Representation of National and Regional Identity

National Identity and Regional Identity

National identity is the term used to refer to the features of a country; the country's traditions, language and politics are included. Regional Identity refers to different regions within a country. The different accents, ways they dress, and foods are included in regional identity. Both representations of national and regional identity focus on stereotypes of certain characteristics of that particular country or region- theses stereotypes and representations can be both positive and negative.

National identity

Countries and nations around the world are represented in different ways, creating different and unique identities for each one. Reality TV presents stereotypes that feed into the representation of both national and regional identities. For instance The Real Housewives of Orange County, uses typical American stereotypes and positive representations to engage audiences. The show represents the characters as living the 'American dream', where their lives are perfect; yet they still find something to complain about. The characters are women who spend thousands of dollars on drinking, getting plastic surgery, and trying to be famous- which many people outside of America view as the fallacious dream sold to them by the media.

It is important for nations and countries to create a strong national identity, through such things as the 'American dream', so they can sell themselves in the media- leading to the country making more money either through tax from their own population or tourism from other populations.
In contrast to the positive representation of America through the 'American dream', media texts also represent the national identity of America negatively through the same 'American dream'. American Dad parodies the idea of the 'American dream' by taking the typical image that people think of when they hear the 'American dream' and distorting the image of the perfect family image and making the family dysfunctional.

Regional identity

Different regions will have different characteristics and stereotypes they're associate and identified with. These characteristics will be commonly used to represent that particular region in the media. People form outside of these regions will begin to develop an image of that region and the population- leading to more stereotypes. For example, the more stories and representations published in media texts about the number of crimes (for instance) in a particular region, the general public will form an image of that region being violent. The north south divide in the UK can be used to show how different regions are represented and how these images have formed.

Geordie Shore creates a negative representation of the north of the UK and how the population stereotypically behaves. Born out of no money, the show represents how this particular region, Newcastle, is quite tacky and arguably chavy. The show represents the north in this way through the characters actions and their costumes.

On the other hand, Made in Chelsea, based south of the UK, is borne out of old money and the characters live quite a luxurious life. This show positively represents living in the south of the UK as desirable and suggests the quality of life and the standard of living is much better than in the north. Unlike Geordie Shore, the characters in this show seem to be more mature and although they're also fake this representation delivers a better image to the general public.