Intro to Media Theory

11-9-23

Stranger Things

L/O: To analyse using the theoretical framework to critically apply the theoretical framework to texts 

Media Language - Mise-en-scene, colour Paulette, setting, camerawork, 

Media Representations - Diversity in characters, subversion and reinforcements of stereotypes towards different racial or gender groups, portrayal of different events

Media Industries - Distributers, producers, publishers, diversification

Media audiences - Age range, gender, target audience, social class

Contexts - Time in which it was made, social norms at a set time, 

Media Language

Opening wide shot down narrow corridor to pov of unwon beast from the top down, creates horror

Clothing is fitting with social context

Camera changes depending on tension of scene, romantic scenes feature more closeups on characters with high-key lighting

Iconic 80s music

Representation

Different racial representation, representation of the bullied or social outcasts 

Represents the lazy and alcoholic nature of American police who are unszporrtive and judgemental 

Audience

Younger characters, teenage audience

Don't identify with the patriarchal rule of the police

Industry

Big name actors, has high money backing 

High production values

Political and social contexts

Clothing fits the 80s

Lower quality tech reflecting the time

Social judgment on LGBTQ+, people less likely to help if people are homosexual 

12-9-23

Bricolage - construction or creation from a diverse range of available things.

Self reflexivity - we as researchers “critically interrogate ourselves and one another regarding the ways in which research efforts are shaped and staged around the binaries, contradictions, and paradoxes that form our own lives

Lack of verisimilitude - Lack of grounded reality and truth in literature

Baudrillard

Argued modern societies were organised in production of goods, postmodern society is organised around simulation

 Previous social distinction like gender and race dissolve in a world of simulation in which individuals construct their identities

 Places like Disneyland are hyperreal

Realities shown are false and hyperreal. Having an unrealistic narrative of government testing with sci-fi whilst other sides had a normal school setting

 Stranger Things is postmodern, it has a loss of reality and lack of verisimilitude 

Stranger things shows hyperreal elements in how it stereotypes characters and shows certain characters, 

Stranger Things is an example of a post modern text. Stranger Things utilises elements such as Simulacra in how it  artificially creates a depiction of an 80s town which has realistic elements. The school is realistic having students who are outcasts, whilst others are bullies or popular. The series also utilises Hyperreal elements in how it depicts the government. The government is shown to have some form of shadow organisation conduction unknown experiments on people which mess with the supernatural, allowing for a Sci-fi depiction which has a lack of verisimilitude and loss of reality. The props used as well such as bikes also represents people in the 80s as being wealthier.   

18-9-23

Media Theory: music as protest Hip Hop and beyond

Represented as wealthy yet unrefined, have expensive chains but casual coats and hats

Somewhat serious in how they all look threatening, stern, represented as street thugs.

Sam Cooke - A change is gonna come

Asks for a change in society, primarily based on the civil rights movement bur can be applicable to other changes needed in life or that have happened.  

Rose T -1994 - claims powerful songs are often contradictory e.g rap music wants change for injustice towards black men but retains a sexist attitude towards black women. 

Protests in hip-hop

NWA - Express yourself

Protest against the idea that if you be yourself in Hip Hop you will lose your voice, being taken off the radio

Talks about how you can't be yourself rather people sell out being "what society wants them to be"

Themes of making it in society from humble begins, negative opinions on police, boasts about sex

Stormzy

 Brought Grime to mainstream

Allowed people too express themselves through the genre

Songs respecting women for their skills rather than looks, empowering 

Some songs remove the issue of the Rose T issue in how the song is about the praise needed to women and women in the demographic the song aims to raise up.   

Modern social injustice in music

SIM - Fathers

Critiques modern parenthood and male loneliness and the lack of a good role model to young men

Entices change in how 'Oh, everything changes when you have a son' showing its not all black and white with opinions and the importance of parenthood

'That was me before you came to me' shows the ability to change from a selfish person to someone better.  

Media HW 

 Piece of media - Drive

The content is hyperreal in nature, the story is exaggerated in how it has 1 man working 3 jobs in a city all related to cars whilst he is absurdly calculating and good at fighting. The main character is exaggerated, he is shown off as calm and collected yet is able to stamp someone's head to pieces, a form of simulacra which is meant to display the strength of some criminals or gang members. The film further becomes representation of being a simulation of a false reality that is more real than the true reality in its string of coincidences, the mc works for a guy who used to work with a man now involved in heavy crime who is friends with one of the main gang leaders in the city, whilst the mcs friend he meets is married to someone who owes those people money, causing fate to unfold in a way which leaves the film to become dumb fun. The representations of the gangs are representations of a representation as stated in it being hyperreal, creating stereotypical thugs who hold absurd amounts of power. 

Media Theory - Rupaul and identity                                                                                          19-9-23

Identity is the personality and recognisable features of something 

A persons identity is made up by their looks, style, clothes, personality, sense of humour and interests

Theory by Gauntlett - In modern day identities in terms of gender and sexuality are much less fixed than they were in the past, the media uses a wide range of different contradictory messages about identity, allowing audiences to think about their own identities 

Theory by Butler - Gender is created in response to performance of gender roles, learning how to preform these roles making them natural and normal, causes gender trouble for those who don't fit the heterosexual norms 

1) In RuPaul's drag race the elements of identity presented reflect heavily on gender with men typically dressing and acting in a way which is stereotypically more feminine. The drag queens talk in a third person about their drag identity almost if its a separate person but still talks to them as if they are women e.g Angeria is still spoken to with 'hey girl' even without drag.

2)The displays of identity are shown as open in how they refer to the drag queens with feminine pronouns but also has the issue of being stereotypical f how people think a women may act in her dancing or provocative clothing. 

3)The gender elements are exaggerated for women with the drag queens being provocative in their actions and having sensual clothing in order to show off their body.

4)Ru Paul is dressed as a smart gentleman and juxtaposes this by also dressing in full drag and as it is accepted without any question in the show the gender appears as fluid and open. 

Gauntlett - The genders in RuPaul are less fixed, although the drag queens can be seen as men even when out of drag RuPaul refers to them as being feminine and a woman, using female pronouns to refer to the drag queens. However they only present themselves as properly feminine when exaggerating female stereotypes such as dresses or clothing with long haired wigs 

Butler - The performance of gender roles is shown as still having feminine and masculine traits even  if it is imposed on the opposite gender, the drag queens are stereotypically exaggerated female with their clothing and actions

25-9-23

Media language:

behind shot, low-key lighting with warm lights, makes the scene more sensual, low angle shows power to the men 

Shot does not show head rather the body of the woman, mise-en-scene she is is an exotic revealing costume, dehumanises her to feel more sexual

Media Theory - Gender and Bond

Man With the Golden Gun - Media Language: 

Close ups on the Bellydancer, low angle shots making her seeminferior

Close ups on the mens faces making them out as somewhat disappointed

wide shots of both characters speaking

Close ups on the sensual moments 

Rough handheld constant wide shot of characters fighting 

Women are objectified, exotic and revealing clothing, have her talk about former men and how fast she moves on, adding in sensual music making her seem like a tool for pleasure rather than a person.

Van Zoonens views that women in media will be represented as objects is clearly displayed in Bond. It is clear in how the woman only has her face shown rarely and is mainly used as a revealing character with a nice physique who dances for a mans pleasure, objectifying her into less of a character and more of a prop for the mens gaze.  

In the text of James Bond the Golden Gun women are represented in a manner which can be seen as objectifying and dehumanising with no power outside of a man. The women are infatuated with Bond easily and also only seem to be able to offer him their bodies, for example in a scene where bond is hiding one girl he is having sensual relations with another appears with information, yet she still offers herself to him in an attempt to make out with him as payment. This objectification of her and the fact the only power she holds comes from a man (her boyfriend) is belittling and follows both Van Zoonen and Smelik theories of objectification and guilt. The examples of this in the scene are visible in the camera shots, using close ups on her face as she misses his mouth to kiss due to. alack off double ended affection, another example being the mise-en-scene of the characters outfits, Bond gets to wear a nice suit or shirt whilst the women are in skimpy clothes e.g a bikini or frilly dress in order to make them revealing. This reinforces poor tropes seen in the historical contexts of the 1970s which saw women as lesser than men, still deeming them as in need of a man, portraying the men as all powerful.  The theory suggests that women are objectified in media for the male gaze, this becomes clear as characters such as the bellydancer are shown only for their body, having their face barely being shown and rather the camera focusing primarily on her body, only showing her face when there is a man in the scene.  

In other scenes of the text such as the bellydancer scene, the objectification of women is much more clear and visible with camera shots which barely even show the women's face.  

HW

Text - Barbie

The text of Barbie has clear examples of Gauntlet, the film contains a multitude of a strong female cast whilst having both a strong and weak area of a male cast of characters, this in tune allows the roles of gender to be more fluid and vague, with traditional stereotypes such as men being the all powerful being gone.  Characters like Alan help show a less conventional man whilst Barbie shows a strong and independent women, something normal in modern society, reflecting the less fixed nature. In another aspect the fact the Kens all dance and sing makes them seem more feminine due to traditional stereotypes, but it helps make these gender identities fluid as there is a contradictory depiction on identity in gender. 

Butler is also seen in how there is still gender norms presented when the patriarchy is reinstated into society, having the men be strong whilst controlling the nation whilst the women are demoted to customer service and objects of desire who work not for themselves but for others. This stereotypical portrayal although broken later does include a stereotypical performance of gender roles.  

26-9-23

Gender and Bond Beyond 

Bell Hooks 

- Feminism challenges patriarchy and sexist representations, with arguments for an intersectional approach considering how identities such as race, class, sexuality contribute to oppression alongside gender

-Argues Media representations reflect oppressive ideologies and create a 'white supremacist capitalist patriarchy,' whose ideologies dominate media representations  

Stereotypes present - Bond is shown off as somewhat strong/independent, leading the women around, reinforcing ideas of men being leaders. This is further developed with the shot of her on the bed whilst he is changed into a nice suit, making him wear a stereotypically masculine outfit whilst she wears a more feminine dress. 

Bond is represented as cool and strong with the fact he is leading them around and then leaves upon the roof of the set saying it will only take a minute. On the other hand the girl is weak and needs to rely on bond, representing her as nothing without him, clear in how she is sad when he leaves rather than getting onto the bed. 

The performance of gender continues to follow old stereotypes, having Bond being dedicated to work with a well dressed costume of a suit, whilst he also has a leadership like body language. In comparison the female performance makes women seem reliant on men with much less cares and submission, listening to what the man has to say whilst wanting romance rather than work. 

Bond and Widow

The scene of Bond and Widow is stereotypical for the genders, Bond is shown as strong and able to protect her, with her only being seemingly useful due to her dead husband.

Gender performance in media reflects the contextual factors of the scene it occurs in. This is clearly demonstrated in Bond, scenes with the Widow and Bond show off different performances of gender reflecting stereotypes that fit  into the scenes. Following Van Zoonen ideas women are still objectified, with the widow starting off as a normal person but ending up in sexual, revealing clothing such as thigh highs and garters with a sensual top on. This creates her character to be preforming the gender roles of women being more focused on sex and relationships seen in stereotypes, whilst we see Bond being in a suit and tie with an outfit befitting of a working gentlemen. demonstrating the performance of the roles in a sexual situation as the male being the dominant one who wants to get it done with whilst the woman submits with the desire for more after, staying in the clothes which objectify her in order to try and get more. In another sense this also reflects in how the women is only spoken to in the first place due to her dead husband and her new need to rely on someone strong to protect her.  

HW

Text - Nier Automata 

The game of Nier Automata (NA) has easily applicable areas for the theories under Van Zoonen and Butler. As Van Zoonen states in how women are sexually objectified due to social and cultural contexts, NA has clear implications of sexualisations on members of its female cast in their clothing and overall design. The main character of NA, 2B, is presented as strong and powerful, being typically more masculine in her personality, following Butler and his ideas that gender is just a performance, therefore it is fluid. This however is contradicted in her clothing, she is a fighter yet her outfit is a 'battle dress' with a chest window and half the moves in the game reveal her barely clothed ass, leaving sexual objectification to be visible to the viewer. This objectification becomes worse when you remember a plot point that is all the characters are androids, therefore they had the option to make the androids lack gender, and although they lack genitalia for reproduction they still possess typical gender features which allow the characters to be objectified. In a further example another side character who becomes a main character later on lacks clothing to begin with, she rathe has the skin coloured paint scraped off any area of her chest, crotch and back legs with some on her body and face,, making her be objectified in an even more obvious way. This is shameful when  you consider the medias absurdly good and mentally enthralling emotional ride of a story which has been dismissed by many due to he misconception the game is a sexual cash grab due to h visual gender exploitation of its female cast. It makes even less sense when you consider how the roles of typical masculine and feminine personality and character traits are reversed between 2B and the other main character 9S, with her breaking gender roles by being taller than him, physically stronger, and is the main fighter of the 2. This even goes in with their gameplay as 2B is a damage dealing beast who is an executioner/battle unit whilst 9S is a scout, both these roles are untypical in terms of stereotypes for these genders, even having 2B princess carry 9S in the promotional artwork. 

Media Theory - Race                                                                                                            2-10-23

Do Now

Marvel Production

Characters look powerful and strong yet have somewhat tribal elements in design, having cultural representation outfits, hairstyle and weapons

The Bald heads, armour and colour of dark red with leather and animal hide on their outfits. This paired with the basic spears presents a native style to the characters. 

Key representations

• African culture of varied tribes
• Variety of tribal African costumes, beads and piercings with scarring on select people as well as body paint 
• Traditional spears 
• Ceremonious tradition of the culture
• close knit society
• Royal structure
• Traditional music
• Positive representation of women 

• Spears being primitive
• Violent
• Does not present modern Africa
• Reinforces old stereotypes about primitive nature 
• Accents are inaccurate
• Represents a whole continent as a country    

3-10-23

Hall Representation theory 

• Through stereotyping and ideology those in power try to fix meaning to have only one true meaning. 
• Meaning created by a representation but also the absence and presence of different things which create representation
• Representation is about the many meanings generated rather than one true meaning
• A representation wants the audience to create meaning. 

Civil War poster - displays to opposing sides like under Strauss, red vs blue, right vs left. Have one side on the left and based on opinions on the characters this may be viewable as  either the good or bad side, these are the oppositions of red and blue or the east and west placements. 

Characters representations vary with no clear villain, rather leaving it to the view to decide who is wrong, similar to Hall's theory. Could be interpreted as liberal vs conservative due to colours, or right vs wrong with 2 powerful foes facing off against each other.  Captain America standing for the old fashioned, respected patriot hero, in comparison with the more modern take on Iron man with technology and such. 

Alvarado 

Theorised ethnic minorities were stereotypically represented in 1 of 4 ways: 

1) Pitied - vulnerable and in need of sympathy

2) Dangerous - aggressive or violent, needing to be feared

3)Exotic - culturally unusual, being strange or exciting

4)Humorous - Funny/ comedic to be laughed at or with

Examples include things like the roles played by actors like Kevin Hart in which he is often seen as being stupid, so pitied, and funny/comedic in character. Arguably in Black panther as well the people are present as somewhat exotic with their tribal ceremonies and outfits. This continues with characters from the middle east often being shown as forms of terror/criminal, the same way most gangsters in films are from a minority. Pity also is clear in adverts for charity, representing continents like Africa as vulnerable and in need of help. 

HW

Star Wars - Blue/red, good/bad

In the franchise of SW a characters ideals and faction can usually be made obvious via the colour of their weaponry, with characters such as Luke or Obi Wan Kenobi having green and blue lightsaber's as their primary weapon, juxtaposed by the use of a crimson red on the oppositions lightsaber's. This creates a clear an definitive branch in which it is visible to what side a person is on, blue being the good and right way with red being the villainous side, we even see characters switch from one to another on occasion e.g. Vader. This is further useful when you consider the themes of red vs blue in the general colour schemes of the characters, and is a clear display of Levi's binary opposition theory. 

9-10-23

Army, soldiers fighting on the frontlines, relation to war, War veteran

Ideologies

APOCALYPSE NOW -

- repeated fire and explosions showing them in his mental state as well as physically 

PTSD - war remained inside his head

Drug, alcohol abuse, loss of marriage

Vulnerable person - violent and mentally in 2 worlds due to the war

Dominated reading - war is bad

Negotiated reading - War is bad yet for some people it is needed

Oppositional reading - war is necessary and a good thing for society 

Fish Tank -

-Lower social-economic group 

Mother is stereotypical, smoking, clothing, lots of boyfriends 

British teen - aggressive, casual sportswear,  

Negative view 

Dahmer 

- Police took Dahmer's word due to him being a white male, rather than his black female neighbour due to her gender and race, even though she frequently called the police about him. 

In media texts such as Apocalypse Now ideologies are present in the contents of the film and the ways in which the characters act. The character is presented a shaving PTSD from the war with a constant fire and helicopter sound in his mind, yet he still yearns to return to it even though he has become addicted to substances, with him even losing his marriage. His life has become miserable, always wanting to be somewhere else even when he reaches that somewhere, creating a dominant reading of war in any kind being a negative part of the world, with no good coming from it as even if you survive the fight you have lost a part of yourself in that battle whether it be physically, mentally or both . This makes Hall's ideas on the reading become clear, with hints of Todorov's narrative in the equilibrium of waiting for another mission and the disruption in the form of the war. The film is historic to the war in Vietnam, with the lacklustre views on war being bad alongside a lack of understanding on the mental issues brought back by soldiers due to the fight on the front lines, with the film aiming to promote a negative message about war.   

10-10-23         Media Theory - Masculinity

Stereotypical idea of men being muscled, strong and powerful

Shows him off as looking good and it is due to him drinking the milk 'for men'

Idea of a real man being masculine and capable 

Implies you will gain his physique when drinking the Maxi-milk 

pressure onto audience of being  certain type of man 

Crisis of Masculinity - 1960s men couldn't live up to the media portrayal of them as women and LGBTQ were becoming much more relevant and powerful in society, changing the ideas of masculinity from the ideas of being dominant and ruling.

In old adverts masculinity was presented as controlling the wife, with anything they do being ok as long as it was dominant towards the woman, e.g the advert of the man hitting his wife for not buying the right coffee is played off as a gag but was a real issue which was known to happen. Further implies that men had to be businessmen who wore fancy clothes and worked hard needing food made for them when they went home by their 'weak' and 'submissive' wife. The idea of men was that they ruled being strong and the breadwinner. 

Diet Coke AD -

- Man on construction site, strong, physically intensive job

-Somewhat lazy, on break to drink diet coke

- Not mentally challenging him

-Women in office jobs looking down on him, making him look inferior with the shot used

-Objectification of man for female pleasure  

Masculinity in the diet coke advert is presented in a subverted manner compared to previous years, with the man being looked down upon by women in higher class jobs, suggesting male inferiority and failure of intelligence. The mans job as a builder although physically taxing does not require the intellectual thought of an office job, with the women who work in the office looking down on him out of their own enjoyment s he is shirtless  drinking diet coke. This in turn somewhat objectifies the man, in a similar way to how women have and are objectified for the male gaze this mans sole use to these women isn't even his work but rather the way he looks on his break, and the idea that diet coke will get you this mans physique which means ladies will want you although present is far less prevalent than the implications of the man being inferior. Under Barthes view on semiology we can see the clear ideological myths being displayed in the normative views on that heterosexual relationship, with other implications such as the construction hat reinforcing the ideas and suggestions of builders all being strong men, a myth created from the denotation of the hat and the connotations of it being a man rather than a woman, further with ideas of strength of a masculine man.

Trophies- men rule and win

Shirtless with athletic, built body with a cut jaw, showing off idea s of man being strong

Tattoos - 'manly thing' 

Plain, grey and black colours, makes the man stand out and the colours seem colder, almost insinuating mens personalities being the same 

Women in the background staring at him like angels in the fragrance, seeping out the bottle which covers his lower area 

Barthes Myth that if you smell good you will pull women, or that men want to smell nice purely to appeal to the opposite sex

Further representations are that men should have shorter hair with facial hair to show masculinity 

Include more examples from text

 

HW

Suit - masculine 

He seems unbothered whilst she wraps herself around him - is meant to show a form of male dominance and strength, as if this is to be expected

Myth of the idea that using this fragrance will have you covered by the opposite gender. 

Heteronormative 

Assessment                                                                                                            30/10/23

L/O: To demonstrate knowledge of media theories, to apply media theory to text, to critically explore a text using media theory 

• Dark lighting, distant long wide shots of characters, illuminated bike lights
• Intros with a scifi sounding electronic bgm
• Overhead and close ups on kid who falls off bike
• Tracking camera, somewhat shaky at times to build rough atmosphere
• Close ups on frantic movement driven by fear with emphasis on the loud noise in a deafening silence of night 
• Doesn't show death scene, rather the light fading 
• Panning shots around house
• Man shown in wide mid shot, shirtless yet smoking - masculine 
• Back and forth between parents 
• Kids mocking others for entertainment, height difference shows dominance 
• Male dominance, framed as higher than her in shots, stereotypical representation for the historical context 
• Police not doing their job, somewhat mocking the victim
• Back and forth shots between mother and police
• Pov and wide shots of the people in hazmat suits, creates a claustrophobic atmosphere 
• Almost gender fluid girl with no visual stereotypical features 

Answer

In TV dramas representations vary in how they are represented whether it be in race, gender, sexuality or even masculinity/femininity. This in turn invokes not only different responses from the audience due to the representations but also in how a dramas audience may differently interpret these representations, causing a variety of responses towards a certain representation. In the long form TV drama, Stranger Things, a theoretically realistic portrayal of 1980's America is displayed, with the gender and sexuality views of the time still being rather present in order to keep up an aspect of realism in the world. This, therefore leads to some representations being vastly varied due to the shows modern outlook on these views, with an attempt to appeal to an audience who wants to see a representation which is both accurate and not demeaning. 

An example of how an audience may look at some representations of the show is in how ST(Stranger Things) depicts its gender identity in both the male and female characters. Due to the historical and debatably political views on gender of the time we see a depiction of men being further dominant and in control, holding connotations of the 'typical American man' in the denoted form of the Police Sheriff. We see the Police Sheriff at first sleeping on the couch, looking rough, proceeding to get up into a wide shot of him outlooking a scenic Lakeview whilst smoking a cigarette shirtless in unbuttoned jeans. This depiction is somewhat conventional when viewed at in the context of Butler's theory on identity in media, in how gender is depicted in a way such that the way it exists on a screen holds influence over the peoples view on gender and its societal norms. Not to mention the sheriff has a stereotypical rather masculine appearance with stubble and short hair, a representation of his gender which only goes further to demonstrate he is masculine and a 'man.' With this we understand what the representation is but we must go further to view it from an audience perspective, to some this representation of masculinity would seem unnoticeable, they would believe it to be the norma and the way he talks over women and is somewhat demeaning in nature is just natural as 'thats what men do.' Whilst on the other hand another part of the audience may view it in a different light, as a demeaning depiction which both insults men and women due to its sheer stereotypical nature and almost arrogance in assuming everything was that way 1980's America. This therefore demonstrates two example responses, leaving out the mass amount of other ways an audience might see this gender representation, with both being somewhat ironic as the viewers ideas on this being a stereotypical representation is more than likely due to how the public is influenced by long form TV into thinking actions in that are normal, therefore these representations either fit or don't fit what these other shows have done, causing both negative an positive response.  

Yet still on the topic of gender a select few characters have that 'modern political' feeling, An example of this from ST would be the girl in the hospital outfit who steals food. Her gender is rather fluid in terms of her screentime, with no features that are typically used to invoke a clear response from the audience about a characters gender. The girl although stated as a girl has very short hair, is rugged, bare foot, and even mistaken for a boy by the chef, almost presenting her as a girl who is at this moment on screen is rather stereotypically masculine, giving the audience a different representation which varies from the previous which will 0once again invoke different responses in either  disagreement or prejudice. 

In an attempt to further push the point of the representation and in this context the audiences response to gender identity or just gender representation it is good to compare it to another long form TV show Briefly. For this a modern example like 'The Boys' suffices for the main antagonist Homelander is a comically stereotypical representation of male power and male dominance, and although he shares little similarity with the Sheriff from ST they both share a common set of themes in their gender roles and the representations of them, being a rough strong man who dismisses others due to views on they themselves being the greater. This then links to the audience who see both these representations and can unconsciously draw a response of 'oh this is masculine American Character,' further proving audience responses are caused by the way they have previously perceived long form TV Dramas. 

Overall the way a TV drama uses a varied set of representations in gender, sexuality, race and characters helps build the world and story, but leaves an almost artificial feeling in the world which can invoke both positive na negative response from an audience due to their political or personal views on things such as sexuality. This leads it to be surmised as representations being varied as a good thing but they do also in turn create a simulacra of peoples views on how certain things are in the real world compared to shows. The varied representations are used to appeal to a greater audience yet in turn may annoy another group.  

6-11-23

T: You should try to expand your references to theory and how these theories can be seen through the examples you use or how they can be contradicted. Giving specific examples of representations and how these can be viewed will direct your answer even more. 5+10

DIRT

  Within the media text of Stranger Things there is a  clear variation in the representation on views of sexuality within people, with modern ideas being pushed into this 80s world. Within Stranger Things we see Will, a young boy go missing, we see the views of his mother and the Police officers vary on him due to the possibility of him being a homosexual. On a medium close up shot we see the Police officer ask "well is he?' to Will's mother saying he used to be called a derogatory slur towards the homosexual community, almost implying that the importance of looking for him matters because of the boys sexuality. This view held by the police is by modern standards wrong but shows a clear homophobia present in both the time of the setting and even still somewhat today, with the mother countering with the ideas of "does it even matter" as that should't detract from a person, giving a somewhat positive view on homosexuality. In another manner the representation vary is in 11 who appears as genderless to begin with or 'noon-binary' having people call them either, a boy or a girl without them correcting them. This shows a modern representation on sexuality with how she is presented, and it contrasts to the representation of Will in which to some people the gender he prefers dictates his importance, also being visible in how his school friends have no care for it as a persons personality is not made up of which gender they have an attraction to. These representations follow the theories of Braudurillard and how hyperreality, in this case homosexuality in the 80s, is depicted within varying manners in TV shows, as homosexuality is somewhat acceptable in the show by some when in truth it would of most likely been denied by all based on setting and timeframe of the series. This leads to the representation on views and sexuality in the show being somewhat historically accurate to contexts in which it was barely accepted if at all, whilst on the other hand parts of the show present it in a false manner in order to gain audience appeal in a way which detracts from the realism of the storytelling in the long form TV drama due to the representations being modernised.  

 

Levi Strauss in Stranger Things

Binary oppositions clear in how the characters are depicted almost in a men vs women argument constantly where people like Will's mum or the police assistant arre going against the main chief of the police with him demeaning them an thinking somewhat lesser of their opinion due to gender.