David Gauntlett - Theories of Identity

 David Gauntlett

Theory of Identity

• identity is personal and in people
• society is constructed through people (and their brain/thoughts) and within ones self
• identity is complex, identity is who you are
• our identity is reflected by everything around us
• Audiences are not passive, and media products  allow the audience to construct their own identities
• Audiences can pick and mix which ideologies suit them, and completely ignore the elements of the product which they do not agree with in a process of negotiation similar to the one suggested by Stuart Hall
• Audiences can get their identity through media products.

Representation is where the producer shows something again, which reflects their ideologies.

• Gauntlett says we can use the societal/stereotypical representations to construct our ideologies
• Gauntlett argues that identity has got a lot more complex
• Gauntlett argues it used to be simpler in the 'olden days' with, for example, different genders adopting different roles

Producers deliberately give ways for the audience to identify with the media product (e.g gender, age).