End of unit task: Introduction to Media Index

To finish off our Introduction to Media unit you need to create an index of ALL your MIGRAIN Introduction to Media tasks from the last 14 weeks. This will be hugely useful for revision for the upcoming January assessment, February mock exams AND the real MEST1 exam in May.

Use the MIGRAIN Powerpoint to help you (and to revise).

It should follow a clear format:

Date > Key concept > Title of work as a link to blogpost

Example:

September 2014 > Media Language > Media consumption task

September 2014 > Media Language > Reading an image 50 Cent analysis

October 2014 > Narrative > Narrative theory clip analysis

November 2014 > Audience > Uses and Gratifications blog task

At the end of the index, check that you’ve covered all 7 key concepts:

Media Language
Institution
Genre (note: largely covered in Film Language unit)
Representation
Audience
Ideology
Narrative

Complete this index for homework this week if you don't finish it in the lesson.

If you have missed any of the key concepts, you can access the blog archive down the left-hand side of the main Year 12 Media Macguffin blog. It is YOUR responsibility to ensure you have covered all the course concepts prior to sitting the final exam.

Ideology and binary opposition

The key notes from today's lesson:

Ideology

What is an ideology?
An ideology is a world view, a system of values, attitudes and beliefs which an individual, group or society holds to be true or important; these are shared by a culture or society about how that society should function.

Dominant ideologies

Ideologies that are told to us repeatedly by important social institutions such as the government or media are called dominant ideologies.

Dominant ideologies are ideologies or beliefs that we live by in our day-to-day lives and often do not question – they have become 'natural, common sense' things to do. This effectively dissuades people from rebelling against these beliefs, and keeps a sense of stability in society.

Why is ideology important in Media Studies?

Media texts always reflect certain values or ideologies though sometimes we may not be aware of this. When studying a media text you may look for the dominant ideology present and question whose world view is represented and which groups have not been represented.

Levi-Strauss: Binary opposition

Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009) was a French philosopher and one of the most important cultural theorists of the 20th century. 

His theory of binary opposition is important for media students.

Levi-Strauss suggested everyone thinks of the world around them in terms of binary opposites such as up and down, life and death etc. and therefore every culture can be understood in these terms.

Binary opposition in media

Binary opposition is used to create narrative and conflict in media. It is also used to simplify complex situations for easy consumption (e.g. TV news).

Along similar lines, if something is not easily reduced to binary opposites, it is far less likely to receive widespread media coverage.

Binary oppositions can be used to create stereotypes and promote certain ideologies or beliefs.

BBC Question Time: binary oppositions and ideology

Watch this clip from BBC Question Time with Russell Brand and Nigel Farage. The BBC deliberately placed the two against each other and the episode resulted in far more people watching and tweeting than usual.

What examples of binary opposition can you suggest from watching this clip?

What ideologies are on display in this clip?

Embed the video into your blog (as above) and answer these two questions in full paragraphs.

Research and planning checklist

All of your MEST2 Research and Planning is due on Friday 9 January - the first week back after Christmas.

This Research and Planning checklist will help you ensure that you've completed everything required.

Don't forget to use the OFCOM Broadcasting Code outlining the pre-watershed rules to make sure you don't fall foul of the guidelines.

Good luck!

Revision: January assessment

A reminder that you will have a MEST1 Section A assessment in the first week back in January. You need to revise the following:

• ALL your Introduction to Media concepts and theories (MIGRAIN)
• ALL your Film Language work (Mise-en-scene, camerawork, sound, editing)

The assessment will involve a clip (shown three times) and then four questions under the headings Media Forms (language), Media Representations, Media Institutions, Media Audiences. You will have 60 minutes (15 minutes per task) to answer the four compulsory questions. 

Due: first week back in January

Audience focus groups - blog task

I hope the audience research focus groups for our MEST2 TV show ideas have been useful - it's a brilliant opportunity to share good ideas and improve our productions. You now need to write up your own group's recording in a blog post - note this write-up is an INDIVIDUAL task. The blog post should include the following:

• A brief introduction to what the focus group involved
• A list of key quotes from the focus group recording (you don't need to identify who said each quote and using bullet points is fine)
• What you learned from the discussion and how this will impact on your final product
• A detailed breakdown of the target audience for your TV programme now you have completed some audience research: gender, age, social class, education/employment, race/ethnicity, psychographics etc.

The focus group audio recordings will be available on the GHS VLE if you don't upload them in the lesson. Go to: Departments > Media Studies > Shared Documents

Your blog post for this aspect of your audience research needs to be AT LEAST 500 words - it may well be a lot longer and remember you will use bits of this later in your MEST2 evaluation (worth 25% of the overall marks).

12A: Representation task

There is an excellent article on the Female Gaze and how women are represented in advertising in the new issue of Media Magazine (MM50). Complete the following tasks on your blog:

Go to our Media Magazine archive and open up MM50. Scroll to page 56 and read 'The Female Gaze: Rethinking Representation'

Answer the following questions on your blog:

1) What is the article about? Summarise the article in 50 words.

2) What is the name of the film that has sparked this recent debate on body image and female representation?

3) How does the 'Female Gaze' in this article differ from the 'Male Gaze' of Laura Mulvey's theory?

4) What is your own opinion of the representation of women in advertising? Should the media carry more representation of 'real' women? Why does the media not currently feature size 14 women if that is the average size of a British woman?

5) Go to the website of A Perfect 14. Watch the trailer and read about the film. Write your own summary of the film and what it is trying to achieve.

New issue of Media Magazine out

As a Media department, we subscribe to Media Magazine, an excellent resource for Media students with articles on all the key issues dominating the contemporary media landscape.

If you're serious about aiming for an A or A* grade in A Level Media overall then you need to read it - when each issue comes out and the archive too.

The new issue of Media Magazine (MM50 - December 2014) contains articles on science fiction, case studies on Lionsgate (the Hunger Games film studio), the BBC and an article called The Female Gaze - rethinking representation. There's plenty that will inform your case studies, critical investigations and exam preparation.

We have a fantastic online Media Magazine archive (the last 20 issues available in pdf format) along with a Word document tracking all the articles in the last 20 issues that makes searching for topics and issues easy.

Make use of it!

12A: Representation theories

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 task

Return to your TV or film clip that you have already analysed for dominant/alternative representations and stereotypes (original blog task was here).

You now need to write an in-depth analysis of the representation in this clip as if you were writing an essay or exam answer. 

Apply the representation theories we have learned (you must apply a minimum of three of the theories) and write a minimum of 500 words.

Complete for homework: due next Monday

12C: MEST2 Status update

In today's lesson we will be having group tutorials to see how your research and planning is progressing. You need to be working on the following tasks for the rest of the lesson AND homework:

MEST2 Status update - Monday 8 December
You need to post regular status updates to your blog throughout your MEST2 coursework to make sure you're keeping up with the work and documenting tutorial feedback. Your first status update needs to include the following:

1) Your finalised group

2) Your initial plans for your new TV programme that meets the MEST2 brief

3) A link to your research blogpost - the five TV/film opening scenes you have analysed that will help inform your own ideas and production work.

4) A write-up of your tutorial.


Research and planning Task #2: Institution research
Research E4 and BBC3 - two channels that boast a similar target audience to your brief. For EACH channel, research the following:

Channel history
When did it start broadcasting? What was the critical reception? Any controversial moments? What genre of programmes is the channel best known for?

Notable successes
What TV programmes have been most successful for the channel? Why do you think they were so successful? Are any of these programmes similar to your idea for a new TV programme?

Target audience
Look carefully online and you'll find a detailed breakdown of the target audience. For example, E4 has an excellent sales webpage that contains links to incredibly informative Powerpoint documents that outline E4's target audience and key statistics in great detail.

Write up the demographic breakdown of the channel's target audience. Once you have done that, write an analysis of the target audience stating what psychographic groups might watch the channel and also what brands or lifestyle choices viewers would be interested in.


Audience focus group preparation
Prepare a pitch for next week's Audience focus groups. Your group will be pitching your new TV programme concept to a focus group of 10 students and recording the discussion that follows. This will provide you with invaluable feedback on your idea before it goes into production.

You need to be able to sell your idea to the focus group and communicate the genre, style and content clearly and concisely. The only way you will manage this is by KNOWING your idea inside out.

Your pitch needs to include the following:

• A clear explanation of your idea, possibly referencing other programmes/films
• Details from the brief: characters, narrative themes and location
• Why your idea might appeal to the key 15-35 year old audience demographic
• Scheduling details - when it might be broadcast and on which channel

Due: next Monday 15 December

12C Cover Work/Homework: Fri. 5/12/14, p5

Remember the basic rules first:

• Arrive on time - make sure you register with the cover teacher/Mr Halsey;
• Stay in the classroom until the end of the lesson;
• Work responsibly on the tasks set.

Our next Key Concept is Representation.

1. Watch the video produced by 'No More Page 3'.

After viewing, on your blog...

• Explain what the video was about;

• Note down the on-screen text that lists each of the conclusions they made;

• Give your view - do you agree with the conclusions? Is this representation harmful? Why?

2. Then, read the article about women in video games.

For homework, find three online articles that debate this topic.

Post up the link to each one, with a brief summary, and your view of the representations being discussed.