Historical – 

Media products play a significant role in reflecting and addressing historical events and issues. They help audiences to have an insight into past events and their impacts. Understanding historical media contexts helps producers create content that resonates with audiences and ensures relevance of their products over time. 

Economical – 

Media products oftehn operate within specific business and finical systems, reflecting their economic contexts. Media products all depend on money and technology. They need to fit into market and use the latest tools while staying in budget. 

Cultural – 

Media products are deeply influenced by the cultural contexts in which they are created and consumed. The cultural contexts reflect beliefs, customs, and traditions of different societies. They can help us to learn and respect other ways of life. 

Social – 

Media products links to social contexts is crucial because products are shaped by social values. Media reproduces shape how people behave and think. They connect with societies values and influence how we react with one another.  

Viewpoints and Ideologies  

Capitalism – 

An economic system where businesses and industries are privately owned. 

Media is often driven by profit – big companies such as Netflix and Disney dominate the market. 

Ads and products exist to sell things to audiences. 

Populism – 

Political or media style that appeals to ‘ordinary people. 

Often seen in tabloids, reality tv and social media influencers. 

Can be used to create division for example us vs them narratives  

Consumerism –  

The idea that buying tangible goods is equal to happiness and success. 

The media pushes this through adverts, influencers, and celebrity culture. 

Magazines, tv and social media encourage this – example would be luxury fashion in vouge  

Globalisation –  

The world is becoming more connected through media, tech, and trade 

Hollywood, Netflix, and K-pop are examples of global media influences. 

There is a concern for a loss of culture as western media dominates. 

Feminism –  

Fight for gender equality in both society and media 

Early media = women as housewives, love interests or just over sexualized. 

Modern media = such as the Gentlewoman challenges these stereotypes  

Feminist Critical thinking.  

Individualism –  

Focus on personal identity and self-expression over community values 

This is encouraged by social media via personal branding and influencers  

Can be empowering but can also be isolating as some care about them self-more than they care about society  

Neoliberalism – 

The idea that free markets = best for society, with minimal government control 

Media industries are mostly privatised, not state owned.] 

Can mean less funding for public Serivices – for example, the BBC under pressure to make a profit. 

Imperialism – 

Historically, when powerful countries controlled weaker ones. 

In media, it means that western – especially American – culture dominates globally  

Hollywood, fast-food ads, and western social media trends influenced the entire world  

Capitalism:

Economic/political system where a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit instead of the state

Populism:

Political approach that aims to appeal ordinary people who feel like their concerns are being ignored by a particular established elite group

Consumerism:

A promotion of interests of consumers and the preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods

Feminism:

An advocacy of women’s rights for the equality between men and women across all aspects of life

Individualism:

Social theory favouring freedom of action for individuals over collective/state control

Self-managerialism:

Approaches of self-discipline which requires us to manage ourselves such as health and physical appearance

Neoliberalism:

A model of free market capitalism which favours reduced government spending, deregulation, globalisation, free trade and privatisation

Imperialism:

Extending a country’s power and influence through colonization, military force or through media production

Historical:

• How do media products reflect and influence historical issues/events
  • For example, a specific era where a certain type of media product would be displayed due to the influence of history at that time

Economic:

• How media producers operate through the business and financial system
• How these products differ based on their economic context through production, financial and technological opportunities/contraints
• For example, the impact this has on production budgets and their sources of funding

Cultural:

• The beliefs, meaning and practices that guide the shared behaviour of individuals of a certain group
• For example, the cultural products created by a society will reflect the time in which they are produced and enable an understanding of the ways they were made and the values and beliefs of that time

Social:

• Relationship between media producers and the society within which they operate
• For example the way in which the products reflect and construct social attitudes and portray these changes in society

Capitalism

Economic and Political system where a countries trade and industry are controlled by a private owner. The intent is for private profit insted of for the state.

Populism

Political approach that aims to recognise and appeal to normal people who feel that their concerns are ignored by established elite groups.

Consumerism

The promotion of the interests of consumers. This is the idea that media products target the interests of their consumers to create products that they would enjoy.

Globalisation

The process of a business or organisation developing international relationships/influence in order to operate on an international scale.

Patriarchy

A societal belief that men hold the most power and positions of social, political and economic privilages when compared to women.

Feminism

The premotion of womens rights in order to form equality across all aspects of life between men and women.

Individualism

A social view that individuals should have freedom over their own actions rather than being restricted over collective/state control.

Self-managerialism

An approach of self discipline where we are required to manage are selfs in aspects of life such as health and physical appearance.

Neoliberalism

A model of free market capitalism that premotes greatly reduced government spending, deregulation, globalisation, free trade and privatisation.

Imperialism

Expanding the power and influence of a country through colonisation, use of military force or other means like media production.

Historical

How media products reflect historical issues and events. For example, how a media product reflects the historical events of the time it was produced.

Economic

How media products reflect the economic/financial contexts of how they were produced. This can be through the impact of production budget and how a media product is funded.

Cultural

How media products reflect the beliefs, meanings and practices of a specific group of people. This could be through the use of reflecting cultural issues/events or constructing cultural attitudes of these issues/beliefs. It can also reflect how culture changes through time and products can help people understand why they were created.

Social

How media products reflect and construct social attitudes of the time the product was produced. This could include the premotion of changing gender roles, racial changes and ethnic inequalities. Products will look to address these changing social issues and construct an understanding of them influenced by the time the product

Question 1) What examples from the music video could be added to this response

A= The video’s visuals of the deserted streets and closed down shops shows the social and economic decline, which affected the working class in Britain during Margret Thatcher’s time as prime minister. The song uses the ska genre, represented in a British context by a mixed race band. This reflects Gilroy’s idea of the Black Atlantic, showing how different cultures mix and create something new through shared experiences.

Question 2) Identify and highlight links to social and cultural contexts

A= The video reflects a time of despair, with the Brixton riots taking place black communities faced huge police discrimination. Additionally, deindustrialisation led to mass unemployment, affecting not only the working class but the black community too. There was also rising tension within Thatcher’s policies which were deepening social and economic inequalities. These issues where highlighted in the music video, to bring awareness and voice the working classes/black communities concerns about their economy.

Context
Cultural	Named a single of the year by various magazines, such as NME and Melody Maker, its message obviously resonated with the young people who bought the record and sang along with the lyrics
Social	The specials are not only providing a soundtrack for the disenfranchised youth, but feeling the pain being felt by millions of people nation wide	‘Ghost Town’ is an important commentary on social injustice in the early 1980s, especially the tremendous dissatisfaction many young people felt towards politicians and their economic policies.
Historical	The song was inspired by the Brixton and Bristol riots, so the sounds become a signifier of social unrest and police brutality, especially the implementation of stop and search powers which disproportionately targeted young black men.
Political	Shops are shuttered and factories are closed. This represents the social collapse caused by the decline of car manufacturers and other industries in the UK. There is no more ‘boomtown’ because there is ‘no job to be found in this country’

Media Language	Media Industry
Neale- Genre Baudrillard- Post Modernism Todorov- Narrative Barthes- Semiotics Levi Strauss- Structuralism	Livingstone and Lunt- Regulation Curran and Seaton- Power + Media Hesmondhalgh- Cultural industries
Media Representation	Media Audiences
Van Zoonen- Feminism Gilroy- Postcolonialism bell hooks- Intersectionality Butler- Gender Performativity David Gauntlet- Identity	Clay Shirky- End of Audience Henry Jenkins- Fandom Gerbener- Cultivation theory

Question

Question	What went well?	What could be improved?	What could be improved?
1)	Demonstrated a thorough understanding of deconstruction	Make more points to improve my response	Practice applying structuralist ideas to different images
2)	Good structure within the response and a well developed argument	Improve my knowledge of TV shows producers and context of the TV shows	Make notes on the TV shows and revise them so more knowledge can be applied in exams
3)	Showing the false reality that videogames create for their audiences	Improve knowledge of the videogames are and how they relate to audience	Use more theorists in my answers and find theorists that can be applied to videogames
4)	Good understanding of the importance of targeting specific audiences	Facts and important information about both Magazine companies	Find the information online from both companies

Media Language: Baudrillard- Post Modernism Neale- Genre Todarov- Narrative Barthes- Semiotics Levi Strauss- Structuralism	Media representation: Van Zoonen- Feminism Gilroy- Postcolonialism bell hooks- Intersectionality Butler- Gender Performativity David Gauntlett- Identity
Media audiences: Clay Shirky- End of Audience Albert Bandura- SLT Henry Jenkins- Fandom Gerbener- Cultivation theory	Media industry: Livingstone and Lunt- Regulation Curran and Seaton- Power + Media Hesmondhalgh- Cultural industries