Under-representation and misrepresentation

Overview

Symbolic annihilation, tokenism, the burden of representation, and why absence behind the camera shows on screen.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Define under-representation in media.

   Model answer

   Under-representation occurs when social groups appear in media less frequently than their presence in society would suggest.

2. 2

   What is misrepresentation in media contexts?

   Model answer

   Misrepresentation occurs when social groups are portrayed inaccurately, negatively, or in limited and distorted ways.

3. 3

   Why is it significant that under-representation and misrepresentation occur in both national and global media contexts?

   Model answer

   Different groups are affected in different ways across cultures, meaning patterns of under-representation and misrepresentation vary depending on national and global media contexts.

4. 4

   Why does under-representation matter even when the representations that do appear are positive?

   Model answer

   Because scarcity itself carries meaning, signalling that a group is marginal to the life a product depicts, and it leaves the few representations that exist carrying a disproportionate burden.

5. 5

   What is symbolic annihilation?

   Model answer

   The absence, trivialisation or condemnation of a social group in media, which works to communicate that the group is unimportant or does not properly belong.

6. 6

   How can a group be highly visible in media and still be misrepresented?

   Model answer

   Frequent appearance in a narrow range of roles or contexts produces high visibility without range, so audiences see the group often but only within limited terms.

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