A2 MEDIA STUDIES REVISION GUIDE

Transcription

1 A2 MEDIA STUDIES G325 CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES IN MEDIA REVISION GUIDE COLLECTIVE IDENTITY Identities are not given but are constructed and negotiated. (David Gauntlett)

2 A2 Media Studies G325 Critical Perspectives in Media Examination Preparation The pack includes: 1. Six questions from Section B of the exam. 2. Some notes on how to go about answering the questions to gain level An example answer to one of the questions - representation of family rather than youth but the structure and idea is exactly the same. The mark was 38/50 which is A/B borderline and is therefore very good. 4. A mark scheme so that you can plan out your essay before answering it and then try and mark what you have done. Use the example answer to help the planning process as well. 5. A list of useful websites and extra reading that you could use to write your essays. You need to have a go at answering at least two of the essays over the holidays. I would recommend writing one in the first week of the holiday and then ing me the essay. Wait for a response and then have a go at the second essay so that you can hand in when we get back. Choose any ones you like. My is cl@heathpark.net Remember to look at the G325 blog where there is further information get to it via and click on G325 Critical Perspectives in Media

3 Remember for every question there are rules that you must follow. These rules are called rubric. I you get the rubric wrong then you will have your marks reduced or in the worst case scenario get zero marks for your answer. For this essay you must: Refer to at least two media in your answer There are six examples of questions (remember this syllabus is not that old): Specimen Paper Provided by the Board 1. Discuss the contemporary representation of a nation, region or social group in the media, using specific textual examples from at least two media to support your answer. 2. How far does the representation of a specific social group change over time? Refer to at least two media in your answer. June With reference to any one group of people that you have studied, discuss how their identity has been mediated. 4. Media representations are complex, not simple and straightforward. How far do you agree with this statement in relation to the collective group that you have studied? January Analyse the ways in which the media represent one group of people that you have studied. 6. The media do not construct collective identity; they merely reflect it. Discuss. HOW TO SECURE A LEVEL 4 ANSWER There are no hard and fast rules, but the examiners' report on the June 2010 exam gives some tips: Collective Identity stronger answers were able to explain two or three different theoretical ideas about the relationship between identity and media and to apply these ideas to a range of examples. The high level 4 answers offered a critical response to the theoretical ideas, informed by what the examples offer by way of confirmation or rebuttal. There were different ways in to this question, all of which were equally appropriate. Some Candidates spent more time on theories of representation, others on debates around identity and media, and some dealt with both. Writers referenced ranged broadly a good thing with common application of Marx, Althusser, Hall, Gramsci, Butler, Gauntlett, Winship, Mulvey, Geraghty. Therefore you MUST include references or quotations on: * representation (in our case representation of youth) * apply key theories such as Marx, Althusser, Hall or Gauntlett * ideology * hegemony You must also make your connections between examples and theoretical context explicit and sustained. You must be able to set at least two different approaches against each other, for example theories about passive and active audiences. Very importantly your examples

4 from both media should be dominated by contemporary examples with at least one past and one future reference. SO WHAT DO THESE KEY TERMS ACTUALLY MEAN? Representation - is the construction in any medium (especially mass media) of aspects of reality, such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstracts concepts. For more detail, see the Media Knowall website. Ideology - for the purposes of Media Studies is, put simply, the ideas behind a media text. In any society, there is an agreed set of beliefs that underpins that society. For example, the moral values of Christianity that underpin much of the British society even today. For Marxists there is the belief that these ideologies are a control mechanism. Hegemony - the accepted and agreed beliefs in any particular society. For example, you could say that football has hegemonic status in the UK: you won't see coverage of any other sport in the same depth; everyone is expected to understand and accept its national importance. Key Questions There are two separate but related issues in this exam: A. How are groups of people (young people) represented? How are these representations contructed? B. How do these representations impact upon our sense of identity? How do audiences use these representations to create/ understand their identity?

5 Therefore: Is identity something we construct or something we discover? Is identity something we share with others? How do media texts impact on our sense of identity? Is identity fixed or does it change? Is identity something we are or something we do? Structuring Your Answer (Possible) There is no definitive way to structure a typical response to an essay but if I were you I would adopt something like this: Introduction Comment on the power of the media Quote on identity - maybe Gauntlett but examiners will see his name a lot Explain your approach which media you are using e.g. film and TV Main Body Begin with film (choose three or four, one or two old but mainly contemporary) Explain in turn making links where necessary the ideologies presented in these films (youth subcultures, gang culture, youth in revolt, masculinity in crisis, absent fathers, binary opposites e.g. youth and adults) and how they are presented in your example films through the micro themes of mise-en-scene (fashion), soundtracks (music), locations etc Bring in terminology (eg stereotypes and how theory/theorists either support or do not support your examples wherever possible.) Move onto next media (TV?) and do the same. Conclusion Summarise findings

6 Example Answer In this essay I will look at how the family is represented in the media. In the 1950 s and the 1970 s the representation of the family in the majority of adverts was the nuclear family. This consists of a domestic mother based the home a bread winner father with a job who can go outside the home roughly two children and usually a pet. A great example of this family being shown is the 1959 Cornflakes advert and the 1960 s Fairy Liquid advert. Both show the traditional nuclear family. This representation is also apparent in films such as the 1970s film Halloween. This film had a monstrous killer who was raised in a dysfunctional family, the fact that the other household don t have killers suggest that their way of living (nuclear family) was the ideal way. So why was, and perhaps still is, this representation so dominant in media? One theory is the Marxist Theory. Althussar is an important theorist here, he developed the ideas of Gramsci on hegemony. Hegemony is the process where the ideological beliefs of the ruling class in society become the ruling ideologies, which we all accept as the norm and common sense. Althussar said the family (along with the media, law education etc) is an Ideological State Apparatus which creates an identity as good little law abiding citizens, who accept the nuclear family as the ideal. Althussar argued that by promoting the nuclear family the ruling powers in society create and maintain a Patriarchal and Capitalist Society. This is because in the family we learn our morality (it s wrong to steal), the value of work, the gender division of labour and to submit to often male authority e.g. fathers, bosses etc. Therefore the promotion and maintenance of the nuclear families representation in media is in the interest of those in power. As you can seem the media representation as well as this theory behind it is complex. In the 1970s big social changes occurred in the form the workers movement. This put an end to the often violent exploitation and objectification of women. So did advertising reflect this social change? Well, the media representations to follow were complicated. Take the 1980 s OXO advert mums out dad s cooking. In this advert role reversal takes place and we see the father cooking instead of the mother. So on the face of it the family is being represented in a progressive way. But if we take a closer look we see that the underlying aspects of the conservative representation still exist. For example, the dad only cooks as a one off because the mother is out shopping. This suggests that the mother is the usual cook and it meets traditional values as the mother is out shopping (consumerist). Therefore this change was only superficial and the hegemonic representation of the family is still dominant. Indeed it seems that this representation may well be straightforward as no texts, as of yet, offer a challenging one. If we look at current Britain further social change has occurred so it would be reasonable to think that the hegemonic nuclear family ideal is not as strongly represented as the nuclear family only exists in a minority of households (9-20% depending on how you define it). But it still seems that the media is a transmitter of the hegemonic ideal nuclear family. Take the 2005 action film, Cinderella Man. In this film the main male character is losing a crucial fight until he has flashbacks to his family suffering. This then gives him the motivation to go on and win the fight. The family gave him the inspiration needed here. This, like many other Hollywood films, reifies the family into a solid unquestionable thing. If we look at the recent 2009 Lloyds TSB advert For the Journey we again see the conservative image of the family reinforced. For example the dad is seen with the bank card suggesting he is the provider and manager of money and he is seen driving the car (implies he s the dominant figure in the family). The daughter does ballet and the son plays with the toy builder bricks both are conforming to their family gender roles. In class we undertook a content analysis of a randomly picked sample of TV adverts. We found that roughly 50% of them showed a nuclear family and none of them challenged the ideal family. On the basis of my evidence here we can see the media s representation of the family is in-fact relatively simply as all media reifies and reinforces the hegemonic nuclear family.

7 However there are other media texts who show a different media representation of the family and challenges the nuclear family as well as problematising the Marxist theories. These are media texts such as the long running TV series since 2004, Shameless. In Shameless we see the complete opposite of a nuclear family, a family with no mother, an alcoholic father who hasn t got a job, family members that regularly break the law (e.g. steal), one family member who is homosexual and family members that have promiscuous sex. Although this working class family don t meet any typical conventions of the ideal family in media they are still shown to be happy and there is love and care within the family. This offers a different representation of an ideal family, therefore this suggests that, with more than one representation, the family representation in the media is more complex than I previously assumed. Another text which undermines the nuclear family is perhaps the whole genre of soaps. The most popular TV series in Britain, Eastenders, recently had a storyline about a closet homosexual Indian who was married. Unlike other media, soaps explore the internal functions of the family and show how actually they often cause pain, hurt and disharmony. This is what happens in the gay Indian story as his mum and dad gradually find out, we see the pain caused to everyone within the family. So soaps don t reify the family, they explore its internal aspects and reveal its weaknesses. This again complicates media representations of the family. As I have just discussed the previous two texts which problematise the Marxist theories, maybe these grand claims about media can t be made because if they were true texts like Shameless and Eastenders wouldn t exist. So perhaps we need to look at how specific texts look at specific audiences. Geraghty and Butler explored this area and came up with the gay theory. Again this is very complicated and puts a different spin of media representations but sadly I don t have time to discuss it. In conclusion it is fair to say that media representations of the family are varied and complex. While the Marxist theories may still be possible to make the increasingly diverse ways of living and minority of households which hold a nuclear family is itself evidence against them. Also the self representation age where we can create our own identities with the use of web 2.0 (on Facebook, Secondlife, World of Warcraft and Runescape etc) will further erode any ideological power corporate, commercial media has over us. However the very fact that we all still seem to carry around the nuclear family image around with us in our head suggests the media may still be playing an ideological role. Either way, as I have shown, it is a very complicated area with no clear answer. Therefore I do agree with the statement. EAA 16/20 EG 15/20 T 7 /10 Total (38/50) Examiners Comments In relation to the mark scheme this answer is on the boundary of level 3 (examples and terminology) and level 4 (explanation, analysis, argument). The response is informed and meets the question set squarely, achieves a balance of theory, text and institutional knowledge but lacks clarity in places; hence it only just meets level 4 criteria for the first area. The words in places and mostly are important in the mark scheme for examples and terms and both apply here. The representation of the family is a fascinating and well judged example for the topic and Marxist theory is relevant to this analysis this is a good example of how relevant theory is not necessarily contemporary an application of classic theory to contemporary media examples is a sound approach, as this candidate demonstrates. To secure a level 4 mark, this candidate would need to use some references / quotations on representation / Marxism / ideology / hegemony and make the connections between examples and the theoretical context much more explicit and sustained. In relation to the specification prompts which are used to set the questions and in the construction of the mark scheme for examiners, this candidate shows understanding of ways in which contemporary media represent groups of people in various ways; deals with historical comparison well and

8 begins to engage with more complex questions of mediation and social implication, through the Marxist approach but for a secure level 4 we would need to see this theoretical angle contrasted with another way of looking at the representation of the family. The answer concludes with some speculative attention to the self-representation age and had the candidate been able to theorise this more coherently perhaps by setting the we media idea against the hegemonic model, the level 4 criteria (clear, fluent balance of theories) would be more clearly applicable. Mark Scheme for Level 3 and Level 4 Media and Collective Identity How do the contemporary media represent nations, regions and ethnic/ social/ collective groups of people in different ways? How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods? What are the social implications of different media representations of groups of people? To what extent is human identity increasingly mediated? Candidates might explore combinations of any media representation across two media, or two different representations across two media. Some examples are: National cinema, television representations, magazines and gender, representations of youth and youth culture, post-9/11 representations of Islam, absence/presence of people with disability in two media. Level 3 Explanation/analysis/argument (12-15 marks) Candidates adapt their learning to the specific requirements of the chosen question well, in the main. The answer offers a sensible, mostly clear balance of media theories and knowledge of industries and texts, with a proficient attempt at personally engaging with issues and debates. Use of examples (12-15 marks) Examples of theories, texts and industry knowledge are connected together in places, and a clear argument is proficiently developed in response to the question. Use of terminology (6-7 marks) Material presented is mostly informed by relevant media theory, articulated through use of appropriate theoretical terms. Relatively straightforward ideas have been expressed with some clarity and fluency. Arguments are generally relevant, though may stray from the point of the question. There will be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar but these are unlikely to be intrusive or obscure meaning. Level 4 Explanation/analysis/argument (16-20 marks) Candidates adapt their learning to the specific requirements of the chosen question in excellent fashion and make connections in order to present a coherent argument. The answer offers a clear, fluent balance of media theories and knowledge of industries and texts and informed personal engagement with issues and debates. Use of examples (16-20 marks) Examples of theories, texts and industry knowledge are clearly connected together in the answer. History and the future are integrated into the discussion. Use of terminology (8-10 marks) Throughout the answer, material presented is informed by relevant media theory and the command of the appropriate conceptual and theoretical language is excellent. Complex issues have been expressed clearly and fluently using a style of writing appropriate to the complex subject matter. Sentences and paragraphs, consistently relevant, have been well structured, using appropriate technical terminology. There may be few, if any, errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

9 Useful Websites and Extra Reading Representation University of Aberystwyth - This is quite an old site for information but has always been a good one. Points out that micro analysis is still the main method of formal analysis of representation. Media Know All - An excellent site for the the main media concepts. Excellent on all aspects of representation including a nice page on the representation of age. Lit Notes - Good general introduction and on Male Gaze (Laura Mulvey) Representations of Youth - You have this already but worth another read. More Representations of British Youth - a succinct little article and a few nice quotes. The author is particularly keen on Noam Chomsky and Stuart Hall. The Demonisation of British Youth - not really about the media necessarily but good article in The Independent anyway. The Sexualisation of Teen Girls - downloadable document from the Parents Television Council about teen girls at risk from prime-time television. The press release is worth reading too. Theorists - David Gauntletts rather excellent site - for an overall view of the important theorists Jacques Lacan - Mainly applied to literary theory. The idea that development takes place through a mirror stage where we identify ourselves in mirrors in society. Lacan developed this by looking at toddlers and how they identify themseleves in mirrors by gazing. Guy Debord - and the Theory of the Spectacle: the notion that the spectacle offered by the mass media blinkers our view of the world and the reality of our subordination. Mikhail Bakhtin - The Unfinalised Self. Mikhail Bakhtin agreed individual people cannot be finalised, completely understood, known, or labelled. He saw identity as the unfinalised self, meaning a person is never fully revealed or known. Many icons of the postmodern age change and adapt their identity and consequently can be seen in these terms: Marilyn Manson s manipulations of traditional binary oppositions such as male/ female, beauty/ grotesque; Lady Gaga s manipulations of femininity; or Madonna s consistent reinventions of herself can all be seen as examples of the unfinalisable self. David Gauntlett - major British theorist on identity. Very up-to-date theories on how the making and sharing of digital media products in social networking environments help to create self-identity. He has been heavily critical of effects studies in particular. David Buckingham - particularly his work on EastEnders and its effect on British youth.

10 Christine Geraghty; Soap Opera and Utopia Laura Mulvey - Ideas developed form Lacan and The Gaze to develop her own feminist ideas on The male gaze. In film, the male gaze occurs when the audience is put into the perspective of a heterosexual man. A scene may linger on the curves of a woman's body, for instance. Mulvey argues that in mainstream cinema, the male gaze typically takes precedence over the female gaze. Stuart Hall - a Wikipedia entry about Stuart Hall and his work building on the theories of Gramsci (hegemony) and Marcuse (Reception Theory). Takes a stance that is very much in favour of the active audience. Judith Butler - Promoted the idea of identity as free-floating, as not connected to an 'essence' of being a man or a woman. But instead a performance is what defines our identity. Seen in this way, our identities, gendered and otherwise, do not express some authentic inner "core" self but are the dramatic effect (rather than the cause) of our performances. This is not a complete list by any means - you could go on forever, others to look out for include Michel Foucault and Anthony Giddens as well as Althusser and Gramsci. Why not look these up yourself? Example Essay Another example of an essay. This one gets 48/50 and is on gender and collective identity. Excellent on marrying theory with examples