Stuart Hall: Theories of representation.

Put in the most basic of ways, representation is the way in which signs are used to create meaning. Essentially, it is when an image or phrase is depicted in such a way that it suggests something was there already; for instance, say a newspaper presented an image of a fat man eating a sandwich next to the Stars and Stripes, the image is just a man eating a sandwich, but we would see it as a metaphor for the American public being overweight. You see, representation is not about whether the media reflects or distorts reality, but the many meanings a representation can generate.