TV: Introduction to TV Drama

Our TV Drama CSPs are BBC 'state of the nation' drama Capital and critically acclaimed German cold war spy thriller Deutschland 83. 

We need to make sure we are experts in television drama for this major section of Media Exam 1 - conventions, media language, notable successes and historical context.

TV Drama: key notes

Television drama is a hugely popular genre and a staple across schedules and streaming services. ‘Binge-watching’ is a recent phenomenon while other dramas have built hugely loyal fanbases (e.g. Doctor Who, Game of Thrones).

There are many sub-genres and hybrid genres in TV drama from the costume drama to the hospital drama. 

Setting

TV dramas tend to take place in recognisable settings with regular locations that characters can inhabit.

Most dramas are defined by their location and the iconography (mise-en-scene) is vital for communicating the sub-genre and narrative expectations to the audience.


Even science-fiction family dramas such as Doctor Who feature regular settings such as the Tardis.


Character

Most TV dramas have a large ensemble cast – a range of characters. These characters are often stereotypical – communicating a lot to the audience quickly.

Often recognisable and relatable – giving audiences the pleasure of identification and an ongoing ‘relationship’: we keep watching to find out what happens to them. 


Characters often reflect the sub-genre (think police, hospital or period costume drama stock characters).


Narrative 

Most TV dramas have multi-strand narratives telling a range of interconnected storylines. An overall narrative arc often goes over the whole season or series. Others feature episodic narratives with storylines resolved in one episode. Flashbacks can also feature.

Many TV dramas now employ a ‘cold opening’ – the opening scene taking place before credits/titles – designed to create enigma and draw the audience in. Ultimately, it is the sub-genre of the TV drama that will help set narrative expectations for the audience.


Note: If you missed the initial lesson on TV Drama, we analysed a series of TV drama opening scenes to explore how the setting, character and narrative is established using technical codes (e.g. camerawork/editing/mise-en-scene) and audio codes (dialogue/voiceover/diegetic and non-diegetic sound). One of the opening sequences is available on YouTube:

An introduction to TV Drama: Blog task

Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #164 on Television Serial Drama. Save it to USB or email it to yourself so you have access to the reading for homework. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions to show your comprehensive knowledge of the television drama genre:

1) What is serial television drama? Write your own definition.

2) List five of the TV dramas discussed in the history of the genre on page 1 of the factsheet. How has the genre evolved over time?

3) List the sub-genres of TV drama featured in the factsheet. Come up with your own example of an existing TV dramas to fit each category.

4) Why is setting so important for TV drama?

5) How do TV dramas typically use character? What audience pleasures can be linked to character in TV drama? (Hint: Uses & Gratifications theory!)

6) What is a multi-strand narrative? Give an example of a TV drama that features a multi-strand narrative.

7) What is a cold opening?

8) How can Todorov's theory of equilibrium be applied to TV drama serials?

9) What is the typical form for TV dramas and how are the programmes typically distributed to an audience?

10) How have subscription channels (such as HBO) and streaming services (such as Netflix and Amazon Prime) changed the form and content of TV dramas?

11) Choose a TV drama and do your own analysis of it using the SETTING / CHARACTERS / NARRATIVE / FORM headings as featured on page 3 of the factsheet.

12) How might the TV drama genre evolve in future?


Extension task: TV Drama v Film

Building on question 12 above, read this fascinating extended article comparing TV drama to film. It will also help to bridge the gap between our work on the film industry and our new topic of TV drama. Where do you stand on the debate? Is TV drama the key medium of storytelling or will cinema always be king?

Complete for homework - due next Wednesday.

MIGRAIN: Representing ourselves - identity in the online age

Our final topic for the introduction to representation is collective identity: the sense of belonging to a group.

This is something the media has a huge influence over - everything from advertising to social media profiles can affect our sense of identity and where we fit in. Indeed, the representations we see in the media can have a huge impact on how we fit into society and the world around us. We need to learn some key theories and also consider the impact of new and digital technology on issues of collective identity and representation.

Notes and key theories

Collective identity

Collective identity is the shared sense of belonging to a group. In Media Studies, we need to consider the influence media has over a person’s sense of identity.

This is closely linked to representation as the way groups are portrayed in the media can influence our sense of identity and belonging.

Collective identity: theories

Marxism and the Frankfurt School

Marxists believe identity is constructed through hegemony imposed by the ruling elite. A sense of individual identity is a myth that prevents people challenging powerful groups.

This links to the Frankfurt School, a group of influential Marxists who viewed media audiences as passive vessels. They believe the media is used to control and manipulate people.

Example: Apple branding

Apple’s early branding suggested individuality and creative freedom... But in fact it was always a massive profit-seeking corporation looking to sell as widely as possible.

Later, iPhone adverts subtly suggested a certain lifestyle that has become synonymous with Apple products. Everything suggests creative possibility and individual opportunity but Marxists would argue this merely hides the fact we are being manipulated by a faceless corporation into handing Apple huge amounts of money (why is an iPhone so much more expensive than an Android phone for example?) 

What is the representation of an iPhone user presented in the iPhone 6s 'Onions' advert?

Daniel Chandler: CAGE

Daniel Chandler suggested the acronym CAGE, stating our identity is constructed through class, age, gender and ethnicity. 

Does this still apply in the 21st century? Do we construct our own identities along these lines? Is representation in the media still dominated by these classifications? Think about your own presence on social media.

Stuart Hall: media construction

Stuart Hall suggests the media actively constructs our society rather than reflecting it back. 

Our identity is part of this and therefore any sense of individuality we may feel is actually constructed through the media we engage with.

Constructing our own identities

New technology has changed the way we see ourselves and others. Through social media we can construct representations of ourselves.

Example: Instagram/Snapchat

• How did you choose your profile pic?
• What does your profile say?
• Who do you follow?
• How much do you consider what others will think of you when posting/liking/sharing?

Does social media have a positive influence over our identity? Or is it corrosive? Simon Sinek's view on the millennial generation went viral a few months ago and is worth watching again for the section on social media, technology and how it influences our sense of identity:

Shared identity online

New technology has created the opportunity for people to form groups online that represent their shared identity. 

Think about the work we have done recently on feminism and online activism - blogs, forums, social media accounts and whole campaigns and movements (#everydaysexism) have given audiences a new sense of collective identity. In America, #blacklivesmatter is doing this with racism and police brutality.

Social media can empower individuals and create a strong sense of belonging – media theorist Sherry Turkle  famously described the internet as a place to be "alone together".

Collective identity in the 21st Century

So, collective identity doesn’t just refer to representations in mainstream media.

It also refers to self-constructed identity by users of social media and communities formed online of shared identity (e.g. Feminism).

Representing ourselves: blog task

Read the Media Magazine article on collective identity: Self-image and the Media (MM41 - page 6). Our Media Magazine archive is here.

Complete the following tasks on your blog:

1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'

2) List five brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.

3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?

4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.

5) Is your presence on social media an accurate reflection of who you are? Have you ever added or removed a picture from a social media site purely because of what it says about the type of person you are?

6) What is your opinion on 'data mining'? Are you happy for companies to sell you products based on your social media presence and online search terms? Is this an invasion of privacy?

You will have lesson time to complete this but will need to finish for homework anything you do not cover in the lesson. Deadline: confirmed by your teacher.

Film Industry: end of unit index

We have completed our first CSP for A Level Media: the Film Industry and Chicken. We now need to complete a short index to ensure we haven't missed any vital notes or research.  

As we've established now, keeping an index of all your work is extremely good practice from a revision perspective. This keeps the vital CSP information fresh in your mind and also highlights if you've missed anything through absence or trips. 

Film Industry: Chicken index

Your final Film Industry index should include the following:

1) British Film Industry factsheets #132 & #100
2) Chicken case study research 
3) Regulation - BBFC research and tasks
4) A Field In England - initial research and tasks
5) A Field In England & Arthouse cinema - concluded

For your index, it needs to link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work and revision notes quickly and easily. This also means you if you have missed anything you can now catch up with the work/notes and won't underperform in future assessments/exams due to gaps in your knowledge.

Important: your index needs to be completed by next Friday. Any missing work MUST be caught up by that deadline too.

Film Industry: A Field In England concluded

To conclude our work on the British film industry, we will look at the success of A Field In England's release strategy and the appeal of arthouse film.

Understanding the audience appeal in terms of arthouse film links perfectly to Chicken - a film that would not attract a mainstream audience. It is also worth exploring the success of A Field In England's unusual release strategy as it may provide a blueprint for how low-budget films can be distributed in future.

Media Magazine: the appeal of arthouse cinema

Complete the following tasks to improve your understanding of arthouse film and the possible audience pleasures that the genre offers:

Read Beyond Hollywood: Reading Arthouse Cinema. This is in MM45 on page 24 - go to our Media Magazine archive to find the article. 

1) Summarise the article in 50 words.

2) What are some of the suggested audience pleasures for arthouse film?

3) Why do some audiences struggle with arthouse film? Refer to some media theory here (there are some important media theories discussed in the article itself).

4) To what extent is arthouse film only for the middle classes and older audiences? Why might this be the case?

5) What type of audience would A Field In England appeal to? What about Chicken?

A Field In England: BFI report on the release strategy and commercial success

1) Read this BFI Insight report into the release and reception of the film. What was the purpose of the report? 

2) What was the budget for A Field In England?

3) What were the key numbers in terms of cinema box office takings, TV viewers, VOD and DVD sales? 

4) What was the primary target audience for A Field In England? Does this surprise you? How does it contrast with your answer to question 5 in the tasks above?

5) What did the report conclude with regards to social media and the marketing campaign? How does this link to our Chicken case study?

6) Finally, what was the BFI's conclusion with regards to the unusual release strategy for A Field In England? Was it a success? What evidence is provided to argue this point?

Complete this for homework if you don't get it done in the lesson - due Wednesday.

Film Industry: A Field In England

A Field In England is a low-budget arthouse film by award-winning director Ben Wheatley. It was released on 5th July 2013 across cinema, DVD/Blu-ray, TV and VoD.

It has certain similarities to Chicken and provides a useful second case study in exploring how low-budget British films are funded, produced and promoted to an audience.

A Field In England is described as a psychedelic trip into Civil War era rural England and attracted attention due to both the director and the highly creative release and distribution method.

A Field In England is an excellent second case study because the official website contains a huge amount of information about the film from initial idea and financing to filming, editing and its remarkable release strategy.

The more you read, the more confidently you will be able to make links with Chicken and answer exam questions on the British film industry.

A Field In England: blog tasks

Read the Media Magazine feature on A Field In England in Issue 47 and create a blogpost called 'A Field In England case study'. You'll find the article in our Media Magazine archive - click on MM47 and go to page 19.

1) Write a 100 word summary of the Media Magazine article.

2) Read the following pages on the official website for A Field In England and write a one-sentence summary of each. Each page provides explanations of the unique release strategy that the institutions behind the film chose: 

Industrial Evolution: Producer Andy Starke on the music industry influences informing A Field In England’s release strategy.  
Screening/radical release: Commissioning Executive Anna Higgs on the groundbreaking release plans for A Field In England.
Audience: Anna Higgs discusses where A Field In England sits within British cinema and how it will reach its intended audience for the film.

3) How was A Field In England’s release different to typical film releases?

4) What are the advantages to releasing the film across all platforms on the same day?

5) What are the disadvantages to this approach?

6) What target audience would A Field In England be aimed at? Think about demographics and Psychographics.

7) Do you think all films in future will be released across all platforms simultaneously in future? Why? What role will technology play in film distribution?

8) Why was Chicken unable to use such a release and distribution strategy when it was made in 2014? 

Extension work: read the rest of the official website's digital masterclass – there is a huge amount of information about the film from initial idea and financing to filming, editing and release.

Homework: Ensure the reading, summary and questions are completed and on your blog - due next Wednesday.

MIGRAIN: Feminist theory

A current debate in feminism is whether we are in a post-feminist state: is feminism still needed?

It's important to have your own opinion on this debate and, crucially, be able to support it with reference to feminist theory and current examples. 

Feminist theory: key notes

Judith Butler: gender roles

Butler believes traditional feminists are wrong to divide society into ‘men’ and ‘women’ and says gender is not biologically fixed.

By dividing men and women, feminists accidently reinforced the idea of differences between the two genders

Butler believes gender roles are ‘a performance’ and that male and female behaviour is socially constructed rather than the result of biology.

Butler and the media

If gender is a ‘performance’ rather than biological, we then need to think about what is influencing that ‘performance’.

And that’s where the media comes in. How might the media influence our behaviour in terms of gender roles?



Angela McRobbie: empowering women

McRobbie is a British cultural theorist known for her work analysing magazines aimed at women and teenage girls in the 80s and 90s.

McRobbie highlights the empowering nature of magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Glamour, taking a different perspective to traditional feminists.


This idea of ‘popular feminism’ fits into the idea of post-feminism and challenges the radical feminism of the 1970s.

Feminism: blog tasks

Complete the following tasks on your blog:

Media Magazine reading

Read Playing With The Past: Post-feminism and the Media (MM40, page 64 - our Media Magazine archive is here).

1) What are the two texts the article focuses on?

2) What examples are provided from the two texts of the 'male gaze' (Mulvey)?

3) Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?

4) Choose three words/phrases from the glossary of the article and write their definitions on your blog.


Music video analysis

Watch the Beyonce video for ‘Why Don’t You Love Me?’: 

1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?

2) Does this video reinforce or challenge the view that women should perform certain roles in society?

3) Would McRobbie view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women? Why?

4) What are your OWN views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ (Mulvey)?

Complete for homework if you don't finish this during the lesson - due next lesson.

Mr Halsey cover work - Friday 18 January

Apologies Year 12 - I'm out training on the new school website so won't be in lessons on Friday.

Mr Bush and Ms Quinn will look after the lessons but the work is pretty simple:

12E - period 2
Representation - an introduction to Feminism. Ms Quinn will show you an important TED talk on Everyday Sexism then you need to work through the notes and blog tasks here. I'll be going over the teaching of this Monday so we'll have plenty of opportunity to learn the basics of feminism.


12D - period 5
Film Industry - British Board of Film Classification. As discussed on Wednesday, you need to research the regulation of the British film industry. All the details, links and tasks are on this blogpost - work through the questions and complete anything you don't finish for homework.

Good luck!

Film Industry: BBFC film regulation

In our work on the British film industry, we need to consider the role of the BBFC, why Chicken was rated 15 and what the future holds for film regulation in a digital world.

Film certification in the UK is the job of the BBFC - the British Board of Film Classification.

Watch this (slightly old) video outlining how videos are classified at the BBFC:

Film regulation and the BBFC - blog tasks:

1) Research the BBFC in more detail: what is the institution responsible for? How is it funded? What link does it have to government?

2) Read this BBFC guide to how films are rated. Summarise the process in 50 words.

3) Read this BBFC outline of the issues faced when classifying a film. Summarise the debate in 50 words.

4) Read this BBFC section on controversial decisions. Why did The Dark Knight generate a large amount of media coverage regarding its certificate? Do you agree with the 12A certificate The Dark Knight was awarded?

5) What are the guidelines for a 15 certificate?

6) The BBFC website offers an explanation of every classification it makes and detailed case studies on selected titles. Look at the rating for Chicken and explain why it was given a 15 certificate.

Complete this for homework if you don't get it done in the lesson - due next Friday.

MIGRAIN: Introduction to feminism

Discussing feminism and learning a range of feminist theories is an essential part of A Level Media Studies.

Are we living in a post-feminist state? Do you agree there is still a need for feminism? To what extent does the media contribute to the identity created for women in popular culture? These are some of the questions we need to consider when studying representation in A Level Media.

There is a current debate regarding whether feminism is still required in the 21st century (the idea that we are now in a 'post-feminist' state) against the view that the use of new and digital media to further feminist campaigns constitutes a new fourth wave of feminism.

Key notes

Waves of feminism
First wave: early 20th century, suffragette movement (right to vote).
Second wave: 1960s – 1990s, reproductive rights (pill), abortion, equal pay.
Third wave: 1990s – present, empowerment, reclaiming of femininity (high heels, sexuality etc. See Angela McRobbie's work on women's magazines).
Fourth wave? 2010 – ongoing, use of new technology and digital media (e.g. Twitter) for activism.

Fourth wave?
Many commentators argue that the internet itself has enabled a shift from ‘third-wave’ to ‘fourth-wave’ feminism. What is certain is that the internet has created a ‘call-out’ culture, in which sexism or misogyny can be ‘called out’ and challenged. 

This culture is indicative of the continuing influence of the third wave, with its focus on challenging sexism and misogyny in advertising, film, television and the media. 

Key quote: “power users of social media”
The internet has facilitated the creation of a global community of feminists who use the internet both for discussion and activism. 

According to #FemFuture: Online Feminism, a report recently published by Columbia University’s Barnard Center for Research on Women, females aged between 18 and 29 are the ‘power users of social networking’.

(Source: Political Studies Association. Read more about this: http://www.psa.ac.uk/insight-plus/feminism-fourth-wave)

Critics of online feminism
Critics of online feminist movements suggest that petitions and pressure from Twitter campaigns is simply a witchhunt orchestrated by privileged middle-class white women.

They ask: are ‘trolls’ the danger they are portrayed to be?


Introduction to feminism: blog tasks


Case study: Everyday Sexism

Watch this TEDx talk by Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates:



1) Why did Laura Bates start the Everyday Sexism project?

2) How does the Everyday Sexism project link to the concept of post-feminism? Is feminism still required in western societies?

3) Why was new technology essential to the success of the Everyday Sexism project?

4) Will there be a point in the future when the Everyday Sexism project is not required? What is YOUR view on the future of feminism?


Media Magazine: The fourth wave?

Read the article: The Fourth Wave? Feminism in the Digital Age in MM55 (p64). You'll find the article in our Media Magazine archive here.

1) Summarise the questions in the first two sub-headings: What is networked feminism? Why is it a problem?

2) What are the four waves of feminism? Do you agree that we are in a fourth wave ‘networked feminism’? 

3) Focus on the examples in the article. Write a 100-word summary of EACH of the following: Everyday Sexism, HeForShe, FCKH8 campaign, This Girl Can.

4) What is your opinion with regards to feminism and new/digital media? Do you agree with the concept of a 'fourth wave' of feminism post-2010 or are recent developments like the Everyday Sexism project merely an extension of the third wave of feminism from the 1990s?

Complete for homework - due Friday 26 January.

Film Industry: Chicken case study research

Our first close-study product is micro-budget British film Chicken. We need to know how the film was funded, produced, distributed and promoted.

The key notes from the lesson are here:

Funding
In order to make Chicken, director Joe Stephenson raised £110,000. Key points:

• Raised entirely through investment by individuals (e.g. rich friends/contacts)
• No funding body (e.g. BFI Film Fund) was willing to fund Chicken
• Raises questions about whether film industry is accessible to lower-income filmmakers

Production
Key points for making Chicken:

• Adapted from a play by Freddie Machin that originally ran at Southwark Playhouse.
• Filmed in 19 days, almost all external locations so victim to rain, issues with lighting etc.
• Film produced and distributed by a new company set up by director Stephenson: B Good Picture Company.

Distribution

Chicken’s distribution has been very difficult:

• No distribution deal secured in 2014
• Two-year festival circuit won awards and generated interest and critical acclaim for film
• UK cinema release followed in May 2016. Selected for film subscription service MUBI and acquired by Film4 for TV premiere in April 2017.
• UK DVD release distributed by Network Releasing. Digital distribution in USA/Canada – January 2018.

Promotion

Alongside film festivals, new technology was vital to promoting Chicken to a wider audience: 

• Some traditional marketing: trailer, film poster with review quotes etc.
• Social media very important to market film – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.
• Film available on-demand now; Stephenson hoping for deal with Netflix or Amazon Prime to bring in revenue and find wider audience.

Chicken: case study blog task

Work through the following tasks to build a detailed case study for Chicken. This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question on the film industry.

Read the following interviews and features on Chicken:

Film News interview with director Joe Stephenson
Hey Guys interview with Stephenson
Flavourmag interview with Scott Chambers and Joe Stephenson

Watch the trailer for Chicken:



Watch this Into Film feature on Chicken:




Watch important film critic Mark Kermode's review of Chicken on the BBC:



Funding

1) What was the budget for Chicken?
2) How did Joe Stephenson end up raising the money to make the film?
3) How does the Chicken budget compare to a Hollywood-funded British blockbuster such as Spectre or Paddington 2?
4) Joe Stephenson tried to secure funding from organisations that help low-budget filmmakers. What is the BFI Film Fund and how does it contribute to the British film industry?
5) Why do you think Chicken failed to secure funding from the BFI Film Fund?


Production

1) What difficulties did the film run into during production?
2) How many days did the film take to shoot?
3) What scenes were particularly difficult for Joe Stephenson to film?


Distribution

1) Why did the film fail to secure a distribution deal when first made in 2014?
2) What film festivals did Chicken feature at between 2014-2016?
3) Why are film festivals an effective way for a low-budget film to secure a distribution deal?
4) When was Chicken released in cinemas in the UK?
5) Why do you think film subscription service MUBI chose the film to feature on the service?
6) Why was Film4 a good choice to give the film its UK television premiere?
7) When will the film be released on iTunes and other video-on-demand services in the USA and Canada?


Promotion

Note: some of these pages will be blocked in school - you will need to complete those particular questions at home.

1) What does the trailer suggest regarding genre and the potential audience pleasures of Chicken?
2) What synergy can you find between the trailer and other traditional marketing methods such as the film poster?
3) Why are reviews from industry figures such as Mark Kermode so important to a film's success?
4) How does the Chicken Twitter account create and maintain interest in the film?
5) Who does the Twitter account re-tweet? How does this help to promote the film?
6) How does the Chicken Facebook page use images and video content to promote the film?
7) What pages are liked by the Chicken Facebook page? What does this tell you about the film and potential target audience?
8) Go to the B Good Picture Company's website page for Chicken. What celebrities are mentioned on the page? Why might they be highlighted?
9) Now go to the film's official website. What is the key purpose of the website and what does this tell you about the influence of new technology and how it is changing howpeople watch films?
10) Go to the B Good Picture Company YouTube channel. What videos feature on the channel? How do they help to promote Chicken?


Complete for homework - due next Wednesday.

MIGRAIN: Representation theory

When analysing representation in the media we need to be able to apply media theories as well as discussing dominant and alternative portrayals.

A reminder of the notes on Representation theories:

Richard Dyer: Stereotyping and power
Richard Dyer's theory suggests that the complexity and variety of a group is reduced to a few key characteristics. An exaggerated version of these characteristics is then applied to everyone in the group. 

He states that those with power stereotype those with less power. 

Therefore, we have stereotypes of non-white people, poor people and women... but not so many of white, middle class men.


Medhurst: shorthand that carries value judgements
Andy Medhurst suggests stereotyping is shorthand for identification. This means we use stereotypes to tell audiences a lot in a short space of time.

However, this can carry value judgements and therefore be very negative for the representation of minority groups. Medhurst gave the example of the representation of gay men: 

"The image of the screaming queen does not just mean 'all gay men are like that', it means 'all gay men are like that and aren't they awful', which in turn means 'and they are awful because they are not like us'."

Perkins: stereotypes can be positive or partly true

Tessa Perkins suggests some stereotypes can be positive and are often true.

Specifically, she stated that stereotypes are...

• Not always negative (the French are good cooks)
• Not always about the less powerful (Politicians are corrupt)
• Can be about our own social groups (Students are lazy)
• Not always false (The Scottish wear kilts)
• Can change over time (A typical British holiday was in Blackpool; now it is Spain)

Mulvey: the male gaze

Laura Mulvey suggests that the dominant view in the media is masculine and created for the benefit of men. Women are presented for men to look at, hence the ‘male gaze’. This links to the idea of ‘sex sells’ and women being represented as sex objects.

More recently, the idea of the ‘female gaze’ has been suggested. Rosalind Gill suggests the objectified male is an example of post-feminist media culture in modern Britain. Task: write down an example for each.

Linked to Mulvey...

Berger: ‘Ways of seeing’

An additional representation theory that influenced Mulvey:

John Berger (1972) stated that: “Men act and women appear”

“Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at.”

Levi-Strauss: Representation and ideology

Claude Levi-Strauss suggests that representations in the media are informed by ideology: the set of beliefs and values held by the producer of the text.

Some things are included and others are left out to create a dominant or preferred representation. 

Representation blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Representation theory'. 

Read the Media Magazine feature 'Representation old and new'. This is in MM51 on page 6 - go to our Media Magazine archive to find the article. Complete the following tasks:

1) Why is representation an important concept in Media Studies?

2) How does the example of Kate Middleton show the way different meanings can be created in the media?

3) Summarise the section 'The how, who and why of media representation' in 50 words.

4) How does Stuart Hall's theory of preferred and oppositional readings fit with representation?

5) How has new technology changed the way representations are created in the media?

6) What example if provided of how national identity is represented in Britain - and how some audiences use social media to challenge this?

Now think about today's representation theories. Go back to the Taken trailer from last week's introduction to representation and apply each theory to the trailer:



Write a short paragraph for each theory picking out aspects of the trailer that could be linked to that particular theory.

For example, negative representations of Eastern Europeans and women support Dyer's view that those with power stereotype those without power. It also reduces complex and varied groups to a few simplistic characteristics.

Complete this for each theory:

Dyer: stereotyping and power
Medhurst: value judgements
Perkins: some stereotypes can be positive or true
Mulvey: the male gaze
Levi-Strauss: representation and ideology

Complete for homework: due next week in double lesson

Spring term update

We’ve got an important term coming up – it’s only 11 weeks to Easter and in that time we will be completing our introduction to media and studying our first few close study products.

In your exam lessons, you will be completing the MIGRAIN introduction to media by looking at representation and ideology. This will include feminism and collective identity alongside a range of representation theories. After half-term we'll be starting the print industry and focusing on the exam CSPs. 

On the coursework side, you will develop last term's work on film and TV by studying the film industry (CSP - Chicken) and TV drama (CSPs - Capital and Deutschland 83). These are crucial CSPs that will cover a significant number of marks in the final exams.

What can you do to maximise your grade in A Level Media Studies?

Now is the time to really step up your consumption of wider issues and debates in the media. If you want an A grade, you need to be doing the following as a minimum:

• Keeping up with the Media Guardian to find out the big stories in the media each week – particularly on a Monday.

• Reading each issue of Media Magazine. Our full archive is available here – the latest issue (MM62) has excellent features on Moonlight, virtual reality, Dunkirk and Love Island - such a wide range of relevant and contemporary topics. 

• Using our incredible archive of Media Factsheets to revise and increase your knowledge of wider media issues and debates. There are over 100 topics covered, many of them highly relevant to our exam preparation and coursework. They are available on our M: Media Shared drive under Resources > A Level. Make the most of the them! 

We made an excellent start to A Level Media last term and have given ourselves the platform to achieve the very top grades. Keep up the good work!

Film Industry: British film industry factsheets

Our first Close Study Product is from the film industry - Chicken (2015) directed by Joe Stephenson.

This micro budget British independent film is a great example of something the British film industry has produced for many years - low-budget social realism. Indeed, in the lesson you will have been taken through the rich history of British film from the Second World War to the 21st century. You now need to add to your knowledge of the industry by reading two media factsheets and completing a series of tasks:

Factsheet #132: British Film

Use our brilliant Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #132 on British Film. Save it to USB or email it to yourself so you have access to the reading for homework. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British.

2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film?

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?

4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?

5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in.

6) What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film?

Factsheet #100: British film industry

To complete our introduction to the British film industry, we need a little more background to the industries context.

Find Media Factsheet #100 on the British film industry. Save it to USB or email it to yourself so you have access to the Factsheet for homework. Read the whole of the Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film counts as British?

2) Complete the task on the Factsheet, researching the films listed and finding out what they score on the cultural test: Sweeney, Attack The Block, The King's Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Skyfall.

3) What is the main problem for the British film industry?

4) What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?

5) What are the two options for the future of the British film industry?

6) In your opinion, which of these two options would best safeguard the future of the British film industry?

You have a week to complete these tasks for homework as there is plenty of work here - due next Wednesday.