Identities and the Media: Post-colonialism & Orientalism

Orientalism is another key post-colonial theory - exploring the differences in representation between the western world and the east.

These representations have arguably changed significantly since the 9/11 attacks on America in September 2001. Think about the typical Muslim stereotypes in the British media post-9/11 - and the rise in Islamophobia.

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 (e.g. The Middle East) that suggested it was different, dangerous and uncivilised.


Said was writing in the 1970s but his work is arguably even more relevant in today’s post-9/11 world.

Orientalism: blog tasks

To complete our work on post-colonial theory, work through the following tasks:

1) Watch the opening of Yasmin (2004) again. Does it offer a positive or negative view of British Muslims? To what extent does it reinforce or challenge Edward Said's theory of Orientalism - that the west is superior to the exotic or uncivilised east?




2) Summarise the three theorists we have looked at this week: Alvarado, Fanon and Said.

3) Finally, choose ONE clip for EACH of the theorists and explain how you could apply that theory to the clip. Pick your clips from YouTube but feel free to use TV, film, music video or advertising - whatever you think is most powerful and relevant. Embed the clips in your blog before writing your analysis under each clip. Note: this means you need THREE clips in total on this blogpost.

Complete for homework: due date set by your exam class teacher.

MEST4 Preliminary exercise: evaluation

Well done to everyone who has managed to complete the preliminary exercise recreation task and post it to YouTube/blogs. 

This was a tight deadline and a very challenging task - it's the perfect training exercise for your crucial linked productions that follow. 

You will present your preliminary exercise in class with an explanation of what you did, how the project went and what you learned for the main production. Following the screening, answer the following questions on your blog:

1) Why did you choose this particular recreation and how does it link to your main production?

2) What difficulties did you face in producing this recreation?

3) What are the strengths of the production?

4) What aspects would you look to improve?

5) What lessons will you take from this process that will help you with your main production?

6) Now that you are ready to start your actual linked production, explain clearly what you will be creating and how confident you are in delivering this.

Once you have presented your work in class, you need to make sure the production is posted to your blog (via YouTube) along with the original clip and full written answers to the above questions.

Finish for homework - deadline set in class.

Identities and the Media: Post-colonial theory

Post-colonial theory is an important part of our work on Identities and the Media.

Post-colonialism does not simply refer to the period after the colonial era. It can also be seen as a continuation of colonialism, albeit through different or new relationships concerning power and the control/production of knowledge. The notes sheet we read in class is available here.

We are interested in post-colonialism and identity in terms of the representation of non-white groups in British media.

Two key post-colonial theorists:

Alvarado (1987)

Four key themes in racial representations; often quoted in relation to the black community but can be applied to other non-white groups:

• Exotic (models; music artists; food)
• Dangerous (crime; gangs; socially dysfunctional)
• Humorous (comedians; sidekicks; quirky)
• Pitied (poverty)

Frantz Fanon: “Putting on the white mask”

Typically black stereotypes can:

• Infantilize - such as the 'cute' children of the Charity Poster or the 'simple-minded‘ 'Step ‘n’ fetch it‘ lazy comedian.
• Primitivize - The 'exotic & virile' tribal warriors or 'bare-breasted maidens' with a 'natural sense of rhythm‘. Sporting prowess.
• Decivilize - The 'Gangsta', 'Pimp' etc.
• Essentialize - Undifferentiated mass-'they all look the same to me'

Textual analysis: Destiny Ekaragha

Destiny Ekaragha is a black filmmaker from South London who wrote the awarded winning play - and then film - of Gone Too Far! She has also produced acclaimed short films set in South London including Tight Jeans:

Post-colonialism: blog task

1) Read the excellent article exploring the different representations of black people in British film and TV from Media Magazine 42 (MM42 from our Media Magazine archive - page 51). Pick three key points from the article and bullet point them here.

2) List FIVE films, FIVE TV programmes and FIVE online-only productions that are discussed in the article. These are great examples you could use in the MEST1 or MEST3 unseen exams.

3) Watch Destiny Ekaragha's clips above (more of her work is available on her website, including the short film The Park). To what extent can we apply Alvarado's and Fanon's theories to these films? Do they reinforce or subvert typical black stereotypes in British film and TV? Refer to specific scenes and events in the clips in answering this question and aim for at least 350 words.

Complete for homework if you don't finish it in the lesson.

January assessment: Learner response

Your MEST3 Section B January assessment is a good opportunity to reflect on your progress so far in Year 13. Are you on track to reach your target grade in A2 Media? 

Complete the following tasks on your blog as your learner response:

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

2) Read through the mark scheme (go to the last two pages of the document - Section B New/digital media). Of the six different statements for each level (e.g. A sophisticated and comprehensive essay, showing very good critical autonomy.) write which level you think YOU are currently working at for each one. Explain WHY and, for any that are not Level 4, what you are going to do to improve in that area. 

3) Look at the Examiners' Report for this particular paper. Read page 10 - Section B New/digital media. How many of the good points or higher level answer examples did you include in your essay? What were they? What could you have added to improve your mark?

4) Read through these exemplar A grade essays from previous Media graduates. What do these essays offer that yours does not? Identify THREE things you can take from these essays to improve your own responses in future.

5) Write ONE new paragraph for your January assessment essay. Ideally, this should be a section you did not cover in your original essay. This paragraph needs to be comprehensive and meet the criteria for Level 4 of the mark scheme. Minimum 300 words.

Finish for homework if you don't complete it in the lesson. Due date: set by your exam class teacher.

MEST4 Preliminary Exercise: Recreation examples

A shot-by-shot recreation is a an excellent test of your imagination, planning and technical skills. 

You need to choose an appropriate 30-second scene, plan out each shot carefully and then shoot and edit it exactly the same as the original. There are plenty of examples of shot-by-shot recreations on YouTube... here are a selection:

Fight Club 'Hit me' scene recreation:



Original scene (poor quality):




Friends opening titles recreation:



Original Friends titles:

 

Michael Jackson Thriller recreation:



Michael Jackson Thriller original:




You'll also find plenty of examples online of comedy or parody shot-by-shot recreations. It's unlikely your recreation will be a comedy (unless your Critical Investigation is on comedy or similar) but they are very entertaining and quite useful in terms of seeing how each shot is recreated faithfully.

Here's an excellent parody that followed someone losing a Fantasy Football bet. The screens are side-by-side to give you a great indication of how a shot-by-shot recreation needs to include perfect mise-en-scene - particularly location, props, costume and actor movement.

Sia – Chandelier recreation (lost bet parody):



There are also plenty of 'homemade' trailers and clips that also follow the shot-by-shot recreation model. These take big-budget Hollywood scenes or films and recreate them at home using puppets or budget costumes and locations. Again, it can be useful to see these to get an idea of how the framing of shots is the most important aspect of the recreation.

Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 homemade trailer:




And the original Hunger Games trailer:




Print recreation

If you are planning to use print for your linked production, you need to recreate one page of A4 from a professional media text that is similar to what you will be creating. You will need to arrange a photoshoot to produce the original photography and then design the page on Photoshop. Here's an example from Amrit who recreated the front cover of Vogue magazine last year.

Recreation deadline: Wednesday 31 January

Identities and the Media: Reading the riots

The media coverage of the UK riots in 2011 provides a strong case study in the representation of young people and how identity is constructed in the media. 

There was an excellent extended analysis of the media coverage of the riots by media professor David Buckingham in Media Magazine - it's essential reading for any Media student. Complete the following tasks:

Read the Media Magazine extended feature on the media coverage of the UK riots (MM38 page 5)

Go to our Media Magazine archive, select MM38 and read the WHOLE eight-page feature. Answer the following questions on your blog with as many references to media theory and examples as possible. Refer to specific aspects of the Media Magazine article too:

1. How did the language and selection of images in the coverage create a particular representation of young people? 
2. Why does David Buckingham mention Owen Jones and his work Chavs: the demonisation of the working class?
3. What is the typical representation of young people – and teenage boys in particular? What did the 2005 IPSOS/MORI survey find?
4. How can Stanley Cohen’s work on Moral Panic be linked to the coverage of the riots?
5. What elements of the media and popular culture were blamed for the riots?
6. How was social media blamed for the riots? What was interesting about the discussion of social media when compared to the Arab Spring in 2011?
7. The riots generated a huge amount of comment and opinion - both in mainstream and social media. How can the two-step flow theory be linked to the coverage of the riots? 
8. Alternatively, how might media scholars like Henry Jenkins view the 'tsunami' of blogs, forums and social media comments? Do you agree that this shows the democratisation of the media?
9. What were the right-wing responses to the causes of the riots?
10. What were the left-wing responses to the causes of the riots?
11. What are your OWN views on the main causes of the riots?
12. How can capitalism be blamed for the riots? What media theory (from our new/digital media unit) can this be linked to?
13. Were people involved in the riots given a voice in the media to explain their participation?
14. In the Guardian website's investigation into the causes of the riots, they did interview rioters themselves. Read this Guardian article from their Reading the Riots academic research project - what causes are outlined by those involved in the disturbances?
15. What is your own opinion on the riots? Do you have sympathy with those involved or do you believe strong prison sentences are the right approach to prevent such events happening in future?

Complete for homework if you don't complete it during the lesson. Due date: set by exam teacher 

Note: your TWO new/digital media stories (one news/journalism based) are STILL due every week on your MEST3 exam blogs. These will continue right up until the exam in June.

MEST4: Linked Production planning

For your Year 13 MEST4 coursework, 32 of the 80 marks are for a piece of production work that links with your Critical Investigation. Key details:

• You CAN work with others but the production MUST have some kind of link to ALL of your Critical Investigations. Group size limited to FOUR by AQA.
• Video work generally should be around 3 minutes long and no longer than 5 minutes. However, certain genres or texts will be shorter than this (e.g. 30-second advertisements or 2-minute film trailers).
• Print work must be a MINIMUM of five full of A4 pages per candidate (e.g. if a pair work on print work the minimum is TEN full A4 pages).
• Found images/video (e.g. downloaded from the internet) are NOT permitted except as minor additional material (e.g. a small cut-out of a celebrity to use on a magazine cover).
• To achieve top marks, your work must comfortably sit alongside professional examples of the text and genre you have chosen.
• As with AS Level work, the key to professional production work is highly detailed research into the key conventions of your chosen text.

Important note: your Year 13 Linked Production CANNOT be the same as your Year 12 brief (three-minute extract from a 30-minute arthouse film) OR the other Y12 briefs (two-minute section/trailer for a TV lifestyle show; a two-minute music promotion introducing and showcasing a new music artist). 

A reminder of your Year 12 MEST2 brief: Create a three-minute extract from your proposed arthouse film.


Writing your own Linked Production brief

Complete the following and post it to your blog in a new blogpost called 'Linked Production brief'.

Your Critical Investigation topic: 


Your Linked Production brief: 


Length/size of production (e.g. 3 minutes, 5 pages etc.): 


Give an example of an existing media text this is similar to what you plan to produce: 


Give an example of an institution that would produce or distribute your planned production:


How would your production reach its audience?


Who do you plan to work with on this project?



Preliminary exercise: Recreation task

Your Year 13 Preliminary Exercise is to produce a 30-second OR one-page shot-by-shot recreation of an existing text that is similar to the production you are planning to create. Complete the following in a blogpost called 'Recreation task planning':


Name of the text you plan to recreate:


Scene/section you will recreate:


Location you will use for your recreation filming/photoshoot:


Actors you will require for your recreation:


Props/costumes you will require for your recreation:


Equipment you plan to use:


Any other relevant information:



Recreation deadline: Two weeks

MEST4 Linked Production deadline: Easter

Spring term update

We’ve got an incredibly important term coming up – it’s only 11 weeks to Easter and in that time we will be completing our critical investigations, producing our linked productions and covering the second MEST3 exam topic.

In your exam lessons, you will be focusing on Identities and the Media – the second MEST3 exam topic. This will explore representations of youth, post-colonial theory (largely the post-war representation of non-white people in Britain), Feminism and gender representation and constructing our own identities in the digital age. Before Easter, you’ll be returning to your New and Digital Media exam topic and researching your own independent case study on a media industry of your choice. Here, you’ll be applying everything you learned in the Autumn to a new industry, exploring the impact new and digital media has had on institutions and audiences in that field. 

In terms of coursework, this is the term when you will develop a final draft of your Critical Investigation as well as planning, writing, shooting and editing your linked production. There’s a lot of work to do and the time will fly by so make sure you’re organised, committed and as creative as you can be.

What can you do to maximise your grade in A2 Media Studies?

Now is the time to really step up your consumption of wider issues and debates in the media. If you want an A/A* grade, you need to be doing the following as a minimum:

• Not only completing the minimum homework of two new/digital media stories but really finding excellent articles on the future of news and journalism from across the web. Make yourself an expert on the impact of new and digital technology on media industries.

• This will mean keeping up with the Media Guardian to find out the big stories in the media each week – particularly on a Monday. Look beyond digital media – you should have opinions on politics, economics, media ownership, censorship, data mining and online privacy. 

• Reading each issue of Media Magazine. Our archive is available here – the latest issue (MM62) has excellent features on Moonlight, virtual reality, Dunkirk, Love Island and the Handmaid's Tale - all excellent, relevant articles. Indeed, there may well be features that are useful for your critical investigation second drafts as well as exam preparation.

• Using our excellent archive of Media Factsheets on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to revise and increase your knowledge of wider media issues and debates. There are over 100 topics covered, many of them highly relevant to our exam preparation (particularly media theory and debates) and critical investigations. 

We made superb progress last term and have given ourselves the platform to achieve the very top grades in Media. Now, we need to go out and get them. Good luck!

Critical Investigation: Task #8

Critical Investigation - First Draft

The following needs to be completed by...

• Your first lesson back in January

• This is it: complete the first draft of your Critical Investigation.


• It must be a word processed 2,000 word essay (PLUS quotes - with a precise total word count including quotes but excluding bibliography at the end of the essay). Aim for around 2,500 including quotes and you will be in the right ballpark.


• Also, include correctly set out references, quotes and footnotes. Footnotes should take the following form - Author Surname, Author First Name Initial (Year of Publication), Page Number(s). e.g...Lacey, N. (2009). p. 122. They should not appear all together at the end of the essay but at the foot of the page where they appear.


• Where the next reference is from the same text and the same page use ibid. (in italics). This means 'in the same place' in Latin. If it's from the same text but a different page you include the new page reference too. e.g. ibid. p23.


• A full bibliography must be submitted at the end of the essay (this is NOT included in your word count). (See Critical Investigation Task #2 for help with this). Books should be listed in alphabetical order, by author's surname. If you're using the referencing system in Microsoft Word then all this will be done for you. Alternatively, you can use BibMe to help you do this correctly, using the APA format for books. e.g. Lacey, N. (2009). Image and Representation (2nd ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Here's a good example of a bibliography inspired by BibMe and this is an A* bibliography using Microsoft Word.


• Two copies are necessary. Hand in a hard copy (on paper) on the deadline day, and this needs to have 1.5 line spacing. Also paste it up (including footnotes and biblography) on your blog.

If you're in any doubt about what this all should look like then please check out some of the finished grade A/A* essays from 2016 (you can find top essays from 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012 on the blog too).

They will be helpful when thinking about how to write your essay (what to include in the introduction and conclusion, how to structure the work, how to set out quotes, the correct tone, and how much research to include - they each contain between 20 and 40 footnotes - you should aim for at least 30.)

But please ensure that all writing is done in your own words. Plagiarism is a very serious business and anyone found simply copying from other sources (either students or books/websites) will be in serious trouble. And you will be found out if you do! We're not stupid - we know how you write, and we know very well what was in the previous students' work (and there are numerous online checkers, or simply Google, that we can feed your work into to see if it has been plagiarised). 

Students guilty of plagiarism will be placed before the Greenford Plagiarism Panel made up of three senior teachers in the school - and students may be asked to leave the school.

This is the big one so no excuses and good luck!

Critical Investigation: Task #7

Up-to-the-minute additional web research


Although books carry more authority, the internet is an excellent resource and you should be searching regularly to identify additional ideas and references related to your Critical Investigation.

In particular, you will find up-to-the-minute, current information and opinion about your topic and this always scores highly with AQA so it's important to continue online research all the way through until you hand in your final essay. Remember, one of the key media debates that you should look to cover at some point in your essay - New Media and Digital Technology - is constantly changing and you're already finding stories for that topic weekly for the exam too!

Remember, key places to keep track of this are...

• A Level Media Studies subscription sites - we have paid for you to have free access to Media Magazine (our online pdf archive is here), and MediaEdu (spend time, in particular, looking at the theory, new media and key concepts resources)...both are excellent and contain information pitched for Media students and teachers. Log in details for Media Edu have been emailed to you on your school email address.
• broadsheet newspaper sites, especially MediaGuardian (it's essential you get into the habit of reading this every week, preferably on a Monday), and the Independent Media;
• media education sites - e.g. A Level Media blog, Media Literacy, Film Education, Screen Online...
• film review sites like IMDb (use the 'external reviews' link on the sidebar whenever you're on a chosen film) and Rotten Tomatoes;
• film magazines online like Sight & Sound, GuardianFilm, Empire, and Senses of Cinema;
• Wikipedia, naturally: a useful starting point for any web search, but make sure you avoid referencing this directly...it makes you look like a beginner. It provides, however, a good overview and, essentially, a list of 'References' and 'External Links' at the end of each entry;
• the best student essays from 2016, 2015, from 2014, from 2013, from 2012, from 2011, and from 2010: in particular, look at their quotes (usually highlighted by a footnote number) and bibliographies (at the end of each essay) as they will have often identified some of the best quotes for your topic. But, as ever, be wary of the temptation to plagiarise - you can only 'borrow' a key quote from another person's essay if you go and research the source yourself and make it part of your bibliography. Remember: it is incredibly easy to tell when an essay takes a sentence or paragraph from another writer and Greenford High School has a plagiarism committee made up of senior teachers in the school to deal with cases of deliberate cheating.

Continue your internet research over the holiday and into January using all the fantastic online resources outlined above.

Task: Post up AT LEAST 20 additional quotes, with full article titles (and hyperlinked web addresses) added to your Notes & Quotes document (AND bibliography) along with a brief explanation about which section of your essay plan it could fit into. 

Due: January (20 quotes) but then ongoing to Easter.

NDM News: end-of-term indexes

We have learned a huge amount this term on news and new/digital media - alongside plenty of crucial A2 Media theory. 

We now need to update our index posts for both the news case study and our weekly new/digital news stories to ensure we are up-to-date with everything. After Christmas, you will have your January assessment where we'll be able to see the progress you are making towards the vital MEST3 exam in the summer.  

NDM News index

In today's lesson you need to create an index of all of your work for New/Digital Media and News. 

This process is an excellent start to your revision for the MEST3 Section B January assessment (not to mention the exam in the summer) and will also highlight if you've missed anything through absence or trips. Your index should include the following:

1) Institution: the impact of Google on the newspaper industry
2) Ofcom report: how news consumption has changed
3) Baseline assessment: learner response
4) The future of newspapers: Build The Wall analysis
5) The decline of newspapers: the effect of online technology
6) The decline of newspapers: Media Magazine case studies
7) The future of journalism: John Oliver and Clay Shirky
8) Citizen journalism and hyper-reality
9) Galtung & Ruge: News Values
10) Marxism & Pluralism: MM article ('Web 2.0: Participation or Hegemony')
11) Marxism & Pluralism: Alain de Botton on the News
12) NDM News: full Section B essay on blog ('consumption and production')
13) Globalisation: MM article and Factsheet questions
14) Globalisation and fake news: articles and questions
15) News on the Tweet: Newsworks report
16) A case study in news and social media - Factsheet questions
17) Blog essay feedback and learner response

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 the assessment due to gaps in your knowledge.



NDM story index

You also need to update your separate index of ALL of your NDM stories so far. This homework was originally set on Monday 11 September which means you should have a minimum of 26 stories in your index this week. 

Your index should have the story number (starting with your first story back in September as #1), the headline and a link to YOUR blog post for that story - guidance for the original task from September (with top-level examples from previous years) is here.

Remember, every story you post needs to be on a separate blogpost and the link in the index should go to YOUR blog post on that story, not the original article itself.

If you're missing a couple of stories, go back through our Twitter feed for links to good new/digital media stories from the last few weeks. Remember, we do this homework for you every week!

Index due date: anything you don't complete in the lesson needs to be posted by your last lesson before Christmas.

NDM blog essay: feedback and learner response

Well done on completing your new/digital media essays on your blog - they already show huge progress from the baseline assessment. 

We now need to use what we've learned from this process to prepare for the January assessment in the first week back. We're not necessarily expecting an A/A* response in that assessment but we DO want to see significant progress from the baseline assessment and good use of all the case study material we have covered.

NDM essay: learner response

Create a new blog post called 'NDM essay feedback and learner response' and read your feedback email from your teacher carefully. Then, complete the following tasks:

1) Copy and paste the email feedback (WWW/EBI/LR) into your blogpost.

2) Identify your strongest section. Which part of the case study do you know best - Marxism and Hegemony? Pluralism? The decline in the newspaper industry?

3) Identify your weakest section or any missing sections. Which part of the case study do you need to revise - News values? Baudrillard's hyper-reality? Alain de Botton's news as social control? Clay Shirky's news as social good?

4) Complete the LR task specified in your feedback - usually to re-write a certain section and then create a revision list for the January assessment. Please complete these LR tasks within this blogpost - don't go back and edit your original essay at this point.

If you do not finish this learner response in the lesson, this needs to be completed at home by your first lesson back after Christmas.

Christmas homework: revise for January assessment

Your Christmas homework on the exam side is simple: revise everything you've learned for your January assessment.

This assessment will be in the first week back and like your baseline assessment it will be a MEST3 Section B essay. Revise everything from your index and also look over your learner response for both the recent blog essay and your baseline assessment in September. That feedback will be important in identifying how you will improve in the upcoming assessment.

Christmas homework - additional revision/resources

There are plenty of resources out there to help you prepare for your MEST3 Section B assessment in January AND write your critical investigation first draft.

You will obviously be looking over your two indexes of our News case study work AND all the NDM stories that you have collected over the last term. However, there is plenty more out there. 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 with a new/digital media focus. We also have an archive of 160+  A Level Media Studies Factsheets that we have subscribed to - in fact, these are brilliant for both critical investigations and the exam topic.

You'll find our Media Magazine archive here and the Media Factsheets are available on the M: Media Shared drive > Resources > A Level > Media Factsheets.

In particular, the following Factsheets will be useful for the exam:

050 'We-Media' and Democracy

053 Journalism in the New Media Age: The effect of online technology

071 Citizen Journalism: from Producer to Audience

088 The Impact of New Media on Politics

104 Audiences in the Digital Age

131 Social Media and the News Agenda

There are plenty for you to look through for your Critical Investigation too - horror film, gender, post-9/11 Hollywood and more. Plus one that we could all use for both MEST3 Section B essays AND our critical investigations:

060 How to Write Academic Essays

Remember: these resources are all for you - the more you use them, the better you will do!

NDM News: A case study in News and Social Media

To finish off our comprehensive case study on the impact of New and Digital Media on News, we will look again at the impact of social media on traditional news institutions.

This helpfully revises some of the work we have done over the last 14 weeks as well as adding a few extra examples, quotes and statistics that will be invaluable in a MEST3 Section B essay. Complete the following tasks to complete your case study:

Blog task: Factsheet #134 - Press, Prominence and Persuasion – A Case Study in News and Social Media

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 134: Press, Prominence and Persuasion – A Case Study in News and Social Media. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) What does Guardian journalist and academic Emily Bell say has happened to the print news industry on page 1 of the factsheet?

2) How do news stories become prominent on social media?

3) What is EdgeRank and how does it work?

4) Why was the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri (after the shooting of Michael Brown) an interesting example of how Facebook's news algorithm works?

5) How did the news of Osama Bin Laden's death break?

6) How does news spread on Twitter?

7) What is YOUR opinion on editorial control at tech giants like Facebook and Twitter? Are they neutral or should they play an active role (such as blocking and deleting ISIS beheading videos)?

8) Spend some time exploring First Look Media. Is this a realistic future for quality journalism?

9) Read the About page for First Look Media. What are they trying to achieve and do you think they will be successful?

10) Finally, take a good look at The Intercept. Explain how The Intercept started and list three interesting stories on there from the last 12 months.

Complete this for homework - due next lesson.

Critical Investigation: Task #6

Write the introduction to your Critical Investigation essay.

This should clearly introduce your primary text, the media issue or debate you are addressing and what angle your essay will use to approach the question. It needs to engage the reader, pose some questions and give a clear indication of what direction the essay will take. The word count will vary but you want to aim for around 200-250 words.

You may find this brief Powerpoint guide to academic writing useful in approaching this task and can certainly refer to it for the rest of your first draft over Christmas.

This is a strong example of an opening paragraph from a previous year:

Do recent Hollywood films such as the Wolf of Wall Street suggest that audiences are still being influenced by negative gender stereotypes?

Despite the gains made by feminism over the last 30 years, Hollywood films still offer too many negative gender stereotypes. This is particularly clear in Martin Scorsese’s highly successful biopic of Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street (2012). In Scorsese’s film, women are presented as sex objects, prostitutes or housewives and there for the pleasure of the male characters (and arguably male audience). It is evident that negative gender stereotypes are still present in modern Hollywood films and it is hard to argue that audiences are not influenced by these representations. We can also see this in historical, successful Hollywood films such as Scarface, the original Wall Street and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Despite the fact that the gender gap between males and females has started to close – more so recently with respected activists such as Emma Watson speaking out publicly on behalf of the UN gender campaign – negative gender stereotypes in film show that the gap is still an issue in society. Hollywood films that are based around the idea of 'power' often portray negative stereotypes of women. The idea of power and riches appeals to a mass audience as Richard Havis explores in an interview with Scorsese about The Wolf Of Wall Street: "Look at young people and what the American Dream means to them. It's all about accumulating more, and doing what is best for you, in spite of how it affects anyone else.”  This essay will explore the negative gender stereotypes in Hollywood productions and the influence such films have on the audience.

Your introductory paragraph needs to be approved by your teacher along with your essay plan before you write your first draft. Due: Wednesday 20 December.

NDM News: News on the Tweet

Our case study on news has focused heavily on the decline of traditional brands and the rise of social media. But do these two competing platforms actually need each other to be successful?

News on the Tweet is a report from Newsworks (a marketing organisation representing newspapers) and Twitter designed to show the positive impact new and digital media can have on traditional media.

Read the report and answer the questions on your blog. Include the News on the Tweet infographic above in your blogpost.

1. Why are respected news brands good news for Twitter?
2. Why in turn is Twitter good for respected news brands?
3. The report suggests that old and new media “are not, in fact, in direct competition, but often work extremely well together to enhance both the media eco-system and the consumer experience”. What evidence do they provide to support this idea? Do you agree with it?
4. On page 24/25 of the report, the focus turns to 'gossip' or 'banter'. What example tweets from journalists are used to illustrate this? 
5. Do you think the increasing amount of 'gossip' or 'banter' is harming the reputation of news and journalists?
6. What does the report say about trust in Twitter and journalists (look at pages 34-39)?
7. Do you think new and digital media developments such as Twitter have had a positive or negative impact on traditional newspapers?
8. Finally, how can we link this report to the vital current debate regarding fake news and Facebook? Do traditional news brands need protecting to ensure there are sources we can trust?

Finish for homework if you don't get it finished in the lesson - due next week.

NDM News: Globalisation and fake news

The recent phenomenon of 'fake news' is a great example of the crossover between globalisation and the news industry. 

It has been linked with a range of political events across the world - from Brexit here in the UK to Trump's election in the USA. Many European countries are now worried fake news will influence future elections and interfere with democracy. 

Fake news: blog tasks

The Guardian & the global problem of fake news

1) Read this Guardian feature - Fake news: an insidious trend that's fast becoming a global problem 

2) What similarities do you notice between the different countries outlined in the article and their problems with fake news?

3) Is fake news an inevitable consequence of the "culture of freedom and innovation" that the internet has brought with it? Is there a way to stop it?


New York Times and the creation of fake news

1) Read this New York Times feature - Inside a Fake News Sausage Factory: ‘This Is All About Income’

2) Which fake news stories were particularly successful for Beqa Latsabidze, the 22-year-old student in Tbilisi, Georgia, who tried to make money from web articles on Trump? 

3) How much can Facebook and Google be blamed for this global rise in fake news?


Complete for homework if you don't finish in the lesson - due in your exam lesson next week Thursday/Friday.

Media Magazine Conference - trip details

The Media Magazine conference is always a great opportunity to see academics, journalists and media professionals speak about key media issues.

The trip briefing sheet with map and meeting details is here.

Trip date: Wednesday 6 December
Meeting place: Outside the venue - Friends House, Euston
Meeting time: 9.45am

Remember to bring pens and paper to make notes during the lectures. This is also great preparation for university!

NDM News: Globalisation

One of the topics that we need to cover in A2 Media is Globalisation - which has huge relevance to digital media, news and beyond.

You should have read the notes on Globalisation in class - the handout is here if you need an electronic copy.

Globalisation and news: blog tasks

Having discussed these issues in class in relation to our news case study, we now need to develop our own opinions on this issue before exploring the wider implications of globalisation.


Class debate: key opinions on globalisation

Firstly, answer the following questions on your blog to develop your own opinions on these issues:

1) Is our news influenced by American cultural imperialism? Give some examples arguing for or against this perspective.

2) Has the increased globalisation of news improved the audience experience? How? Why?

3) Has globalisation benefited or damaged major news institutions? How? Why?

Media Magazine: Globalisation case study

Now we need to explore some of the wider issues linked to globalisation and media - including capitalism, privacy, 'big data', and techno-panics. These are crucial issues that are likely to come up in Section A of your MEST3 exam - as well as being relevant to your independent case studies for Section B.

Go to our Media Magazine archive and click on MM47 - the case study issue. You need to find page 31 and the Google Glass feature: a case study in Globalisation.

Read the article and answer the following questions:

1) Why was Google Glass controversial?

2) What are the positive elements to Globalisation that the article highlights?

3) What are potential negatives to Globalisation?

4) What is a techno-panic? How does it link to moral panics?

5) What is your opinion on the privacy debate and major corporations being able to access large quantities of personal data?


Media Factsheet: Globalisation and capitalism


Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 92: Globalisation. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) Who coined the phrase 'a global village' and what multinational companies illustrate this?

2) What role does Slavoj Zizek suggest the media plays in global capitalism? How can you link this to our previous work on Marxism and Hegemony? 

3) What does 'capitalism with a conscience' mean? 

4) What is the (PRODUCT) RED campaign? 

5) Based on what you've read in the Factsheet, what is YOUR opinion of the (PRODUCT) RED brand? Is it a positive force helping to fight AIDS in Africa or a cynical attempt to make multinational companies look more ethical than they actually are? 

There is a lot of work here - you'll need to finish it for homework if you don't complete it during this week's lessons - due date set by your exam teacher.

Critical Investigation: Task #5

Essay plan

Produce a detailed essay plan for your critical investigation, covering everything that you hope to include in your first draft over Christmas. 

Break your ideas and research down into sections and paragraphs with headings, summaries and a list of quotes/references that you hope to include at each step. You may also want to plan a rough word count for each section, remembering you are aiming for around 2,000 words (not including quotes - probably around 2,500 with quotes). You can see some excellent examples from previous years by clicking on Navneet's or, going back further, Sonam or Jaleesa.

Make sure that you label each point you hope to include by linking it to Key Concepts (MIGRAIN) and Wider Contexts (SHEP). (You could just include the initial letter in brackets). This way you can see whether you have covered everything that you need to in an even way. Also, ensure that you think about where you will include theories/theorists, issues/debates and media keywords. (Keep the 'Essential Word Dictionary' handy). You may find that the tasks we have completed recently such as textual analysis and your historical text research help you to plan certain sections too.

This will make writing your essay MUCH easier. However, it is a big task as it requires you to read through all your research very carefully and plan what you should include and what isn't relevant. This is the key academic skill that universities teach - expect it to be difficult and take time! 

You may want to produce this plan as a straightforward series of bullet points or as a more complex mindmap. If it's the latter you may have to do it by hand and then scan it in before posting it up on your blog. Or you may want to try out an online mind-mapping tool like bubbl.

Deadline: Friday 8 December

Note: You must get your essay plan approved by your teacher before Christmas so you are able to write the draft over the holidays.