Module Learning Objectives 

After this module you will be able to: 

1. Explain the constructivist theory of Representation and its relationship with Reality

2. Critique television representations of social groups 

3. Analyze stereotypes and the Other as they appear in television programs

Key Concepts

The “Other”: Person(s), group(s), social class, community, race, or nation who are not “us” and who are defined by their difference from us, yet who by that difference contribute to our concept of self, as individuals, members of groups, etc. 

Representation: A given that the act of representation duplicates in one way or another. It is a surrogate for the original, an attempt to imitate or substitute the real through a resemblance. An image is constructed to re-present someone or something it represents. 

Social types: Collections of real people who resemble one another; popular ideal types of people and folk generalizations (rednecks, hillbillies, hippies, cowboys, bullies, etc.). 

Stereotype: Negative characterization of a social group that reduces individuality to a single representative type. 

Explains the theory behind Gender Representations, especially Judith Butler's Gender Trouble

Explains Stuart Hall's theory of Representation