Useful Theories and their application to media texts

  Representation – Page 11-15

WJEC

Remember it is important to understand and be able to apply theories to specific texts and not just to learn them.

Alvarado (1948–2010)

Alvarado was a Guatemalan-born English academic who specialised in Media Studies. His theories related to ethnicity are based on the idea that people from different cultures tend to be defined by how different they are, by their 'otherness'. These representations can focus on racial characteristics and on preconceived audience perceptions. These are often drawn from other media texts rather than from reality and therefore reinforce the stereotype. Alvarado believed that the representation of ethnic groups could be divided into four categories:

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The exotic The pitied The humorous Dangerous