The Industry - Cage of identity and representation

The cage of identity was created by the University of California, Los Angeles in 2009 and explains the “representation to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts”. This quote explains representation as being created in three different layers. Layer one being the writer of the media text, they will form their own opinion upon the subject or person and this will be subtly shown through their piece of writing, whether intentional or not. Layer two being the editor or director of the media text, although not created by these people, they have the power to change the media form by excluding information or footage which could give the media text a whole new representation for example, the photograph above shows a soldier shooting a mother and child; this chilling image creates a representation of soldiers being heartless villain’s whereas, if cut in half this photo would represent the soldier in a positive light, connoting bravery and someone patriotic. Layer three being the audience of the media text, whether written, watched or heard each member of the audience will interpret the text differently depending upon their age, gender, events or cultural beliefs, a parallel to the cultural code studied by Roland Barthes. This theory applies to all forms of media when thinking about representation. For example, having recently studied the character Kat Slater from Eastenders, the writers and costume designers would have had a certain stereotype in their mind whilst writing her lines – the actress herself and the director would then ‘edit’ this  portrayal to develop the stereotype she represents by bringing expression and body language to her lines. We then, as an audience, form our own opinion on the stereotype she represents based upon our age, personal experiences, cultural beliefs and other elements. Someone from a higher class may interpret her character as common, rude and unkempt whereas people from a lower class may interpret her as a strong female character who dresses in a way that represents her personality. Another example is the main character from our Soap Trailer, Charlotte; we chose to write her lines and dress her in these clothes to represent a modern teenage girl. Myself, as the actor tried use vocal expression and body language to represent her as the ‘troubled teenager’ stereotype she is before edited the footage to emphasise her ‘bad luck’. The audience then may bring to that character different aspects based upon their personal identity, an older viewer may interrupt this character as showing the stereotypical moody teenager who takes everyday challenges and turns them into big problems whereas, a viewer closer to Charlottes age may interrupt her as a representation of teenagers, that are ‘growing up to fast’ and would sympathise with her rather than ‘mock’ her.