Media Paper 1 PPE - Learner response

1) Type up your feedback in full (you do not need to write mark/grade if you do not wish to).

C

WWW - Good grasp of theories and well remembered quotes

EBI - Close textual analysis (music video and newspapers) with specific examples. Timing.

2) Did you succeed in meeting or exceeding your target grade for A Level Media in this paper? If not, how many additional marks do you need to achieve your target grade in Paper 2?

Needed 19 more marks to get an A

(out of 84):  
A* = 78; A = 68; B = 56; C = 44; D = 32; E = 21.

Q1: 6/8 MARKS

- Deeper analysis of Fendi upper class brand values : 

• Use of celebrity status to signify success – light flashes of paparazzi cameras.
• The model is Mark Ronson, the music producer 
• Iconography signifies a particular type of success attached to wealth – tuxedo, leather seats, limousine, designer dress.
• Overall the media language is ideological in its construction of success as synonymous with celebrity, wealth and power, a success associated with masculine dominance.

Q2: 10/12 MARKS

- Add more information regarding social and cultural contexts:

• Media products and the representations of gender in them can be seen as a product of the social and cultural context in which they are created 
• Issues such as censorship (in this case, advertising standards) may impact on the creation of products and the way in which representations of gender are created and received 
• Products must reflect the cultural values of their target audiences in order to be successful but these may be diverse and can explain the differences in representation.

Q3: 4/9 MARKS

- ENCODING:

• the desirability connotes power and dominance in society which is linked to a fantasy about the past
• the product will make the user more attractive to women – the encoded message is about patriarchy and heterosexuality as ideals

- DECODING:

• the advert is read as a natural representation of male power, making inequalities in gender attractive
• audiences may read an intended message – the superiority of masculinity – but reject it completely.
• responses may consider the differences in audiences reading the advert in the 1960s and today and the ways in which this context may shape the response

- USEFULNESS OF THEORY:

• it allows an understanding of media products as polysemic – and changes over time
• it demonstrates how meaning is created by audiences and therefore suggests their power over producers.
• the intended or preferred message may not always be apparent or accepted

Q4: 13/20 MARKS

- Overall argument:

• Letter to Free may seem to more obviously validate the theory but it could also be argued that similar ideas about cultural hybridity are apparent in theories of postmodernism.
• theories of the black Atlantic culture may not be specifically relevant to Billie Jean – it could or could not be seen as a product of the black diaspora

- Billie Jean:

• Billie Jean, in its use of references to a range of popular culture – particularly Hollywood genres such as film noir – is more linked to white rather than African American culture
• the reinterpretation of white cultural references through a black star raises questions about the representation of identity which could be interpreted as displacing while historical dominance
• BUT, Billie Jean is a product of white dominated industry – the video could be interpreted as way of representing that inequality (which Black Atlantic culture is a response to).

Q5: 1/2 MARKS

• Mainstreaming
• Mean World Index

Q5: 4/4 MARKS

Q6: 0/9 MARKS

- REGULATORY CONTEXTS:

• Radio broadcasting is regulated by Ofcom
• Regulation focuses on content including use of language, impartiality, protection of under 18s
• PSB has very specific regulatory rules
• Ofcom is also responsible for awarding -and rescinding – licenses which gives its regulation force
• As radio has moved online and to podcasts, regulation has become more complex, in response the government launched a digital radio action plan and Ofcom produces a review each year
• The availability of non-regulated broadcasts via the internet poses a challenge both for the regulator and the regulated radio broadcasters.

- THE SURGERY: 

• The Surgery as product of a public service broadcaster; Radio 1
• the demands of PSB regulation mean Radio 1 must provide educational and socially useful broadcasting as demonstrated by this programme
• the need to deal with difficult issues and build an interactive audience relationship via new technology whilst also adhering to taste and decency guidelines
• The Surgery can be seen as part of the BBC’s remit to address diverse audiences – by age, location, ethnicity etc
• the tension between the restrictions placed on PSBs and the need to compete with commercial broadcasters – particularly for the youth audience

Q7: 11/20 MARKS

Issues relating to representation:

• the definition of groups is likely to be wide and could for example include groupings by gender, nationality, religion, ethnicity, age, race and class. Responses which consider less clearly defined groups such as politicians, the elite etc are also valid. Any other group which is clearly defined in the response should also be accepted
• reference to examples of the representation of specific social groups through a range of stories and content
• discussion of representation’s claim to realism as ideological and to what extent this is evident in the chosen papers.

Points which argue that representations are used ideologically:

• discussion of the perceived political positioning of the particular newspaper and to what extent this can be linked to the type of representation encountered

• examples may be discussed in the context of industry regulation of the press and the guidance on what can be included in the UK press

• reference to the reasons for ideological positioning of the press in the context of power and persuasion

• points which challenge the idea that representations are used ideologically

• responses may challenge the extent of the importance of representations in this context – using media theories (eg reception theories) to question the effect of representations on the audience

• responses may also argue that there is little evidence of a consistent ideological position of either newspaper

• there may be examples of the use of representations which appear to directly contradict the apparent ideological position of the paper

Based on the whole of your Paper 1 learner response, plan topics / concepts / CSPs / theories that you will prioritise

- Music Videos : theories of the black Atlantic culture
- Regulation: Public Service Broadcaster and Commercial Broadcasters
- Censorship (in this case, advertising standards) may impact on the creation of products and the way in which representations of gender are created and received 
- media products as polysemic – and changes over time