Intro
Hi, in class we learned about the meaning of representation in media. There are some terms that I have never understood but know the definition too. I needed to familiarize myself with the impact these concepts have when creating a piece of media one sees or reads. As instructed I am talking about a TV show today that has gained a lot of popularity that show being "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story." This covers in my opinion many of the terms that have been discussed in class.
Construction and Selection
The construction of Monsters significantly helps develop the audience's emotional response. The show uses close-up shots of Erik and Lyle to focus on their isolation. Selective editing in courtroom scenes, as the brothers recall abuses they've endured, pulls viewers into traumatic experiences. Because these moments are focused on, this empathy could create a breeding ground for audiences to begin viewing the brothers as victims of child abuse rather than just murderers.
Selection is done in support of the abusive lives that the brothers led, excluding other reasons that could show motives for such actions. This is evident in the narrative that such exclusion portrays an audience being directed to look into their trauma. It's a show that includes some moments like the detailed testimonies of abuse on purpose, whereas other parts of their lives might make the victimhood narrative less likely, and vice versa. In this sense, what is included or not hugely affects the way the Menendez brothers are perceived by the audience.
Selection is done in support of the abusive lives that the brothers led, excluding other reasons that could show motives for such actions. This is evident in the narrative that such exclusion portrays an audience being directed to look into their trauma. It's a show that includes some moments like the detailed testimonies of abuse on purpose, whereas other parts of their lives might make the victimhood narrative less likely, and vice versa. In this sense, what is included or not hugely affects the way the Menendez brothers are perceived by the audience.
Stereotypes and Exoticizing
This series also involves stereotyping, especially in depicting the father of the Menendez brothers, José Menendez. The man, well-placed and powerful in real life, has been carved into the mold of the archetypal abusive patriarch, which is nothing but the regular stereotyping in media to explain the degree of abuse within a family. First of all, such portrayal strengthens the trope of an abusive, controlling father figure, one which is commonplace in the media and sometimes does justice to the different nuances involved in such cases. While the show does deal with much of José's controlling behavior, it is here that it risks overgeneralization and simplification of abuse and its use in an overblown manner with the telling of only a part of the picture which is their family life.
Exoticizing in the depiction of the Menendez household on the part of the series also occurs. The obviousness of the family's wealth and privileged lifestyle serves to make it sound all the more shocking that abuse was happening, as if abuse within affluent environments is not foreseen. Rather, this sensationalizes the abuse as being all the more unusual or "exotic" since the outward appearance of this family is one of success and normality. In reality, abuse knows no economic barriers; here, however, the show uses this place as a means to heighten drama.
Exoticizing in the depiction of the Menendez household on the part of the series also occurs. The obviousness of the family's wealth and privileged lifestyle serves to make it sound all the more shocking that abuse was happening, as if abuse within affluent environments is not foreseen. Rather, this sensationalizes the abuse as being all the more unusual or "exotic" since the outward appearance of this family is one of success and normality. In reality, abuse knows no economic barriers; here, however, the show uses this place as a means to heighten drama.
Othering and De-Centering
The use of othering is shown, where it subtly presents the brothers as outsiders within their own family and society. The Menendez brothers are shown throughout the series as utterly different from everybody surrounding them, partly due to their traumatic experiences and eventual decision to kill their parents. Such a mind-state of alienation is then exacerbated by how public judgment and the media portray them as monsters rather than victims. The series does encourage viewers to consider such "othering" and perhaps to reconsider whether the brothers' actions were purely a product of personal evil or whether their abusive upbringing played a part in shaping them.
De-centering is also used in the way the traditional family narrative has been flipped on its head with the Menendez family's dark secrets. Their abuse becomes the centerpiece of that narrative, where normally the thriving and wealthy family would be the focus. In that sense, it points toward a shift in focus from the so-called "normal" family narrative to one surrounded by hidden trauma, with the series critiquing societal expectations over what a family should look like and how abuse can stay buried beneath the surface.
De-centering is also used in the way the traditional family narrative has been flipped on its head with the Menendez family's dark secrets. Their abuse becomes the centerpiece of that narrative, where normally the thriving and wealthy family would be the focus. In that sense, it points toward a shift in focus from the so-called "normal" family narrative to one surrounded by hidden trauma, with the series critiquing societal expectations over what a family should look like and how abuse can stay buried beneath the surface.
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