We have now finished our final in-depth topic - Videogames. Your have done some superb work on women in videogames, Henry Jenkins, fandom and postmodernism. You now need to complete a Videogames blog index to ensure you have completed all the work for our in-depth Videogame CSPs.
This process is clearly excellent revision for the Media mock exams approaching as there is a lot of theory in there that could be applied across the full range of CSPs.
For your index, the text should link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work on each aspect of the case study quickly and easily. This also means you if you have missed anything you can catch up with the work and notes and won't underperform in mock exams or class assessments due to gaps in your knowledge.
Your January A Level Media mock exams are the real deal - the opportunity to put everything you have learned to the test. Students typically do better in the summer exams than the last set of mocks - but usually only by around a grade. This means you need to make sure you are fully prepared for these exams with the aim of achieving your target grade or just off it. The following will help you plan your revision: Media Paper 1 Section A will always focus on Media Language and Representations. This means the following CSPs could come up: Advertising & Marketing Score hair cream (1967) & Sephora Black Beauty Is Beauty - Advertising index is here Music Video Old Town Road & Ghost Town - Music Video index is here
Section B will always focus on Media Audiences and Industries. This means the following CSPs could come up:
Newspapers (not in January mock exam - we haven't covered this yet)
The Daily Mail and The Guardian
Unseen question
The first question in Media Paper 1 Section A will always be an unseen media product.
The second question will also relate to the unseen while also bringing in a CSP. This means it is likely the unseen product will link to advertising and marketing or music promotion.
There will be TWO 20-mark essays in Paper 1 – at the end of each section (Q4 and Q7). AQA states for your extended response questions:
“You will be rewarded for your ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning which is coherent, relevant, substantiated and logically structured.” This means you need to write an essay that constructs an argument that answers the question you have been given.
Question 4 will be an evaluation of theory question so you need to know the named theorists on the specification and be able to offer an opinion or evaluation of their key ideas. You can look through this AQA Specimen Paper 1 paper to familiarise yourself with the structure of the paper. Note that several of the CSPs have changed since this specimen paper was produced.
Media Paper 2
The first question in Media Paper 2 will always be a 9-mark question on an unseen media product.
Aside from Q1, Media Paper 2 tests your in-depth topic areas:
The Sims FreePlay and Horizon Forbidden West - index is here.
Indeed, the majority of Paper 2 will be THREE 25-mark essays on your in-depth topics. AQA states for your extended response questions:
“You will be rewarded for your ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning which is coherent, relevant, substantiated and logically structured.” This means plan and write an essay with a clear and convincing argument!
The structure for the 25-mark questions in Paper 2 is as follows:
Q2: evaluation of theory question - you MUST focus on the theory and simply use CSPs for evidence
Q3: contexts question (e.g. social and cultural contexts)
Q4: synoptic question - more details below
Q4: Synoptic question
The final question in Paper 2 will always be the synoptic question – which requires you to demonstrate knowledge of the whole two-year course of study. AQA states:
“Question 4 is a synoptic question in which you will be rewarded for your ability to draw together different areas of knowledge and understanding from across the full course of study.”
How do we do this? Answer: Key concepts - Language, Representations, Audience, Industries. In your answer make sure that you are addressing 2-3 of the key concepts in responding to the question. This will demonstrate your knowledge of the whole course - but make sure you do stay focused on the question! You can look through this AQA Specimen Paper 2 paper to familiarise yourself with the structure of the paper. Note that several of the CSPs have changed since this specimen paper was produced.
How to revise
Revision is a very personal thing and everyone has different techniques. Here's a video on YouTube with top tips for A* A Level revision:
Personally, I strongly recommend using flash cards (they are often called record cards if you are trying to buy them online or in WHSmiths). The simple act of distilling topics into a few key words or phrases to put on the card will seriously help in remembering the key information in the final exams. I have spare flash cards in DF07 if you'd like some. Try creating three sets of cards:
Use the example question booklets we gave you in class to test yourself against the kind of questions to expect in these exams. The practice questions we looked at in class can be found here: Exemplar question notes from class.
Revision example and useful resources - thank you Assia!
One of our former Year 13 Media students, Assia, very kindly shared some of her revision resources with us when she left Greenford. These are notes on CSPs which you may find useful but I'd also recommend creating your own similar resources for the CSPs to help you remember the key details. By the way, this is what an A grade student looks like! You'll need your Greenford Google login to access these and note that some of the CSPs have changed this year:
If you want to mix up your Media revision a little then you can always read around the subject or look through our Factsheet archive for topics you're struggling with.
Anything you read in our Media Magazine archive will help to give you a wider perspective on media debates and every issue has several articles which focus on interesting examples, theories and debates that will help you in the Media exams. You'll find our Media Magazine archive here.
Similarly, you have access to our whole Media Factsheet archive if there are any particular topics or theories you want to revise in more detail. Look at these for example:
If you want to test your knowledge of the complete subject content, you can find it on the AQA website here. Look at the menu on the left-hand side - under media language, media representation etc. you'll find everything that could come up in exams:
Remember, you need to revise EVERYTHING you have learned over the last 18 months for A Level Media in preparing for these exams - terminology, theory and CSPs. Good luck!
The final part of our Horizon Forbidden West case study focuses on Audience and Industry. This requires us to research the companies that produced the game and also consider how the videogames audience is changing.
Audience
Target audience
Does Horizon Forbidden West really target a female audience? Or is the console gaming audience still male dominated? Research by YouGov in 2022 suggests that console gamers are still majority male:
YouGov show that the major console audience is still male dominated - 71% male for PS5 and 68% for Xbox. However, the Nintendo Switch demonstrates that the videogame market is changing and perhaps games like Horizon Forbidden West are also pushing that change.
Postmodern pleasures
Horizon Forbidden West is a good example of the blurring of 'high' and 'low' culture that Strinati identifies as a key convention of postmodernism. We can see this in the game where the character Tilda's vault contains real exhibits from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Henry Jenkins suggested videogames as the "art form for the 21st century". Is HFW the evidence of this?
This collaboration is also a good example of Baudrillard's hyperreality - the increasing difficulty in telling what is real in a media-saturated world. The works of art in HFW are real - but the game is entirely constructed. Do audiences now enjoy greater pleasures from 'real' media products?
Industries
Guerrilla Games is the result of a merger of three earlier companies (starting in 1993) which reflects gaming’s origins in small independent companies in contrast to its current status as a global, billion-dollar industry.
The structure of Guerrilla Games and its parent company (Sony) is an example of contemporary media practice in maintaining control of production, distribution and circulation. This is also a case study in vertical integration.
20 years of Guerrilla Games - Killzone and Horizon
Working at Guerrilla Games: behind the scenes
Does this behind the scenes video challenge Hesmondhalgh’s theory regarding the lack of diversity in the cultural industries? It also links to the global nature of the multibillion dollar videogames industry.
Horizon Forbidden West: Audience and Industry blog tasks
Create a blogpost called 'Horizon Forbidden West: Audience and Industry' and work through the following tasks.
2) What are the key features for the game listed on the site?
3) What information does the website offer players about the game world and characters? Give a few examples.
4) What spin-offs and additional content are available as part of the Horizon franchise?
5) Applying Henry Jenkins's work on fandom, what aspects of the website (you may need to scroll down) encourage fan activity and engagement with online Horizon communities?
2) What studios are part of Sony PlayStation Studios?
3) What notable games have they produced?
4) Now research Guerrilla Games. Look at the 'Explore' page in particular. Who owns Guerrilla Games and how does it reflect the modern videogames industry?
5) Choose one of the 'Guerrilla Spotlight' features and write three things you learn about the videogames industry and/or Guerrilla Games from the interview.
1) Which three companies merged to become Guerrilla Games?
2) What other games and franchises were created by Guerrilla Games?
3) How did Guerrilla maximise the Killzone franchise?
4) What did Sony sign with Guerrilla in 2004?
5) How is Horizon Forbidden West described in the article and what is the next stage for the franchise?
Regulation and PEGI
1) What is HFW's PEGI rating and what age rating do you feel would be appropriate? Why?
2) Why is regulating videogames difficult in the digital age?
3) Are attitudes towards media content and regulation changing as a result of the internet? Explain your answer.
Due date: on Google Classroom
A/A* extension tasks
Read this fantastic GQ feature on Horizon Forbidden West - it takes in the history of the franchise, audience pleasures and also gender appeal and videogames. This is the kind of article that will make you an expert on the CSP and help you form opinions on the big media theories and debates. GQ is also another one of our in-depth CSPs too!
Read Factsheet 258 - Exploring the consumption of computer games. Look particularly at the application of media theory on the last two pages. You can find it in our Media Factsheet archive.
Our second videogames CSP is Horizon Forbidden West (2022). This is another in-depth CSP so will require two detailed blog tasks over the next couple of weeks. We'll start with an introduction alongside language and representation contexts. Horizon Forbidden West: introduction
Released in February 2022 as a sequel to the highly successful Horizon Zero Dawn (2017).
Available on PS4, PS5 and Windows platforms.
Horizon Forbidden West sold over 8 million copies in its first year.
Excellent reviews including 9/10 on IGN.
Developed by studio Guerrilla Games which is based in Amsterdam and owned by Sony.
Background and media language
Genres: Action adventure / Action role playing / Sandbox / Open world
Protagonist/avatar (character player controls): Aloy
Setting: Post-apocalyptic future version of USA following extinction event caused by a robot swarm.
Gameplay: Exploring open world, completing quests using weapons against hostile machine creatures.
Official release trailer:
Official gameplay trailer:
Representation: social and cultural contexts
Horizon Forbidden West has been both praised and criticised for the representations of different groups. Driven by a strong, independent female protagonist in Aloy, the game has been held up as an example of how gender in videogames is changing.
Horizon Forbidden West also has an LGBT storyline which can be seen as further evidence of Gauntlett’s view of the liberalising influence of the mass media, particularly in recent years.
However, the game has also been criticised for its representation of indigenous populations and Asian Americans with the accusation of lazy stereotypical tropes.
Key scene analysis
Watch the key scene where Aloy’s love interest storyline develops and think about how representations of gender and sexuality are constructed:
Edward Said: Orientalism
Edward Said (1935-2003) was a Palestinian-American cultural theorist and academic best known for his 1978 book Orientalism.
In it, he argued that the west – particularly colonising Europe – constructed a meaning of the east that suggested it was exotic, dangerous and uncivilised.
East v West
Edward Said argues that the Europeans divided the world into two parts: the east and the west or the civilized and the uncivilized. This was a totally artificial boundary; and it was laid on the basis of the concept of ‘them and us’ or ‘theirs and ours’.
The Europeans defined themselves as the ‘superior race’ and they justified their colonisation by this concept. Media to this day contains particular tropes associated with these views.
“A plethora of racist tropes emerge within Forbidden West’s world. There’s a stereotypical angry Black woman named Regalla, for example, who leads a rebel army and would rather die than seek peace. There’s also constant belittling between tribes, who call each other “savage” or “uncivilized” — terms loaded with racial undertones. There’s also plenty of Orientalism.”
Horizon Forbidden West: Language and Representation blog tasks
Create a blogpost called 'Horizon Forbidden West: Language and Representation' and work through the following tasks.
