MS1 media studies wjec 15th may 2012

Thank you so much!! Big help!

Reply 3

A_Chy

Anyone have past paer answers which they've done??

Reply 4

Original post by StaceyS

Does anyone know any likely questions or anything to revise?! i haven't a clue, my teacher is never there and i have very basic notes. Would appreciate it a lot if someone replied!!

For the first question (out of 40) it's likely (don't quote) to be:
- a trailer
- a video gaming extract
- a documentary.
It's very likely to be one of the above.
Remember to always write about the audience and how the theories are using in the texts.

I believe for the representation question it's likely to be about:
-regional / national identities
- Issues
This is what we've been told in class.
I'm doing revision on all of this, so if you want to share notes ect I'll post some up :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 5

Thanks, the only notes i have are on Stuart Hall, and Blumler and katz

Reply 6

Original post by StaceyS

Does anyone know any likely questions or anything to revise?! i haven't a clue, my teacher is never there and i have very basic notes. Would appreciate it a lot if someone replied!!

Use this as a basic tool for revising media:

Key concepts:
- Representation – what is this representing? Does it use stereotyping? How does it appeal to a particular target audience?

- Media language – how is the language used to attract the target audience? How does the text communicate to the audience? How are different techniques used to get this?

-Audience – Who is piece aimed at and why?

- Ideology – The ideology of a media text relates to the values and attitudes employed within the text and conveyed to the audience. They may be explicit (obvious) or implicit (not obvious). It’s important to identify the ideologies operating within a text. Decoding it, so you can understand why it has been constructed in this way.

-Narrative/Genre – How has the media text been structure to ‘hook’ an audience’s attention? Look at the codes and conventions which are used in the text. These establish the ‘type’ of text (e.g action/adventure or docusaop)

Remember that all the texts have been constructed by someone and for that reason they are not true representations of reality, inc reality shows (Only way is Essex).
Everything has been constructed for a target audience in mind.

How an audience may read a text:
- a preferred reading is the reading most likely to be received by the target audience. This preferred reading is the reading which the media producers want the audience to receive.
-A oppositional reading is a reading by audience members who are not part of the target audience. They reject the preferred reading, receiving an alternative meaning from the text.
- A negotiated reading is one where the audience basically accepts the meaning the media producers intend for the text but it modifies the way it reads the text to suit its own position.

I've got LOADS more if you need anything. Give me a message or whatever and I'm happy to help :smile:

Plus its also really good revison for me as well.

Reply 7

Thank you so much!!!! What theorists do you have?

Reply 8

sofy356

Im praying it will be an advert of some sort or tv/ film extract as i feel pretty confident with them, but not so much with the audience question. Im retaking this exam as i got 5 marks off a B last year so hoping i get a B this year to go to uni, however we had a printed image last year so i was very annoyed to see it would be moving this year, i may actually have to do some sort of revision :P

Reply 9

Genre Theory -
Genre is a dynamic concept, which changes over time and in different cultural contexts. Of course because these changes are gradual and culturally dependent you may not realize that the change has taken place.
The changes may be due to a wider issues such as desensitization or due to institutional development - such as a hybrid genres start to appear, which then become genres in their own right after a period of time.
Docusoap was originally considered very much a subset of documentary and reality tv as a combination.

Reception Theory:
To an extent this is an extention of uses and gratifications.
Reception analysis concentrates on the audience itself and how it responds to the text.
Reception analysis is based on the idea that 'no single text has a single meaning'
Instead reception analysis suggests that the individual member of the audience themselves help to create meaning of the text.
We decode the texts that we encounter in individual ways - which may be a result of upbringing, the mood we are in, the place where we are at the time or in fact any combination of these and all kinds of other factors.

Use this in your audience responses: (Use if you are aiming for an A grade)
- Dominant reading - the reader shares the programme's code (its meaning system of values, attitudes, beliefs and assumptions) and accepts the preferred reading.
-Negotiated reading - the reader partly shares the programmes codes but modifies it in a way which reflects their position and interests.
-Oppositional reading- the reader doesnt not share the programmes codes and rejects the preferred reading bring to bear an alternative frame of interpretations. (E.G a feminist reading of a lads magazine)

Right look at 'The uses and gratification theory'
Blumler and Katz expanded the theory in 1974 - it suggests why people may might consume a media text
- Diversion - Escaping from everyday problems and routine
-Personal relationships - using media for emotional and other iteration.
-Personal identity - constructing their own identity from a character in a media text, and learning behavior and values.
-Surveillance - Information gather eg. educational programmes.

You could also look at the Denis McQuail, he suggests a more detailed breakdown of audience motivations. But in the exam just refer to Blumlers and Katz' version of Uses and gratifications.
This theory is criticized as it can be seen as too simplistic. It's hard to explain why we like something.

The Hypodermic needle model -
This models demonstrates the effects of the mass media on their audience. This model owes much to the supposed power of the mass media (mainly films) to inject the passive audience with ideologies. Seen in Nazi propaganda films.
The audience is seen as a passive mass who will immediately accept whatever version of evens that are given in the media.

Cultivation theory -
Basically states: While a single text doesn't have much of an effect on the audience, repeated exposure will make the audience less sensitive. So if you watched Saw repeatedly and then go on to watch a soap where someone is being beaten, you wont think that that is that bad, as you'll compare it to Saw where you've seen a lot of abuse.
Critics call this becoming 'desensitized'.

Two step flow theory
This theory assumes a more active audience, who will discuss media texts with each other. If he text is discussed with someone we respect than we are likely to be more passive and accept their views of the text.
It's very simplistic this theory, so I wouldn't do much around it, as its quite dull.
It basically shows that as an audience if we see a number of tv critics in all the newspapers critisicing a programmes we are less likely to watch it as we trust them. Same for films and games ect.

This is all I have on theory, but this is all you should need in the exam.
Majority of this is what I've remembered so I'm likely to of forgotten something :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 10

Here is some things i'll just put down incase people didn't know :smile:

basically my notes....
AUDIENCE THEORIES:
Audience Reception Model
- Preferred reading - audience (target audience) understand & accepts the ideology offered
- Negociated reading - accepts some ideology offered & rejects some
Oppositional reading - interprets ideology different than intended, can be positive or negative reading

The 2 Step Flow Theory
- How mas media influences personal opinions, opinion leaders pass on messages from the mass media to the individual in contact with the media, and therefore influences audiences. For example a celebrity advertising a charity.

Uses and Gratifications Model
- Surveillance - audiences watch things for surveillance, security, keep up to date (news, social media activity)
- Personal relationships - audiences watch things for relationships, they may relate to the characters etc
- Personal Identity - define our identity, want to be like/not want to be like (oppositional reading!)
- Divresion - 'wind down' escapism from reality

Hypodermic Needle Model
- Effect of mass media on audiences, suggests we are passive. But we are not passive, we are ACTIVE. we reject some/accept others

Moral Panic
- Hypodermic (relates to that)m violence in media causes a moral panic, which relates to...

Cultivation Theory
- We have become desensitised to violence in the media, no effec = moral panic

Physcographics
- Aspirers, strugglers, mainstreamers, reformers, resigned, explorers

SUGGESTIONS OF WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT FOR DIFFERENT QUESTIONS...
Representation of events in the media
- riots (channel 4 news, bbc news, the sun newspaper, the london evening standard, 'Londons burning' dramality, independent youtube videos - they all represent the riots differently)

Representation of Gender in the media
- TOWIE (men represented as dominantmoney makers, women objectified & 'stupid' 'blonde' glamorous stereotypes)
- Mens Health Magazine (men represented as obsessed with appearance, dominant etc)
- Easy A film - women objectified

Representation of Issues in the media
- Teen pregnancy & teenage sex (juno, easy A, submarine...)
- Gang crimes & youth crimes (london riots, kidulthood...)

Representation of Ethnicity
- Bend it like Beckham (british muslim)
- Geordie shore & TOWIE (White - also used for region)
- Four Lions (fundamentalists, plays to the stereotype and mocks it)

Anyone have anymore? Just some ideas, hope I helped :smile:

If anyone has questions just message me!!...sorry this is SO long

Reply 11

So do you think it will be audience or representations for last question?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 12

My teacher has been stressing how it could be issues/events in the media for the representation question for numbe 3...but who knows?!
So I'm going to do some revision on how the riots were represented and the royal wedding for events, and for issues teen pregnancy and gang crimes.

And what do you mean? for Q1 you discuss-
audio, vis & tech codes
audience
language used maybe in the moving image? layout of things etc
narrative
genre etc

Reply 13

Original post by StaceyS

So do you think it will be audience or representations for last question?

here is my TOWIE notes :smile:

it's seperated into the 3 question types if you can find them ahha, representation, targetting and audience, if you get what i mean :smile:

what to write about it for each 3 questions! hope you can read it i took it on my iphone

Reply 14

Media effects -
Right there are absolutley loads but I'll pick out the ones which we'll most likely need tomorrow :smile:

- Desensitising effect - over exposure to violence, suffering might make us harden to what we see. (see cultivation theory)

-Distraction effect - usually relates to the ways in which the media often distract public attention from important issues by concentrating on other usually more entertain stories

-Spill over effect - when people outside the intended target audience are affected by communication.
Like when a new game comes out and its an 18 world of war craft ect. and how younger eople will hear about it.

-Boomerang effect - when the media coverage backfires and achieves contrary responses or reactions from the public than those desired by the media - e.g eastenders baby snatching

-Water cooler effect - a text which is watched by a massive population and is then spoken about at the 'water cooler' e.g x-factor finals.

Copy-cat effect
what people experience through the media may stimulate a copy-cat behaviour: acts individual violence. e.g street riots - james bulger case, it was suggested that the children watched childs play 3 and then committed the crime ...

Reply 15

Original post by emmily95

It will state at the side what the question wants to look at.
it WON'T be all of them :smile:

We've been doing that at my sixth form as well, i'll be looking at body issue and poverty :smile:

Reply 16

Original post by SophiePearman

It will state at the side what the question wants to look at.
it WON'T be all of them :smile:

We've been doing that at my sixth form as well, i'll be looking at body issue and poverty :smile:

What mediums will you use to discuss poverty and body issue? we didn't really do anything to do with those :frown:

we just did the riots really :s

Reply 17