Media Studies · Media Studies: Reading, Questioning and Creating Media

Perspectives, Bias and Representation: Beliefs, Values, Identity and Power

1.5About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can identify the perspectives and biases in media texts, including complex texts.
I can analyze representation, including stereotypes, under-representation and tokenism, using evidence such as content counts.
I can comment on questions a text raises about beliefs, values, identity and power.

Words to know

perspective
The point of view from which a text is made or a story is told.

bias
A slant that favours one side, group or idea, shown through selection, omission, placement or word choice.

representation
How media show people, groups, places and ideas.

stereotype
An oversimplified, fixed idea about a group of people.

under-representation
When a group appears much less often in media than in real life, or not at all.

tokenism
Including one person from a group to appear diverse without giving them a real role or voice.

content count
A tally of what appears across many media texts, used as evidence of patterns.

A note before you start

This lesson discusses stereotypes and fairness in how groups of people are shown. Approach it with respect: the goal is to notice patterns and ask questions, not to judge individual people.

Hook: who gets to be in the picture?

A student counts the settings in 20 winter ads for cars, clothes, food and holidays. Sixteen show a big country house or a ski resort. Only two show a city apartment. One shows a northern community.

No single ad is "wrong" for showing a ski resort. But together, the ads build a picture of what a "normal" Canadian winter looks like, and many Canadians are not in it. That is a question of perspective, bias and power.

A content count of 20 invented ads. 11 + 5 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 20. Big country houses and ski resorts appear in 16 of the 20, while city apartments and northern communities are rare. Counting turns a hunch about representation into evidence.

Perspective and bias

A perspective is the point of view from which a text is made: whose eyes we see through, whose voice tells the story.
Bias is a slant: favouring one side, group or idea, often by selection (what's included), omission (what's left out), placement (what's first or biggest) and word choice.

Every text has a perspective. Not every text is unfairly biased. Your job is to identify the perspective, look for signs of bias, and explain what difference it makes.

Representation, stereotypes and power

Representation is how media show people, groups, places and ideas. Ask:

Who is shown, and who is missing? Under-representation tells some audiences that they don't belong in the picture.
How are they shown? Are they the hero, the helper, the joke or the problem? Do they have names, voices and full lives?
Stereotypes are oversimplified, fixed ideas about a group. Media often use them as shortcuts because they are fast to understand. They can be harmful because they flatten real people and can shape how others treat them.
Tokenism means including one person from a group to appear diverse, without giving them a real role or voice.

Power matters because the people who own, fund and make media decide which stories get told and how. When communities tell their own stories, representation often changes. In Canada, for example, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), launched in 1999, is a national broadcaster run by Indigenous people that carries programming by and about First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. The Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin has made dozens of documentaries with the National Film Board of Canada that centre the voices of First Nations communities.

Five critical-literacy questions about beliefs, values, identity and power. Ask them of any media text, from a cereal ad to a news story.

Questions about beliefs, values, identity and power

Expectation 1.5 asks you to comment on the questions a text raises. Good comments go beyond "It's biased." For example:

Beliefs: Does this text assume that success means owning things?
Values: Why is a big house shown as the reward for hard work?
Identity: What does this text suggest about what it means to be Canadian, a teen, a girl, a boy or an athlete? Who might feel left out of that identity?
Power: Who benefits if audiences accept this view? Whose voices could challenge it, and are they heard?

Worked example

Let's analyze perspective and bias in a list article

An invented online article is titled 10 Winters Every Canadian Must Experience. It is published by a travel website and marked Sponsored by Peak Lodge Resorts in small grey text. Eight of the ten items are resort activities (downhill skiing, a spa, a heated rooftop pool). All of the photos show young, able-bodied adults in expensive ski gear. There is no mention of cities, of Indigenous-led tourism, or of cost. Identify the perspective and biases, and comment on the questions it raises.

Perspective: a resort industry and tourist perspective. The sponsor (Peak Lodge Resorts) has a financial interest in the topic.
Bias by selection: eight of ten items are activities the sponsor sells. Bias by omission: no cities, no free winter activities, no costs, no Indigenous-led experiences.
Word choice: Every Canadian must presents one kind of winter as the true Canadian experience.
Representation: the photos show only young, able-bodied people with money. People who use wheelchairs, older adults and families on a budget are absent.
Beliefs and values: the article assumes that the best winter is one you pay for at a resort.
Identity: it suggests that being a "real" Canadian means a certain lifestyle. Many Canadians, including people who live in cities and northern communities, may feel excluded.
Power: the sponsor's money shapes the content; the small grey label makes that relationship easy to miss.

The article reflects a commercial, resort-industry perspective, biased by selection, omission and word choice. It raises questions about who defines Canadian identity, whose winters count, and how sponsorship gives companies power over content.

Hands-on activity

Representation audit

You need: a set of 10 to 20 media texts of one kind (for example ads in one magazine or flyer, the thumbnails on a streaming home screen, or the covers of books or games at home), paper and a pen.

Choose two or three things to count (for example settings, who is the main character, ages shown, who is shown as an expert, people who use mobility aids, languages used). Make a tally chart.
Count carefully. Check that your totals add up to the number of texts.
Draw a bar graph of one of your counts.
Write three sentences: What pattern did you find? Who is under-represented? What questions does this raise about beliefs, values, identity or power?
Suggest one change a producer could make.

What to look for: totals that add up, a clear graph, a pattern supported by numbers, and questions phrased thoughtfully, for example "Why are only men shown as experts in these ads, and what might that teach viewers about who has knowledge?"

Your turn

What is the difference between perspective and bias?

Name three ways bias can appear in a media text.

What is a stereotype, and why do media often use them?

In the 10 Winters article, what evidence shows the sponsor's influence?

What is tokenism?

Write one question about identity that the 10 Winters article raises.

Why does it matter who owns or funds a media outlet?

More practice: warm-up

Does every text have a perspective?

What does omission mean?

What does representation mean in media?

What is APTN?

In the content count, how many of the 20 ads showed a city apartment?

More practice: on your own

Using the content count, explain the difference between one ad's choice and a pattern across many ads.

A news story about a new highway quotes only the construction company and the mayor. Identify the perspective and comment on the questions it raises.

Why might communities telling their own stories change representation?

A cartoon always makes the brainy character wear glasses and be socially awkward. Comment on the stereotype.

Explain how word choice can show bias, using an example.

Challenge

Choose a real ad, show or game. Identify its perspective, one possible bias, and comment on one question it raises about beliefs, values, identity or power. Use specific evidence.

Some people argue: "Ads just show what most customers want to see. It's not bias." Evaluate this argument.

Rewrite the 10 Winters list's title and choose five items that give a more balanced, inclusive picture. Explain your choices.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Bias by omission means...

Which statement is true?

In the content count, ski resorts and big country houses together appear in how many of the 20 ads?

Which is the best example of a question about power?

Tokenism is...

Why is the small grey sponsorship label in the 10 Winters article a concern?

For parents and teachers

What this lesson teaches: expectation 1.5: identifying the perspectives and biases in media texts and commenting on the questions they raise about beliefs, values, identity and power. Students learn about representation, stereotypes, under-representation and tokenism, and use content counts as evidence.

How to help at home:

Do a quick count together: in tonight's ads, who is shown as the expert? Who is shown as the parent who cooks?
Ask: "Who made this? Who's missing? Who benefits?"
Model respectful language when talking about groups of people.

Common difficulties:

Calling everything biased. Every text has a perspective; bias needs evidence of unfair slant.
Single-example claims. Patterns need several texts; content counts help.
Talking about groups in the past tense or as all the same. Remind your teen that communities are diverse and living today.

Facts used: APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) launched in 1999 as a national Indigenous-run broadcaster. Alanis Obomsawin is an Abenaki filmmaker who has made many documentaries with the National Film Board of Canada. The ads, content count and 10 Winters article are invented examples. No joke box is included in this lesson because it deals with stereotypes and fairness.