A2 Media Studies Revision Pack

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A2 MEDIA STUDIES
REVISION PACK
For any questions please email Andy.Wallis@ashfield.notts.sch.uk

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Contents:
Pages 3 – 28 Question 1a
Pages 29 – 52 Question 1b
Pages 53 – 84 Section B
Pages 85 – 92 General advice
THE EXAM
The A2 exam is worth 25% of your final A-level gradeand is made up of 2
separate sections
SectionA: Theoretical Evaluationof Your Production
 2 compulsory questions worth 25 marks each = 50 marks in total
Section B:Contemporary MediaIssues
 1 question froma choice of 2 worth 50 marks (the choice is normally
either question 6 or question 7, but check to makesure).
There are a selection of optional topics for this section but we study “Media
and Collective Identity” so makesureyou look for that on the exam paper.

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SECTION A - THEORETICAL EVALUATION OF PRODUCTIONS
Question 1
A question that requires students to describe and evaluate the development of their skills
over the course of their AS Production work totheir A2 Production work.
It is vital that you discuss and evaluate how your skills have developed over the two years.
The question will ask students to focus their answer on ONE OR TWO of the following issues:
 Digital Technology
 Creativity
 Research and Planning
 Post-Production
 Using conventions of real media texts
Candidates can also choose to discuss media products they have made outside of school
during these two years.
Chief Examiner’s feedback from the June 2014 exam:
1(a) Where candidates were able to explain the significance of post-production and apply
this to a range of incrementally developing examples from AS and A2 and map post-
production decisions to textual outcomes (ie what difference the decision made to the final
text), candidates were awarded the higher levels. These candidates gave a wide range of
precise examples - describing and evaluating their intentions in relation to, for example,
effects/filters and the effect of their post-production decisions on the audience. A surprising
number of candidates wrote about pre-production (research and planning) instead of post-
production. A further significant minority included feedback and online promotion, re-
filming and evaluation as post-production, which examiners disregarded unless there was a
clear connection to the ‘core business’ of postproduction.
On the following pages is a detailed breakdown of things you could discuss for
each of the above5 topics.

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Digital Technology
 What software was used?
 What equipment/hardware was used?
 What were the technical pros and cons of the equipment used?
 In what ways was technology used to create the products?
 How did technology enhance/restrict all stages – pre-production (research and
planning), production (filming), and post-production (editing).
Throughout youressay you should try and give several examples of real occasions you
used these technologies. For example “At AS we started to use Blogger to keep a record
of all our coursework. We had no real experience of blogging prior to this etc. …… then
at A2 we developed our skills with blogger whereby every post was clearly labelled and
buttons were added to our blog to ease navigation, thereby enhancing time management
and organisation skills”.
What follows are some ideas. Remember that you are required to evaluate your skills, so
don’t just describe.
Intro: Digital technologies have a had a great influence on media production over the last
few years and since you started in Year 12 you have learned a massive amount about how
to use them and what the benefits are of using them. They in turn have had a huge impact
on the quality of your finished products.
Premiere Pro CS6 in comparison to Serif MoviePlus etc. – Had zero experience at the
beginning and have now moved from basic editing to more complex editing, effects,
transitions, colour grading. Quick to upload so something can be filmed, uploaded and
edited in a matter of minutes. – Be specific – What specific techniques did you use and
where?
Social Networking Sites – Allows you to communicate with a far wider network of people
than other websites. You could have used this to gather audience research, upload your
video and ask for feedback etc. Be specific – Give an example of something you did using
Facebook, Twitter etc.
You Tube – Allows you to communicate with a far wider network of people than other
websites. Allowed you to research existing opening sequences and music videos. You
uploaded your opening sequences and used the feedback / comments that people posted to
help you improve when it came to your A2 productions etc. It enabled you to post your own
video to a massive audience. Be specific – Give example of real video you looked at, real
comments you got etc.

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Digital Cameras – Never used before. Struggled initially with holding steady shots, framing
etc. But they allow instant playback, LCD screen, small, portable (in comparison to larger
older bulkier cameras) etc. Allowed you to film in small spaces, to easily travel to film, to
film something and view it straight away to check if was ok. You can now easily filma
variety of shot types. What about the transition to DSLRs? What did these allow you to do?
Think about manual focusing, depth of field etc.
Photoshop (you used to use Word and PowerPoint etc.) – Photoshop allows manipulation of
images, effects, colours, cropping, layering images and words. Be specific – What did YOU
do on Photoshop? Or did you use the Serif package? What did this allow you to do?
Other technologies you could mention include: smart phones, Blogging, Prezi, and Internet
Conclusion: Digital Technology has enabled you (a consumer of media) to become a
producer that can not only make a higher quality media product, but edit it and distribute it
to a wide audience.
To get A & B grades
To get the higher grades on this question, you need to ensure you are not just DESCRIBING
how your skills developed. Instead you need to focus on the EVALUATE part. To EVALUATE
you could comment on any of the following throughout your work
 HOW important digital technology was
 WHY was digital technology important
 WHAT EFFECT did digital technology have on your final work
 WHAT would you NOT have been able to do without digital technology?
 HOW did digital technology benefit you?

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Preparation
In this space write at least one example of something specific you did with this technology
and explain how it helped you
Technology How it helped me
At AS I used Premiere ProCS3 to…
At A2 I used Premiere Pro ina different way…
At AS I usedFacebook…..
At A2 I usedFacebook ina different way…
At AS I usedYou Tube to…..
At A2 I usedYou Tube in a different way…
At AS I usedDigital Cameras to…
At A2 I usedDigital Cameras in a different
way…
At AS I usedPhotoshopto

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At A2 we used Photoshopin a different way…

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Creativity
Intro - What IS Creativity – DEFINE IT - It is “the making of new things and the re-arranging
of the old.” – e.g. the ability to have your OWN ideas and not just copy other peoples. The
ability to do things that are unusual and different etc.
Where did your original ideas come from? – How did you increase your ability to come up
with your own ideas? Did you mind map? Did you share ideas? Did you do creative types of
research e.g. not just questionnaires with people you knew, but using You Tube to get
comments from people around the world, etc.? Give real, specific examples.
Locations / Sets / Costumes – At first you chose locations that were nearby and easy to
access (give example) Then at A2 you were more creative in your choices (give example) Did
you choose unusual ones? Did it take creative planning to adapt them? Be specific – What
creative locations did you use? Why did using creative locations help your production?
Camera – At first your shots and filming were practical. You filmed a medium shot because
you hadn’t considered doing anything else. In your prelim task at AS you had a set of
specific camera shots to include. For AS, your camera skills were quite basic. Now you have
developed so you started filming in a more creative way e.g. high / low angles, putting the
camera on the floor, in the fridge, using stop motion etc. Be specific giving real examples of
creative camera shots you used and explain how they made your production better
Editing – At first you weren’t very creative. Editing was functional putting shots next to
shots to create some meaning for your AS opening sequence i.e. basic continuity editing.
However you couldn’t do that at A2 as you needed to create energy and engage the
audience and edit to the flow of the music using effects etc. Be specific, give real examples
of creative editing you tried and explain what impact they had on your production
Genre / Conventions – How have you developed your use of genre / conventions from just
copying conventions, to instead, being able to challenge and subvert conventions of genres.
Were you creative by combining genres?
Casting – At AS you weren’t very creative in your casting. Chose people who were friends
etc. Then you became more creative at casting including sending out Facebook messages,
perhaps holding auditions etc. How were you creative in your casting? Be specific. What
impact did this have?
Photoshop - Never used before. When using Word / Publisher your creativity was stifled
because you are limited in how much you can edit the images. Photoshop allowed you to
manipulate images etc. Be specific, give real examples of creative Photoshop work you did

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Conclusion
Certain restraints on your creativity in place from exam board - you HAD to make a music
video, digipack, poster etc. These rules do limit your ability to be creative to a certain extent
Not easy to just be creative. You actually needed to do practical things like research,
paperwork, storyboards etc. to ALLOW you to develop our creativity. Without solid
research and planning, being creative was impossible. You needed a balance of organised
AND creative people in a group to be successful.
You can’t just BE creative. Often it is a learning process where you start by being told what
to do, then you try doing things on your own and then you end up being confident and
skilled enough to experiment which leads to creativity. You have to make mistakes at first
to be creative.
To get A & B grades
how your creativity developed. Instead you need to focus on the EVALUATE part. To
EVALUATE you could comment on any of the following throughout your work
 HOW important creativity was
 WHY was creativity important
 WHAT EFFECT did creativity have on your final work
 What PROBLEMS are there with being creative?
 WHAT would you NOT have been able to do without creativity?
 HOW did creativity benefit you?
Creativity How it helpedus
At AS I was creative coming up withideas by…
At A2 I was more creative coming upwith
ideas by…

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At AS I was creative choosing locations by…..
At A2 I was more creative choosing locations
by…
At AS I chose costumes by
At A2 I was more creative withcostumesby
At AS I copiedconventions of the genre for
example..
At A2 I was more creative withthe
conventions for example..
At AS I usedbasic editing techniques suchas...
At A2 I was more creative withour editing for
example…

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Research & Planning
 Institutional research (titles, legal information, record labels etc.)
 Audience research (before and after)
 Logistical research (locations, costumes, actors etc.)
 Research into real media texts
Intro: Research & Planning have played a huge role in all of your production work so far and
hence your skills in R&P have developed massively. Your research and planning have made
your production work develop in terms of quality.
Institutional research – this allowed you to understand certain conventions of media
products. When researching titles (from Art of the Title and Forget the Film, Watch the
Titles) you were able to understand the order of titles to make a convincing filmopening.
When you researched digipacks you gained an understanding of layout in terms of barcode,
legal information, record label logo etc. Be specific with real media examples.
Audience questionnaires – allowed you to find out who your target audience was, what
they wanted, what they liked etc. Be specific, what did you find out from your
questionnaires? How did you improve your use of questionnaires at A2? Asked better
people to complete them? Wrote better, more focused questions? Questions might have
been more open than closed.
Audience focus groups (both before and after) – same as above, allowed you to personally
interact with your target audience, delve deeper, get them to clarify what they mean etc.
Focus groups after production helped you to see if you’d achieved your goals. At the
beginning many people didn’t know how to do a focus group, or what questions to ask.
Now at A2 you are confident talking directly to the audience members, asking the right
questions etc. Be specific with things you asked your focus group or what they said
Looking at real film opening sequences /music videos – At first your analysis was mainly
descriptive, as you simply watched the opening sequences on You Tube / DVD’s and
described what you saw, but as your analytical skills have developed at A2 your ability to
use these as research has developed to.. Now you can deconstruct a piece of footage in tiny
detail, commenting on colour, camera angle, shot size etc. Be specific with what real texts
you looked at and what you learned from them. You now watch a wider variety of texts
(not just famous ones) and also watched student made work which helped you see what
was possible on zero budgets with school equipment.
Storyboarding / Shotlists – Never done storyboarding before A-Level. First storyboards at
AS tended to be simple, with mainly pictures, and very little shot description or editing
information. You created animatics, what did this teach you? Now as you have developed
your technical skills, your ability to create detailed storyboards has developed. What was

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the benefit of creating a shot list for your music videos? Was this more helpful than a
traditional storyboard? Helped you get the right amount and type of footage.
Location recces – Never did one at AS, you just filmed in local places e.g. school. At A2 you
have learned to check for other aspects such as noise levels, power points to plug in
equipment, health & safety, availability etc. Plus you have sourced more interesting,
exciting locations.
Casting – At beginning you tended to cast friends, students etc. Quickly learned that people
were unreliable, or didn’t look right for the part etc. Now you are able to cast the right
people for the role, hold auditions, do test shots, try them out on camera to see if they can
act etc. Be specific with real casting issues you had
Prelim – The prelim in Year 12 helped you to develop skills you didn’t have before such as
framing, different angles, 180 degree rule etc. For music videos you did a prelim task that
involved doing a recreation of a music video (Jessie J or Britney Spears). How did this help
you progress? Be specific with real issues you had. If you hadn’t done the prelims, what
problems might you have encountered?
Conclusion: Research & planning skills have changed you from a producer of basic media
texts, into a producer of complex quality media texts. R&P skills are essential to making
someone a better, more creative producer of media.
To get A & B grades
how your research and planning developed. Instead you need to focus on the EVALUATE
part. To EVALUATE you could comment on any of the following throughout your work
 HOW important research and planning was
 WHY was research and planning important
 WHAT EFFECT did research and planning have on your final work
 What PROBLEMS are there with research and planning?
 WHAT would you NOT have been able to do without research and planning?
 HOW did research and planning benefit you?

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ResearchandPlanning How it helped us
At AS I usedquestionnairesto…
At A2 I improved my use of questionnaires
by…
At AS I usedfocus groups to…
At A2 I improved my use of focus groups by…
At AS I examinedreal opening sequences such
as / in order to…
At A2 I improved my research/analysis of real
texts by…
At AS I usedstoryboards for…
At A2 I improved my use of storyboards by…
At AS I completedaprelimtasks to...
At A2 I improvedthe way we usedthe prelim
task by…

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Post Production
 What editing decisions were made? How did they inform the production?
 What particular editing tools were used and to what effect?
 How did the post-production process enhance the overall production?
Intro: You have gone from knowing virtually nothing about post production to now being
able to complete complex editing of video, sound and graphics...
Premiere Pro CS6 in comparison to Serif MoviePlus etc. – Had zero experience at the
beginning and have now moved from basic editing to more complex editing, effects,
transitions, colour grading. Quick to upload so something can be filmed, uploaded and
edited in a matter of minutes. Can also export your movie to a variety of video formats to
allow you to upload it online etc. – How did this change the footage that you had? – be
specific with real tools and effects you used and how it helped e.g. RGB curves, layering,
stop motion animation etc.
Photoshop (you used to use Word and PowerPoint etc.) – At A2 Photoshop allows
manipulation of images, effects, colours, cropping, layering images and words - – How did
this change the footage that you had? – Be specific with real effects you tried on Photoshop.
Relate to both digipack and website.
You Tube / Redrafting / Peer Assessment – At AS, you just uploaded your final version to
You Tube and left it there. At A2, after editing you uploaded your opening sequences you
used the feedback / comments that people posted to help you improve it further and make
multiple improvements. – be specific with real comments you got and how this helped your
post production
After Effects – had zero experience. Some of you then learned how to use this in your own
time, practised effects etc. discuss how this helped make your work better.
InDesign – again, you had no experience of this. How did this allow you to create an
effective digipack? What were the benefits in terms of placement and integrating text and
images?
Conclusion: Your post production skills have developed hugely and have enabled you to
take a simple piece of footage and turn it into something complex and creative.
To get A & B grades
how your post production skills developed. Instead you need to focus on the EVALUATE
part. To EVALUATE you could comment on any of the following throughout your work

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 HOW important post production skills were
 WHY were post production skills important
 WHAT EFFECT did post production skills have on your final work
 What PROBLEMS are there with your post production skills?
 WHAT would you NOT have been able to do without post production skills?
 HOW did post production skills benefit you?
Post production How it helpedus
At AS I used Premiere ProCS3 / Serif
MoviePlus to...
At A2 I improved my editing skills on Premiere
by…
At AS I knew this about Photoshop…
At A2 I improved my understanding of
Photoshopby…
At AS I got feedback after the productionby...
At A2 I improvedpost production feedback
by…

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Use of Real Media Conventions
Conventions are the “common features” of a particular type of media or a particular genre.
 In what ways were media conventions adhered to? For example did a music video
have fast paced editing? Did the performer act to the camera? Were particular shots
repeated?
 Were the representations appropriate to the genre? Where aspects challenged?
Introduction – Over the two year course you have learned a lot about, not just what the
conventions of particular forms and genres are, but how to use them in creative ways in
your own work
Main:
Prelim task – you included different types of camera shots and editing techniques. But did
you make the “genre” clear of what you were doing? Did you colour grade it? Did you
change the sound levels or add sound / editing effects? Maybe not, so your use of
conventions was very limited. Although you could probably name a few conventions of your
chosen genre you didn’t actually know how to use them in your work yet. At A2 you were
more confident with your technical abilities which meant you could use the prelim task to
experiment with conventions of the genre – give examples.
Your genre - At AS, how did you identify what the conventions were of your film genre?
What videos did you watch and what were the conventions you found? How easy was it to
identify the conventions? Then show development by discussing A2 – what did you do
differently to identify the conventions of the genre? Did you look at videos AND theory
(Andrew Goodwin / Laura Mulvey)? This was likely to be a lot harder as music videos often
belong to 2 or more genres and many genres of music have very few “semantic” elements
(e.g. visual conventions). Discuss some videos you watched and identify what you thought
the main conventions of your genre were. How did using media theory to identify
conventions help you at A2?
Camera – At AS, what camera shots / movements did you use that are conventional of films
in the genre that you chose? For A2, give an example of how you used conventional camera
work for music videos in your video. At A2, your camera work may have been more about
being creative. Explain how you “pushed the boundaries” with your camera work at A2?
What did you do differently?
Mise-En-Scene – At AS, what mise-en-scene did you use that was conventional of your
genre? (costumes, locations, colours etc.) and what effect might these have had on the
audience? At A2, give some examples of mise-en-scene you chose that was conventional of
your genre. You could discuss how at A2 your mise-en-scene was likely to be more creative
because of how you have developed your sense of how elements can communicate

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meaning to an audience. Whereas AS was about what was convenient and easy, at A2, you
deliberately chose locations and costumes that were more planned to signify a meaning,
more creative etc. Give an example of how you “pushed yourself” with your mise-en-scene
at A2? What did you do differently?
Editing – At AS, what editing techniques did you use that were conventional your film genre?
(cuts, dissolves, flash to white, wipes, colour grading, other effects etc.) and say why you
used them. At A2, give some examples of editing you chose that was conventional of your
genre. You could discuss how at A2 your editing HAD to be more creative as when you
researched videos (give examples) you discovered that most videos have fast paced shots
lasting less than 3 seconds which meant your editing had to be faster, more visually
interesting (to engage an audience instantly) etc. Give an example of how you “pushed
yourself” with your editing at A2? What did you do differently?
Sound – At AS, what sound techniques did you use that were conventional of your genre?
(Diegetic, non-diegetic, sound effects, sound bridges, soundtrack, dialogue etc.) and say
why you used them. At A2, you were very restricted with your use of sound as most of you
just used whatever came on the music track itself. However this forced you to become
more creative. If you did add sound / dialogue on, then give an example of where you did
this and why. If you did, you could explain how actually, not being able to manipulate or cut
the sound made the process more difficult as you had to ensure all the miming of the lyrics
complete matched, at the right pace etc. Give examples of how you did this or problems
you encountered and how you solved them.
Conclusion – At AS, you were still learning about the concept of genre, and felt as though
conventions were very much easily identifiable and set in stone. Many of you ensured that
you followed lots of your genre’s conventions in your AS work. However by the time you
reached A2, you learned that genre is much more of a “fluid” concept, less easy to define,
especially within music, and this led to you being confident enough to both follow and
challenge conventions of your genre, pushing the boundaries throughout which impacted
your creativity.

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Section 1a Past Questions
Jan 2013
Explain how your research and planning skills developed over time and contributed to your
media production outcomes. Refer to a range of examples in your answer.
June 2012
Describe a range of creative decisions that you made in post-production and how these
decisions made a difference to the final outcomes. Refer to a range of examples in your
answer to show how these skills developed over time.
Jan 2012
Describe how your analysis of the conventions of real media texts informed your own
creative media practice. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these
skills developed over time.
June 2011
Explain how far your understanding of the conventions of existing media influenced the way
you created your own media products. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show
how this understanding developed over time.
Jan 2011
Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for media production
and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decision making. Refer to a range
of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.
June 2010
Describe the ways in which your production work was informed by research into real media
texts and how your ability to use such research for production developed over time.
Jan 2010
Describe how you developed research and planning skills for media production and evaluate
how these skills contributed to creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in
your answer to show how these skills developed over time.

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Exemplar Responses to 1a
G325 June 2010 39/50 Section A
1a)
I feel that my production skills from foundation to Advanced have greatly improved. My thriller
opening sequence was about two men who prey on suicidal teenage girls on the internet, titled
“Caught in the Web.” The men rape and murder their victims but frame it as a suicide, using the
suicide support website (where they preyed on them) as evidence of this suicide. It is a dark
enigmatic and gripping film which captivates the audience (according to my feedback). My music
video (Advanced Portfolio) is to the song “Voodoo Child” originally by Rogue Traders, but our
girlband uses the name The Vixens. We used 4 girls and our video transports the audience to the
mind of the main girl, where her alter-egos (dressed as the deadly sins) corrupt her. It is a racy
funky video that creates a strong band image.
My research for both projects included researching genre conventions (horror/thriller opening
sequences such as “Se7ev”, and electro pop-rock/dance/glam music videos such as Lady Gaga
and Katy Perry) and was expanded to include components that didn’t specifically relate to genre.
For my thriller I researched films where they have internet conversations (as in our opening
sequence, the girl is talking to who she thinks is an agony aunt over an internet forum) which led
me to films including “The Holiday” and “Something’s Gotta Give”, showing me how to
successfully change from filming the person typing the words on the screen and then reading their
message aloud. I developed this skill in my music video research by looking at other media texts,
not just other music videos. I started with trying to be inspired by original music video concepts
such as Radiohead’s video for “Just” in which a man lies down in the street and the audience
can’t hear what he’s saying to explain himself to passers-by. This inspired me to create ambiguity
in my video which differs from standard pop videos where a lot of the visuals illustrate the lyrics.
I expanded my research to fashion magazines and photographs of different eras, since a major
concept in this video was the power of women as confident, independent, sexual beings. Our
costume was very important in constructing meaning and without in-depth research into the 7
deadly sins the audience would not have grasped why we had girls dressed in bold outfits to
symbolise the sins; red, velvet leotard and back combed hair for “wrath”, a Marie Antoinette
inspired look of a pale blue and pink corset, white face make-up, an [cannot read text] with one
long curled piece of hair, and a chunk of chocolate cake that signified “Greed”, a black corset
with leather leggings to signify “Lust”, and a green dress, heavy green eye makeup and glittery
diamond jewellery connoting “Envy”.
I think that without doing research into character types, character costume, and genre conventions
for my thriller I wouldn’t have known what to look for when researching for my music video
because they can be so abstract and there aren’t many constraints. I also learned to be open
minded.
Since I was one of the performers in our music video, it pushed me to think more practically –
our ideas had to be creative yet do-able on our small budget and time constraints. After watching
several videos on YouTube of thriller opening sequences and music videos I realised that it is
good to have layered meaning a production because it makes it more interesting for the audience
as it challenges them to come up with their own interpretations and gives the production
playability. In the Thriller project, after researching storylines and narrative themes, my group
and I had a strong idea of what our film was about. Despite the fact we created enigma, we still
wanted the audience to understand our dominant reading, however in my music video, I realised

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that it is better to- people to have different interpretations as I found that the most popular current
music videos are those that are quirky, different and weird, like Lady Gaga.
In conclusion my foundation portfolio greatly aided my advanced portfolio because my skills
were refined and I have produced an ever better end product.
EAA 8
EG 8
T 4
(20)

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QUESTION 2
This question will require students to select EITHER their AS production OR their A2
production (whichever makes more sense for the question) and evaluate it in terms of one
of the following media concepts.
 Genre
 Narrative
 Representation
 Audience
 Media Language
Chief Examiner’s feedback from the June 2014 exam (concept was genre):
In one sense (engagement with media theories), this was the strongest session so far for this
question. However, the key determining factor in allocating marks was the ability to relate
specific elements of genre theory (from Neale across forms and Goodwin in relation to
music video, most often) to the text in question with conviction and precision. Where
candidates were able to relate theories more generally understood in relation to narrative
and representation to genre, this was creditable but in many cases the ideas of Mulvey, Hall,
Barthes or Todorov were applied without a clear account of how these relate to the generic
elements of candidates’ texts.
Once again, there were a significant number of cases of candidates objectifying women in
order to ‘apply the male gaze’ and this confusion of theoretical concept with production
technique does suggest a lack of the critical media literacy required for the higher levels at
A2. Acceptable, but lower range answers accounted for codes and conventions,
cinematography and mise en scene.
Higher level answers discussed genre as a concept, rather than a ‘given’. Sadly, a significant
minority of candidates confused genre and gender.
Each of the above 5 topics are broken down here into more detail for you to
consider.
Think about beginning your essay with a quotation froma theorist as a
springboard for your response.

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GENRE
 What genre is the production?
 What are the codes and conventions of the production?
 How is the genre established?
 How does the mise en scene support the genre?
 What is the role of the specific elements of the mise en scene? Refer to props,
costume, location, theme etc.
 Have generic conventions been adhered to or subverted?
 How will the generic elements of the production appeal to the audience?
To get C&D Grades
Intro: What was your genre? What are the conventions of the genre (e.g. thriller / rock etc.)
and how did you find these out? Give examples of real films / music videos you watched to
find this out
Main: How have you signified the genre using?
 Colour
 Camera shots / angles / movements
 Editing techniques
 Sound / dialogue / music
 Mise-en-scene such as Costumes / props / Locations
Conclusion
Do you think you made the genre of your piece clear to an audience? How do you know this?
How to get A&B Grades
To gain an A or a B grade you really need to try and incorporate theories into the above
points. Try and use some of the theories below (incorporating them throughout rather than
having whole separate sections for them.) What do theorists say about the genre? Explain
how your video either conforms to the theorists ideas OR challenges them and why
FILM GENRE THEORIES MUSICVIDEO GENRE
THEORIES
GENERAL GENRE THEORIES
Steve Neale thinksthatfilmgenresare
constantlychangingandevolvingand
are notset instone. He thinksthere
Andrew Goodwin –Thinks
that musicvideosfollow the
followingconventions:
DavidBuckingham – suggests “genre is
not… simply“given”bythe culture:
rather itis ina constant processof

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are 5 mainstagesinfilmgenres.
Whichstage does yourfilmfitinto?
Explainwhy.
 The form findingitself (Psycho)
 The classic(Halloween)
 Stretchingthe boundariesof the
genre (Nightmare onElmStreet)
 Parody(Scary Movie)
 Homage (Scream)
“Genresare instancesof repetition
and difference.Differenceis
absolutelyessential tothe economyof
genre”.
 Conventionsdependon
the genre of the music
 Star personaisimportant
and companiesuse close
upsto sell themtothe
audience
 Voyeuristicimagesare
usedto attract an
audience
 Theyoftencontain
intertextualreferencesto
othermedia
 There isa linkbetweenthe
lyricsand the visuals
 There isa linkbetweenthe
visualsandthe music/
pace etc.
negotiationandchange”. Doyouagree?
Give examplesfromyourworkthat
suggestsiteitherway.
Rick Altmansaysthatthe waywe define
a genre isby two mainthings:
 SemanticElements(e.g.signssuch
as knives,blood,darkcolours,eerie
music). He thinksthese elements
are easierforaudiencestorecognise
and identify
 Syntacticelements(includes
THEMES such as fear,revenge,rage
as well asplotssuchas PLOTSsuch
as group go ontrip,one by one they
die,lastgirl survivesandkillskiller)
He thinksthese elementsare more
subtle andharderto recognise.
Identifysemanticandsyntactic
elementsinyourvideothatmighthelp
audiencesidentifythe genre of your
film/ musicvideo
Laura Mulvey - Suggeststhatwomenin
all mediaare objectified. She isa
feministwhobelievesthatwomenare
oftenshownthroughthe ideasof men
(male gaze) andare seeninvoyeuristic
ways. She alsothinksthat womenare
seeninone of eithertwowaysthe
“virgin”character or a “whore”
character. Thisis the “virgin/whore
dichotomy”

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AUDIENCE
 Who is the target audience for the production? Define by age, race, gender, social
class etc.
 Why will the production appeal to this target audience?
 What techniques and lines of appeal has the production used to attract the target
audience?
 What uses and gratifications will the target audience get from the production?
 How does the production use audience theory? I.e. reception theory, uses and
gratifications, active/passive, hypodermic needle etc.
To get a C/D grade
Intro: Why is it important / essential for a media product like a film or a music video to
appeal to an audience?
Who was your target audience for your production? Gender, age, class, hobbies and media
interests. To get the A&B grades, try and describe briefly their social demographic groups
(ABC1C2DE)
What did you do to research what your audience wanted? What did you find out about
what they wanted? To get the A&B grades, don’t just describe what they wanted, try and
comment on why they might want these things – use theory here.
Main: How did you use the following things to attract / engage an audience?
 Camera
 Editing
 Sound
 Mise-en-scene
What feedback did you seek AFTER your production and what was it like? How did a “real
audience” react to your product? Did they react in the way you thought they would? Why?
Conclusion: How important it is to consider your audience in depth and how this changed /
affected your production overall.
To get A&B grades
points. Try and use SMALL portions of SOME of the theories below (incorporating them
throughout rather than having a whole separate section for them.)

33
Theorist How I will apply it to my text
Richard Dyer – thinks that audiences want media
products that offer them Utopian Solutions to
their problems
Blumler & Katz – Think that audiences want
media products that gratify particular needs
(Uses & gratifications) e.g. escape, entertainment
etc.
Frankfurt School – Hypodermic needle theory.
Think audiences might be directly influenced by
media products
Stuart Hall – Encoding and Decoding tests AND
Preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings.
Thinks audiences will react in different ways to
media products.
Pluralists – think that the media operates on a
supply and demand basis and so the media must
give the audience what it wants in order to
survive and be successful.
Andrew Goodwin – believes that audiences are
often played in the position of a voyeur within
music videos (watching someone). He also
believes that the use of close ups is important to
help the audience appreciate the “star persona”
of the lead singer
Laura Mulvey – believes the media texts often
encourage the audience to objectify women and
look at them with a “male gaze”

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REPRESENTATION
 Identify characters, events or issues within the production to discuss
 What representational concepts are highlights? I.e. race, gender, cultural activities
etc.
 What representations have been generated?
 Discuss the specific elements of character representation i.e. mode of address, facial
expressions, clothing, behaviour etc.
 Have any stereotypical representations been generated?
 Does the production conform to or subvert any dominant ideologies?
Some useful quotations:
“Identities are not ‘given’ but are constructed and negotiated” (David Gauntlett)
“Identity is complicated. Everybody thinks they’ve got one. Artists play with the idea of
identity in modern society.” (David Gauntlett)
“Men act and women appear”. “Men look at women. Women watch themselves being
looked at” (John Berger)
“Women are aware of being seen by a male spectator” (John Berger)
“In a media saturated world, the distinction between reality and media representations
becomes blurred or invisible to us.” (Julian McDougall)
“In advertising, males gaze and females are gazed at.” (Jib Fowles)
“Female models addressed to women… appear to imply a male point of view” (Paul Messaris)
Depending on who the main characters were in your AS & A2 productions, choose 1 or more
of the following categories of people, and discuss how your video represents them
Intro: Explain what media product of yours you will be analysing and which social group/s
you will be analysing the representation of…
Main:
AGES - How does your video construct a representation of different ages? – consider
costumes, props, location, body language, facial expression, camera, sound, editing
ETHNICITY - What about different ethnicities? – consider costumes, props, location, body
language, facial expression, camera, sound, editing
GENDER– consider costumes, props, location, body language, facial expression, camera,
sound, editing.

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CLASS – consider costumes, props, location, body language, facial expression, camera,
sound, editing
GOOD vs EVIL - consider costumes, props, location, body language, facial expression, camera,
sound, editing
Have you included stereotypes in your production and why? (class, age, gender, ethnicity
etc.?)
Have you challenged stereotypes in your production and why? (see above)
Conclusion: Why did you create these specific representations? What effect might they
have had on the audience?
Techniques I used How it represents that character
Camera shots:
Mise-En-Scene:
Editing:
Sound:
To get A&B grades
points. Try and use some of the theories below (incorporating them throughout rather than
having whole separate sections for them.)

36
Theorist Theory – What to write about
Levi Strauss Said that media texts often represent characters in terms of binary
opposites such as good vs evil, weak vs strong. Did you do this? If
so how and why? What effects might it have on the story, the
audience etc...
Laura Mulvey Believes that women are often objectified in the media. She says
they are looked at with a “male gaze” and are seen as sex objects.
She also believes that there are all too often only two roles for
women in the media. Either the “virgin” character or the “whore”
character. This is called the “virgin / whore dichotomy”.
Can their theories be applied to your video? Did you conform to
their ideas of representation or challenge them? Why?
Vladimir Propp Propp’s theory of narrative suggests that texts often represent
characters as particular types in order to make them easily
identifiable to an audience and help them know how to react to
them.
 Hero
 Villain
 Princess
 Donor / Helper
 Dispatcher
If you included any of these characters, how did you represent
someone as the “hero” or “villain”? Why does it engage an
audience if they either DO know who they are or DON’T know
who they are?
Angela McRobbie http://www.angelamcrobbie.com/
Angela McRobbie says that men and women are often
represented through stereotypes in the media and are often
shown in traditional gender roles. For example women are often
shown as weaker, victims, mothers, carers etc. Men are often
shown as aggressive, strong, managers, leaders etc.
Can their theories be applied to your video? Did you conform to
their ideas of representation or challenge them? Why?

37
Stanley Cohen Believes that particular groups in society are “demonised” and
“marginalised” through negative representations which may have
the effect of causing a moral panic where the majority of society
fears that social group. Have you demonised a particular group
e.g. black people? Young people? Why?

38
NARRATIVE
 What is the narrative structure of the production?
 How do the specific elements of the production relate to the narrative structure?
 Does the production adhere to or subvert narrative conventions?
 How does the narrative support the establishment of the chosen genre of the
production?
 How have narrative techniques been used? Refer to enigma, multi strand, restricted,
unrestricted, non-linear etc.
Some useful quotations:
“Narrative is a way of organising... data into a cause and effect chain of events with a
beginning, middle and end…” (Edward Branigan)
“Narrative is an important source of reassurance in a hostile universe.” (Kruger et al))
To get a C grade
Intro: What is the traditional type of narrative for your genre / type of product? How did
you find this out? What other real texts did you look at that helped you work this out?
Have you used a Linear / Non Linear Narrative, where and why?
Main: How have you used the following to signify / communicate the narrative of your film
/ music video?
 Camera – give several examples of real shots / movements you used
 Editing - give several examples of real transitions / effects you used
 Sound - give several examples of real sounds, music, dialogue you used
 Mise-en-scene – give several examples of real costumes, locations, props, you used
Narrative Enigma – where have you included this in your opening sequence and why is it
important?
Conclusion: Explain what audiences thought of your narrative. Was it clear? Could it have
been better? How?

39
Techniques I used What it signified about the narrative of my text
Camera:
Mise-En-Scene:
Editing:
Sound:
To get A&B Grades
Theorist Theory – what to write about
Todorov thinks there are several main stages to a complete narrative, recognisable in any
story
 Equilibrium
 Disruption
 Resolution
 Equilibrium
Explain whether you included these stages and where. Did you have them in the
same order? If not, why not? What was the benefit of starting with the disruption
for example?
Levi Strauss – says that Binary opposites are important in narratives such as good vs evil,
women vs men, crime vs justice. Explain any binary opposites identifiable in your
text and explain why you think they might be important to include
Unrestricted/  Unrestricted narration – where information is given out in as much detail

40
restricted as possible with very little restrictions so the “narrative” is clear. Audiences
often know more than the characters so we know who the killer is, or
where he is. If you used this technique, explain where and why is it
engaging for an audience?
 Restricted narration – where the narrative is kept minimal, with parts
unclear e.g. a thriller film. Audiences are often in the dark about many
parts of the narrative. If you used this technique, explain where and why
this is engaging for an audience
Vladimir Propp Propp’s theory of narrative suggests that texts NEED particular characters to
develop the narrative
 Hero
 Villain
 Princess
 Donor / Helper
 Dispatcher
If you included any of these characters, how did you make it clear who was the
hero / villain etc.? Why does it engage an audience if they either DO know who
they are or DON’T know who they are?
He also thinks there are particular parts of a narrative that always happen e.g. hero
gets a quest, someone is hurt, hero battles the villain etc. If you included any of
these things, why do you think audiences enjoy seeing them?
Andrew Goodwin Thinks that in music videos the narrative often links to the lyrics and the tempo of
the music... How did you do this?
Allan Cameron Thinks there are several different types of more unusual narrative. If you included
any of these, explain where, and then explain why you included them.
 Anachronic Narrative – includes regular flashback and flash-forwards, with
all different narrative parts being just as important. Such as Pulp Fiction,
Memento
 Forking Path narrative – shows two different outcomes that are different
only as a result of a small change or decision such as Groundhog day, Sliding
Doors
 Episodic Narratives – separate narratives that have some sort of link. E.g.
different characters lives, linked only by the fact that they are all involved in
one incident

41
 Split Screen Narratives – Different stories, linked by the fact that they are
shown on screen at the same time.

42
MEDIA LANGUAGE
(IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT “MEDIA LANGUAGE” REFERS TO THE 4 MAIN TECHNICAL
ELEMENTS)
 Identify the elements or “signs” within the production that are going to be discussed.
 What connotations and significations are apparent?
 What codes and conventions have been used?
 What semiotic techniques have been used to generate meaning?
 Identify, describe and analyse the meanings generated.
Tackle this one in much the same way as you tackled the TV Drama exam at AS. You should
be ANALYSING your work (not describing), discussing how you created meaning for the
audience on particular issues such as genre, representation, narrative, audience,
atmosphere etc. Basically WHY you chose particular shots, sounds, transitions etc.
Intro: Explain what text you are analysing
Main: Include all 4 of the following key areas
 Camera – shot size, framing, high & low angles, subjective & objective filming, hand
held, tilts, pans, zooms etc., green screen
 Sound – diegetic and non-diegetic, sound effects, ambient sound, dialogue, music,
voice over
 Editing – fades, cuts, wipes, dissolves, slow motion, fast motion, colour effects like
black & white, bad TV, stop motion animation, green screening and chroma key
work
 Mise En Scene – costume, lighting, location, body language, acting, make up, props
etc.
Conclusion: How well do you think you used media language to communicate meaning to an
audience?
Techniques I used What it signified to an audience
Camera:
Mise-En-Scene

43
Editing:
Sound:
To get A&B Grades
For this question you could choose to include ANY of the theories we have looked at.
Particularly good ones might be:
Theorist Theory – what to write about
Blumler & Katz / Richard
Dyer
Uses & Gratifications theory / Utopian Solutions – explaining how your use
of MEDIA LANGUAGE offers these to an audience
Vladimir Propp Propp’s Character theory – how your MEDIA LANGUAGE helps audiences
identify particular characters as heroes / villains etc.
Stuart Hall Explain that your decision to use the MEDIA LANGUAGE you chose was to
create a “preferred reading” for your text. But that audiences are used to
Encoding and Decoding tests AND could take a negotiated or oppositional
reading
Rick Altman –Explain how you used MEDIA LANGUAGE to include Semantic Elements
(e.g. signs such as knives, blood, dark colours, eerie music) or to signify
Syntactic elements (e.g. themes like love, revenge).

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Question 1b Past Questions
Jan 2013
Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of narrative.
June 2012
Explain how meaning is constructed by the use of media language in one of your
coursework productions.
Jan 2012
Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions.
June 2011
Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of audience.
Jan 2011
Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework productions.
June 2010
Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to genre.
Jan 2010
Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions.

45
Exemplar Answers
Genre:
The media production I am going to write about in relation to genre is my favourite piece from
the whole course which is my horror teaser trailer.
The genre of the trailer is obviously ‘horror’ and this in itself allowed us to be creative with
narrative etc. but limited us because we had to stick to a certain amount of generic conventions in
order for it to be recognised by its existing target audience. Steve Neal said that ‘genre is a
repetition with an underlying pattern of variations’ which meant certain generic features had to be
included and repeated which in my case was the use of a creepy location of the woods as well as
hand held camera and restricted narration to cause disorientation and suspense within our trailer.
However, the pattern of variation Neal describes also links to my horror teaser trailer because we
were able to creatively push the boundaries by twisting some generic features in order to make
the trailer interesting and therefore cause the audience to want to watch the full movie. For this
my group chose use a female psycho killer I order to subvert the stereotypical male dominated
role. This female identification through point of view shots etc. captured our female audience
because we were providing them with power and this is unusual for the horror genre although it is
known for its forward thinking approach as it often attempts to focus on subcultural views instead
of targeting the mainstream. Genre encompasses many parts and the trailer links to it in more
ways than one. Its use of enclosed location and the fact the woods attempts to reinforce our
society’s fear of loneliness and isolation which the woods creates when the three friends get lost.
In these sections of the trailer we used a lot of heavy cross cutting between the female victim who
is running anxiously through the woods in order to find her friends and get home safely. We also
used the Kuleshove and collision cutting methods as the pace began slow as the friends head out
in the car unaware of the danger before them and once they are in the woods we deliberately
quickened the pace of editing to cause tension and to show that something is not right, keeping
the audience on the edge of their seats.
Editing and mise-en-scene is really important to genre and reflects very quickly certain moods
and atmospheres. Levi Strauss and Roland Barthes argued that the horror genre like many others
used ‘binary oppositions’ in order to show the contrast between good and evil in order to force
the audience to be constantly questioning the trailer for example; in my trailer I used light and
dark to connote their happiness and carefree attitude in the daytime and the darkness to emphasise
their fear and reliance on their senses. This is particularly important to the horror genre as
characters are often shown in high angle shots to appear vulnerable and therefore under threat.
Gore or ‘body horror’ is also a common generic convention used by most horror films that we
studied including Dawn of the Dead by George A. Romero who used it to make the audience feel
sick by forcing them to see extreme violence. In my own trailer we were inspired to use gore
differently by showing a hanging scene in slow motion to create tension and the centring in on the
face and neck which had been broken and this was shown by the rope burn we had made from
latex and the blood pouring down her chest. This shot moves clockwise and slowly zooms in to
force the audience to see what the hang (woman) has done. In our final two shots we finish the
trailer with the male anti-hero being lifted off the ground with blood pouring out of his mouth
which causes the audience to assume no one survives because the final girl is stabbed by her
friend accidentally which quickens the pace and adds tension but she is the survivor who as Carol
Clover suggests will be terrorised throughout the film and finally overcome the monster. This
plays with the audiences emotions and links back to the horror genre well by creating our own
style of horror. Andrew Sarris argues because it encompasses so much and is key to explaining a

46
film. Genre is the ideas that collectively make a particular recognisable style that draws in its
existing target audience. My horror trailer had expressionist camera angles as the female victim
desperately trips over the camera and we see her running above it as well as close ups of her
facial expression that causes us to identify with her fear and therefore makes us scared. This
meant the audience also were forced to objectify the female victim from the high angle camera
shot down her top in which we can see her breasts slightly after watching other Hitchcock movies
which use the male gaze theory by Laura Mulvey to force us to take a male’s viewpoint.
In my trailer we also used an iconic symbol of the noose because obviously as a hangwoman she
needed the prop but also as a female the circular shape suggested female power and this is
something the horror genre often does but for male characters using guns etc. as phallic symbols
which we also used as the male anti-hero takes out a knife and stabs his friend frantically when
she walks up behind him. The horror trailer was made much darker in Final Cut Pro using the
brightness and contrast menu and also dragged the saturated colours towards the blue in order to
create a dark, dusky night time atmosphere a generic convention of horror trailers.
The generic conventions we chose to use were all important to the success of our product and
since distributing it on YouTube we have over 4000 which I am really pleased with and gives me
the confidence that we obviously stuck to the genre enough to capture our intended target
audience but were creative enough to make people want to keep watching the trailer and virally
sharing it with others.
Genre places a media text into a grouping giving it an identity which can be recognised by the
mainstream society and I believe my product is successfully fitted to the horror genre using the
narrative that Todorov argued was important to the horror genre by following an equilibrium at
the beginning then a problem which in our case was the male anti-hero playing a joke on the soon
to be female victim making jump running after him causing their separation then a pathway to
resolution – as they attempt to find each other and then a new equilibrium at the end which we
deliberately left as an open ending to capture our audience effectively.
EAA 10
EG 10
Term 5

53
SECTION B – MEDIA AND COLLECTIVE IDENTITY
Students will havea choice of two questions on this topic and will only have to
answer one.
The questions will be related to ONEof the four following topics although it
could be worded in a variety of different ways:
 How do the contemporary media represent nations, regions and ethnic /
social / collective groups of people in different ways?
 How does contemporary representation compareto previous time
periods?
 What are the social implications of different media representations of
groups of people?
 To what extent is human identity increasingly mediated?
The “collective” group we have chosen to study is young white women
(primarily fromthe UK and US) so all your casestudies will involve this social
group in some way. You MUST discuss casestudies from TWO different types
of media. Here we study film, television, advertising, music video examples
(you don’t need to refer to all of these, but it must be at least two). Students
who only refer to one of these cannot get higher than a D grade.
The focus is on contemporary media texts fromthe last 5 years which means
students must havelots of “modern” case studies to refer from although they
can refer to older texts to make points about changes in identity. Students
must also be prepared to discuss the history and future of identity in any
answer they give and will be unable to obtain higher than a B grade if they do
not mention these in any answer.

54
As much of the examiner feedback and subsequent advice to centres cuts across the topics,
which are in any case designed as convergent ‘transmedia’ cites of study, this session’s
report does not attempt to ‘silo’ these under discrete topic headings.
The overwhelming feedback from examiners indicated an impressive engagement with
theories of mediation, identity, democracy and culture, with candidates able to apply
complex theory to examples and, in the best cases, weigh up the critical debates that
frame them.
At the same time, examiners commented on the scarcity of contemporary examples, with
one observing that, from the case study wordel – of examples from the last twelve months
or so – offered at the ‘Getting Ahead’ conference in March, only one example, Black Mirror,
was cited in the exam.
Some application contexts dominate for some topics – the majority of candidates writing
about collective identity focus on youth, which is clearly appropriate given the closeness to
home of this, but surprisingly the examples chosen were often from generations before they
were born. As one examiner puts it, I was concerned that some centres are doing their
candidates a disservice by relying too heavily on historical textual examples to establish the
chronological development of the representation of the chosen collective at the expense of
engaging with contemporary texts. Other themes with real currency were the
representation of ethnicity and religion in multi-cultural Britain, and the stronger answers
were those that managed to tackle the question of how dominant representations inform
identity, with the less accomplished responses taking the latter for granted, or merely
dealing with the degree of ‘accuracy’ of the representations. Many of the most successful
responses tended to cite Buckingham and Gauntlett in connection with contemporary
media texts examples to establish that collective identities are diverse and fragmented,
considering how both intended audience and institutional characteristics might determine
the re-presentation of the collective.

55
As is always stated in guidance for this paper, balance is important. All of the critical
perspectives are chosen because there are ‘no right answers’ and generate polarised
arguments. More candidates would reach level 4 if they approached the examwith this in
mind and it is paramount that generalisations are avoided. As one examiner observes,
“some candidates seem to regard the media as party to one great conspiracy to deceive the
public, some of the sweeping generalisations that I have read this session are exactly what
the candidates are accusing The Sun, The Express and The Mail etc. of doing - demonising on
the basis of unverified anecdotes to let the sparse information fit one's own ideological
prejudices”.
Structure and Presentation
The stronger answers, particularly for Section B, are those which present a balanced
argument with a clear structure, weighing up competing arguments, developing the case
through the use of examples and working towards a conclusion. A number of intelligent
answers are reduced to level 3 because the clarity of the argument is undermined by
structure, so centres are encouraged to spend time helping candidates with shaping and
crafting section B answers.
All examiners apply the mark scheme in the context of empathising with candidates
working in exam conditions. However, there are some issues which cannot be resolved even
with these considerations. There seemed to be a larger than usual number of scripts which
were very difficult to read. This is perhaps understandable in the age of keyboards and
handheld devices, many of us struggle with the ‘old fashioned’ art of calligraphy, but
candidates opting to write their answers do need to practice legible writing in timed
conditions.
The most popular themes were collective identity, media in the online age, regulation and
postmodern media. Candidates achieving higher levels used a range of examples and
theorists from across the spectrum of the debate in question to support their argument and
directly answered the question set. As there is a choice offered for each topic, this is very
important, as is deploying a range of contemporary examples from different media, with

56
some historical context and future projection. Weaker answers failed to make connections
between theorists’ ideas and the candidates’ chosen examples.
Answers on youth dominated the collective identity responses. These worked well when
the complexity of youth representation was addressed and were less accomplished when
the negative, hegemonic portrayal of youth was itself asserted as ‘common sense’ and only
supported by a description of Fish Tank or Harry Brown and the tabloid reporting of the
recent riots as part of a straightforward linear modality. Whilst texts that provide historical
context are valuable, the weighting must be on analysis of contemporary representations
and too often, the older example was given too much prominence, to the extent that,
overall, Quadrophenia was one of the most studied texts this session.

57
An Overview of Feminism
About Feminism
Feminism is a vast movement which is not specifically centred on studying the media. It is
concerned with challenging the unfair and unequal distribution of power and wealth in a
patriarchal society.
Through the years Feminism has been firstly a political project which has sought to
challenge power structures and change the roles and perceptions of women.
In common with other perspectives (such as Marxism), a part of this is to understand how
power works because without this understanding it is almost impossible to get things
changed.
This is why feminists have made such an important contribution to Media Studies. If the
Mass Media play such an important part in the reinforcement of patriarchal ideology, then
it is essential to see:
• how this process works,
• to criticise it
• and to find ways of using the media to propose alternatives to patriarchy.
First Wave Feminism (1850s to early 1960s)
The key concerns of First Wave Feminists were education, employment, the marriage laws,
and the plight of intelligent middle-class single women. They were not primarily concerned
with the problems of working-class women, nor did they necessarily see themselves as
feminists in the modern sense (the term was not coined until 1895). First Wave Feminists
largely responded to specific injustices they had themselves experienced.
Second Wave Feminism (late 1960s to early 1980s)
The term 'Second Wave' was coined by Marsha Lear, and refers to the increase in feminist
activity which occurred in America, Britain, and Europe from the late sixties onwards.
In America, second wave feminism rose out of the Civil Rights and anti-war movements in
which women, disillusioned with their second-class status even in the activist environment
of student politics, began to band together to contend against discrimination.
The tactics employed by Second Wave Feminists varied from well publicised activities, such
as the protest against the Miss America beauty contest in 1968, to the establishment of
small consciousness-raising groups.

58
However, it was obvious early on that the movement was not a unified one, with differences
emerging between black feminism, liberal feminism, social feminism, etc.
The slogan 'the personal is political' sums up the way in which Second Wave Feminism did
not just strive to extend the range of social opportunities open to women, but also, through
intervention within the spheres of reproduction, sexuality and cultural representation, to
change their domestic and private lives.
Second Wave Feminism did not just make an impact upon western societies, but has also
continued to inspire the struggle for women's rights across the world.
Post Feminism (1980s)
A term that can cause some heated debate, as it is not really fixed in meaning.
The term came to prominence in the 1980s and was part of the backlash against Second
Wave feminism. It seems to imply that feminism achieved its goals, that we are ‘beyond’
feminism or that feminism has lost its relevance
It seemed to argue that the Women’s Liberation movement of the 1970s was the source of
many problems plaguing women in the 1980s.
Third Wave Feminism (1990s to 2010s)
It focuses more on the individual empowerment of women and less on activism.
It celebrates women’s multiple and sometimes contradictory identities in today’s world. It
also celebrates diversity, as a criticismof the 1970s Women’s Lib movement was that it was
too heterosexual, white and middle class.
The front page of the Third Wave Foundation web site explains that the organization strives
to combat inequalities that [women] face as a result of [their] age, gender, race, sexual
orientation, economic status or level of education. By empowering young women, Third
Wave feminists would argue they were building a lasting foundation for social activism.

59
Theoretical Perspectives
Naomi Wolf
Gender roles and representations have changed rapidly
in recent years, largely because feminists have made a
good deal of progress in eroding stereotypes but some
would argue they have been replaced by different but
equally disempowering stereotypes.
In the view of some feminists, the key site of struggle has
moved away from the attribution of low-value qualities
towards the visual presentation of the body.
In an influential book The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf
(1991) argued that images of ultra-thin supermodels and
the perfect bodies glamorised by advertising, fashion and
the media in general are indications of a patriarchal
attack on women’s bodies. Women’s bodies and
sexuality have become commodities and the
consequences of this are mental and physical illness,
starvation diets and eating disorders...
Wolf suggests that, throughout the years, there have been forces in culture that attempt to
punish women who seek more control over their lives and their environment.
Wolf can be linked to Jean Kilbourne and her series of lectures entitles Killing Us Softly
(available on YouTube)
Laura Mulvey
Laura Mulvey conceived the term ‘male gaze’ to emphasise
the extent to which so much of our media output assumes
that the spectator is male or constructs reality from a male
point of view, from a set of largely masculine assumptions.
Mulvey’s interest was particularly the cinema which offered
the perfect opportunity for the male viewer to drool over
the erotic exhibition of women’s bodies on screen. Because
female characters have been invariably insignificant to the
plot, female viewers have also identified with the male
character, enjoying the spectacle of women through his

60
eyes.
This idea, that the media encourage women to see themselves through the eyes of men,
was also developed by Angela McRobbie (1991) in relation to girls’ magazines where ‘to
achieve self-respect, the girl has to escape the bitchy, catty atmosphere of female company
and find a boyfriend as quickly as possible …’
Walter Lipmann (on stereotyping)
Walter Lippmann sees stereotyping as a necessary and useful social
process.
He distinguishes three major functions of stereotyping:
1. Ordering process: categorisations, generalisations and typifications
are instruments of societies to make sense of themselves. Such
orderings are partial, but not always untrue, because “partial
knowledge is not false knowledge, it is simply not absolute
knowledge”.
2. Short cut: stereotypes work like signs; they are simple, striking and easily grasped,
but still carry complex information.
3. Reference: as a sign, a stereotype refers to something we know in reality and
associate certain ideas with. In referring to ‘reality’, reality is interpreted. In this
sense, stereotyping is a projection of values onto ‘the world’. Stereotypes are
therefore defined by their social function.
Tessa Perkins (on stereotyping)
Rethinking Stereotypes described the assumptions many people hold about stereotypes
1. Stereotypes are always erroneous (false) in content
2. They are pejorative (critical) concepts
3. They are about groups with whom we have little or no social contact; by implication,
therefore, they are not held about one's own group
4. They are about minority (or oppressed) groups
5. They are simple
6. They are rigid and do not change

61
7. They are not structurally reinforced
8. The existence of contradictory stereotypes is evidence that they are erroneous, but of
nothing else
9. People either 'hold' stereotypes (believe them to be true) or do not
10. Because someone holds a stereotype of a group, his or her behaviour towards the group
can be predicted.
Richard Dyer (on representation)
He saw three main areas of the ways in which the media uses representations.
1. Representation is selective: individuals in the media are often used to replace a
group of people. One member of this group then represents the whole social group.
2. Representation is culture-specific: representations are
presentations. The use of codes and conventions available in a
culture shapes and restricts “what can be said ... about any aspect of
reality in a given place, in a given society at a given time”.
3. Representation is subject to interpretation: although visual codes
are restricted by cultural convention, they “do not have single
determinate meanings”. To a certain degree, their meaning is a
matter of interpretation.
Richard Dyer (on star theory)
Stars are constructed, artificial images, even if they are represented as being "real people",
experiencing real emotions etc. It helps if their image contains a USP (unique selling
proposition) — they can be copied and/or parodied because of it. Their representation may
be metonymic — Madonna's conical bra in the early 1990s, Bono's 'Fly' sunglasses, Britney's
belly, Justin Bieber's bangs. Pop stars have the advantage over film stars in that their
constructed image may be much more consistent over a period of time, and is not
dependent on the creative input of others (e.g. screenwriters writing their lines).
Dyer proposes that:
A star is an image not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out
of a range of materials (e.g. advertising, magazines etc. as well as films [music]).

62
Angela McRobbie
Angela McRobbie did most of her research into the magazine industry and the contents of
magazines. She looked at the way in which gender roles are represented within different
within media. She believes that the media influences us as humans into what we should and
should not do. So they “socialize” us into our gender roles. This suggests that humans
behave like they do because of what the media tells them to how to behave and what to do
with their lives.
She believes that in most media texts; women are portrayed by the
following: weak; subservient to men; and traditional roles (mother,
nurse etc.)
McRobbie however does accept that within some media text, women
are shown in more powerful sexual roles and she suggests this could be
a good thing. This is where controversy aroused as other feminists argue as they believe
that that the suggestion is demeaning to women. However Angela McRobbie believes that
some representations empower women as sexually powerful.
Queer Theory
Queer Theory rejects conventional or mainstream behaviour, including sexual identity, but
also a range of identities including race, disability and gender.
It rejects the essentialist nature of theories of identity based on binary oppositions like
male/female, gay/straight and argues there is another space outside which is ‘queer’.
It explores and challenges the way in which heterosexuality is constructed as normal and
the way in which the media has limited the representations of gay men and women.
Suggests sexual identity is more fluid.
Judith Butler
Suggests gender is not the result of nature, but is socially constructed.
Male and female behaviour roles are not the result of biology but are constructed and
reinforced by society through media and culture.
Sees gender as a PERFORMANCE.
She argued that “the gendered body is performative suggests that is has no ontological
status apart from the various acts which constitute its reality”.

63
She argues that there are a number of exaggerated representations of masculinity and
femininity which cause “gender trouble.”
(Any behaviour or representation that disrupts culturally accepted
notions of gender.)
In her most influential book, Gender Trouble (1990), Butler argued
that feminism had made a mistake by trying to assert that
'women' were a group with common characteristics and interests
That approach, Butler said, performed 'an unwitting regulation
and reification of gender relations' - reinforcing a binary view of
gender relations (men and women). She argued that, rather than
opening up possibilities for a person to form and choose their own
individual identity, feminism had closed the options down.
Andrea Levy
In her book Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture (2005), Levy
attacks the increasingly sexualised culture that objectifies women. She argues that women
are encouraged to see sex as their only source of power. This can be seen in lads’ magazines
like Nuts and music videos of female artists like Rhianna and Christina Aguilera.
Germaine Greer
Greer claims that the media upholds an ideal image of beauty in its representations: an
image that women are made to be desperate to conform to.
She claims that the emphasis on beauty/’sexiness’ and women in the media has meant that
women now believe that if they do not conform to this – if they are not beautiful – they are
not successful and useless.
David Gaunlett
Thinks the idea that the media affects the way we behave is rubbish. He studies the
Frankfurt schools Media Effects theory and contradicts all of its ideas. He thinks we:
Shouldn’t blame the media for issues that already exist in society
Shouldn’t assume the audiences is passive and naive

64
Shouldn’t believe the Frankfurt School’s research as it was conducted in an artificial way and
there’s no real way we could ever find out the real effect media has on society
Shouldn’t assume that there will only be negative results from consuming a media text.
Sometimes a media text that contains negative issues has a positive repercussion on the
audience
Believes that we use the “media as navigation points for developing our own identities”.
Believes that the media “disseminates a huge number of messages about identity and
acceptable forms of self-expression, gender, sexuality and lifestyle.”

65
The Main Stereotypes of Women in the Media
The dumb blonde
The bitch
The Mother
The whore/tart
The housewife
The femme fatale
The cougar
The MILF
The butch lesbian
The female action hero (or kick ass female stereotype)

66
How does contemporary representation compare to previous
time periods?
NB. This is a very basic overviewwhichcontains generalisations
TIME PERIOD REPRESENTATION EXAMPLES
40’s / 50’s Women shown as housewives,
femme fatales, subservient, dumb
blondes.
Reason: After the World War,
women ‘returned’ to the home,
despite some progress made in
relation to the workplace.
Some Like It Hot and some other
Marilyn Monroe films
Gilda
Fairy Liquid adverts
Any film noir
60’s / 70’s Starting to be represented in less
stereotypical terms; however their
role was being dictated by men.
Reason: changes in the legal status
of women, emergence of the
‘personal is political’, civil rights
movement (primarily in the US). Can
be linked to second wave feminism.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Bond films
Coronation Street
Car and beauty products adverts
Slasher movies
Twiggy
80’s Much more varied and pluralistic.
Main themes are action, office
workers, power hungry, vamps. Yet
there was still the dominance of
women being subservient to men.
Some examples of playing with
gender (following on from glam in
the 70s)
Reason: The rise of Thatcherism
presented women in complex ways:
feminism led to a rise in power for
British women and led to a
supposed ‘crisis’ in terms of
masculinity. Increasingly men were
no longer seen as the main
‘breadwinner’.
Working Girl
Aliens
Terminator
Eastenders
Romancing the Stone
Eurythmics
Madonna
Heathers
90s A continuation from the 80s.
However, with the rise of ‘lad
culture’ and the backlash against
feminism (political correctness),
women were increasingly being
represented through their sexuality
Thelma and Louise
Silence of the Lambs
Spice Girls
Clueless
Showgirls
Riot Grrrl

67
– although there were now more
representations where they were in
control of their sexuality.
However, there was also the rise of
supermodels and ‘thin is beautiful’
Kate Moss
Jordan
Matrix
Diet Coke adverts
2000 - 2010 Women continue to secure ‘better’
paid jobs (yet inequalities still exist).
Often seen to be in control of their
destiny and less dependent on men.
A plethora of identities are now
constructed/represented through the
media.
Kill Bill
Erin Brockovich
Fish Tank
Waterloo Road
Eastenders
The Apprentice
Thirteen
Charlie’s Angels
Persepolis
Mean Girls
Christina Aguilera
Rhianna
2010 - present Gender increasingly seen as fluid.
Emergence of fourth wave feminism
and politicisation of feminism
Reason: Audiences will no longer
accept one-dimensional
representations of women.
Sket
Black Swan
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Spring Breakers
Girls (TV show)
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Skyfall
Miss Representation (documentary)
Rise of YouTube
Possible
Future
With the recent rise of feminism through social media, young women are now
becoming the producers of media identity. The internet meme “I need feminism
because…” is testament to this. Also there is a current trend to ‘create’ a new
wave of feminism: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/10/fourth-wave-
feminism-rebel-women Look at Tumblr and how young women are using that
as media.
On a global scale think about Malala Yousafzai
Important to note: Changes in the way young women are represented are not
JUST explainable by changes in social / political zeitgeist. Changes might
also occur because of director, funding, target audience, purpose of the film

68
(social comment or entertainment), why people watch the film (Uses &
Gratifications etc.)
Conclusion
Many aspects of representation have changed over time, probably to reflect the
changes in society that have occurred over the years. Changes in representation
can also be explained by a changing audience, different directors, different target
audiences and purposes of a text.
Some examples we have looked at (in no particular order)
FILMS TELEVISION ADVERTISING MUSIC VIDEOS
Some Like it Hot Coronation Street Fairy Liquid Spice Girls
Grease Shameless Dolce & Gabana Eurythmics
Carrie Eastenders Lynx Rhianna
Thelma and Louise Misfits Diet Coke Haim
Alien Waterloo Road Soda Stream Christina Aguilera
Terminator Quiz shows Perfume products Lady Gaga
Thirteen The Only Way is Essex Dove PJ Harvey
Mean Girls Sex and the City Little Mix
Fish Tank Monsters High Sugarbabes
Charlie’s Angels Grimes
Black Swan Miley Cyrus
Spring Breakers Nicki Minaj
The Hunger Games Robin Thicke
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Juno
Kick Ass
Compliance
Hanna
Miss Representation

69
To what extent is human identity increasingly mediated?
This is a question that could come up and is one of the more complicated questions.
Mediated means “an exchange of ideas”. So this question is asking you to consider the
following things:
 Do audiences just passively accept the young female identity they see on screen
OR
 Do they watch films and television programmes actively mediate the identities they
see (e.g. accept some ideas, reject others etc.)
So here is table for you to add to:
Evidence that audiences are PASSIVE and accept
their identities from what they see on screen
Evidence that audiences are ACTIVE and mediate
their identities from what they see on screen
Propaganda – some texts are used as propaganda,
to directly change the identity of the audience
Examples:
Audiences are directly influenced by the media they
consume
Theory:
Theory 2:
Audiences are capable of rejecting or negotiating
these messages by taking different readings
Theory:
Audiences use the media as a source of
“identification” and enjoy seeing texts where they
can recognise themselves
Examples:
Theory:
Audiences know that many texts are there just as
entertainment and escape and don’t expect them to
be realistic
Examples:
Theory:
Some selective representations become more
popular than reality and form a “hyperreality” that
audiences accept as more real
Audiences enjoy watching representations of young
female identities that they do not identify with as they
can “look down” on people less well off than they are

70
Examples:
Theory:
etc.
Example:
Theory:
The media operates on a supply and demand basis. If
audiences just blindly accepted what they saw on
television there would never be a need for these
representations to evolve and change. However, they
ARE changing and this is due to audience demand
Example:
Theory:

71
Past Exam Questions
Jan 2010
June 2010
Jan 2011
June 2011
Jan 2012

72
June 2012
Jan 2013
June 2013
6. Explainwhatismeantby ‘collective’ identityandthe role of mediainitsconstruction.[50]
7. “Media representationsare justreflectionsof reality,notconstructionsordistortions.”Discuss
withreference toone ormore group(s) of people. [50]
Marking Scheme for Level Four Responses

73
Exemplar Essay Responses on Collective Identity

80
June 2010
Section B Question 6 Media and Collective Identity
For A2 I have studies the representation of women in both contemporary and historical
media. As David Buckingham noted in 2008, “identity is fluid and changeable” – and
arguably the identity of women in recent times has changed, some may argue it has
become more mediated.
Identity itself refers to who we actually are, the construction of ourselves – perhaps even
the representation of ourselves and our social groups that we as media consumers wish
to have. While many such as Buckingham and Gauntlett champion the fact the create
and construct our own identities; others such as Theordore Adorno see identity as
something pushed upon us by the mass media, that we have no alternative but to take
the dominant identities we are exposed to “something is offered for all so that none may
escape,” he writes in explanation of this fact. Adorno therefore argues that our identities
are becoming increasingly mediated – that is, that they influenced by the mass media,
inherent identifies are weak and influenced by the media around us.
‘Nuts’ magazine is a stereotypical ‘lad’s mag’, aimed at 18-24 year old males. In an
analysis of the 19-25th March 2010 issue I performed the content proves interesting with
regards to representation of women. Images of semi-naked females in suggestive poses
represent women as victims of symbiotic annihilation. They are portrayed as merely
objects of sexual pleasure for men – the images have been constructed, Laure Mulvey
would argue with her theory of the Male Gaze, solely with the male consumers in mind,
who using the Uses and Gratifications Model are consuming the text for sexual pleasure.
Most significant here, however, is the so-called Mirror Effect of Mulvey’s Male Gaze.
This states that women themselves consuming the images will apply the Male Gaze, and
see the female in the image in a sense of what Baudrillard would call hyperreality,
assuming the idea that this representation is ‘how women should be’ and in turn they
should construct their identities similarly in order to appeal to males – after all women
are the subdominant group in an apparent patriarchal society. Identity therefore has
become mediated in this situation as Adorno says. The “culture industry” that is the
mass media has imposed a dominant representation onto a collective group; who have
felt pressured to adapt it as part of their collective identity.

81
In the 2001 film “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”, Lara Croft, the main female character is
represented as fairly masculine (stereotypically masculine) in terms of her choice of
clothing, body language and manner. All of these micro-elements construct her identity.
However, throughout the film, we also see Croft use what can be considered the
concept of femininity to her advantage, flirting with male characters and wearing
stereotypically feminine clothes towards the final scenes.
In terms of her character’s identity this supports Buckingham’s aforementioned
assumption that “identity is fluid and changeable” but also conforms to Queer Theory.
Queer Theory is widely recognized in Judith Butler’s 1990 book ‘Gender Trouble’ and
states that the genders male and female are just as much the product of representation
as the concepts of masculinity and femininity. She calls for a blurring of boundaries
between genders and their stereotypical identities and calls for the media to celebrate
such diversity. As a character, Croft arguably has blurred the boundaries displaying traits
of both male and female behaviour.
If Adorno’s assertions are applied here it can be argued that again the dominant identity
of women as sly, untrustworthy and in need of patriarchal dominance is being applied
through Croft’s deviant use of fronting identity to her advantage.
However some could argue that the prominence of Queer Theory does not encourage
the mediation of female identity instead it encourages dominant representations to be
characterized and boundaries to be blurred – implying greater personal control over
identity as advocated by John Fiske and David Buckingham rather than mediated
identities.
Cosmopolitan is a magazine aimed at females around 30+. In all ways it can be said that
pragmatically the magazine pushes femininity as an identity for itself, with stereotypically
female colours and text styles. In turn, the feminine identity of the magazine is applied
as a representation of the readers, further suggesting a mediation of women’s identity.
The magazine focuses heavily on beauty and fitness, reinforcing the dominant ideology
of the “ideal” women that women should aspire to a fixed concept of beauty. As an
example in the April 2010 issue a large image of Holly Willoughby (celebrity) features on
the cover. Although unlike Nuts magazine, she is wearing fairly covering clothing and
lacks cosmetic make-up, it is interesting to note that her clothing is white in colour –
Ferdinand de Saussure would note that this has semiotic significance using his semiotic
theory and Roland Barthe’s levels of signification, we can identify that white has

82
connotations of innocence and weakness. Therefore this represents her as innocent and
weak – reinforcing dominant patriarchal representations of women. Due to her status as
a celebrity, her level of influence is great. In herself she is a semiotic symbol of success
and affluence, so those who take inspiration from her will take this constructed
innocence and weakness and apply it to their own identities. This is a clear example of
the mediation of identity. It suggests a passive audience, influenced by the mass media
as Adorno and other quasi-Marxists would suggest.
It can be seen therefore, that as post modernists say, we live in a media saturated
society. We are surrounded by signs which cannot be ignored. Women in the media are
often represented as varying, whether it be as sexual objects for the pleasure of males;
or as innocent, as ‘stay at home’ housewives as suggested in 2008’s film Hancock. Here,
despite possessing stereotypically male strength and ‘superpowers’, the lead female
aspires to be a housewife – reinforcing the sub-dominant representation of women.
Either way however women are often the victims of mediation. The theories of
consumption and construction of identity from theorists such as Adorno and Mulvey
clearly show that despite the specific representations, one common identity is ‘forced’
upon women in the media – a subdominant social group living in a patriarchal society.
Identity is constructed using this as a basis; and even media texts which challenge this
representation and encourage Queer Theory diversity are still arguably mediating
identity with their influence. Identity is fluid and changeable and can be individually
constructed as Gauntlett and Buckingham state. But arguable, the mass media are, and
have, mediated the identity of women in contemporary society.
EAA 20
EG 18
T 10
(48)

83
6) Analyse the impact of media representation on the collective identity of one or more
groups of people
There are many ways that immigrants living in Britain are represented by the media;
most which I was not aware of before studying them. At the beginning of my studies of
the topic of immigration I found that my perspective and opinion was fairly basic. It was
not until I developed a deeper understanding of the different representations that I began
to realise the impact the media has on representing immigrants.
In summer 2010 user generated content was uploaded to the Internet titled ‘My tram
experience’ and was the first representation I found that truly shocked me. The video is
of a woman called ‘Emma West’ who is expressing her views on immigration. She
makes the claim ‘you aint British, you’re black’ and tells an immigrant on the tram to ‘go
back’.
Through interaction and convergence the video went viral and I was surprised to see
numbers of responses from people of all classes and ages both agreeing and
disagreeing with her opinion. It was not until I looked closer at theory that I began to
understand why. Gilroy makes the claim that ‘Blackness and Britishness are mutually
exclusive’ which is evident in the text when claims “you aint British, you’re black” and
Chambers claims that one view of Britain is ‘anglo-centric’ and ‘backward looking’
evident in “go back”. This then begins to provide a case of where this representation of
immigrants has come from and how her opinion developed.
In the 1960’s newspapers, in the main, kept to the journalistic values of balance, fairness
and accuracy, which allowed their representations to be what Albert Szymarshi claimed
to be pluralistic. In April 1968 The Guardian reported on the consequences of Enoch
Powell’s ‘Rivers of blood’ speech, expressing racist views, with the headline ‘Mr Enoch
Powell dismissed’ which is both a formal and balanced representation. However,
contemporary newspapers instead follow claims by the Glasgow Media Group and
display what Stuart Hall claimed to be hegemonic representations, providing an
understanding of where Emma
West’s opinions have derived from. In September 2011 The Express published the
headline ‘Immigration crackdown needed for the good of the country’ which negatively
represents immigration and expresses Glasgow Media Group’s claim that journalists
reduce complex issues to simple explanations. This is due to the fact that it blames

84
problems that occur within Britain on the presence of immigrants, which provides a
simple, unproven explanation and also demonstrates The Glasgow Media Gorup’s
second claim that journalists re-enforce stereotypes, as blame is stereotypically played
on a ‘minority group.’ The headlines are viewed by millions which provides an
explanation to why similar views are reflected within society. They also provide evidence
of what Anderson claims to be an ‘imagined community’ that is involved with having a
‘national identity’. Many individuals within today’s society are holding the view of a
community where British attributes are present and are not allowing for the positive
attributes that can be brought from a multi-ethnic society.
Film on the other hand can be said to express more of a pluralistic representation in both
historical and contemporary texts but in today’s world is not as well received. In 1959
‘Sapphire’, directed by Dearden was released. The plot involved a young pregnant
woman who was murdered, the white detectives set about trying to solve the mystery of
her murder and discover that she had ‘black blood’ and it was a racist attack. It displays
a pluralist representation thoroughly evident when the white detectives are speaking to a
‘black’ club owner and both are represented in a balanced manner. The film was well
received and won a BAFTA for the Best British Film the year it was released
demonstrating how these views were present within society. Ghost (2006), directed by
Mike Broomfield, showed similar representations but was only seen by thousands. It
involves the plight of illegal Chinese immigrants entering Britain and again is pluralistic
throughout. The sequence where the immigrants are trapped in a box in a lorry, the
camera is in the box held at shoulder height, the lighting is dark and the breathing is
amplified to create a claustrophobic feel. This then shows a balanced representation of
immigrants but is not one that is strongly evident within society. It attempts to offer
Chamber’s ‘ex-centric’ view of Britain but those who view an ‘anglo-centric’
representation are not likely to have seen the film.
Despite this ‘We created music expression’ (Gray) offers an ‘ex-centric’ view of Britain
which is ‘homogeneous’ and is well received within today’s society. Dizzzie Rascal
expresses the genre in his 2003 album ‘Boy in Da Corner’ which includes tracks such as
‘Jus’ a Rascal’ that portray lyric evidence of socially and economically deprived areas of
Britain and a ‘multi-ethnic’ environment. In 2006 MTV Base ranked it the sixth best
album of all time. It eliminates what Snow claims to be ‘real or imagined shared
attributes and experiences’ that are anglo-centric, such as, ‘all Britains drink tea’, and

85
instead offers a multi-ethnic representation and portrays it positively. This is then a direct
contrast to 1990s music era where bands such as Oasis, Blur and Pulp made up the
Britpop era which displays Britain as ‘anglo-centric’. The issue is that Grime is just one
small area that represents immigration in a pluralistic manor. Although it is well received
it is not enough to alter a society where anglo-centric views can be said to be dominant;
evident through Emma West and her responses.
To conclude there are many different ways that immigrants are represented within the
media from evaluating all the different methods I found that I was not as shocked by
Emma West’s views, although they are presented differently, they are reflected in many
other texts, particularly newspapers. While there are many pluralistic representations of
immigrants present, they are either not as well received or do not have a strong enough
impact. This then leads to the claim that they are mainly represented negatively.
This answer ranges across a number of different media forms and makes some good
reference to theoretical viewpoints and specific critics. It is argued well and is systematic
in its approach to the topic. Examples are frequently contemporary but rooted in
historical context. Overall, there is definitely enough here to justify level 4 in all three
areas.
Total marks 42

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