How and Why is Representation Complicated?

Representation in the media can be complicated in many different ways. The audience is key when it comes to the representation of a certain social group within any type of media. There are a lot of different views around regarding audience and the significance of it. Many people believe that the audience is paramount to the success of certain media, as producers will target a specific type of audience that they feel would take most interest. Many people feel the opposite; that there is no such thing as an "audience" or that the audience is a set of individuals who actively make their own meaning about a text. What ever the belief, the audience is vital as they are the people who take interest in media, allowing it to sell and become popular. They are the best judges of whether something is good or bad.

The audience links strongly to complication of the representation of certain things within certain media. The audiences perception of an opinion or view portrayed in a certain piece of media is crucial. For example, a film could portray a typical view of today's youth; showing them drinking, doing drugs, and just generally causing or getting into trouble. This view is what the majority of people believe through either witnessing it themselves in different ways or just seeing a lot of media texts portraying the same view. As this is the standard hegemony, people will be able to understand and 'read' the media better than they otherwise would if the view being portrayed went against the hegemony. The audience will agree with the standard view and be more receptive to the media if it's something they or the majority believe in. They will also be more comfortable with the view that is being portrayed. Some youths may take slight offence to this view which is being portrayed through all different kinds of media, as they might not do the things that a member of today's youth is perceived to do. The media can also cause confusion if the majority of the audiences view is different to that of the one that is being portrayed, and it goes against the hegemony. The audience will stuggle to connect to the media if what it is portraying is perceived to be wrong by the majority. For example, if a nerd was portrayed to have lots of friends and be good at sports in a film or TV programme, then people wouldn't be able to connect with the piece. It would be perceived as wrong and would be open to criticism.