Media Debate 2008

It's time to start preparing for this year's Media Debate! Like last year, there will be three separate debates about three different media topics on the day, but things are different too in that while there are still two sides (Team A vs Team B...you'll have to come up with some names) we're mixing up the classes. Each side must field three teams of three students each. The rest of the group members will be involved in researching beforehand and asking questions during the debate.

We have booked the date for it to take place - Thursday 28th February, after school in the Lecture Theatre. The audience will include all Year 12 Media Studies students and various members of staff so the pressure is on! We will start preparing you for the event this week...at the first of three compulsory Debate Club Meetings/Rehearsals...every Thursday after school in DF07, starting 31-01-08. Here you will meet with your captains, plan strategies, and receive advice from us about how to go about researching, preparing and practising, including learning about the correct procedures for formal debating.

Mr Bush and Ms Jones will be acting as trainers. You can call on us for support and advice at the Debate Club meetings (but not during lesson times as there's other stuff to do). Mr Dudman-Jones will be available to offer expert debating advice to the team members and will also go on to act as the impartial judge on the big day.

The three debates are as follows...

The Women Debate

Mulvey continues to be relevant because women remain subordinate to the power of the male gaze and this demonstrates how the media is still inherently patriarchal.

The Genre Debate

Hollywood produces repetitive, formulaic and unimaginative genre movies that pander to 'dumbed down' audiences and this means that independent, art-house films are all that is worth watching.

The Hegemony Debate

The mass media in the UK still seek to promote hegemony and are responsible for injecting passive audiences with dominant ideologies.

Homework - due on Thursday 07-02-08 at the next Debate Club Meeting - is to have started researching your topic on the internet and to bring this material to the meeting. You need to get on with this as there will only be three weeks to go before the debate (in front of the 50+ Year 12 audience and guests too...a packed lecture theatre!) and you need to get the information together so that you can start practising. Don't forget - you won't know until the day itself whether you are required to debate in favour or against the motion so you have to research both sides of the argument and think about objections to your points and how you will counter them.

Tips are as follows...

The Women Debate

To start with, use your Independent Study research material for this one. You will have lots of case studies to draw from, many concrete examples and theory etc. that you've got from the library and the internet.

Then refer to the handouts you received in lessons about the subject - from 'Media Gender & Identity' (Gauntlett), from 'Introducing Media Studies' and from the articles you've been given from 'The Guardian'. These make ideal starting points from which you can go on to explore key ideas and theorists in more depth.

Do more internet research, beginning with the following sites...

David Gauntlett's 'Media, Gender & Identity' Site...really useful articles and links.
MediaKnowall...has a good overview on representation and links to stuff on gender.
The Media & Communications Studies Site...loads of links to some very academic articles.
MediaGuardian and The Guardian websites...do searches on the 'representation of women'.

And, obviously, check out all the del.ici.ous links that are tagged women, representation, or Med 4.

The Genre Debate

As with the Representation Debate your Independent Studies are the best starting points. You (should) know these texts really well so you can use them as case studies and include specific examples from them to back up your points.

Then you will need to research genre theory. We will be covering this later in the course so you will be able to pick up some handouts on this from school but you will also find a lot about it on the internet...

Film Education has resources on genre and how it operates in the film industry.
Introductory stuff on genre from a sixth form college website.
The Media & Communications Studies Site...lots of links to articles outlining genre theory.
Guardian Unlimited Film is a great starting place to search for topical discussions.

Also, be sure to make full use of the other del.ici.ous links, especially the Med 4 ones.

The Hegemony Debate

You will need to research representation theory (hegemonic and pluralistic views), audience theory (effects, uses and gratifications, reception theory, etc.) and you'll need to know about media institutions/ownership(use the case studies you all did on your blogs) along with stuff about globalisation and marxism. Look at all the handouts you've received in your Module 6 lessons. You will also find a lot about it on the internet...

The Media & Communications Studies Site...lots of links to articles outlining various theory.
Also, be sure to make full use of the other del.ici.ous links, especially the Med 6 ones.


Finally...
Don't forget - all of this research serves a dual purpose in that it is also directly linked to your coursework and your exam modules. If you work hard here in an attempt to win the debate (and avoid looking stupid) then you will have also done invaluable preparation in your quest for excellent A Level results. Good luck!!

13C2 Cover work

Thursday, 24th January, periods 5&6

Read and highlight 'BBC a turn-off among black audiences' and 'I want to see people like me' (copies in DF02 - Mr Bush will register you and let you in). Then research the representation of an Asian family on TV in 2007 (preferably in a British soap). Are the BBC, and other broadcasters, doing a better job today? Find a clip and carry out some media language analysis.

Your will be presenting the results of your research in tomorrow's lesson, so please make sure that it is complete and on your Med 6 blog by then.

Med 5 Cw Task 16

The following comprises TASK SIXTEEN. It needs to be completed by Monday 4th February. (Like you'd forget!)

• Complete your first draft of your Independent Study.

• It must be a word processed 3000 word essay (with a word count included at the end).

• Also, include correctly set out references, quotes and footnotes. (Footnotes should take the following form - Author Surname, Author First Name (year of publication), page number(s). eg...Craig, Steve (1992) p. 123.)
  

• A full bibliography must be submitted. (See Task 10 for help with this). The first section should be titled 'Works Cited' and will contain everything that you make direct reference to in your essay. Divide it into 'Books', 'Newspapers & Magazines', 'Internet' and 'Moving Image Texts'. The second section should be called 'Works Consulted' and will cover all the additional research you did but that didn't necessarily get directly quoted. This should have the same subheadings as the first section.

• Two copies are necessary. Hand in a hard copy (on paper) on the deadline day, and this needs to have one and a half spacing. Also paste it up 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' and 'B' essays from last year (2007)and the year before (2006).

These will also 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, etc.)

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 real 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 studies (and there are numerous online checkers that we can feed your work into to see if it has been plagiarised).

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

Med 5 Cw Task 15

The following comprises TASK FIFTEEN (a). It needs to be completed by Friday 25th January.

Following your individual tutorials, you need to re-write your Independent Study first paragraph and post it up on your blog. This should include your full title (and preceding quote) that may have been refined since your meeting.

Also, the paragraph needs to engage with the keywords in the title, outlining your hypothesis/argument, and should include at least two quotes/references (with properly presented footnotes).

Then TASK FIFTEEN (b) needs to be completed by Monday 28th January.

You need to check out the revised first paragraph by your 'Blog Buddy' (from your class) and help them to re-draft their introduction (again!).

In the comments section you need to offer five www points and at least five ebi suggestions, for example...

• Changes to spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence construction/expression, etc.

• Also, add anything that you think is missing and make suggestions about what else (quotes, references, elaboration, etc.) that needs to be included.

This feedback should enable you to produce a much improved introduction to start off your essay and as this is one of the crucial aspects of any piece of writing, you should end up producing something much better when you complete your 3000 words (see TASK SIXTEEN).

13C Med 5 Cw Tutorials

A couple of you have already seen me. Remaining appointment dates and times are as follows:

10/1 13.45 - Hammad
10/1 14.10 - Anjali
11/1 12.20 - Zainab
14/1 09.05 - Vishna
14/1 09.30 - Neelema
17/1 14.10 - Rabiah
18/1 13.45 - Baldip
18/1 12.20 - Athar

Please remember that you MUST have completed your plan and introductory paragraph in order to qualify for your tutorial. If they are on your blog, or you email me with them, by the end of the day prior to our appointment, I will be able to look at them before I see you, making the tutorial all the more fruitful!

13c2 Cover Work

Wednesday 9th January, periods 2 & 3

With the Med 1 re-sit next Wednesday, it's vital you get as much practice as possible (and for those not re-sitting, this is still very useful as knowledge of the Med1 Key Concepts is a central part of the Med 6 exam).

So, you need to carry out MIGRAIN analyses of the following two film posters (click on the poster to enlarge it). Spend one period on each and stay in DF07, using the computers (Ms Jones and Mr Babu will be in to check on you). Start by spending 15 minutes at the start of each lesson making notes on paper for the text (as you would in the exam), then type up your answer on your Med 6 blogs.

H/W: Post up another media story on your Med 6 blog, with your summary and analysis of it.