Theories mentioned in past paper questions:

”The media do not construct collective identity; they merely reflect it”. Michel Foucault

Who has the power in the relationship of collective identity construction? is it the audience or is it the producer of the text? Do the changing representations reflect changes in the audience?

"Media representations are complex, not simple and straightforward”. Stuart Hall  

How far do you agree with this? Do you think that their are some representations that are simple? Why is this?

Quotes: "The media do not construct reality, they merely offer a window on the world." David Buckingham

"It is unsatisfactory to assume that people somehow copy or borrow their identities from the media." David Gauntlett

"This (referring to the impact of the Media) could hardly fail to affect our own way of conducting ourselves, and our expectations of other people's behaviour."  David Gauntlett

"Identities are complex constructions." David Gauntlett

"Each individual has a set of multiple identities which operate at different times and under different circumstances. People define themselves by gender, family, religion, ethnic group, class, city, region, nation." Jeffrey Richards

"Of all the collective identities which human beings share today, national identity is perhaps the most fundamental and inclusive." Anthony Smith

"For the nation is, above all else, … 'an imagined community', a focus of loyalty and a source of identity, providing a sense of belonging to something bigger than oneself." Jeffrey Richards

"Every nation has a set of national values, desirable qualities that derive from the national identity and the national character." Jeffrey Richards

"The practitioners of both elite and popular culture, an later the mass media, … play a central role in defining and disseminating national identity, values and character." Jeffrey Richards

"How we are seen determines how we are treated, how we treat others is based on how we see them; such seeing comes from representation." Richard Dyer

"Does the audience ultimately have more power than the media?" David Gauntlett

"The power of the audience to interpret media texts, and determine their popularity, far outweighs the ability of media institutions to send a particular message or ideology to audience within their texts." David Gauntlett 

'These perspectives in turn are products of distinct moments in time and are specific to the social realities of these times." Samantha lay