REPRESENTATION THEORY APPLIED

Representation is the construction of reality for us through any medium. Through narrative, our view of reality is structured and life can become a story dictated by different aspects of the media. Representation is apparent in every form of media, including film. It is not different for our short film we made last year.

With every piece of media text, there is the extension and restriction of our experience of reality. In other words, we can only experience what we are told about the text. If information is withheld from us, there is no way we can find out about it. In our short film, the information extended to the audience was that Meabh was terrified and clearly confused about her surroundings. We tried to make it obvious that something traumatic had happened to her from the bruising on her wrists and neck and face. However, the information withheld from the audience was that Meabh had been drowned during a witch hunt. This was suggested through costume and setting however. The gaze theory that was applied was the spectator's gaze. In other words, the audience was watching it from their point of view and not from someone else's.

In my analysis of our media text from last year, I looked at different aspects of the film.
The tone was edgy, it was nervous and slightly uncomfortable. This was shown through the audios chosen, the setting and Meabh's acting. The subject was portrayed positively. She was easy to feel sorry for because of her age and the obvious fear that she showed. The image itself constructed reality rather than reflected it because the plot itself was not realistic at all. We showed Meabh rising from the dead, coming  back to life after about 300 years. The use of colour is realistic and not ideal, considering there are no filters used on our piece and it was filmed outside in daylight.

Meabh's depiction of a witch is in line with the hegemonic

Laura Mulvey's theory about the Male Gaze is not applicable to our film. It suggests that the audience is often put in the perspective of a heterosexual man and that the curves of a woman's body are highlighted throughout. We did not make our film from anyone's perspective except the viewers. There are no male characters in this film so Meabh is not made in relation to a male, and she is completely important by herself without a male character. Meabh's character was not designed for visual pleasure, Mulvey's theory does not apply here as she is not an erotic object to be viewed by the audience or other characters. I am in agreement with critics of Mulvey's theory in this case. She ignores the fact that all genders want to feel overwhelmed by the cinematic experience. She also ignores that men can also undergo metaphoric transvestism, which is where they can view the film from the perspective of a woman.

Lacan's theory about the 'mirror' is another theory which does not apply to our film. That is, the theory that centres around the moment when a person becomes self conscious and aware of their identity. This is furthered by Mulvey, who writes about the silver screen which operates like a metaphorical mirror and reflects the female viewer representations of female identity. However, these are not real reflections of the viewer but rather male perceptions of reality. This is not applicable to our work, Meabh is not designed as a character by males. Our group is entirely female and we did not make her character someone who would be deliberately pleasing to males.

In summary, our short film was only the opening of a film. There are not many theories that apply to it because of its obscurity and the length of the film. Also, as film makers, last year we didn't know about all these theories so the only ones that apply are the ones that we included subconsciously.