Stuart Hall: Representation Theory

This is my introduction and analysis on Stuart Hall's Representation Theory

Based on Stuart Hall, representation is the process where media creates and exchanges meaning between social groups. The media gives meaning to events/people/groups after the occurrence, and the original subject has no fixed meaning, therefore something only has a meaning once it is represented in the media. 

Stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified representation of a group or individual. They're used to quickly construct representations in an easily accessible manner for the audience. 

Social groups that are often represented in media are gender, sexuality/LGBT, age, social class, disability, and race/ethnicity. 

Example:

Light skinned people, especially women, are often portrayed as beautiful and the beauty standard in Indonesia. This can be seen in a majority of the ads produced in Indonesia, where the actress/actor often has light/pale skin. This can be seen in beauty related ads, even normal ads.

An example of this can be seen in the