What Is Representation and Why Does It Matter - Essay Example

What is representation and why does it matter? Representation, as the implies is reflection of a thing or being in another, in the broadest sense. According to Stuart Hall, representation is, “the production of meaning of the concepts in our minds through language. It is the link between concepts and language which enables us to refer to either the “real” world of objects, people or events, or indeed imaginary worlds of fictional objects, people and events” (Hall, 1997: 17). Hall’s definition of representation essentially requires the human mind to be pre-equipped with the concepts and significance of things the language talks about so that the meaning is adequately grasped and interpreted in the right way. Representation is indeed, the bridge between perception and language. It is because of the representation that every living being is able to interact in its own way in its respective species. Representation allows us not only to learn, comprehend and convey factual meanings of things in the realistic world, but also create and share new concepts, ideas, images and concepts. That is why, novel and art are recognized as the fundamental platforms of representation (Anon, n.d.). “The art of children is not a vehicle for the greatest expression of the human mind, but within its limits it offers a rare perfection of feeling and expression” (Freeman, 2011). Representation matters because things derive their meanings through this. For example, women’s seats in a country’s National Assembly represent the fact that the country equally respects the views of all people. Not all countries allow the women to voice their opinions on public forums. Representation requires a system to deliver its meaning. Like in the above example, representation of women was determined in the political system of a country. Representation requires a system in which it can show up to relate things with their meaningful concepts. Role of language in representation: Language plays the most important role in enabling and facilitating representation. Words and phrases like “like”, “as”, “similar to”, “just as”, “exactly”, “alike”, “compared to”, “for example” are all vital for the language’s role as an enabler of representation. We use the word “like” to refer to one thing to convey the meaning of another. Likewise, in everyday language, we frequently give examples to convey the true sense of a thing as we want the other person to understand. Examples are used to help an individual understand a new concept from the one he/she is already familiar with. People tend to idealize others that act, serve or behave in a particular way that they themselves want to, but are not equipped with the required abilities. Parents serve as an example for their children. Children are not sure what is right or wrong. So they follow the parents in order to be sure that they act in the right way. Thus, what is right is represented in the act of the parents. This way, parents educate their children through every act they display. Likewise, when we need to appreciate a person’s strength and bravery, we often make use of examples. We say that, “you are like Hercules”. The question here is, why do we give Hercules’s example in order to tell one how brave or strong one is? This is because Hercules was a character who is known for his strength and bravery in the literature and media. The character of Hercules signifies strength and bravery. In other words, “Hercules” represents strength and bravery. When the word “like” is used to represent a thing or being in another, a “simile” is made use of. There are yet other cases where one thing is represented in terms of another without use of the word “like” and instead, the former is simply called as the latter. This is called “metaphor”. For example, if we say to an individual, “You are Hercules” it still conveys to the individual that we mean to appreciate his/her strength and bravery, though taking away the word “like” adds to the strength of language and meaning manifolds. The linguistic system itself represents the culture of a nation. There are languages that have a wide range of words that are used as a supplement to the number of words necessary for making a grammatically correct sentence and conveying the meaning. Yet there are other nations that speak a language free of all formalities. In fact, in the modern technological age, many new forms of language have surfaced. Such languages are the improvised forms of basic languages and represent the individualistic and social interests of the speakers in them. For example, words like “lol” and “gtg” are frequently being employed in everyday language in many countries of the world where English is spoken as first or second language. Not many people in the countries where English is spoken as a second language that belong to the older generation and have no interaction with technology are familiar with the fact that “lol” stands for “laughing out loud” and “gtg” is an abbreviation for “got to go”. Such terms have fundamentally been developed and surfaced by the individuals that frequently interact with one another in the virtual world. Such abbreviations facilitate interaction and save time and energy. Therefore, use of words like “lol” and “gtg” represents an individual’s knowledge of the technical language commonly adopted in virtual communication. In fact, use of these words is sufficient to tell that the individual is familiar with the modern day trends of communication. It is an interesting fact that many people who are not quite familiar with the use of computers intentionally incorporate such terms in their everyday language just to show their association with the people who are fully aware of the use of computers. This means that technological non-experts tend to adopt the linguistic fashions of technological experts in an attempt to establish their representation among the group that is updated on modern trends and use of latest technology. This may be done because the non-experts feel that respect in the contemporary society is associated with the knowledge of technological use and expertise. This tells why representation matters. The non-experts seek to build their image as an expert merely through incorporation of specific terms in their language. Examples: 1. Representation in Traffic Signaling System: Language’s role as the representational system can best be realized in the case of traffic lights. Control of traffic flow is the first and foremost requirement of an efficient transport system anywhere in the world. Traffic lights not only help avoid accidents, collisions and disruption on the roads, but they also make the system organized so as to let the traffic flow smoothly and the system run efficiently. In order to control the flow of traffic, traffic lights are used. They are employed as a means to instruct the vehicles on different lanes and on different sides of the intersection to stop, go or get ready for either of them without having a traffic police officer to stand I the middle and instruct the same manually. In old times, this function was achieved manually with the help of actions of hands. If the traffic officer raised one hand, that would mean “stop”. If he raised both hands, it would mean “go”. The symbols may even differ for different meanings in different parts of the world just like some countries allow left-driving while others allow right. Even today, in many areas where traffic lights have not been installed or have gone out of function because of operational fault, traffic police officers may still be seen in the intersections to guide the different lanes on when to move and when to stop. Thus when a traffic officer directs people with the help of his actions, his actions represent the meanings that relate to the fundamental concepts on which the whole traffic flow system is designed. All over the world, three colors, red, green and amber are employed as the colors for traffic lights. Red means “stop”, green means ”go” and amber means “get ready (to stop or go”. Now these colors, red, green and amber did not come in this world with these meanings. It is we, the humans, who associated these meanings with these particular colors within the very system of traffic signaling. It is noteworthy here that red, green and amber retain their respective meanings only in the system of traffic signals. We see these colors in innumerable things in our daily life. We never stop when we come across a red rose, nor do we speed up to see a green grass or get ready to see the amberish sun. This means that it is not the colors that tell humans to mould their driving actions when on the road. Instead, it is their knowledge of the fact that these colors are universally employed in the traffic signaling system to serve as instructional signals that tells them to stop, go or get ready upon display of any of them in the traffic light. Thus, when a traffic light is used to direct the drivers on when to move and when to stop, the meaning is derived from colors. Although these colors have been standardized for these meanings all over the world, yet it would be no surprise had different nations associated different meanings with them, or even if they replaced red, green and amber colors with totally different colors. The colors a particular country chooses for specific meanings concerning traffic signaling system signifies that country’s conceptual color system. What meanings a particular nation associates with different colors is a reflection of the nation’s culture. For example, in some cultures, red is conceived as the color of love, romance and beauty. Red roses have conventionally been employed as a fundamental symbol of love. Their intrinsic beauty represents an individual’s love for another. However, it is not just red roses that are beautiful enough to represent love, there are many beautiful things in his world that can be employed to serve the same purpose. For example, a white rose can be just as beautiful or sometimes, even more charming than a red rose, then why every individual goes for a red rose when he/she wants to express his/her love and affection for another? The answer to this question lies in social attitudes, behaviors, norms, values, trends and traditions that members of the same society mutually standardize and share with one another. People tend to standardize certain things for certain purposes. These things represent specific meanings. Their standardized meanings are conveyed from one individual to another through their interaction that takes place through language in any form. Language, in any form (written, verbal and symbolic) is the most fundamental system in which representation builds its meaning. Exchange of flowers is also a form of interaction. Language may not necessarily be verbal or written, it may be signatory and non-verbal or non-textual. Any means through which meanings are conveyed or exchanged between two or more individuals is a form of language. In other cultures, red color is associated with danger. This can be attributed to the fact that red is the color of blood. 2. Representation in National System: A country is identified by its national flag. “The significance of a flag lies in the fact that it is a symbolic representation of the identity of a country or the idea or ideal of a nation” (Maps of World, n.d.). It is indeed, not just a piece of decoration, but reflects the whole ideology of the people of a country. Different countries own their respective national flags with different designs, color schemes and themes. These color schemes and symbols illustrate the factors that develop a nation’s ideals. It is because of its emotional attachment with the flag that the whole nation takes pride in it. Being a representative of a nation’s identity, flags are employed as a means to signify different countries that take part in the international sports, conferences, seminars and meetings. Some flags have stars on them. The stars represent the number of provinces a country has. In other cases, the number of stars a national flag has represents the number of states in a country. Some countries place less emphasis on the number of provinces and instead, represent the religion in their national flags. For example, the flag of Saudi Arabia has the “Islamic Kalma” written on it, that represents the religion of Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, the flag of Pakistan consists of two colors; green and white, with green covering about 75% of the portion in the flag and white, the rest of it. This is so because green represents the Muslim majority in the country, and white represents the non-Muslim minority in the country (Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 2011). It depends what factors a particular country wants to represent in its flag. Often, the factors that are represented in a country’s flag through colors, symbols or designs own a huge significance in the country’s history. For example, Pakistan chose to represent the religion based categorization of its population in its flag because religion assumes a pivotal role in the history of Pakistan. Before its birth, Pakistan, Bharat and Bangladesh were the same country known as India. India was a big country equipped withy people from different religions and races. With the advent of British rule in India, Muslims and Hindus developed differences with each other. They could not remove their conflicts with each other and the differences only grew stronger with the course of time. Muslims felt that their rights were subdued by the Hindus and vice versa. Therefore, Muslims in India decided to have their own country that would consist of those regions in India where Muslims form a majority. After years of struggle, Pakistan came into being on August 14, 1947. Many of the cities with Muslim majority fell into the territory of Pakistan, and the other remained part of India, known as Bharat. Owing to the huge role and significance of religion in the history and making of Pakistan, the 75% green portion of the flag represents Muslim majority in the country and the rest represents minority that belongs to other religions. Similarly, other countries’ flags represent factors that are of huge importance to them. The factors may not necessarily be religion oriented. Instead, the flags may represent anything from number of provinces to the shape of its map. Even within the flag of Pakistan, there is also, a crescent and a star in addition to the green and white division of the flag. The crescent represents progress and the star represents knowledge and light (Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 2011). Having equipped with a star and a crescent in addition to the green and white stripe, the flag of Pakistan speaks of much more than just the religion based categorization of its people. Many countries indeed have their flags that represent their geographical shape and area. Representation matters because it is a reflection of the whole ideology of the thing, person or concept that is being represented in the system. References: Anon. n.d., The Underworld: Definition of Representation, viewed 4 January, 2011, . Freeman, NH 2011, Children’s drawings of human figures, viewed 4 January, 2011, . Hall, S (ed.) 1997, Representations: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, London: Sage Publications (pp. 15-64). Maps of World n.d., Flags of the World, viewed 4 January, 2011, . Ministry of Information & Broadcasting 2011, Pakistan Flag, viewed 4 January, 2011, . Read More