Directed Study Week 5 – Representations on Radio: Discourse & Power

Representations are the notion to depict something or to symbolise something and therefore be the specimen or substitute of the real thing. So, they are re-representations of reality. Media representations can never be a window on reality, they can only construct a particular idea of reality through the process of mediation.  Media can be represented in two ways; through our perception or symbolically through our ideas about the world.

Moreover, there are two systems of representations.  There are mental representations that are based on how the appearance or language can be significant.  Additionally, there are media representations, which is the representation of popular music. Popular music representations focuses on the individuality of the performers and the abstraction of the musical sound. Therefore it focuses on the reality of the music and doesn’t aim to represent. This week’s reading links heavily to the concept of representations and society. Frith and McRobbie (1990) explored the idea of rock and sexuality and explained that ‘both in it’s presentation and its use, rock has confirmed traditional definitions of what constitutes masculinity and femininity’ (Frith & McRobbie, 1990:387). This links to expectations of music performers and artists to perform a STAR persona in order to relate to wider culture groups. This is because the STAR persona is depicted through stereotypes in order to create a persona that is perceived on some level in society as an archetype. Therefore stereotypes such as the depiction of masculinity and femininity as explained by Firth and McRobbie (1990) can be construed as a result of popular music representations.

Additionally, a reading I found on Swetswise discuses the representations of popular music in the medium of music videos. Thomas Brett (2012) explored media representations in music videos and suggested that ‘post-feminism and how sexed/gendered identity is discursively produced and maintained through cultural institutions and practices’ (Brett, 2012:717). With regards to discourses, the reading helps us understand that music can be represented in many forms to promote ideologies in order to relate to wider culture. For example, music videos can be a method of discourse in order to present an ideology to the audience.

In terms of my own research, I would like to explore sexual expressions and anti-feminism in hip-hop and rap music to understand why females are depicted in certain way through that genre of music. In order to do this, I will need to look into the history and present of the genres in order to validate and find the right information for my research.

Bibliography:

Frith, S & McRobbie, A, (1990). 'Rock & Sexuality'. In: Simon Frith & Andrew Goodwin (ed), On Record: Rock, Pop & the Written Word. 1st ed. UK: Pantheon Books. pp.(371-389).

Thomas Brett (2012) Music Video and the Politics of Representation, Popular Music and Society, 35:5, 717-719