Representation is defined by what the media portrays. A representational image of a certain being or culture is exploited and exaggerated in the media, which is then shipped out to the masses making that information known to us as a community. Representation can be as little as a symbol for an organization, to the morals and ethics an individual lives by. There is a huge relationship between media and representation, through the use of celebrities and advertising. By claiming a certain celebrity endorses a product it will, in turn, portray the individual in that light. For example, if a celebrity endorses exercise equipment then it can be assumed that the celebrity is an active individual who enjoys exercise. The problem with this is that if that celebrity is ever photographed eating at a fast food restaurant, then their image, and what they represent has been tarnished, by the media.
The media play a love hate relationship with all contenders, because they can be on your side one day, but with one false move, they can have entire empires watching in a negative light. As a more recent example, Tiger Woods lost his entire sponsorship deal with Nike and with many others over the accounts of his affairs. A celebrity known for the sport of golf soon had his image torn apart by the media due to his poor life choices, thus exemplifying how he poorly represented himself. Therefore I believe that media has an extremely large impact on representation.
During a crisis, although the media claims to be biased, there can be distinct negative representations of beings whether it is for example, George W. Bush, or the entire country of Mexico. For the majority of the time President Bush was in office, he was ridiculed and seen as a terrible leader. The bad choices he made were enhanced, and any good choices he was to make were pushed to the back to make him seem like he was not doing anything to benefit the United States of America. As another example, the Swine Flu epidemic has affected many countries and the media has blatantly placed the blame on Mexico claiming that they have contracted the virus and shipped it through the borders with their travelers as well as immigrants. This sheds a negative representation of the people who live in Mexico, as well as anybody returning from a vacation in the country. The same situation can be led to the discrimination of the Arab community after the bombings of 9-11. Anyone with a turban or who was of Indian decent was severely discriminated against due to the assumptions of terrorism. The media plays a huge role in this because they advertise terrorists as being anyone with slightly darker skin, or of Arab decent.
This shows a huge lack of accurate representation in the actuality of the matters discussed, as discussed throughout the article “Resisting Peripheral Exports: Al Jazeera’s War Images on US Television.” In the article it discusses the use of significant clients of imperialism such as Australia, Canada, and Mexico, and already the Americans have closed off one of their major outlets, through the discrimination of Swine Flu. Furthermore exemplifying as to how the media has such a strong influence on what people think and see, that they have the ability to change what representation means to us, and how it has the ability to shape our societies.
