We need to produce a short index for our Music Video unit. 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 for whatever reason. This is particularly important with an end-of-year assessment approaching and remember music video will appear in Paper 1 Section A.
Music Video: index Your final Music Video index should include the following:
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 if you have missed anything you can now catch up with the work/notes and won't underperform in future exams due to gaps in your knowledge.
Your Year 12 Media exams will be a great opportunity to practice exam skills and work out what progress you need to make next year to reach your targets.
Your exams will be two mini-versions of the real exams you'll do next summer. Below is a full guide to what you need to revise for each section of the exam. Please note that the current topic of Magazines will NOT be tested in these exams as we have only studied one of the CSPs. Instead, we'll give you a baseline assessment at the start of Year 13 that will focus on Magazines and Radio.
Know your exams
One of the most important aspects of preparing for examinations is knowing exactly what topics could come up in each exam. For your A Level Media exams, your Year 12 content will come up in the following places:
Paper 1 Section A: Language and Representation
Unseen text: advert, social media screengrab or music promotion of some kind. Media language analysis (8 marks)
How to revise Revision is a very personal thing and everyone has different techniques. Missing out on your GCSE exams might mean that you have not developed your own systems for revision or perhaps not used such techniques for a long time. Here's a video on YouTube with top tips for A* A Level revision:
Personally, I strongly recommend using flash cards (they are often called record cards if you are trying to buy them online or in WHSmiths). The simple act of distilling topics into a few key words or phrases to put on the card will seriously help in remembering the key information in the final exams. I have spare flash cards in DF07 if you'd like some.
In summary, you need to revise the following for your Year 12 Media exams:
All media language and theory learned throughout the course so far - look back particularly at the extended MIGRAIN Introduction to Media unit as this contained a lot of key terminology and theory e.g. genre, narrative, industry theory, gender theory etc.
All our CSPs and associated theory - and focus in on the areas YOU ideally want to write about it next year's exams e.g. politics or postmodernism for TV, Gilroy, double consciousness or postmodernism in Music Video etc.
How to plan and answer A Level Media exam questions
One of the key skills you would have developed if you'd completed your GCSEs as normal is techniques to take on exam questions. In order to help you, these 'walk and talk' videos go through a range of different A Level Media exam questions and cover the number of marks, how long to spend on the answer and what structure or points you could make in your answer. Not all of these question types or CSPs will come up in your Year 12 exams but the videos will help with exam technique and revision regardless.
Paper 1 Section A - 9 mark question on Advertising and Marketing:
Paper 1 Section A - 20 mark question on Music Video:
Paper 1 Section B - 6 mark question on Film Industry (note: different CSP to ours):
Paper 1 Section B - 9 mark question on Film Industry (note: different CSP to ours):
Paper 2 - 25 mark TV question:
Good luck with your revision and give these exams your best shot!
To explore the Industries context for Men's Health we need to study Hearst publishing and look at the impact of digital media on the print magazine industry. This means interrogating why the internet has had such a devastating effect on certain print brands and why some other magazines are continuing to thrive in the digital age. We also need to spend some time on the Men's Health website and consider the similarities and differences to what we've found in the print version of the magazine. Notes from the lesson Men's Health UK is published by Hearst Publishing UK, a subsidiary of Hearst Communications. Hearst Communications is an American media conglomerate based in New York that is over 130 years old and is still owned by the Hearst family. It owns a range of media and business information brands including American newspapers, magazines (e.g. Cosmopolitan), half of the A&E Network TV channel and 20% of US sports broadcaster ESPN. It employs 20,000 people and its 2019 revenue was $11.4 billion.
Hearst Publishing UK
Hearst UK publishes over 20 magazine titles including Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Inside Soap and more.
Hearst UK brands reach 30% of UK women and 25% of UK men. They sell over 4m magazines a month and have 17m UK digital unique users.
Hearst UK has also diversified into events and other licensed brand extensions (e.g. Esquire Townhouse pop up members club, Country Living sofas and Men’s Health home gym equipment).
The impact of digital media on the magazine industry Some key questions:
Why has digital media (the internet) had such a devasting effect on the magazines industry?
When did YOU last buy a magazine?
Who IS buying magazines?
Suggestions for SWOT analysis of the impact of digital media on magazines:
Strengths: Magazine brands are well established to diversify online, audiences already know and like them.
Weaknesses: Print publishers do not have the expertise or knowledge of digital – it is a very different medium.
Opportunities: Magazines can find new audiences online.
Threats: Audiences will stop buying paper products and expect everything online for free.
Ultimately, it is this threat that has had the most devastating impact on the industry:
Print sales fell by 42% from 23.8m to 13.9m between 2010 and 2017.
Back in 2000, sales were over 30m – signalling a 55% decline in just 17 years.
Advertising in consumer magazines has fallen from £512m in 2010 to £250m in 2017.
Google and Facebook now dominate online advertising (they account for 65% of the UK digital ad market).
As a result of these changes, many magazines have closed.
Digital media: Hearst and Men’s Health
Hearst UK has posted losses in recent years due to the decline in the magazines market. Men’s Health has also declined in recent years from a circulation high of 228,000 in 2008 to around 120,000 now. However, it has moved up and down in recent years (dropping to 160,000 in 2016 before going up to 180,000 in 2018) which shows decline is not necessarily inevitable.
Men's Health - Industries case study blog tasks This is a comprehensive case study covering a range of Industry contexts. It is divided into three sections: Hearst publishing, the impact of digital media and Men's Health online platforms. You will need to allow for at least two hours to work through the following tasks. Hearst publishing Research Hearst publishing by looking at the Hearst UK website and the Wikipedia entry for parent company and conglomerate Hearst Communications. Then, answer the following questions: 1) Hearst UK is part of Hearst Communications. What is Hearst Communications and where is it based? 2) What media industries and brands make up the Hearst Communications conglomerate? 3) What was the global revenue for Hearst Communications (in dollars) for the most recent year on record? 4) Focusing on Hearst UK, what other magazine brands are part of Hearst UK publishing? How many UK people do they reach in print and online? Now read this Campaign interview with Hearst UK CEO James Wildman and answer the following questions: 1) What is James Wildman's plan for Hearst UK? 2) What percentage ad decline are consumer magazines facing? 3) What Wildman think about premium content and paywalls? 4) How has Hearst used diversification to grow the business? Finally, read this Hearst UK press release for their late 2018 ABC figures and answer two simple questions: 1) Is Men's Health increasing or decreasing in circulation? 2) What does the press release say about recent successes associated with Men's Health? The impact of digital media on the print magazines industry Read the following two features on the print magazine industry:
1) Why are traditional print magazines struggling? 2) What genre of magazines is currently bucking the trend and increasing sales? Why is this? 3) In contrast, what magazine genres are struggling? Give examples of magazines that have declined or stopped printing altogether. 4) Look at the Guardian article in detail. What statistics are provided to demonstrate the decline in the print magazines industry between 2010 and 2017? What about the percentage decline from 2000? 5) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook? 6) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age? 7) Why does the Hearst UK CEO James Wildman suggest that the magazine industry is not dead? 8) What examples from the Guardian article are provided to demonstrate how magazines are finding new revenue streams? What is the Men's Health branding used for? 9) What signs for optimism might there be for traditional magazine brands? 10) How does Men's Health fit into this picture? Why do you think Men's Health has remained successful in the digital age? Do you think Men's Health will continue to publish for many years to come? Why? The Men's Health website and social media Visit the Men's Health website, Twitter feed and Instagram. Answer the following questions: 1) What similarities do you notice between the website and the print edition of the magazine? 2) What newsletters are offered by Men's Health what do they include? How does this help Hearst UK to make money? There is more information on newsletters here if you need it. 3) Look at the Men's Health website menu bar. What are the menu options? What does this suggest about the representation of men and masculinity associated with Men's Health? 4) Choose one of the menu sections (e.g. Mental Strength) and write a list of the features in that area of the website. What target audience are these features aimed at? 5) Do you think the Men's Health website is trying to sell the print version or simply build a digital audience? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a 'digital first' strategy? 6) How does the Men's Health Twitter feed use 'clickbait' to try and get users to click through to the magazine's website? Give examples of tweets that are designed to get the audience to click through. 7) How does the Twitter feed uses images and video content alongside text and links? 8) What does the Men's Health Instagram suggest about the Men's Health brand? Is this appealing to a similar audience to the print version of the magazine? 9) Is the Men's Health social media designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why? 10) Evaluate the success of the Men's Health brand online. Does it successfully communicate with its target audience? Will the digital platforms eventually replace the print magazine completely? Due date on Google Classroom
Our second Music Video CSP is The Specials - Ghost Town. This is a culturally significant British music video text from 1981. Like Common, it reflects social, cultural and political contexts through both the lyrics and the video itself. Notes from the lesson AQA introduces this text with a simple statement: “Ghost Town is a product which possesses cultural, social and historical significance. It will invite comparison with the other CSP music video allowing for an analysis of the contexts in which they are produced and consumed.” Social, cultural and historical context Ghost Town by The Specials conveys a specific moment in British social and political history while retaining a contemporary relevance. The cultural critic Dorian Lynskey has described it as ‘’a remarkable pop cultural moment’’ one that “defined an era’’. The video and song are part of a tradition of protest in popular music, in this case reflecting concern about the increased social tensions in the UK at the beginning of the 1980s. The song was number 1 post-Brixton and during the Handsworth and Toxteth riots. The aesthetic of the music video, along with the lyrics, represents an unease about the state of the nation, one which is often linked to the politics of Thatcherism but transcends a specific political ideology in its eeriness, meaning that it has remained politically and culturally resonant. The Specials: redefining genre The Specials played a type of ska music known as 2-Tone - named after The Specials' record company. A hydrid mix of Jamaican reggae, American 1950s pop and elements of British punk rock, it was popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was also notable for its mixed race bands - the Specials had both black and white members - and its stand against racism at a time of racial tension in the UK. Margaret Thatcher had been elected in 1979 with the warning that Britain was being "swamped" by non-white people. In constrast, Ska and 2-Tone was prominent in anti-racism campaigns in the 1980s. You can watch part 2 of the Two Tone story here - recommended as it gets more into the culture and includes more from our theorist Paul Gilroy.
Ghost Town: social and historical contexts
Ghost Town conveys a specific moment in British social and political history while retaining a contemporary relevance. The cultural critic Dorian Lynskey has described it as ‘’a remarkable pop cultural moment’’ one that “defined an era’’. The video and song are part of a tradition of protest in popular music, in this case reflecting concern about the increased social tensions in the UK at the beginning of the 1980s. The song was number 1 post-Brixton and during the Handsworth and Toxteth riots. The aesthetic of the music video, along with the lyrics, represents an unease about the state of the nation, one which is often linked to the politics of Thatcherism but transcends a specific political ideology in its eeriness, meaning that it has remained politically and culturally resonant.
The Specials: Ghost Town video analysis The video combines eerie shots of a deserted East End of London with the band in a 1962 Vauxhall Cresta lip syncing. The mise-en-scene and cinematography seem to reference a range of film styles including British social realism, thriller and horror genres, with the expressionist lighting drawing attention to the different meanings of the lyric ‘ghost town’. The strong political message of the video is a challenge to the audience with a direct mode of address which is both angry and plaintive. The video was unusual for the time in conveying a strong social message (in contrast to the dominant style of pop music in the charts at the time), meaning that the audience of the time might well have been shocked or discomfited by it. Conduct a close-textual semiotic analysis of the video focusing on how meanings are created. Think about the following areas in particular:
Narrative
Mise-en-scene: setting, lighting, colour, actor placement/movement, costume and props
Camerawork and editing
Ghost Town and media theory Andrew Goodwin's theory of music video is a useful one to learn when analysing Ghost Town. His theory states that music videos contain some or all of the following elements:
A link between the visuals & lyrics (complement, contradict or amplify)
Genre characteristics (heavy metal in industrialised settings; rap music in urban street contexts etc.)
Contain intertextual references (references to popular culture)
Contain notions of looking (e.g. screens within screens)
Include objectification of females (e.g. male gaze)
Include demands of the record label (close ups of lead singer, symbols or motifs associated with the band / performer etc.)
Video will be performance, narrative or concept based.
Applying Neale’s genre theory Music video was still a very new media form in 1981 so it’s therefore difficult to find ‘repetition and difference’. However, the video clearly uses recognisable genre conventions of film genres such as social realism and horror to create something familiar to audiences and yet new and different as it was in the form of a music video.
Applying Gilroy’s diasporic identity The representations in the music video are racially diverse. This reflects its musical genre of ska, a style which could be read politically in the context of a racially divided country. This representation of Britain’s emerging multiculturalism, is reinforced through the eclectic mix of stylistic influences in both the music and the video. The song and video offers evidence of Gilroy’s Black Atlantic diasporic identity theory – that black culture is forged through travel and hybridity, a “liquidity of culture”. The Specials are representative of ska – itself an international hybrid music genre blurring reggae and American 1950/60s pop and later elements of punk rock – which brings in working-class British culture (linked in part to Coventry in the Midlands where they were formed). Ghost Town and Postmodernism The hybrid mix of references and music video forms – an experimental combination of narrative (the journey), performance and concept – means that the video can be read through a postmodern approach with reference to intertextuality and hybridity. We can see examples of bricolage and pastiche – a merging of British film genres such as social realism and hammer horror in order to create something new (as music videos were in 1981). The lighting, colour and camerawork also create intertextual references to these film genres. Arguably, the narrative offers an example of bricolage - a postmodern take on the 'road movie' but with no destination or quest to complete (which is perhaps why the video ends with them aimlessly throwing stones into the River Thames). Finally, it could be argued that the combination of an arthouse film-style with a popular genre of music (the song reached #1 in the British chart) provides an example of Strinati’s definition of postmodernism as a blurring of art and popular culture.
Industry contexts
Ghost Town video director Barney Bubbles said: "A good video can sell a record which might not do so well," Bubbles told Smash Hits magazine in 1982. "The record companies know that. I think Chrysalis would agree that The Specials’ 'Ghost Town' video helped sales a good deal. This year I intend to make videos which are really inexpensive but really inventive. It can be done, you know."
In 1981 opportunities for revenue directly from music videos were very limited and their economic value came as a marketing tool to advertise the single. This function was particularly important pre-internet, with the popularity of broadcast pop shows such as Top of the Pops (MTV was launched in 1981 but had limited availability in the UK initially). However, the Ghost Town video is now on YouTube with revenue opportunities through viewing and advertising. It also provides a link to The Specials YouTube subscription channel which has opportunities to purchase their back catalogue and new material. The Specials - Ghost Town: Blog tasks Background and historical contexts Read this excellent analysis from The Conversation website of the impact Ghost Town had both musically and visually. Answer the following questions
1) Why does the writer link the song to cinematic soundtracks and music hall tradition? 2) What subcultures did 2 Tone emerge from in the late 1970s? 3) What social contexts are discussed regarding the UK in 1981? 4) Cultural critic Mark Fisher describes the video as ‘eerie’. What do you think is 'eerie' about the Ghost Town video? 5) Look at the final section (‘Not a dance track’). What does the writer suggest might be the meanings created in the video? Do you agree?
Now read this BBC website feature on the 30th anniversary of Ghost Town’s release. 1) How does the article describe the song? 2) What does the article say about the social context of the time – what was happening in Britain in 1981? 3) How did The Specials reflect an increasingly multicultural Britain? 4) How can we link Paul Gilroy’s theories to The Specials and Ghost Town? 5) The article discusses how the song sounds like a John Barry composition. Why was John Barry a famous composer and what films did he work on? Close-textual analysis of Ghost Town Watch the video several times and make bullet-point notes of your close-textual semiotic analysis using the following headings: 1) Mise-en-scene: Setting, Lighting, Colour, Actor/performer placement and movement, Costume and props. How are some of these aspects used to create meanings? 2) Cinematography: Camera shots and camera movement. 3) Editing: Pace, juxtaposition, timing. Now apply media theory to the video - perhaps by considering whether Ghost Town reinforces or challenges some of the media theories we have studied. Make bullet-point notes on the following: 1) Goodwin’s theory of music video. 2) Neale’s genre theory. 3) Gilroy’s diasporic identity/postcolonial theory. 4) Bricolage and pastiche.
Men's Health offers a compelling representation of modern masculinity that will allow us to apply a range of media theories. However, it is also important that you are able to make specific reference to aspects of the CSP edition of Men's Health when applying these ideas and theories. Normally, we would give you a colour copy of the CSP pages to annotate in class but we will need to do this electronically due to the lockdown: Fortunately, you can currently read the whole of Men's Health Jan/Feb 2017 (the CSP issue) on this website. The pages we need are: front cover, contents page (p17) and the True Grit Marathon Man feature (p101). It's definitely worth also reading more of the CSP issue to get a feel for the Men's Health audience, brand and representations contained within it. Men's Health: close-textual analysis If you missed the lesson, here's a mini-lesson video from lockdown analysing the Men's Health CSP for language and representation.
Representation: notes Applying media theories: Gauntlett, van Zoonen and bell hooks Gauntlett: “Views of gender and sexuality, masculinity and femininity, identity and selfhood, are all in slow but steady processes of change and transformation.”
Raewyn Connell: hegemonic masculinity
Hegemonic masculinity is a concept of proposed practices that promote the dominant social position of men, and the subordinate social position of women. According to Connell, hegemonic masculinity is:
“The configuration of gender practice which embodies the currently accepted answer to the problem of the legitimacy of patriarchy, which guarantees (or is taken to guarantee) the dominant position of men and the subordination of women.”
Question to consider: Does Men’s Health magazine contribute to maintaining the dominant position of men in society?
bell hooks: “normalised traumatisation”
Feminist writer bell hooks has highlighted the corrosive, damaging effect of toxic masculinity on both men and women. She builds on Judith Butler’s work, agreeing that gender roles are constructed, not ‘natural’. In fact, she suggests that patriarchy (a male dominated society) indoctrinates people from an early age so “gender becomes a set of connotations that have become naturalised”. This then results in “normalised traumatisation” – meaning the damage caused by these representations is simply accepted as part of society.
Van Zoonen: “sex role stereotypes”
Liesbet van Zoonen suggests that the media reinforces sex role stereotypes, helping to construct gender roles. She gives examples of reinforcing sex-appropriate behaviours and the use of airbrushing to change appearances. She accepts that the media sexualises both men’s and women’s bodies but highlights key differences. The representation of women’s sexuality is generally submissive and disempowering. In contrast, representations of male sexuality are based on strength and power. This is particularly evident in Men’s Health magazine.
Representation in Men's Health: an academic analysis
‘The Representations Of Men Depicted In Men’s Health Magazine’ is an academic journal article by MarÃa del Mar Rubio-Hernández of the University of Sevilla. It focuses on the American edition of the magazine but its findings also apply to the UK and other international editions.
Rubio-Hernández makes several key points in her analysis:
Advertising and consumerism is critical to masculine identity. The products advertised in Men’s Health say a huge amount about the representation of men – “men as consumers”.
Masculinity is not fixed or natural but socially constructed and “subject to constant change”. It discusses the idea of the “metrosexual” male comfortable with grooming products, fashion and appearance.
The magazine focuses on the male body and suggests it is one of the few aspects of masculinity still under men’s control. However, it does say that the representation of the male bodies featured in the magazine is largely fixed: “…young, muscular, healthy, sporty, successful, virile…”
Men's Health Language & Representation: blog tasks Create a blogpost called 'Men's Health: Language and Representation' and complete the following tasks: Language
1) Write an analysis of the media language choices on the cover of Men's Health - e.g. colour scheme, typography, language, photographic codes etc. 2) Identify three specific aspects/conventions/important points (e.g. cover lines, colour scheme, use of text, image etc.) from each page of the CSP that you could refer to in a future exam. Explain why that particular aspect of the CSP is important - think about connotations, representations, audience pleasures, reception theory etc. Front cover: Editor's Letter and contents page: Feature - True Grit - 'The Marathon Man': 3) Apply narrative theories to Men's Health - Todorov's equilibrium, Propp's character types, Barthes' action or enigma codes, Levi-Strauss's binary opposition. 4) Read the cover lines and the Editor's Letter. Does Men's Health offer a cure for male insecurities or does it create male insecurity? 5) How does the 'Marathon Man' feature page offer an example of Steve Neale's genre theory concerning 'repetition and difference'?
Representations We have already covered many relevant theories in our work on Advertising and Marketing (for example, David Gauntlett's writing on Media, Gender and Identity). We now need to apply these theories and ideas to Men's Health and specifically the three pages from the Jan/Feb 2017 issue identified as our Close-Study Product. Representations: applying theory 1) How can Gauntlett's ideas on masculinity, gender and identity be applied to the Men's Health CSP we have analysed? 2) How could van Zoonen's work on feminist and gender theory be applied to Men's Health? 3) How could bell hooks's work on 'corrosive masculinity' apply to Men's Health? Representations: academic analysis Read these extracts from the journal article exploring the representation of masculinity in Men's Health magazine and answer the following questions: 1) Why is Men's Health defined as a 'lifestyle magazine'? 2) Why is advertising significant in helping to shape masculine identity? 3) The article suggests that the representation of masculinity in Men's Health is not fixed or natural and is subject to constant change. What media theorists that we have studied previously can be linked to these ideas? 4) What does the article suggest Men's Health encourages its readers to be? What examples and statistics are provided to develop the idea of men as consumers? 5) What representations of the male body can be found in Men's Health? 6) What does the article suggest regarding the objectification of men? 7) What is 'metrosexuality' and how can it be applied to Men's Health? 8) What representation of men in Men's Health is discussed in the section 'Homogenous bodies'? 9) What are the conclusions drawn by the article with regards to the representation of masculinity in Men's Health? 10) What is your own view of the representation of masculinity in Men's Health? Is it a positive representation that encourages men to the best they can be or is it a hypermasculine, consumer-driven representation designed to undermine men's confidence and objectify their bodies? Due date on Google Classroom
Our first Music Video CSP is Common - Letter to the Free. This is a stunning music video and protest song that documents black American culture and the legacy of slavery. Notes from the lesson Common: a pioneering artist Common is a Black American cultural icon who has maintained a political and social concern in his music. At one of the most charged periods in American history, the video Letter to the Free is presented as his contribution to the divisive political and social issues of contemporary America, a sense that he is attempting to draw attention to initiating a new wave of ‘protest music’. Michael Eric Dyson on Common Dyson on black stereotypes and Common: “Many critics don’t account for the complex ways that some artists in hip hop play with stereotypes to either subvert or reverse them. Amid the pimp mythologies and metaphors that gut contemporary hip hop, rappers like Common… seize on pimpology’s prominence to poke fun at its pervasiveness. “Hip hop is still fundamentally an art form that traffics in hyperbole, parody, kitsch, dramatic license, double entendres, signification, and other literary and artistic conventions to get its point across.”
Michael Eric Dyson, Know What I Mean (2007)
Common - Selma soundtrack
Common and John Legend wrote Glory as the soundtrack for Selma, a 2014 film portraying the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, a key moment in the Civil Rights Movement. The marches were a non-violent protest to demonstrate the desire of black Americans to exercise their constitutional right to vote. Common returned to the theme of protest with Letter to the Free – highlighting the mass incarceration of black Americans. Common: Letter to the Free
Letter to the Free was directed by Bradford Young (the cinematographer on Selma). The video has the camera moving at a slow, aching pace through an empty prison where Common, singers Andra Day and Bilal, and other musicians perform the song in different spaces in the prison rooms.
A black square hovering in the air appears throughout the clip, which, in a final shot, is framed as empty space in a field.
Amendment 13: ‘Black Codes’
The song was written for Ava DuVernay’s Netflix documentary 13th focusing on the historic legacy of the 13th amendment to the US Constitution. Theoretically written to outlaw slavery, the 13th Amendment had the effect of paving the way for local and State law reforms that created loopholes that effectively enabled the continued enslavement of Black Americans through mass imprisonment. The so-called Black Codes, introduced at state level in the southern states, provided for forced labour as punishment for petty crimes that in reality only applied to the newly emancipated black slaves.
13th trailer:
If you don't have a Netflix subscription, the streaming service has currently made the whole documentary available on YouTube:
Either way, we strongly recommend you watch the documentary to understand the social, cultural and political contexts to Letter to the Free.
Common - Letter to the Free blog tasks
Work through the following tasks to create a comprehensive case study for Common's Letter to the Free.
Social and cultural contexts Read this Billboard interview where Common talks about Letter to the Free, political hip hop and contemporary American society. Use the article and the notes we have made in lessons (also available above) to answer the following questions on the social, cultural and genre contexts for Letter to the Free. 1) What is the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution? 2) What were the Black Codes? 3) Why do people suggest that the legacy of slavery is still a crucial aspect to American culture 150 years after it was abolished by the 13th Amendment? 4) Why was Ava DuVernay inspired to make the Netflix documentary 13th? 5) Focusing on genre, what was the most significant time period for the rise in political hip hop?
6) Common talks about other current artists that have a political or protest element to their music. Who are they? Are there any other hip hop artists that you are aware of that have a strong political element to their work?
1) How is Letter to the Free described on the first page and what album is it from?
2) How does the factsheet link Common to the mythology of the American Dream?
3) How does the factsheet apply Todorov's narrative theory to the song? Does this three-act structure also work for the video?
4) What does the factsheet suggest regarding the mise-en-scene, lighting and cinematography?
5) The factsheet offers some interesting ideas regarding representation and the positioning of the artist and musicians in the video. Summarise the main points here.
6) How can Paul Gilroy's ideas on diasporic identity and double-consciousness be applied to the Letter to the Free music video?
Close-textual analysis of the music video Re-watch the music video several times to complete the following tasks in specific detail: 1) How does the Letter to the Free music video use cinematography to create meanings for the audience? (Camera shots and movement). 2) What is the significance of the constantly moving camera? 3) Why is the video in black and white? 4) How is mise-en-scene used to construct meaning for the audience - prison setting, costume, props, lighting, actor placement? 5) What is the significance of the floating black square motif? Discuss your own interpretations alongside Common's explanation of it in the Billboard feature linked above. 6) How does the video reference racism, slavery and the oppression of black culture? Make reference to specific shots, scenes or moments in the video.
Our first Magazine Close-Study Product is Men's Health. We need to study both the target audience for Men's Health and the audience pleasures that readers get from the magazine. Notes from the lesson Men’s Health (UK edition) has a circulation of around 100,000 (down 16% year-on-year and including 40k free copies) and a readership of closer to 1 million. It began as a health magazine in the USA in 1986 and has gradually evolved into a men’s lifestyle magazine. The UK edition launched in 1995. Definitions Circulation is the actual number of copies printed and distributed. Readership is an estimate of how many people read the magazine in total (also known as readers-per-copy). For Men’s Health, copies in a gym or waiting room will be read by many different people. Circulation figures are provided by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) and readership estimates by the National Readership Survey (NRS).
Demographics: Social class
Men’s Health has a largely middle class readership but also attracts readers in the C2DE bracket: ABC1 men: 64% AB men: 32% C2DE: 36% It is significantly higher than rivals GQ and Esquire in terms of circulation and readership but GQ and Esquire have a more upmarket demographics (higher % of ABC1 and AB readers).
Psychographics
Men’s Health Media Pack focuses on products that reflect a certain lifestyle such as fashion, watches, grooming, fitness and cars. This would suggest targeting the Aspirer and Succeeder psychographic groups with perhaps elements of Mainstreamers and Explorers.
Audience pleasures
There are many potential audience pleasures for Men’s Health readers. Applying Blumler & Katz’s Uses & Gratifications theory, two in particular would be:
Personal identity: Readers enjoy having their lifestyle reflected and endorsed through reading the magazine
Surveillance: Men’s Health is heavily focused on self-improvement and learning how to live a healthier, more successful life: “When it comes to life goals, claim the hat trick”.
Men's Health - Audience blog tasks Read the Men's Health Media Pack in full to get a good idea of the demographics and psychographics for the Men's Health target audience then answer the following questions: 1) How does the magazine introduce itself? 2) What does the introduction suggest about the representation of masculinity in Men's Health's? 3) How do the print statistics for Men's Health compare to GQ and Esquire? 4) What is the difference between circulation and readership? 5) What was the circulation of Men's Health in thousands at the time this Media Pack was published? What about the readership for ABC1 men? AB men? [Note: this Media Pack was published in 2016 and some of the figures have fallen since then. Up to date circulation figures can be found at the top of this blog post]. 6) How do readers generally interact with the digital version of the magazine? 7) How many people do Men's Health reach across social media platforms? 8) What is the audience profile for Men's Health readers? 9) What is the Men's Health fashion philosophy? How much do Men's Health readers collectively spend on fashion? 10) What is the average watch collection value for the Men's Health audience? What do the statistics about watches suggest about the Men's Health audience demographics and psychographics? 11) What percentage of Men's Health readers use moisturiser daily? What does this suggest about Men's Health readers' view of masculinity? 12) What does the media pack suggest regarding the Men's Health audience for fitness and technology? 13) Men's Health luxe is a series of magazines distributed with Men's Health targeting a specific aspect of the Men's Health audience. What are these three brand extension magazines called and what do they cover? 14) What do the Men's Health luxe magazines suggest about the demographics and psychographics of the Men's Health audience? 15) What additional brand extensions do Men's Health offer? 16) What are the global statistics for Men's Health? 17) What does the 2017 calendar editorial specials suggest about the Men's Health audience? 18) What audience pleasures are offered by the magazine? 19) What lifestyle and job would you expect the average Men's Health reader to have? 20) Why do you think Men's Health has managed to (just) remain profitable when many other magazines have struggled due to the rise of digital media? Due date on Google Classroom
