The meaning of ‘representation’ shifted from delegation to identity presence in media
Evidence
By the middle of the 2010s, in the English language, if someone asked about “representation,” it was more likely they were asking whether members of a certain racial or identity category were appearing in entertainment products designed for mass consumption, rather than whether designated representatives can actually carry out our will. The idea of willfully empowering someone to act on your behalf because you trust and (to some extent) control them seemed impossibly quaint. — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 619
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Anti-political attitudes have grown in scope and intensity since the mid-1900s — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 597; Anti-political sentiment has grown more complete and virulent over time — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 596; Representation meaning arises independently of authorial intention and depends on preexisting social knowledge — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 743 (+4 more)
Broader Connections
- Representation transforms the identity of those represented, not merely transmits their will
#expands(0.75) — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 312 - Digital media shifted culture from representation of selves to self-presentation
#qualifies(0.74) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 77 - Representation meaning arises independently of authorial intention and depends on preexisting social knowledge
#qualifies(0.72) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 743 - Media presence itself becomes the model that precedes and drains meaning from events
#expands(0.70) — Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation, 187