MIGRAIN: Feminist theory

We've explored an important media debate in questioning whether we are in a post-feminist state and now need to add feminist theories to the argument.

As ever, the most important thing here is to develop your own opinion on these debates and theories and, crucially, be able to support these with evidence from media products. There are four main gender theorists in the A Level Media subject content. 

Feminist theory: introductory notes

We will return to all of these theories as we study the Close Study Products across the rest of the course but this will provide a good introduction to the named theorists in A Level Media.

Judith Butler: gender as performance

Butler’s hugely influential work ‘Gender Trouble’ argues that gender is culturally and socially constructed – not ‘natural’. 

She believes we are conditioned to adhere to social norms – both in terms of gender roles and heterosexuality.

Butler believes gender roles are ‘a performance’, a pattern of repeated acts or rituals such as putting on make-up or dressing a certain way.

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?


Liesbet van Zoonen: Feminist Media Studies

Like Butler, van Zoonen believes culture – the media – plays a crucial role in establishing gender roles and the dominance of patriarchal ideologies.

Patriarchy: a system that believes in male dominance in the family or society.

She also builds on Mulvey’s idea of the ‘male gaze’ by arguing that the media presents the female body as ‘spectacle’ – sexualised for the benefit of male audiences.

Media teacher and textbook writer Mark Dixon has highlighted five aspects to van Zoonen's theory.  van Zoonen argues that women are typically:

• Objectified – in media products aimed at both men and women.
• Restricted to secondary roles.
• Constructed to present women as passive.
• Framed differently – camerawork and mise-en-scene emphasise appearance or sexuality.
• Presented to reinforce western beauty ideals (e.g. young, slim, white etc.)

David Gauntlett - gender theory

David Gauntlett wrote extensively on gender representation and the importance of role models in the media in the late 1990s.

He believes the explosion in media consumption in the 1980s and 90s gave audiences a chance to actively construct their identities and possibly move away from traditional stereotypes.

However, he still acknowledged Butler and van Zoonen: “Although the popular remix of feminism is accepted by young women, it remains the case that most women and men remain somewhat constricted within particular gender roles.”

Gauntlett and masculinity

Gauntlett looked at men’s lifestyle magazines and found a new, quite different representation of masculinity (reflecting similar changes in women’s magazines as third-wave feminism took hold in the 90s). 

Importantly, he disagrees that masculinity is in crisis – a popular view in the media in recent years. 

bell hooks: intersectionality

bell hooks is a radical feminist who argues that the experience of black women is almost entirely ignored by media and culture. 

Unlike some 1990s third-wave feminists who celebrated female sexuality as empowering, bell hooks sees feminism as a struggle to end patriarchal oppression - a serious political commitment rather than a fashionable lifestyle choice: “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression.”

She also argued that gender oppression could not be discussed without also considering race or sexuality – she called this the intersectionality of points of oppression.

Feminist theory: blog tasks

Create a blogpost called 'Feminist theory - blog tasks' and complete the following tasks on your blog:

Media Magazine reading - two articles on feminism and theory

Read Playing With The Past: Post-feminism and the Media (MM40, page 64 - our Media Magazine archive is here). This is a great example of sophisticated media analysis and an indication of the level we want to be writing at by the end of the two-year course.

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

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

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

Now read The Theory Drop: Gender Performativity (MM69, page 25) and answer the following questions.

1) How does the writer suggest gender performativity is established from a young age?

2) What does the phrase 'non-binary' refer to and how does it link to Butler's theory?

3) How and why does the media help reinforce gender stereotypes? The writer provides several examples in the final section of the article.


Music video analysis

Finally, write up our analysis of the two music videos we studied in class. This is your opportunity to develop your own opinions on these crucial media debates.

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

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

2) What might van Zoonen suggest regarding the representation of women in this video?

3) What are YOUR views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ and oppression of women? 

Watch Will Jay's video for ‘Gangsta’ again:



1) How does the video suggest representations of masculinity have changed in recent years?

2) What does David Gauntlett suggest about representations of men in the media over the last 20 years?

3) What is YOUR view on the representation of men and masculinity? Are young men still under pressure from the media to act or behave in a certain way?

Complete for homework if you don't finish this during the lessons - due date on Google Classroom.

Film Industry: Final index

We have completed our first CSP for A Level Media: the Film Industry and Blinded By The Light. 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 any other reason. 

Film Industry: Blinded By The Light index

Your final Film Industry index should include the following:

1) British Film Industry factsheets #132 & #100
2) Blinded By The Light case study research 
3) Regulation - BBFC research and tasks 

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 that 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 before your upcoming assessment on the Film Industry topic.

Film Industry: BBFC film regulation

In our work on the British film industry, we need to consider the role of the BBFC, why Blinded By The Light was rated 12A 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 (very old but still relevant) video outlining how videos are classified at the BBFC:

Here's a more recent advert the BBFC produced regarding their work regulating the film industry: 

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? This history of the BBFC page may help.

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

3) Read this BBFC section on landmark 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?

4) What are the guidelines for a 12A certificate - Blinded By The Light's cinema certificate (it was rated 12 for its home video release)?

5) The BBFC website offers an explanation of every classification it makes and detailed case studies on selected titles. Look at the rating for Blinded By The Light and explain why it was given a 12A certificate for cinema release.

Complete this for homework: due date on Google Classroom.

MIGRAIN: January assessment learner response

The January assessment was a good opportunity to learn more about the structure of our Media exams and check we are progressing in the right direction.

The first part of your learner response is to look carefully at your mark, grade and comments from your teacher. If anything doesn't make sense, ask your teacher - that's why we're here! 

Your learner response is as follows:

Create a new blog post called 'January assessment learner response' and complete the following tasks:

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

2) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify at least one potential point that you missed out on for each question in the assessment.

3) On a scale of 1-10 (1 = low, 10 = high), how much revision and preparation did you do for this assessment? You may also want to think here whether you had completed all the original blog tasks from last term before doing the assessment.

4) Look at your answer for Question 2. Did you manage to write about three different strategies and three different benefits? It's vital you read the question and follow it exactly.

5) Look at your answer for Question 3. Did you follow the question guidance and write about both the BBC and commercial broadcasters? What could you have added to this answer to reach a higher mark?

6) Now look over your mark, teacher comments and the mark scheme for Question 4 - the 20 mark essay question on media effects theory. Write a new paragraph for this question based on the suggested theories/answers in the mark scheme. Make sure it is an extensive, detailed paragraph focused on the question and offering examples from the wider media. 

If you do not finish your learner response in the lesson your work is returned, this needs to be completed at home by your next exam lesson.

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 social media campaigns is simply a witchhunt orchestrated by privileged middle-class white women.

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

Case study: Everyday Sexism

Watch this TEDx talk by Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates:

 

Introduction to feminism: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Introduction to Feminism' and complete the following tasks.

Everyday Sexism

Watch the Everyday Sexism TED talk from Laura Bates (linked above) and answer the following questions:

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 of ‘networked feminism’? 

3) Focus on the examples in the article. Write a short 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 date on Google Classroom.

Film Industry: Blinded By The Light case study

Our first close-study product is low-medium budget British film Blinded By The Light (Gurinder Chadha, 2019). We need to know how the film was funded, produced, distributed and promoted.

If you missed the screening of Blinded By The Light you can catch up with it here - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access.

The key notes from the lesson are here:

Funding
Blinded By The Light cost around $15m to make. Key points:

• Bend It Films developed the film with support from Levantine Films and Ingenious Media.
• Levantine Films is an independent production company that had a major success with Hidden Figures in 2016 which grossed $230m at the worldwide box office.
• The Ingenious Group is an investment company that invests money in projects that have the potential to deliver future profits.

Production
Key points for making Blinded By The Light:

• Adapted from a book called Greetings From Bury Park by Sarfraz Manzoor (a play on 'Greetings From Asbury Park' - a Bruce Springsteen album). The memoir outlined his experiences growing up in Luton in the 1980s and discovering the music of Springsteen.
• Co-written and directed by Gurinder Chadha who had a smash hit in 2002 with her film Bend It Like Beckham (Bend It Like Beckham made over $100m at the worldwide box office).

Distribution

Blinded By The Light was picked up by New Line Cinema at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival after a bidding war with various other major film distributors. The film had been well received by audiences at the film festival. 

• The all-night auction following the world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019 guaranteed the film a major global cinema release which many films never achieve.
• Previously offered for sale at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival but did not attract a buyer at that point although UK distribution was secured by eOne Entertainment, a Canadian media company.
• New Line Cinema is an American production studio owned by Warner Brothers Pictures Group.
• The film was released in cinemas worldwide in August 2019. The DVD release followed in December 2019 distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment - a Viacom company.
• Deal with Amazon Prime secured in early 2020 for streaming in the UK - coinciding perfectly with the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. When this streaming deal expired, the film switched to Netflix before also disappearing from there too. Currently, the film is only available to buy or rent in the UK. 

Reception and box office

• Positive word-of-mouth marketing but poor box office figures – just $18.1m box office against a $15m budget which means the film almost certainly lost money when factoring in the global marketing campaign.
• Rival studios argued that Warner Bros. should have begun with a limited release to build audience interest, and that the film's August date was too close to that of Yesterday, a film with some surface similarities (a British romantic comedy based on the music of the Beatles and starring Ed Sheeran). [Source: Deadline Hollywood].

Promotion and marketing

Blinded By The Light was backed by a major international marketing campaign: 

• Traditional marketing: trailer, film poster with review quotes etc.
• Premieres - London, Luton and Asbury Park, New Jersey (attended by Bruce Springsteen).
• Heavy social media presence – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube.
• Interviews with writer, director and stars across TV, radio, newspapers and magazines (see below).

Blinded By The Light: case study blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Blinded By The Light case study'. Work through the following tasks to build a detailed understanding the of the film's funding, production, distribution and marketing. This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question on the film industry.

Background reading and production research

Read the following interviews and features on Blinded By The Light:

Writer Sarfraz Manzoor on the story behind the film - Guardian
Manzoor again on the promotion of the film and audience reaction
Variety feature on the best films from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival 

1) What is the story behind the production of the film?

2) What was the audience reaction to the film?

3) Why is the Sundance Film Festival such an important part of the film industry - particularly for lower budget films? 

Funding and industry contexts

1) What was the budget for Blinded By The Light and which companies contributed to the production budget?

2) Research the Bend It Networks website. What other films and projects has the company been involved with?

3) Research Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema on the Warners website here. Summarise the history of New Line Cinema in a short paragraph.

4) Read this Variety interview with director Gurinder Chadha explaining how the project came about - including budget details. What attracted Gurinder Chadha to the project and how did she manage to get the film made? 

Distribution

Read this Deadline feature on the distribution deal for Blinded By The Light and answer the following questions: 

1) Which company won the distribution rights after the all-night auction and for how much?

2) Which other companies were rumoured to be bidding for the distribution rights?

3) According to the article, what was the 'allure' of Blinded By The Light?

4) UK distribution was secured by eOne Entertainment. Visit the eOne About Us page on their website - what do they claim to offer under the heading 'Passion meets possibility?'


Marketing, promotion and reception

Watch the following clips to learn about the marketing and promotion of the film. 

Watch the trailer for Blinded By The Light:

Watch the film being promoted on The One Show (BBC1): 

Watch writer Sarfraz Manzoor talking about 1980s nostalgia and British-Asian identity:

Watch this 'fans dream' featurette produced by Bend It Networks:

1) What does the trailer suggest regarding genre and the potential audience pleasures of Blinded By The Light?

2) What TV shows and websites did interviews with writer, director and stars of Blinded By The Light? Why are interviews a good way to promote a new film release? 

3) What did film posters for Blinded By The Light feature and where did they appear? You may need to research this on Google Images. 

4) What social media accounts did Blinded By The Light use to promote the film? Note: some sites may be blocked if you are working in school - you will need to use your phone or complete your research at home.

5) Select three posts from the Blinded By The Light Instagram page and explain how they promote the film.

6) Go to the Bend It Networks YouTube channel. How does Gurinder Chadha introduce the channel?  What other content is on the Bend It Networks YouTube channel?

7) Look at the box office figures for Blinded By The Light from The Numbers website. How much did it make at the box office and why do you think it was largely unsuccessful?

8) Click on the tabs with further information (such as 'News', 'Box Office' and 'Video Sales'). Copy and paste some more statistics or sales figures to add to your understanding of the film's financial performance.

Due date: on Google Classroom

MIGRAIN: Introduction to Representation

Representation is a crucial key concept in A Level Media. Here we explore how the media represents different people, social groups, places and events - and discuss the impact on society and individuals.

We also need to study a range of media theories that help us to understand the effect that media representations can have on people and society. 

The key notes on representation:

• Representation is the process by which the media presents the ‘real world’ to an audience.
• Media texts are artificial, constructed versions of reality
• Even factual media – such as news – goes through processes of selection, organisation and editing that shapes its content
• How are particular people and groups represented in the media? How and why are stereotypes created?
• Why are certain social groups – in both a national and global context – under-represented or misrepresented?

Social and cultural contexts

Representation in the media is a particularly good way to explore questions of social and cultural context. These are words that regularly appear in AQA exam questions so we need to be confident responding to them. Key definitions:

Social contexts: How do media products influence or affect people in society?

Cultural contexts: How does the media reflect the typical ideas, opinions and beliefs in British society or the culture they were created in? 

Historical contexts: How has society (and representation in media products) changed over time?

Mediation

Media texts are a construction of reality, and play an important role in the way we view the world. 

Reality is therefore subject to mediation which is the process that takes place when a media text’s meaning is created.

When mediation takes place, an institution, individual or even technology comes between the actual event and the audience.

Levi-Strauss: representation theory

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

Some things are included and others are left out to create a dominant or preferred representation. This links to Hall’s work on Reception theory.

Stereotypes

Media messages have to be communicated quickly which often means relying on stereotypes. Stereotypes work as a kind of shorthand where a word, image or sound will stand for a lot more.

A stereotype is a standardised, usually oversimplified mental picture or attitude towards a person, group, place or event.

Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their gender, class, ethnicity or race, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.

Representation: dominant or alternative?

A representation in the media will either reinforce or challenge the stereotype.

If it reinforces the stereotype, it is a dominant representation.

If it challenges the stereotype, it is an alternative representation.

Representation theories

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.”

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)

Representation: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Representation blog tasks'. 

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

Watch the clip from Luther that we studied in class (Season 1, Episode 1 - minute 7.40-10.00 - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access the clip). Now answer these final two questions:

7) Write a paragraph analysing the dominant and alternative representations you can find in the clip from Luther.

8) Write a paragraph applying a selection of our representation theories to the clip from Luther. Our summary of each theory may help you here:

Levi-Strauss: representation and ideology

Mulvey: the male gaze

Dyer: stereotyping and power
Medhurst: value judgements
Perkins: some stereotypes can be positive or true

Complete for homework: due date on Google Classroom

Film Industry: British film industry factsheets

Our first Close Study Product is from the film industry - Blinded By The Light (2019) directed by Gurinder Chadha.

This low-mid budget production ($15m) co-funded by New Line Cinema (an American production studio owned by Warner Brothers Pictures Group) is a great example of how the British film industry often relies on American money to make movies. Here's the trailer:

We're starting the unit with a focus on the history of the British film industry. There will be clips in class and then two factsheets on British film for homework.

The British film industry: blog 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. You can find it online here - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login. 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. You can find it on the same link as above. 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 - choose three of the films listed and research them to work out what they score on the cultural test: The Sweeney (2012), 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?

Due date: on Google Classroom