Richard Dyer- The Matter Of Images

Dyer said: 'How we are seen determines how we are treated, how we see them.' How we see them comes from representation.

I used this theory to help my analyse a programme.

The programme that I have chosen to analyse is 'Skins' which is an energetic drama based on the lives of a group pf 6 rowdy teenagers and is shown on channel 4. Stereotypes are very prominent throughout the series and teenagers are shown mainly in a bad light and scenes of unprotected sex, drug taking and a bad attitude towards education are shown frequently. After studying Rayner's theory of representation I have been able to further discover the decisions that the director/producer has made to display the way in which the 17 years olds have been represented.

All of the scenes shown at the school feature, truancy, complete disregard or utter lack of interest in learning, disrespect to the teachers and an overall bad attitude, the view of the teenagers that is represented within the programme is farcely stereotypical and shows a very narrow minded and one sided point of view.

Another theorist, Richard Dyer argues the importance of images and the way in which people treat people because of the way they look, what they are wearing and there overall appearance, in the programme I analysed.