Representation: Ideology, Discourse and Power

This week’s blog post will be discussing readings that focus on representation, as the topic we covered in this weeks lecture was based on the representations that are created which can be shown through methods of ideology, discourse and power. 

The first reading is taken from the core media text book. This reading discusses the categories that people are subjected to, such as the gender and social class, this is important in relation to power. It explains how the media has become the focus point on this; due to this a new methodology of analysing texts has been formed. Discourse can be confused with the methodology of ideology as it focuses on the outcomes of what people do and say, however this reading informs us that discourse analyses deeper than ideology and focus away from the idea of “model of power”. (Long, 2012:363)

The second reading this week is written by Machin and Mayr, this reading agrees with the prior reading above about how the discourse methodology is more of a deeper and thorough analysis of language and texts. As it creates more findings on how texts use language to create meanings to make people think in certain ways, without them realising that these meanings are being represented to them. This reading discusses how different forms of communication, such as language, visual and so on, creates meaning and how all of these forms combined together creates possibly just one meaning.

Part Two of the reading from Machin and Mayr explains representation and discourse further and agrees with both readings on how we as audiences are persuaded on how to think. I find this interesting as all of the readings acknowledge how audiences don’t realise how easily led to certain representations. This reading makes my understanding on this more clearly, as texts reveal some ideologies and representations to the audience, but using a discourse analysis finds the hidden discourses and ideologies that are within texts.

The fourth and final reading I will discuss this week is a reading that I have found that discusses the purposes of using a discourse analysis and the relationship of power. I chose to use this reading as it agreed with my first reading of this week taken from the core text book, as both talk about the importance of power of the discourse methodology. My reading from Michael Karlberg discusses the control that the discourse method has within the society, “The ways we think and talk about a subject influence and reflect the ways we act in relation to that subject.”(Karlberg, 2005:1).

In terms of my own research I thought It would intriguing to look further into the discourses about the television show "Embarrassing Bodies". I thought about researching into this particular show as It would help me explore how the "diagnosis" they give to one particular person, can then be represented to the audience, who then may believe they have the same "diagnosis".  

References

Long, P and Wall, T (2012) Discourse, power and media IN Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context (2nd Edition), London: Pearson. pp 363-369

Machin, D and Mayr, A (2012) How to do a Critical Discourse Analysis, London: Sage. pp 1-29

M, Karlberg., (2005) The Power of Discourse and the Discourse of Power: Pursuing peace through discourse intervention [online] Available from: http://www.gmu.edu/programs/icar/ijps/vol10_1/Karlberg_101IJPS.pdf [Accessed 08 March 2013].