Paradigm – a set of signifiers and/or signified 

Syntagm – the combination of signifiers into a meaningful sequence.  

Masterplot – A collection of broad story-types that are told in different contexts and across genres 

Mytheme – A fundamental part of narrative structure (typically involving a relationship between a character, an event and a theme) from which myths are constructed. 

Selective representation – ignoring aspects of people/places intentionally to position audiences interpretations

Free market – A capitalist system where the prices for goods and services are determined by the open market and consumers and where state/legal regulation is kept to a minimum

Neo-liberalism – A political ideology favouring free market capitalism. 

Commodification – The process by which something becomes an object that can be marketed and sold.

Socialisation – From Gerbner: the process of leaning the norms and values of our culture. The media is said to have an active influence on this process.

Standardisation – The way the repetition of an idea, behaviour or attitude across the media over time can normalise/standardise the idea, behaviour or attitude.

Enculturation – (from Gerbner) How the media is part of the way we learn social and cultural norms. 

Bardic function – This refers to the nature of the media as a story-teller/information provider within the culture. 

Cultivation differential – The margin of ‘heavy’ viewers over ‘light’ viewers when assessing the perception of social reality that the media creates.

Lupin

• Lupin novels date back as far as 1905’s ‘Arsène Lupin: The Gentleman Burglar’
• Series version is not a direct adaptation, and instead uses the books as inspiration, whilst making clear the novels exist in the fictional world of the show.
• Crisp visual style and slick editing reminiscent of Sherlock TV series (perhaps minimizes risk and maximises profit as audiences who enjoyed Sherlock are more likely to watch a similar series like Lupin)
• Tackles social issues such as race and class inequality.
• Combination of Assane’s race, gender and class that keeps him at the bottom of hierarchy – Ties to the idea of ‘intersectionality’ that bell hooks suggested was when people were oppressed on multiple levels.
• A character from Senegal (which was colonised by the French for centuries) stealing artwork from the Louvre, which was likely to have been stolen in the first place to get there, acts as a form of ‘poetic justice’
• Racist questions/dialogue is used to poke fun at people who actually believe in myths such as people of colour not being able to swim
• The need to check the wikipedia page of Paul Sernine connotes the lack of trust given to a Black Man, reinforcing the prejudice that Assane suffers.

Livingstone + Lunt Regulation

• Australia banning social media for under 16s
• Doctors claiming social media use prompts a “profound risk of harm” to teen mental health
• ‘consumer based’ model of regulation – foregrounds the interests of audiences and producers through policies which promote competition, variety and opportunities for profit
• ‘citizen based’ approach – puts societal, democratic and public-service needs ahead of those of the individual and the media
• Difficulty in regulating globalised media products, especially social media in which users across the world produce the content, and therefore make the owners less accountable for harmful content.
• Moral panics surrounding the online targeting of children by paedophiles, Facebook being a toxic addiction, social media prompting anorexia, online casinos encouraging underage gambling etc.
• In 2015 UK General Election, all parties promised social media restrictions
• Bill in place to try and get social media apps/sites regulated by Ofcom (which Sonia Livingstone acted as a consultant on).

Gentlewoman

• Over 60 pages of advertising before reaching the contents page
• Never deviated from one cover star
• Target reader median age is 32
• “magazine equivalent of an art gallery”
• ‘Gentlewoman Club’ hold events at art shows – where they sell copies of the magazine in the gift shops

Capitalism – The private ownership and operating of companies that aim to be profitable, as can be seen with commercial products like Netflix (in relation to Lupin).

Populism – Accounting for the majority of people/average society as opposed to elitists who are in high positions of power (which can be applied to Ghost Town’s commentary on Thatcher’s leadership).

Consumerism – The production of texts in order to try and sell goods to audiences through targeted advertising. This approach is taken to Score’s hair cream advert which is directly presenting a specific item that producers are encouraging consumers to buy.

Globalisation – The international expansion of businesses/companies or their influence in order to reach a larger audience. This can perhaps be seen with Bend it Films’ ‘Blinded by the Light’ getting distribution outside of the UK via New Line Cinema.

Patriarchy – A male dominated society that sees women as inferior human beings and doesn’t put them in positions of power. This can be applied to Score’s sexist depiction of women who look up and reach out to the male protagonist, which challenged the early emergence of second wave feminism that began in the late 1960s.

Feminism – The support for complete equality between men and women and challenging ideologies surrounding what women can and cannot do. This can link to a text like Horizon Forbidden West, which breaks stereotypical representations of women in video games by having a female hero who isn’t presented in a sexualized manner.

Individualism – political and social beliefs supporting the importance of people as singular entities and not components of a collective society under state control. This may be applied to newspapers like The Guardian and The Daily Mail giving readers the opportunity to interact with their online products through comments and have their own voices heard.

Self-managerialism – the idea of disciplining yourself and knowing what you should/shouldn’t do, and acting to meet those values. Can be seen with The Guardian’s approach to self regulation as opposed to a third party regulatory body like IPSO doing it for them.

Neoliberalism – Reducing state power through privatisation, deregulation, etc. Can perhaps be applied to Lupin/The Responder, Lupin being available on the private, worldwide operating streaming service Netflix whereas The Responder received a traditional broadcast release on the state-funded (via TV license) BBC One channel in a post-watershed time slot to meet legislation/Ofcom rules.

Imperialism – The idea of a takeover/colonizing of a country by another through either militant force or media production. Can be interpreted from the exotic jungle setting of the Score advert despite the protagonist being a white man (presumably British).

According to Barthes, cultural codes are intertextual links to other media products. This can be seen with the use of Manu Rios as a cover star for Man About Town, since he is an actor who audiences will recognise if they are familiar with his other work. His outfit in the image can be deconstructed to suggest that by wearing what appears to be a dress, the actor is breaking conventions surrounding masculinity and how stereotypes determine he ‘should’ look, supporting Butler’s ideologies that biological sex and gender are two different things, with gender being an identity someone chooses to have. For a magazine cover, there is a notable lack of conventional elements such as cover lines, prices and taglines, perhaps constructing the idea that Man About Town is an alternative/niche magazine as opposed to one targeting a mass audience. The idea of ‘difference’ is reinforced by a large hole in Rios’ sock, perhaps establishing the ideology that he has very little interest in how he presents himself to others. The ‘Man About Town’ title infers that the demographic of readers are males, which is again unconventional for a magazine with a shirtless man to star on the cover of, therefore potentially breaking dominant ideologies that only females can be presented in a revealing or sexualised manner in products targeting male readers. The actor can be seen making direct address with the audience through eye contact, perhaps ‘inviting’ them to purchase the magazine through building a reader/star relationship.

Questions	What went well	What could be improved	How to make improvements
1	Showing an understanding of Barthes structuralist ideas and applying them to an unseen product	Expanding on my points further + consider fluidity of gender.	Look back over gender theories and consider how to approach unseens with them.
2	Considering context surrounding production companies, broadcasters and regulators in relation to Responder and Lupin	Further explore how the post-watershed time slot for The Responder gave it more freedom creatively, as well as French regulatory contexts for Lupin.	Research French regulation for television
3	Applying theories surrounding Audiences and their responses to products to New Media texts and showing a knowledge of the games themselves.	Expand upon the use of stereotypes/countertypes in the games and how they may influence audiences.	Look into stereotypes presented in Sims FreePlay and Horizon Forbidden West.
4	Detailing the context surrounding magazines, ownership and to an extent funding. As well as audiences and how they respond to texts.	Consider all elements of the magazines and how they are combined to appeal to audiences.	Revise GQ and Gentlewoman and their inside articles + cover lines

Media Language

Barthes – Semiotics

Strauss – Structuralism

Todorov – Narratology

Neale – Genre

Baudrillard – Post Modernism

Media Representations

Hall – Representation

Gilroy – Ethnicity and Post-colonialism

Van Zoonen – Feminist

hooks – intersectionality

Butler – Gender Performativity

Gauntlett – Identity

Media Industries

Curran and Seaton – Power and Media

Livingstone and Lunt – Regulation

Hesmondhalgh – Cultural Industries

Media Audiences

Bandura – Media Effects

Gerbner – Cultivation

Hall – Reception

Jenkins – Fandom

Shirky – End of Audience

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.  

Steve Neale – similarities and differences/predictability and innovation

Levels of verisimilitude – to what extent real world is referenced in products.

Narrative similarities – identification of defined story structures or formulaic narrative devices.

Character driven motifs – lead characters might have defined attributes or narrative arcs.

Iconography – mise en scene expectations + camera or editing styles

Audience targeting – genres crafted to appeal to audiences.

Repetition and audience pleasure – audiences are appealed to with the use of repeated motifs, themes, or stylistic devices.

Genre subversion – all genres are subject to evolve or change common expectations based on audience needs, contextual influences or economic influences.

Genre hybridity – A combination or intertwining of several genres.

Auteur effects – The input and influence specific individuals have on media products.

NEA Adverts Similarities and Differences

Similarities – Links to websites and social media accounts, Where/when to play/watch/listen, logos of companies involved, age ratings, non-photorealistic images for video games.

Differences – Enigma codes used to keep focus less on the people present in pictures but instead what is in front of them (sky, drum kit, punchbag).