Normal people is an Irish romance drama. It focuses on the relationship between Marianne, described as a shy and odd schoolgirl and Connell, an athletic and popular schoolboy. The relationship is kept secret from everyone else especially Connell's friends who bully Marianne for being 'weird' and for not fitting in. Connell is a young boy who just wants to fit in with his friends and doesn't want to seem 'different'. However, the relationship is very strong at times and they truly love each other. This is shown through the fact the pair often drift apart at times due to their lives being so different but somehow manage to always come back together. This makes the audience feel emotional as you can see how important they are to each other.
Stuart Hall talks about the idea that representation is the production of meaning through language, with language being defined in its broadest sense as a system of signs and the idea that the relationship between concepts and signs is governed by codes.
He also talks about the idea that stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits and that stereotyping tends to occur where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or 'other'
It is clear that the show's characters represent different high school stereotypes. The characters have a construction of codes which therefore places them into a stereotype of a secondary school student. This supports the first part of Hall's representation theory as Connell has an athletic build and is shown playing football and being a significant player of the team. This is shown when the crowd celebrates after he scores in one of the first episodes which shows they respect him as a footballer, this reinforces the fact he fits into the 'sporty' stereotype at school. He also fits into the 'popular' stereotype due to the many friendships he has. There are many long shots in the TV show where Connell is shown with a group of people meanwhile Marianne is shown to be on her own for the majority of the time she is in school. For example when she is shown alone on a table with no one close to her at lunch time. Marianne fits into the 'outcast' stereotype. She doesn't have many friends and is subject to bullying throughout the show in particular by Connell's friends. This approach helps us to understand that representations are constructed and that the show is aware of the representations it has created to portray the school life.
This TV show is interesting though as it somewhat challenges the last part of Stuart Hall's ideas where he says that stereotyping tends to occur where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or 'other'. Connell is a lower to middle class man however Marianne is a upper class woman. She lives in a big house with her mother and brother whilst Connell lives in a small house with his mum who cleans for Marianne's mother at her house. The fact Marianne in society would be seen as above Connell as she is upper class goes against Hall's theory because she is actually the one that is excluded and seen as other whilst Connell has the 'power' over Marianne.
A more useful theory to consider would be bell hooks, who talks about the idea that race and class as well as sex determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed. As Stuart Hall's theory fails to recognise that sex could play part of this so bell hooks may be more useful to use for this as sex could be a big part in why Connell is the one who fits in whilst Marianne is bullied and made to feel weird. They make comments about her 'flat chest' and that she is unattractive which means she isn't accepted by other people. Woman have pressure on them at school to fit in and so the fact she doesn't makes the audience feel bad for her.
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