Historical context – How media products reflect or react to the time period it was set in or is referring to.
Economic context – How media products reflect or react to the business which the producers operate, or the financial constraints a media product may have been impacted by.
Cultural context – How media products reflect or react to the beliefs and meanings of groups or individuals. Also can be reflective of the time the cultural product was, helping understand the beliefs of society at that time.
Social context – How media products reflect or react to the social circumstances they and the rest of society operate in, and how the product portrays the social changes or inequalities.
Capitalism – A country’s economics and political system are controlled by private owners rather than by the state. (Economic context)
Populism – an approach that tries to address the ordinary people who feel like their concerns are disregarded by elite groups. (Social context)
Consumerism – The protection and promotion of the interests of consumers (Social & Economic context)
Globalisation – The process of businesses extending internationally, beginning to operate on a much larger scale (Cultural & Economic context)
Patriarchy – System where men hold the majority of the political, social and economic powers compared to women (Cultural & Social context)
Feminism – advocating for women’s rights and equality between men and women regarding all areas of life. (Historical, Cultural and Social context)
Individualism – A social theory favouring the freedom of choice for an individual compared to the state control. (Social context)
Self-managerialism – An approach of self discipline that requires people to manage themselves. (Cultural context)
Neoliberalism – a model of free market capitalism, favouring the reduction of deregulation, government spending, privatisation and globalisation. (Social context)
Imperialism – Extending a country’s power through colonization, military force, or other means, such as media production. (Historical & Social context)
To get from a B to and A, I would need to get 6 more marks.
question 1.
On this magazine cover, juxtaposing signs can be denoted through the use of the actor’s muscular and masculine body, and the use of the dress covering his lower half and venerable facial expression. This questions the masculinity of the man being presented, enticing the audience to read further into this enigmatic person.
The magazine also uses recognisable signs and codes to help promote its sale. Here they use an actor who some may recognise as the main image on the cover, and doing would draw that specific audience into reading the magazine as they make links between him and other pieces of work he’s been in.
The cover of the magazine is also very minimal, using only the brand name, actor & photographers name, and the issue to anchor its meanings to its audience. Doing so not only allows more focus and analysis to be on the subject, but also to differ itself from other magazines, presenting itself as alternative.
Combining these contrasting signs and recognisable codes helps make this a form brand advertisement. The name ‘MAN ABOUT TOWN’ becomes more recognisable to the audience, and the use of alternative aesthetics and gender fluidity will attract a specific of audience, enticing them to read more of their magazines.
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.
Good understanding of the unseen, used a few terms and theories well
Utilise more theories that relate to media language and semiotic analysis
Revise and learn more about Roland Barthes and semiotic terms.
2
Good contextual analysis of Ghost Town, applied relevant theories.
Compare and contrast this to the figure 1. Use more subject specific terminology
Remember that Q2 is always a compare and contrast between CSP and unseen figure 1. read question in full.
3
Wrote enough applicable examples, good understanding of Laura Mulvey’s theory
Didn’t develope example enough, could’ve written a lot more in general
Give some push back to the theory, revise some examples of the CSP beforehand.
4
Had an alright understanding of sub-genre and hybridity, found applicable examples for them.
Didn’t write about cultural categories.
Revise Steve Neale’s theory of cultural categories in terms of genre. Also look at finding examples of this and other theories to the CSP prior to the exam.
5
Good understanding of Postmodernism and the hypodermic needle theory
Was slightly unsure on the term ‘implosion’ Unclear on which theorists linked to the hypodermic needle
Be more secure on postmodernism terms and theorists.
6
Good understanding of The Daily Mail’s and Trump’s political stances, as well as viewing the Daily Mail as an old media product, and how that affects audiences
Didn’t write detailed examples, or enough of them.
Look back at The Daily Mail CSP and become more confident on examples that can be used for analysis.
7
Good understanding of Blinded by the Light’s industrial background, and applied relevant theories from Hesmondalgh.
Wrote about media representation, losing time on empty marks
Revise the requirements for Paper 1 and it’s CSP’s
finish anything left unfinished and refine posters and SOI
Submit 3 posters in appropriate media form
STATEMENT OF INTENT
I have chosen this brief to promote my original coming of age film ‘My Incredible Life’. The movie itself aims to empower audience through personal struggles in life regarding bullying, and self-loathing. The promotional products aim to entice the audience into sympathising with the protagonist.
My film will feature narrative devices such as a non-linear narrative companied by a narrator. This should help alienate the audience, forcing them into a position of self-reflection rather than pure empathy with the protagonist and becoming a passive audience. The film will also feature Todorov’s theory of equilibrium, allowing the audience to connect with the world the protagonist lives, and helping them find their resolution alongside the protagonist. The posters will feature Claud Levi Strauss’ theory of binary opposition, where the optimistic title will juxtapose the darker and more pessimistic image creating this message of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’.
I intend to engage with a teenage audience (aged 12-19) who possibly struggle with mental health themselves, as well as audience who enjoy a deep and emotional narrative. According to VALs psychographics, the audience I aim to reach are Seekers and Self-Expression Activators, who desire self-discovery, which is precisely what my film intends to do, as it strips away the common positivity of “I’m alright” and reveals the deeper truth, allowing the audience to discover that within themselves. Despite the fact that the film will feature a female heavy cast, the messages provided should apply to both male and female audience.
I enjoy watching behind the scenes footage of films and TV series, and aspire to work within tv and film production, so being able to re-create what I admire on a smaller scale is the main reason that I have chosen to do this. I have watched many directors talk about the creative process for making their films, and I love hearing why certain elements were included, what the goal of the movie was which is what I aim to reflect in one of my TikTok Videos.
Between my 3 posters I will be keeping the same format, however changing the subject and message linked below. 1 will create a false sense of positivity, another posing a question, and the final giving an unwanted answer to the question. Having these 3 posters be closely linked like this allows the audience to actively think about what these messages mean, which will intrigue them to then watch the film. The TikTok videos will feature behind the scenes, reviews and a trailer.
Passive audience – People who accept media at face value without challenging, or interpreting it in their own way. These people are likely to be affected directly by the messages
Active audience – People who challenge and interpret media, they will respond to it.
1)
Bandura believed that nearly all audience were a passive audience, and were very likely to mimic anything shown to them, as they would be directly influenced. However because this was based on an experiment he devised in 1961, the internet hadn’t existed.
The introduction of the internet made Jenkins and Shirky realise audience are far more of an active audience. The internet loosened the barriers to all forms of media and communication allowing audience to collaborate with their ideas, and passive audience were now capable in becoming an active audience.
2)
1.Investors like the video game market so much as it is an ever expanding market, and has surpassed the total revenue of both music and film combined. It is also one of the fastest growing markets ever.
2.e-sports are when people compete over games, such as first person shooters or strategy games, and competitions can be held between teams, which becomes live streamed, and becoming similar to how people compete in and watch sports.
3.Video games are no longer just accessed by physical discs or game cartridges, but can be downloaded digitally, played on console or on a phone, and recently cloud games have been introduced, so you can play a game straight from a server, removing the need to wait for downloading a game, at the expense of performance quality.
4.FPS stands for First Person shooter, and MMORPG stand for Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games
3)
In case study 1, the article doesn’t necessarily blame, however heavily implies that Adam’s obsessive practice in FPS games had prepared him for committing the massacre, however other problems lied with mental health issues, lack of social interaction, lack of restraint to this violent environment, etc… This is a case of DISPROPORTION as the media is twisting the facts, as the use the game evidence as it’s headline, despite that only being a factor of the whole issue.
In case study 2, the article is directly criticising some Korean’s obsessive nature over gaming, so much so that they propose direct evidence that shows it leading to the loss life in multiple cases. It mentions how member of the Korean government propose bills to restrict hours on online gaming to prevent such incidents. This is a case of CONCERN as some people have recognised are trying to tackle this issue.
4)
Case study 1 – A boy named Adam Lanza created a hugely unhealthy mindset on military style violence, one way in which he showed this was through his obsessive gameplay on FPS games, however he also suffered from mental health problems which he refused to take medication for, that combined with other factors resulted in him massacring nearly 30 people in a school.
Case study 2 – A Korean couple were jobless and gave birth to a premature baby, causing them to lose the will to live a normal life and sink nearly all their time playing a virtual life simulator. Because of this they had neglected the 3 month old baby, leaving it to die of malnourishment. Other cases had been reported of extreme uses of the internet and games in Korea such as this one.
5)
Livingstone and Lunt believe there is a need for age rating on media so that people aren’t exposed to material inappropriate for them. There is the argument to be made that people should have the freedom to explore different types of games without restriction, however these age ratings are to help children develop properly, and not be exposed to a desensitized by certain material at a young age.
7)
Guerrilla Games developed Horizon Forbidden West, with an age rating of 16
This game was developed in the Netherlands
Horizon Forbidden West is an action role-playing game where Aloy ventures into an uncharted frontier known as the Forbidden West, a post-apocalyptic version of the Western United States to investigate a mysterious plague. This is played in a third person perspective
This game was released February 18 2022
8)
EA mobile initially developed Sims FreePlay, and later Fire Monkeys Studios, with an age rating of 12
This game was developed in America
Sims FreePlay is a strategic life simulator where the player creates families and homes, and takes them on the story they create. This is played in a third person view perspective.
This game was released December 15 2011
9)
Aloy…
Challenges dominant ideologies by creating this strong female, non-sexualised protagonist. Unlike some other game producers, Guerrilla Games did not aim to make Aloy visually appealing through the male gaze.
Reinforces dominant ideologies by
Sims characters…
challenge dominant ideologies by giving the player the freedom to create a character who challenges dominant ideologies. This means that
My project will be a cover for an art/intellectual magazine, titled ‘Actorfied’, exploring the unique story of an emerging local actor, and how they challenged the traditional forms of acting. This magazine is devoted to exploring actors, and ideas that break the norm. The demographic of this cover will be teenage/young adult audience who have an interest in theatre, and gripping life stories. In terms of VALs Psychographic descriptors, this magazine will be targeted at Achievers, who can relate to the bravery and success of said actor, and Activators, who seek and take in the new and expressive ideas being portrayed.
The cover will depict the main image being multiple versions of the actor overlapping each other as they circle props and masks around them. Each prop, mask and face will be a different colour representing each of the personalities and varying styles and roles that this actor can portray. I will not focus on making the circle of props/hats symmetrical as this magazine cover tries to embrace imperfections. For sections of each cover line, I will highlight or make certain words stand out so that the main message can be brought out in a much bolder and simpler way. I want the main image to pop out to the viewer, so I will use layering of graphics, probably red paint striking across the background, which will not only separate the image from the background but will also connote an artistic theme. In one of the cover lines, I specifically would like to create a form of binary opposition, where it’ll talk about going against the norm, however the word ‘norm’ will be in a different style compared to the rest of the text on the cover, bringing across the message that being different is the only normal thing. All of this will help in presenting an abstract view on this already predefined world of acting and should help to open the viewer to wider ideas.
The motives for the audience that I am exploiting through this magazine cover is personal identity. According to the Uses and Gratifications theory, personal identity is something that the viewer will be able to see in themselves through the media text, and in this case, the magazine cover could inspire the viewer to experiment and try something new, unorthodox, brave, just like this cover is doing, just like what the actor’s message is trying to bring across. This cover also explores embracing difference, which will be heavily highlighted in the cover lines as well as a wide variety of unusual colours and visuals.
