more harmful than stereotyping of gender, as media

representation may constitute the only experience of contact with a particular ethnic group
that an audience (particularly an audience of children) may have. Racial stereotypes are
often based on social myth, perpetuated down the ages. Historically in the UK most racial
stereotypes have centred around Asian’s, Afro Caribbean’s and the Irish.

List as many stereotypes as you can which you associate with the following ethnic
minorities:

• Afro Caribbean
• Asian
• Irish

The above groups represent a much larger proportion of the UK population than their TV
coverage would suggest.

Attention is now being paid to the representation of other ethnic groups, notably Eastern
European, who, although a small group in terms of overall population, dominate the news
agenda in such a way which would make their presence seem potentially more damaging
or dangerous.

There is anxiety expressed in the UK about the portrayal of ethnic minorities, particularly
in soap operas.

Disability in the Media

The word "disabled" causes much debate. The 'dis' suffix is a negative one, implying
reversal, and disabled heads a list in the dictionary of many negative words - disappoint,
discard, disconsolate, discourage, disintegrate, dismay, disrepute etc. That same
dictionary defines the word "disabled" as meaning "Made ineffective, unfit or incapable".
Quite rightly, those members of the population who find themselves labelled feel tarred
with a distasteful brush. Verbal codes aside, the iconography surrounding the word
suggests a similar plight, hence the European Union symbol:

Here is someone who is not simply "in" a wheelchair (are all disabled people in
wheelchairs? I think not...), but who relies on the structure of the chair to give
them arms. It is small wonder that the word "disabled" immediately connotates
wheelchairs, and concepts such as broken, dependent, pitiable etc.

Given the semiotics of the situation, it is small wonder that media representation of the
disabled is limited and largely stereotypical. If the word "disabled" can be represented in
such a simple symbol as the one above, we are reducing a large and diverse group of
human beings to something less complicated than your average road sign. While great
strides have been made in recent decades in the representation of gender and race, there
are still many prejudices attached to the representation of disability.

In magazines, the only images of the disabled we tend to see are those in charity
advertisements, and their disability is the main focus of the representation. Often we are
encouraged to pity the person represented, or give them support in another way.
Ideologically speaking, disabled is not considered sexy, and does not sell stuff.

Mr Smith
Name…………………………………………