If we learned anything from the previous chapter, itРІР‚в„ўs that cinema is a powerful tool of hegemony. Which is why Gerbner also argues that РІР‚Сљabsence means symbolic annihilation.РІР‚СњР”Р„nd not just for any given individual who might benefit from seeing themselves on screen. It can begin to feel as though youРІР‚в„ўve been erased. The point is, if youРІР‚в„ўre not white (and not male) you likely spent those same formative years with very little evidence on screen that you exist at all. (But I wonРІР‚в„ўt, because Dylan Marron already has). How about something a little more modern? HereРІР‚в„ўs a version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) also edited down to just the words spoken by a person of color:Р”Р„t least they did better than E.T. Okay, so that wasnРІР‚в„ўt fair, there were no people of color in JAWS. HereРІР‚в„ўs a version thatРІР‚в„ўs been edited down to show every single word spoken by a person of color in the film: the Extraterrestrial (1982)? It was a big hit in the 80s. For the rest of you, maybe this will help. Maybe youРІР‚в„ўre a woman (again, see previous chapter), or maybe youРІР‚в„ўre a person of color, or maybe both. For some of you, that wonРІР‚в„ўt be hard to imagine. Or if you do, those characters are relegated to minor, negatively stereotyped roles. Now imagine you never see anyone on screen in film or television that looks like you, talks like you or lives like you. Once you do, it will continue to shape that knowledge and that practice (see the previous chapter on how hegemony works). Seeing yourself represented in the fictional world of cinema points to (signifies) your social existence long before you have the opportunity to put that knowledge into practice. And that starts at a very young age, often before youРІР‚в„ўve formed clear ideas about the world outside your own home and family. It assures you that you do, in fact, exist and have a role to play in society. The idea here is that when you see yourself in cinema, that is, when you see characters in film and television that look like you, talk like you, live like you, it affirms your place in the world.

And for many of you, that truth has been verified over and over since you first laid eyes on moving pictures. And it starts with GerbnerРІР‚в„ўs assertion that РІР‚Сљrepresentation in the fictional world signifies social existence.РІР‚Сњ ThatРІР‚в„ўs a bold claim.

If youРІР‚в„ўve read this far, then you know that last bit is a trick question. But does it really matter who we see up on the screen? But what does that really mean? And why are we still talking about it?Р”Р„t the most basic level, itРІР‚в„ўs a call for greater ethnic and gender diversity in the characters we see in cinema. Nearly 50 years later, we still hear a lot about РІР‚СљrepresentationРІР‚Сњ in the media, especially film and television. They were written by George Gerbner, a professor of communication, in 1976, around the same time Laura Mulvey was writing about the Male Gaze. Think about those two lines for a moment. So, whether you were there the first time or just saw the reruns, we've put together something just for fans of classic TV.Representation in the fictional world signifies social existence. From drama and comedy to sci-fi and thrillers, the decade was filled with classic moments and beloved shows that have become indelible pieces of the cultural landscape. The 1960s was a landmark time for all genres of TV. Meanwhile, network news outstripped print and radio to literally bring the chaos of the '60s into our living rooms. By 1961, the value of television was in question as Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow declared American commercial TV a 'vast wasteland.' Nevertheless, talented writers and visionaries like Rod Serling and Gene Roddenberry were pushing the limits of TV as a tool to comment on the turbulent times through allegory and drama. The 1950s are often referred to as TV's golden age - a time when the new medium's promise and potential were just being tapped. How we entertained ourselves and how we learned about the world had changed forever. By 1969, nine out of 10 households had at least one TV.

As television entered its third decade, the number of TV sets in the United States grew from around one million to 44 million. Although music may have been the prime mover of the increasingly influential under-30 demographic, TV was also shaping how young Americans interacted with the world. From the heady days of Kennedy's Camelot to the Summer of Love, the postwar generation known as the Baby Boomers came of age in a rapidly changing cultural and political landscape.

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