Question 2) – missed marks due to missing reference to figure 1.

In figure one you can identify how the media product represents reality by constructing an idealised version of the city during Christmas. The use of the cool tone colours and the Christmas iconography creates a warm and inviting tone suggesting that the city is filled with joy around this time of year. This representation of the city can boost tourism and consumerism by showing the lively and festive atmosphere. However is this an accurate representation of reality in Manchester? Many audiences may view this media advert with an oppositional approach and believe that it is neglecting many challenges faced within the Manchester city during Christmas. For example, according to the Guardian it suggests that many residents feel that the Christmas markets have become too commercialised in which they are too over priced and detract many people from local businesses. Therefore, while this media product does construct an appealing look of Manchester during Christmas, it does not represent the economic or political reality.

Question 3)- missed marks due to no conclusion

conclusion- Overall, the Score advert is a clear example of the Male gaze. This is due to the way that the women are depicted in the media product as they are seen as passive and sexualised, while the man is shown as heroic and dominant, this reinforces traditional gender roles. This advert is to make men feel more masculine and in control, which links to the male gaze. Although many may argue that due to the time period that this advert was made society has moved on from this stereotype and see the advert as out dated. Never the less, this advert still represents gender roles and links very closly with Laura Mulveys theory on the male gaze.

Question 4)- missed marks due to lack of knowledge on Steve Neals theory

Steve Neale’s genre theory is highly valid when analysing media products, as it highlights how genres are not fixed but constantly evolving through repetition and variation. In relation to Old town road, the music video combines country and hip hop which reflect Steve Neals theory on hybridity, where media products can blend different genres to appeal to a wider audience. This music video also involves sub genres by incorporating western imagry with rap style visuals. This validates Steve Neals theory that genre is not fixed but rather changing frequently based on audiences expectations and industry trends.

Question 5)- missed marks due to wrong theorist of the hypodermic model

= Harold Lasswell

1. bricolage = different ideas or styles are mixed together to create something new.
2. diegeses = the world or story created within a movie, including everything that happens in it.
3. implosion = different types of media or styles mix together and blur the lines between them.
4. Mytheme = basic idea or theme that appears in many different stories, like a hero’s journey.
5. Pastiche = different styles or ideas are copied and put together in a new way.
6. Syntagm = the way things are arranged in a sequence to create meaning.

Question 7) – missed marks due to lack of linking diversity to the film industry.

The film industry has definitely made some progress when it comes to diversity, particularly in production. More films are now being made that represent different races, ethnicities and genders. This is a good sign of change, but the issue of distribution is still a big problem. Films with a diverse casts that don’t fit the usual mainstream ideas often struggle to get a wide release, especially internationally. The big media conglomerates still have a lot of control over distribution and tend to prioritise films that fit the typical white hero narrative with the usual story line, this links closly with Hasmondalgh’s idea of minimising risk and maxamising profit.

Questions	What went well?	What could be improved	What I am going to do to make improvements
1	Analysis of product and how it represents meaning of Christmas	Using semiotic vocabulary	Semiotic theory and vocabulary
2	Understanding of theoretical framework, economic and political contexts	Analysis of source when referring to the question	Revise more on how economic and political contexts present reality
3	Analysis of product and how it refers to csp	Historical contexts, how media companies present constructed versions of reality, more on mulvery’s theory	Learn more context on csp and male gaze theory
4	Understanding of framework, genre theory and csp
5	Got one of the multiple choices	Better understand of theoretical framework, know what hypodermic needle theory is and terms associated with a postmodernist approach	Learn more theoretical terms, like the hypodermic needle theory and terms associated with a postmodernist approach.
6	Knowledge on the influences of social and cultural contexts on media products	Use more specific terminology throughout, more knowledge on daily mail and use more evidence	Research more on the daily mail, gather more statistics and further understand paper in general etc
7	Understanding of csp and distribution	Refer to Hesmondhalgh, how process of production, distribution and circulation shape media products	Further understanding on how media companies create diversity in production and distribution

Questions	What went well?	What could be improved?	What I am going to do to make the improvements
1. 5/9	Good analysis of the product that is clear and sometimes engages with how meanings are constructed by specific signs.	More perceptive concepts in analysis and diversity in meanings	practice unseen essay questions and focus on including more theoretical frameworks
2. 9/12	Good understanding of the theoretical framework that has appropriate explanations of issues of representation in media products.	use of subject specific terminology throughout.	revise contextual factors of products and terminology that correlates
3. 9/9	Good analysis of the product that is detailed and critically engages with the feminist theory of male gaze and how they relate to the CSP.	more theory links and maybe juxtapose to male gaze	revise other similar theories to link and/or contrast
4. 16/20	Judgements and conclusions regarding the validity of genre theory are perceptive and fully supported with detailed reference to specific aspects of the CSP	draw more detailed and perceptive conclusions regarding the theory	practice essays to develop drawing judgements linking theorist and csp’s
5. 6/6	good knowledge of key terms	a more solidified understanding of terms	revise specific terms
6. 8/9	knowledge and understanding of the influences of social and cultural contexts and subject specific terminology	use specific data to support points	memories both qualitative and quantitative data for newspapers
7. 17/20	judgments and conclusions that are consistently well supported by relevant examples and appropriate evaluation of the extent to which the film industry demonstrates diversity in production and distribution.	use specific data to support points	memories both qualitative and quantitative data for the film industry

overall mark = 70/84 = A

Questions	What went well?	What could be improved?	What I am going to do to make the improvements
1	Analysed well what contents were within the advertisements and able to make links to how these signs construct meaning.	Link more towards the theory and add more in-depth responses	Study the theory of signs in greater detail
2	Referred the close study products well towards the theme of representing reality and provided a historical background for both products	Add more theorists to support my answer	Search what theorists best support the products to gain a better understanding
3	Used theorists to back up my answer and provided a detailed description of how Score links to Male gaze	Present a better historical background to score to support my answer	Research more into the history behind Score in the 1960s
4	Provided a detailed answer linking scenes from the music video to Steve Neale’s theory	Should expend more on the terms presented in the question and include more key terms Steve Neale used within his theory	Pick out more terms and definitions within his theory to support my answer
5	Good explanation on the Hypodermic needle model and got 2/3 in the multiple choice.	Should of gotten all multiple choice answers correct	Learn more about the terms associated with the Postmodernist approach to the study of media
6	Used direct quotes from each newspaper, relevant to the topic to help back up my answer	Need to provide more information towards the cultural contexts and the beliefs of each newspaper	Research more into the beliefs and values of the newspapers and see what impact it has towards their responses
7	Used statistics to support my answer on distribution of Blinded by the light	Needed to provide more description towards the companies that helped distribute this film etc.	Look online to find out all the companies that helped with the distribution section

Questions	What went well?	What could be improved?	What I am going to do to make the improvements
1. 7/8	Good analysis of product and use of the theoretical framework.	Consistent highly appropriate use of subject specific terminology throughout.
2. 11/12	Good understanding of the theoretical framework and understanding of contexts of media and their influence on media products.	More detailed information
3. 6/9	Good understanding of the theoretical framework	Analyse media product more, understanding of media language
4. 15/20	Good application of theory and understanding of music video.	Understanding of genre theory
5. 6/6	Knowledge of theoretical framework, good example used
6. 6/9	Good understanding of the influences of social and cultural contexts on media products	Use of terminology and expand knowledge of theorists
7. 6/20	Good understanding of the theoretical framework and use of terminology.	Knowledge of Blinded by the light and diversity and production

Achieved target grade- B

57/84

To achieve the next grade boundary of an A, I would need to gain 4 more marks.

To secure a B overall, I will need to get 45 marks on paper 2.

To secure my target grade, I will need to improve in the 20 mark questions as I achieved 15/20 and 6/20.

I think my target grade is a C which I got on the first paper in and last years mark scheme for paper 1 which was the only one i could find says i should be on a B. In order to get an A, I only need 7 more marks in this case because I got 54 and I need 61 to get an A

Question 7 rewrite to get more marks:

In blinded by the light aims to be a feel-good film about the 80s which older people can relate to. The film also tries to highlight issues which were caused at the time such as racism with the main character and his family being from Pakistan and shows the racism, they would have faced by being foreigners in the 80s. An example of this is when the main character is chased down the street and called racial slurs because of his race which causes the audience to feel sympathy for him. The film also tackles other socials issues such as poverty and unemployment which will make audiences aware of what life was like in the 80s and make the audiences feel sympathetic which can lead to them being more kind and understanding about others which Habermas would describe as a positive transformation of the public sphere.

The film was also diverse in the distribution as the film was distributed by warner bros who are a global conglomerate which means they can distribute the film to a wide audience across the world compared to only in one or two countries. The film was also marketed on a diverse range of platforms such as on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook to try and capture people from all stages of life and with different views and backgrounds

This is why I partly agree as blinded by the light features a diverse production in terms of casting and characters as well as distribution. However the film industry still features a lack in diversity when it comes to production with most films being produced and acted by straight white people, however they are all diverse with their distribution as they all distribute their films globally thanks to video on demand which makes their content available in multiple regions as well as using global distribution companies to ensure their film is seen across the world by a wide range of audiences

To achieve the next grade boundary of an A, I would need to gain 6 more marks.

02)

Ghost town was produced by the 2-tone band The Specials in 1995, during Thatcher’s Britain, where Britain was suffering significantly, economically and with employment rate do to the political situations.

In Ghost Town, Levi Strauss’ theory of binary opposition can be seen throughout, such as the use of the words ‘ghost town’ and ‘boom town’ where ‘boom town’ refers to the time before Thatcher’s Britain, and there was more social life in the streets of London. It can also be seen during the chorus, and the band’s use of contrapuntal movement , as they juxtapose the energetic and chaotic rhythms with their unaffected and sterile facial expressions. This reflects how the British society felt, feeling emotionless and lifeless in the depressing times.

Ghost Town was also vastly different compared to their previous works, as they aimed to create a radical political statement, and because of this change in tone, it intrigued audiences. This links with Todorov’s theory of equilibrium, as Margit Thatcher can be seen as the disruption to the equilibrium, as Ghost Town is representing this through their video, with no fix for a new equilibrium in the near future.

The Manchester advert however reflects on modern British society, a time in which Britain is more financially stable and the public are generally in better moods compared to how they felt during Thatcher’s Britain.

Therefor this advert tries to reflect this through a series of indexical signs, such as: beams of light in the background, people together in the foreground and warm lighting in the buildings. This immediately creates a strong juxtaposition between the cold and empty streets of London that could be seen in the Ghost Town music video. This therefor supports how economic and financial contexts can influence media products.

However it should also be taken into consideration that this advert’s purpose is to promote Manchester as “The place to be for Christmas” and therefor the indexical signs likely connote to Barthes’ theory of myth in the media. Therefor this advert should not be taken as a 1 to 1 reflection of reality, but rather an idealistic reflection of how Manchester wants to be viewed.

To secure an A* overall, I will need to get 72 marks on paper 2.

Figure 1 shows an advertisement for the city of Manchester at Christmas time. 

Analyse how specific signs construct meanings about Christmas in Figure 1 

According to theorists such as Barthes and De Saussure, signs exist in media products to clearly denote meanings to audiences. This can be seen in the Manchester Christmas advert. The snow in the image acts as an indexical figure representing a winter setting as the ‘signified’ of the text. The presence of multiple families, one of which has a small child with them, establishes the ideology that Christmas as a celebration is not limited to specific ages and is instead a very inclusive and mass holiday, especially in an urban area/city like Manchester. The text in the product (which could be interpreted as the dominant signifier) makes the intention of the advert clear – producers hope to attract more people towards the city by having them accept the preferred reading of the text via anchorage, having them believe that “When it comes to Christmas, there’s no place like Manchester”. Iconography related to Christmas is also used with the inclusion of Santa Claus, an immensely popular character that immediately reinforces the periodic setting of the advertisement and likely targets children as an audience for the advert (since Santa is a commercial figure for products aimed at families and young kids). The beaming lights almost create the idea of warmth around Manchester, once again acting as a factor in making the city ‘unique’ in a time period where the country is traditionally cold.  

Questions	What went well?	What could be improved?	What am i going to do to make the improvements ?
1	good understanding of theorists and decoding Figure 1	more detailed	practice other unseen
2	post-colonial theory	theorists around reality	research and learn
3	decoding of score	the male gaze understanding	mind maps of specific topics
4	understanding of steve Neales genre theory and questions in responce	more detailed annotations for old town road	watch video again and make notes
5	hyperdermic understaning	post modernist vocab	re-visit and learn
6	theorists around newspaper effects	only talk about daily mail(read the question)	read newspaper again and make notes
7	facts and stats	more development of their audiences	research