In the ninth week of our Real-World Media course, we embarked on planning for Assessment 4, a process filled with both excitement and challenges. Our key focus was on exploring the unique perspectives of international students and delving into the intriguing subject of aliens. This topic choice created an enriching dialogue that broadened our understanding of these disparate subjects, as well as their potential interconnections.

Throughout the planning phase, we faced difficulties in determining how to portray these themes engagingly and authentically. We grappled with ways to maintain the integrity of the international students’ experiences while also incorporating the fantastical element of alien culture. It required us to strike a balance between grounding our presentation in reality and indulging in speculative imagination, which proved to be a complex yet enlightening task.

The process led us to consider various media representation theories. For instance, Hall’s representation theory (Hall, 1997) proved instrumental. Hall posits that the media’s portrayal of a subject isn’t a mirror of reality, but rather, a constructed representation shaped by cultural norms and values. (Hall, 1999) Applying this theory, we realized that our challenge was not only to depict the subject matter but also to question the underlying cultural assumptions shaping our understanding of international students and aliens.

This week’s exploration pushed us to consider media’s role in creating narratives that can both reflect and shape societal understanding. In planning for our assessment, we strive to generate a nuanced media representation that prompts audiences to think critically about these intriguing themes.

Reference:

Hall, S. (1999) Representation. cultural representations and signifying practices …, Representation. Cultural representations and signifying practices. Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/social-anthropology/article/abs/representation-cultural-representations-and-signifying-practices-edited-by-stuart-hall-london-thousand-oaks-and-new-delhi-sage-publications-in-association-with-the-open-university-1997-400-pp-pb-1295-isbn-0-7619-5432-5/3A77CE1B3598F2E4E65671A8F16108EA (Accessed: 31 May 2023).