representing issues

A representation is made up from a mixture of multiple things, such as the actual thing, for example the person, social group or the issue that is being represented. It is also made up of the opinions of the people who are representing the said thing. These people are known as the encoders as they make the representations. A representation can also be affected by the audience's reaction to the representation made as some may take the oppositional reading and others the preferred reading, what the encoders want you to see. If the audience does not take the preferred reading, they are known as decoders. And finally, a representation is made up of the background of the society in which the representation is set in. A representation is a process of selection and combination as the encoders will have to consider all the points made above to ensure the vast majority of people take the preferred reading of the representation they have created. If the audience take the oppositional reading, they will become decoders. Within the Sunday Express front-page newspaper from September 2014, the preferred reading that the encoders are trying to push here is that migrants are bad news, this is seen within the large, bold text towards the bottom left of the newspaper, taking up most of the page reading “Migrant Invasion: Army On Alert”. With it saying, “Army on Alert”, this stereotypes all migrants as coming in an using our free health care and taking our houses. With it being in big bold letters, this makes the whole text stand out to the audience instantly catching their attention. The small print towards the right of the bold title, starts off with a bright red banner reading “EXCLUSIVE” making this an important story which should not be ignored. The copy underneath contains a statistic of “100 migrants are arriving every day,” this will help the audience take the preferred reading as they now have evidence behind their claim of an “invasion”. This suggests that the migrants are bad news and should not be let into the country but on the other hand, the last line of the copy reads, “most new arrivals are desperate,” this could steer more people to become decoders as they will feel the need to nurture for the new arrivals.

On the other hand, the UKIP advert on the lead up to the EU Referendum in 2016 also has the same preferred reading created by the encoders of the advert as the Sunday Express, this point is backed up by the large, block letters in red which reads, “BREAKING POINT”. Underneath this, it reads that “The EU has failed us all,” this could suggest another preferred reading is getting taken by the encoders of the advert which is to see “how good UKIP is and that we should all leave the EU for a better Britain,” again, this point is intensified towards the bottom of the ad in a blacked out bar reading , “ we must break free of the EU and take back control of our boarders,” the command word “must” suggests urgency which may persuade the audience to take the preferred reading the encoders wanted. Furthermore, “break free,” this suggests that we are getting held captive and we need to break out, this could also solidify the encoders point that “migrants are bad news”. The advert also contains many statistics, “over 330,000 people a year”, “growth for nearly 100 years”, “more than 900 people a day”, “6,000 every week”, the use of these numerical statics will solidify the idea in the audiences mind helping them make a decision as the whole advert seems to be “fact” as it includes statistical information. Within the UKIP advert on the lead up to the EU Referendum in 2016, the use of the stereotype “millions of migrants are invading the country and we need to be mindful of this,” is represented within the picture used to cover the whole page as a background scene. The picture is of a large line of migrants, I'm assuming who are trying to enter the country, it shows thousands of people of different ethnicities with a different clothing style, this shows that the people depicted within the ad are not ‘British’. The majority of the people within the advert are male of all ages but mainly ranging around about ages 20-40. This links with the Sunday Express front page from September 2014 as it solidifies the point that “migrants are invading” as the picture suggests. There are many similarities within both adverts as they are both trying to push the same idea “migrants are invading and we don’t like it” but one difference is that the Sunday Express front page from September 2014 does not use an image to intensify their point of an “invasion” on the migrants part whereas the UKIP advert on the lead up to the EU Referendum in 2016 does.