Slasher Film Parodies

Click on the images above to watch three very funny 30-second parodies of some of the key slasher texts you have to know well for the Module 4 (Genre) exam. The first one is for Scream, the second one is for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the remake) and the third is for Freddy vs Jason.

What makes them different is that they're re-enacted by animated bunnies...really! And because they have to compress all the key narrative moments and highlight the essential aspects from the slasher repertoire of elements in such a short space of time they really make these features clear. Great for revision.

The Long Goodbye!!

What a great last day it was for Year 13s...truly one of the best. A lot of you kept asking 'Will you miss us?' as if you didn't know. How could we ever forget any of you? You've been fantastic...it's as simple as that!

Thanks for all of you who managed to make it to the little party we had. Check out Charan before he could hardly stand up!


And I appreciate your very kind words of thanks for all our efforts (great speech Danny!)...it makes it all worthwhile. And your gifts, too...can you spot the sparkle on the bling?

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Don't forget the hegemonic model of representation!

"There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay."

Essay Plans

You should be doing LOADS of essay plans on Genre and Representation over the next few weeks in preparation for the Module 4 exam. Post them up to your blogs and leave a comment at the end of this posting with the title/link if you think any are good enough for us all to see.

There are links below to the best ones so far. If you're unsure how you'd answer any of the questions then get some ideas by checking them out...

(Genre: June 05a)
"The audience may know what to expect, but are still excited by genre texts". To what extent is this true?
Manjoth, Danny, Anita, Mariam.

(Genre: June 03a)
Account for the popularity of one genre of your choice. Illustrate your answer with examples.
Manjoth, Danny, Anita, Kristina.

(Genre: Jan 06b)
Recent developments in genre have included the emergence of parody, pastiche, and hybrid forms. Show how such developments have influenced the nature of media texts.
Manjoth, Danny, Kristina.

Module 6 Revision/Preparation

Your revision/preparation for Module 6 should be...

• Read through all Module 6 notes, handouts and past essays/practices.

• Read and revise all the Issues & Debates/Media Theory revision sheets...

1. Effects Theory (hypodermic needle model...passive audience, cultivation theory + desensitisation, two-step flow),
2. Reception Theory (context of consumption + David Morley...dominant/negotiated/oppositional readings)
3. Uses & Gratifications Theory (Blumer & Katz, Denis McQuail...active audience)
4. Narrative Theory (Propp, Levi-Strauss, Barthes, Todorov)
5. News Values (Galtung & Ruge)
6. Audience Profiling (demographics, psychographics, the four Cs)
7. Advertising (covert advertising, product placement, sponsorship, plugs, viral advertising)
8. Postmodernism (pastiche, parody, irony, playfulness, reflexivity, ambiguity, intertextuality, bricolage, hybridity, Baudrillard...hyperreality, simulacra)
9. Marxism (Althusser...ISAs, interpellation, Gramsci...hegemony)
10. Pluralism (media literacy, audience choice, media as fourth estate)
11. Ownership (vertical/horizontal integration, synergy)
12. Globalisation (digital revolution, new technology/new media, cultural imperialism, the 'global village')
    

• Revise everything you've ever covered in Media Studies this year and last year as this is the synoptic unit...
  

1. Genre, especially genre theory (Altman, Neale, Fiske etc.)
2. Representation, especially feminist theory (Mulvey, Clover, Gauntlett etc.)
3. Documentary (mediation, construction, Direct Cinema, Cinema Verite, reality TV, mocumentary)
4. Film & Broadcast Fiction, especially film language (cinematography, editing, mise-en-scene, sound)
5. Module 1, especially print texts (adverts, web pages, posters, magazine covers, newspaper front pages etc.)
6. MIGRAIN keywords/glossary
   

• Keep reading the 'Media Keywords A-Z' handout (the big one) and test yourself on media terminology.
  

• Re-read your research on wider contexts and check out some particularly good blog postings on this...Iena, Manjoth, Bilan, Danny, Atter, Hari, Kimberley, Sonia, Sofia and Nadia.

• Read through the 13D Issues & Debates blogs (see links on the sidebar) as they are full of information about everything already mentioned above and more besides. In particular, make sure you check out those by Sonia and Kimberley as they are both superb!
  

• Keep up-to-date with media developments right up to the exam. Log on to Media Guardian every day and keep posting summaries and links to them on your blogs!
  

• Do timed practice - carry out comparisons of a range of two-minute (or less) moving image sequences with related print texts...

So analyse...

1. extracts, title sequences and opening sequences from any genre of TV programme or film (soap, sitcom, documentary, news, gangster, thriller, etc.).
2. TV adverts and film trailers.

and compare with...

1. print adverts, web pages, posters etc.
2. magazine covers, newspaper front pages etc.

Remember, the question is always..."Using the comparison of these two texts as your starting point, explore the media issues and debates which they raise."

It is vital that you practice under exam conditions - spend 30 minutes note-taking/planning (and watch the extract three times during this period) and then one hour writing your answer.

If you are short for time then you can always just do the 30-minute note-taking exercise on some days but try to do this as often as possible (every day?). Remember to use two sides of A4 paper (one for Text 1, one for Text 2) and include the following sections going down the page...

1. form & function
2. similarities & differences
3. key concepts (MIGRAIN)
4. theory
5. issues & debates
6. wider contexts (SHEP)
7. other texts
   

Please record the practice you have done as a comment after this posting - it will be useful for people to share ideas about what texts are good to try and an opportunity to ask Macguffin any questions about any of the theories, issues & debates and wider contexts.

Also, please post comparison notes and finished essays on your blogs for others to see and learn from. The best ones will be highlighted on this page as links.

And don't forget - you can bring any timed essays in over the next three weeks to show to your teachers before the exam on Monday June 19th at 1.30pm in the Hall (after the Module 4 exam). ARRIVE 15 MINUTES EARLY!!

Module 4 Revision/Preparation

Your revision/preparation for Module 4 should be...

• Read through all notes, handouts and past essays on the key topics...

Representation...

Representation packs (with cartoons), Gauntlett handouts, Guardian articles, Independent Studies, your own self-produced revision guides, teacher's summary notes, the mock exam, essay plans, etc.

Genre...
Genre pack, Slasher pack, repertoire of elements worksheets (on each slasher film), your own self-produced revision guides, the mock exam, teacher's summary notes, essay plans, etc.

• Read through all 'Representation' and 'Genre' past questions - identify keywords etc.

• Write essay plans for as many different questions as possible (all of them if you can). For more info see the essay plans posting.
  

• Complete as many timed essays as possible (45 minutes/question).

Don't forget - you can email Macguffin with queries and you can bring any timed essays in over the next three weeks of school to show to your teachers before the exam on Monday June 19th at 1.30pm in the Hall (before the Module 6 exam). ARRIVE 15 MINUTES EARLY!!

Independent Studies - FINISHED!

Congratulations to all Year 13s who did so very well in the Independent Study coursework. On average, you achieved the highest grades ever (especially when compared to your Minimum Target Grades) and this means that you should go into the exams in June feeling pretty confident. Already you have quite a few UMS points in the bag and, most importantly, your success in Module 5 means that you should be able to apply a lot of the learning to Modules 4 and 6.

Well done especially to the following who all got A grades...Aanchal, Manjoth, Charanpal, Iena, Steven, Danny, Anita, Mariam, Jugtar, Atter, Sonia, Nadia, Hari, Kimberley & Sofia. Most of them carried out a lot of their research online, posting it up on their blogs so check out the links in the sidebar to see what they found out.

And, crucially, a great deal of what was produced is directly relevant for Module 4 (Representation) so all Year 13s need to read and make notes on the following essays as revision for the exam...

Representation: Women

"I’m the deadliest women in the world – but right now, I’m scared shitless about my baby!" With particular reference to Kill Bill, how and why have women’s roles in action films changed?

“Maybe the past is like an anchor holding us back. Maybe you have to let go of who you were, to become who you will be.” Does Sex and the City announce a definitive break from historical representations of women?

“Maybe the past is like an anchor holding us back. Maybe you have to let go of what you are, to become who you will be?" How does Sex and the City provide representations of women that challenge what they once were, and what does it suggest that they are becoming?

“She is my warrior woman. Always, and never.” The battle of the sexes has typically featured heavily in film noir, with patriarchy ultimately achieving the upper hand. With reference to Sin City, has the genre changed as a result of feminism?

"I’m sorry people are jealous of me. I can’t help it that I’m popular." How are teenagers represented in Mean Girls?

“Stop calling each other sluts, it makes it okay for boys to call you that.” How are teenage girls represented in Mean Girls?

Representation: Asians & Black People

“You have to be twice as good as the English to get anywhere.” How are Asians represented in the film Anita and Me?

“Praise to Allah – dancing with joy the warrior race of fanatics born to detest the West.” How is Islam represented in the media?

"I told you to hire a black pilot not a black baggage handler." Have representations of black men changed and if so how and why have they changed, with reference to Soul Plane?

"If he's gonna kill me why shouldn't I kill him? If he's gonna do me, why shouldn't I do him?" Explore the ways black males are represented in the media, with paticular reference to Bullet Boy.

Representation: General

“The concept of representation embodies the theme that the media construct meanings about the world - they re-present it”. How does Little Britain provide humour using stereotypes and why in this way? Does it offend?