Coursework Tutorials

You will be each be receiving a crucial one-to-one tutorial with your Media teacher during January 2010. However, you must have completed all the Xmas blog tasks to be eligible for this so these need to be done by the lesson we return after Christmas (Monday 04-01-10). Also, when you attend the tutorial you must bring your fully organised research folder with you (containing notes, plans, highlighted/annotated photocopies, etc.) so get those in order now if you haven't done already.

Finally, the deadline for the completed first draft of the Critical Investigation is...

• Monday 1st February '10 (Tuesday 2nd for 13D1)

This means that if you have a tutorial towards the end of the January exam period you will only have a few days to get all 2000 words done (with footnotes and a full bibliography for it to be accepted) so the advice would be to get in early for a tutorial so you can start the essay as soon as possible.

Available times & confirmed appointments will be posted below for each class, so watch this space and make sure you book early to avoid disappointment...

MEST 4 Xmas Task #6

The following needs to be done by all Year 13s and completed by the day we return after the holiday: 4th January 2010...

INTRODUCTION & FIRST PARAGRAPH

Type out the full title of your Critical Investigation, highlighting what you consider to be the keywords in a different colour.

Then write out the first paragraph and post it on your blog. This is usually the hardest in any essay (along with the last one!) Obviously, it must be a clear introduction that makes reference to the keywords in the title and outlines the various areas that you will be exploring in the course of the essay. It may introduce a hypothesis (something that you will seek to test/prove during the next 2000 words). For example, you may be arguing that your contemporary textual examples demonstrate a change in the representation of a particular social group. It's a bit like a debate in this sense - you are putting forward a proposition and making points that will back it up (although you will also be given credit here for considering both sides of the argument too).

Then, write the next paragraph and post it on your blog. Remember that you're looking to include at least one quote/reference per paragraph and often considerably more. It may help to look at some of the best essays from last year, from 2008, from 2007, and from 2006 (all top grades, although a different specification, don't forget) to get an idea of the style and format required. But take care - plagiariam will always be found out so don't even consider copying from others...best to look on a day when you won't be writing as other people's work can sometimes be a bit disabling.

Good luck with everything here - yes, you're going to be very busy but you want to get the top grades and get into top universities so this is what's required!

If anyone needs help over the holiday then please email us and we'll try to get back to you asap.

MEST 4 Xmas Task #5

The following needs to be done by all Year 13s and completed by the day we return after the holiday: 4th January 2010...

ESSAY PLAN

Produce a detailed essay plan for your independent study, covering everything that you hope to include in your submission. Break your ideas and research down into sections and paragraphs with headings, summaries and a list of references that you hope to include at each step. You can see some decent ones from previous years by clicking on Manjoth or Jatinder or Avneet or Madenah.

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).

This will make writing your essay so much easier. However, it is a big task as it requires you to read through all your research very carefully and browse through each other's blogs as there may be some overlapping areas of research you could share with each other.

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.us.

MEST 4 Xmas Task #4

The following needs to be done by all Year 13s and completed by the day we return after the holiday: 4th January 2010...

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 the examiners so it's important to continue online research all the way through until you hand in your final essay. A crucial platform that you really ought to cover - New Media and Digital Technology is always changing, for instance. Key places to keep track of this are...

• 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 - the biggest and best is MCS; but there's also MediaEdu (the school has a subscription to this...ask Ms Holliday how to access it), Media Literacy, Film Education, Screen Online, and hundreds more...browse through the Macguffin Delicious Links (hand-selected by us over the years) and you'll find lots of other relevant sites;

• 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. 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 last year, from 2008, from 2007, and from 2006 : 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 should only 'borrow' a few quotes from each person's essay!

Over the holiday, continue with your internet research, using the Google Search Tips you've been shown to help you refine your searches.

Post up AT LEAST 10 additional quotes, with full article titles (and hyperlinked web addresses) and an explanation about each one saying how it's linked to your study.

MEST 4 Xmas Task #3

The following needs to be done by all Year 13s and completed by the day we return after the holiday: 4th January 2010...

HISTORICAL TEXT ANALYSIS & RESEARCH

Research a historical text that you can use to compare with your contemporary one (that is the main focus of your investigation). By 'historical' it is meant anything pre-2000 but the 40s, 50s, 60s or even 70s might be more fruitful because they pre-date many of the important changes that have occurred more recently (such as the gains for women as a result of feminism, or greater equality for ethnic minorities now that we are - arguably - a more inclusive and multi-cultural society). The purpose here is to be able to demonstrate...

• how society has changed over the years and how these changes are reflected in different media texts, or - to put it another way...
• how popular culture reflects the 'spirit of the age' or zeitgeist

Ideally, you will watch at least one film/TV programme from the past, make notes on it and research it in Media/Film Studies textbooks and on the internet. The best option is to watch the whole text on DVD/online or otherwise you might be able to see extracts on YouTube.

• How is it similar/different to your text?
• How does this show how the genre/society has changed?

A highly recommended text here (if you're focussing on film) is 'The Cinema Book', edited by Pam Cook and Mieke Bernink and available in the school library. If you follow the link here you can read the contents page and index online and this will be useful.

Through this you will become aware of developments in the genre you are researching - look for a range of titles (at least five) that you can refer to in your essay - and you should be able to link them to the wider contexts that were present at the time. It's also worth noting that you will be rewarded for considering your topic across different platforms.

If you can't get hold of the text it's not the end of the world - you are stuck with doing just secondary research instead of this and primary research. Just make sure you do plenty of it.

List your media texts, research, analysis and links/bibliography in a detailed blog post.

MEST 4 Xmas Task #2

The following needs to be done by all Year 13s and completed by the day we return after the holiday: 4th January 2010...

ADDITIONAL READING

As you know, a detailed bibliography is crucial for the top grades in the coursework. Please refer to the Essential Reading List which contains titles of 45 of the most important books for the Critical Investigation, all of which are either in the school library or media suite.

Those underlined are the twenty most important but, obviously, not all of the texts on this list will be directly relevant for you...you'll need to spend a fair amount of time searching through them (especially the contents and indexes) to find the key quotes and ideas that will impress the examiners.

You must include references to quite a few of these books if you want an A or B so borrow/buy these books and read them over Christmas: one/person from the Media Suite and you MUST sign them out with Mr Babu and you MUST bring them back the day we return after the holiday).

Then please include the following in a blog posting...

• Author-Year-Title-Place-Publisher info;
• Quotes (+ Page References) from the book that can be linked to your study;
• A short explanation of each one explaining how it is relevant to you.

MEST 4 Xmas Task #1

The following needs to be done by all Year 13s and completed by the day we return after the holiday: 4th January 2010...

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Carry out a close textual analysis of a chosen scene from your main text and post it up on your blog.

The scene should be able to exemplify some of the key points you wish to make in your Critical Investigation and link with some of the following key areas raised by your text...

• issues and debates

Representation and stereotyping; Media effects; Reality TV; News Values; Moral Panics; Post 9/11 and the media; Ownership and control; Regulation and censorship; Media technology and the digital revolution – changing technologies in the 21st century; The effect of globalisation on the media

• theories

Semiotics; Structuralism and post-structuralism; Postmodernism and its critiques; Gender and ethnicity; Marxism and hegemony; Liberal Pluralism; Colonialism and Post-colonialism; Audience theories; Genre theories

Make sure it is a scene you haven't analysed before (and, if at all possible, NOT a trailer) and embed the YouTube link in your posting if you can.

Think of the task as like a MEST 3 exam analysis but with one text instead of two - so you need to cover MIGRAIN and SHEP and you are advised to watch the scene several times and to make detailed notes before embarking on the write-up, which should be in essay format (NOT in note form).

Also, use the Key Concepts Glossary to help you think about terminology to use. You should be including as many of these keywords and ideas as possible in your analysis (where relevant...this won't always be the case), along with ideas you've picked up from the Media Keywords A-Z.

Yr 13 Representation Homework

It has been said that media representations often reflect the social and political concerns of the age in which they are created. Discuss. (48 marks)

Prepare an exam style response for this question which should be typed and a must be a minimum of 1,500 words. You must make sure you make full reference to your own case study (you may include reference to other social groups/places studied in class to support your answer, if relevant) and include representation and audience theory, a range of actual examples using media language to support your points along with relevant wider contextual issues (SHEP).

This is due your first lesson next week. Please remember that you need to demonstrate your ability to meet your predicted grade with this essay as it will be used as the basis of your next interim.

Book Research

For 13c1 and 13d1

Although you've been doing some excellent internet research, it's crucial if you want a top grade (i.e. an A or B) to include a wide range of book research as part of your study too. The internet has only been around as for a decade or so and absolutely anyone can publish on the web. This means that when it comes to academic investigations books still carry much more authority.

You'll need at least a dozen decent book references in your bibliography. By 'decent' we mean relevant academic works or textbooks that you actually quote or refer to in the main body of your essay. It won't be enough just to copy out a long list of related books - you have to have read at least part of each one and identified useful material that you can use from them. Use the contents page and index in each book to help you select that nugget of information that could be helpful.

Please carry out the following over the next week (by Friday 11-12-09)...

• This week you must visit the school library which, quite frankly, has the best range of media books for miles (better than Ealing libraries for sure). [TIP: Use the online library catalogue to search for books as well as looking on the shelves]. As everyone in Year 13 is doing this task it would be a bit selfish to borrow the books from the library because it stops anyone else from using them. Therefore, please treat all media-related books as reference books and don't take them out. (But if you want to borrow them over the following week, to use over Xmas, then please do so). Also, see Mr Babu in the Media Suite who has an extensive range of media books that you can borrow - many of those in the library are also there.

• Check through all the media- and film-related books. Then photocopy some of the relevant pages and highlight and annotate the essential details you expect to include. Or you can make notes/copy out quotes that might be relevant for your essay

• Post up at least TEN books you've started researching in a posting entitled: 'Bibliography: Books'. For each one write a brief summary about how it will be useful - be specific! Make sure you include all the required information in the correct way (and this includes keeping a record of page references)...

Author Surname, Author First Name (year of publication): Title. Place of Publication: Publisher.eg...Craig, Steve (1992) : Men, Masculinity and the Media. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.



If you can add more now then please do - you'll have to in the future.

Over the weekend it's also advisable to go to Ealing libraries (Ealing Broadway, Greenford, etc.) to see what they've got. Also, you could visit larger bookshops (e.g. Waterstones in Ealing, Foyles at Westfield) and see what they have on offer.

Make sure that you bring all the photocopied/highlighted/annotated research to the lesson on the deadline day!

All yr 13 classes: Representation Case Study

For next week's lessons (from Tuesday 1st December) you will be presenting your intial findings in a powerpoint presentation for your representation case study. This should include (as a minimum):

1. Intro -outlining the group/ place you are studying and the reason why you chose this group
2. Detailed information about the group/ place you are studying (dominant and alternative representations across a range of media - must be cross platform with examples in your powerpoint e.g.scanned magazine images, news stories,clips from films/ TV programmes, links to websites etc.)
3. An outline of how theory we have discussed so far could be applied (feminism/post-feminism, representation of the other, colonialism/post-colonialism, marxism/pluralism)
4. Wider contextual factors should also be considered using SHEP e.g. how has the representation of your group/place changed over time and why.

Ageism Debate

Selina stokes a diversity debate that needs addressing

13C1/D1 Homework

You have a private study day on Thursday 19th.

13D1 students need to complete the following for Friday 20th...

• Read this Guardian article: The BBC will only survive by understanding its diverse consumers
• Copy and paste the text to your MEST 4 blog, then highlight key points in a different colour

13D1 and 13C1 need to complete the following homework for Friday 20th...

• Go to the Media Guardian: Race and Religion Index and select THREE different articles, on different topics, from different years
• Paste each one up on your MEST 4 blog, with the link/title of the original article
• For each one, highlight the key points the article makes - key facts, statistics, organisations, people, quotes

BBC Guardian Article

BBC Guardian Article

13C1/D1 Cover Work, P1/5 Fri 06.11

Stay in DF07 for the whole of the lesson (either period 1/5). Work quietly and sensibly on the computers. If you finish early, spend the rest of the time researching your topic online. Ms Holliday will be monitoring you...please sign in on a piece of paper and leave on my desk.

This work has to be completed for homework by everyone by the next lesson (Mon 9th/Thur 12th).

Produce a Powerpoint Presentation based on your half term homework, remembering the key ingredients of what makes an effective presentation (significance, structure, simplicity, rehearsal). Include images, think carefully about the design, and make sure you rehearse it when you've completed it.

It must cover the following...

• Critical Investigation title/explanation
• Linked Production title/explanation
• MIGRAIN
• SHEP
• Issues/Debates
• Media Theories/Theorists
• How your research topic fits into the contemporary media landscape

Yr 13 Nightmare on Elm Street

For the group that you focused on when watching the film (either teens or women) create a visual analysis of their representation and link it to key quotes about feminism/ subordination using in particular the handouts provided. You will be 'teaching' the other half of the class about how your group is represented usign all aspects of MIGRAIN, theory and wider context.

If this is not completed to a satisfactory standard you will have to stay behind and re-do the work in your own time.

Guardian 100 work

What is the Guardian 100 and who are the panellists who create it?
How many women are in the top 100?
What companies do these women work for and in what roles?
What percentage of the lsit is women?
How would you assess the balance of power in this list and why do you think it is this way?

13D1 Work P3 Tuesday 6th October

Please begin this work. I will be late but will be by 12 o’clock at the latest to check your progress and discuss this with you.
LO:
· To become more familiar with the format and requirements of Section B of the Unit 3 exam.
· To develop your understanding of how to undertake a case study on a range of potential topics.
· Consider how to apply your knowledge of media studies to an examination.

Using the text book find answers to the following questions and note the details using full sentences in your exercise books. You will need to use your research skills to find this information as it may not all be in one place in the book:
1. How much is Section B of the Unit 3 exam worth? (in marks and as a percentage)
2. How many case studies will you need to do and what will they be on?
3. How many questions will you apply this case study to and from how many questions will you have a choice?
4. How many platforms must your case study cover and why?
5. How much time in the exam will you have to respond to the case study question?
6. What important information do you need to note for each of the texts you choose to investigate for your case study?
7. What sorts of groups would be useful to study for the representation case study and why?
8. What four areas should you cover in your case study?
9. What are the texts and contextual issues you will also need to cover?
10. What is a critical framework and how will you use it? Give examples of areas this will cover.

Now brainstorm some ideas for your own individual case study covering representation of a group of people or place in the media using A3 paper.

Yr 13 Homework Miss Holliday & Miss Jones 30/09/09

1. Read the handout on Post-Modernism in Contemporary Film.


2. Find another film (or TV drama) which has a post-feminist representation of women. On your blog (MEST 3 - create one if you don't already have one) write a comparative analysis of how representation is constructed for your own choice vs Jodie Foster's representation in Flightplan. Remember at A2 you need to be considering how and why these representations have come about (SHEP - wider context), incorporating relevant theories (audience in particular) in addition to commenting on aspects of mise-en-scene and other key concepts. This is due Wednesday 7th Oct (13D1) and Friday 9th Oct 13C1/13C2.

13C2 P3&4 Monday

You will be with Mr Bush today in DF07.

Summer Research Task

For all Year 12 students (who'll be Year 13 in September 09)...

The following needs to be completed by the first lesson you come back at the start of September..

• Start a new blog. Call it MEST 4: Research & Production
• Leave a comment with the address and your name in the relevant MEST4 section below so I can put up a link on this blog.
• Choose a film or television text that you are really interested in and that is less than five years old.
• Get hold of a copy of your text. Watch it at least once over the summer. While you are watching it make key concepts notes and post them up on your new blog, considering the following questions for each key concept...
  

Media Representations

Who is being represented?

• In what way?
• By whom?

Why is the subject being represented in this way?

• Is the representation fair and accurate?
• What opportunities exist for self-representation by the subject?

Media Languages and Forms

• What are the denotative and connotative levels of meaning?
• What is the significance of the text’s connotations?
• What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?
• What is the significance of mise-en-scene/sets/settings?
• What work is being done by the sound track/commentary/language of the text?
• What are the dominant images and iconography, and what is their relevance to the major themes of the text?
• What sound and visual techniques are used to convey meaning (e.g. camera positioning, editing; the ways that images and sounds are combined to convey meaning)?

Narrative

• How is the narrative organised and structured?
• How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?
• How are characters delineated? What is their narrative function? How are heroes and villains created?
• What techniques of identification and alienation are employed?
• What is the role of such features as sound, music, iconography, genre, mise-en-scene, editing etc within the narrative?
• What are the major themes of the narrative? What values/ideologies does it embody?

Genre

• To which genre does the text belong?
• What are the major generic conventions within the text?
• What are the major iconographic features of the text?
• What are the major generic themes?
• To what extent are the characters generically determined?
• To what extent are the audience’s generic expectations of the text fulfilled or cheated by the text? Does the text conform to the characteristics of the genre, or does it treat them playfully or ironically?
• Does the text feature a star, a director, a writer etc who is strongly associated with the genre? What meanings and associations do they have?

Media Institutions

• What is the institutional source of the text?
• In what ways has the text been influenced or shaped by the institution which produced it?
• Is the source a public service or commercial institution? What difference does this make to the text?
• Who owns and controls the institution concerned and does this matter?
• How has the text been distributed?

Media Values and Ideology

• What are the major values, ideologies and assumptions underpinning the text or naturalised within it?
• What criteria have been used for selecting the content presented?

Media Audiences

• To whom is the text addressed? What is the target audience?
• What assumptions about the audience’s characteristics are implicit within the text?
• What assumptions about the audience are implicit in the text’s scheduling or positioning?
• In what conditions is the audience likely to receive the text? Does this impact upon the formal characteristics of the text?
• What do you know or can you assume about the likely size and constituency of the audience?
• What are the probable and possible audience readings of the text?
• How do you, as an audience member, read and evaluate the text? To what extent is your reading and evaluation influenced by your age, gender, background etc?

Other Tasks to complete by the start of September...

• Research your text on the internet. Use the de.li.cio.us tags that are in the sidebar on the main Macguffin page to guide your research. These links are some of the best sites for Media Studies.

• Post up all evidence of research on your blog. You are looking for the following: reviews, newspaper/magazine articles, useful book titles linked to your text, relevant theory, relevant media issues and debates, information about wider contexts, etc.

• Don't just cut and paste mindlessly - be selective, try to summarise the information, comment on it and explain why it is useful. Also, make sure that you include specific links to all the sites you find.

• Feel free to be as creative with your blogs as you can. Include pictures, clips, reflections, links, etc.

• Prepare a presentation to be given to the class during the first week you return. In this you will show everyone your blog and talk through the research you found. Also, you will need to put together a five-minute Powerpoint presentation that summarises what you've found out. Remember the Significance, Structure, Simplicity, Rehearsal checklist you recently learnt that helps make a more interesting presentation.
  

Good luck. There is a lot to do here. Our advice is to work on this throughout the Summer rather than leaving it all to the last minute. It should be an enjoyable process - finding out about something that you're interested in. If you have any problems then please don't hesitate to email me.

And remember, the aim of this is to develop your key research skills that you'll be using when you do your coursework next year...and these are skills that are vital for any subject you do in Year 13 or at university.

Mest4 Blogs 12D1

Mest4 Blogs 12C2

Mest4 Blogs 12C1

Homework: Representations in Music Video

Find an example of at least 1 music video that makes use of either the male gaze or has a post-feminist message and create a presentation (using clips and/or stills on powerpoint/moviemaker etc) 13c1/13C2 due Monday morning (13th July) 13D1 due Weds afternoon (15th July).

Internet Institution Case Study HW

HOMEWORK TASK (individual) for ALL Year 12s – By Monday 6th July

Research ONE of the following: Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, MySpace, Wikipedia, Facebook.

If you have already started this in the lesson then carry on with what you were doing, finishing all the questions. If you were absent (for whatever reason) you must choose one yourself. Make sure this is your original work and not copied from anyone else...use Wikipedia for everything apart from the last question.

—Who owns the site?
—Do they also own any traditional media businesses?
—What other internet sites do they own?
—What is its revenue?
—What is its overall worth?
—Research five key facts about the institution.
—Find three quotes (with references) about the institution.
—Summarise two linked Wikipedia articles (5 bullet points each) that are listed at the end of the main article.
—List the key info provided on the company’s corporate homepage.

Video Evaluation HW

HOMEWORK TASK (individual) for ALL Year 12s – By Monday 29th June

1. Write a self-evaluation (on your New Media blog) of your video, summarising the info on your feedback forms. Make explicit reference to the level descriptors (ACTUP) and WWW/EBI. These descriptors can be found on the VLE under MEST 4 Mark Sheme Grid in the New Media section.

2. Create a links list in your sidebar (on your blog) for the New Media blogs of everyone in 12C1 & 12D1.

3. Watch & compare all the videos produced by students in another class (12D1 if you're in 12C1, and vice versa).

4. Select the FIVE best and post links to the specific videos or embed them in a new posting (on your blog).

5. For each video you choose, award the student an ‘eCommendation’ in their comments section. Explain why (ACTUP) and thank them for their efforts.

If you missed any lessons this week or last, you must go to the VLE and download MEST 3 Internet L.4-6. Then you should do all the activities you've missed. There is a Word document (Mark Scheme Grid) that goes with lesson 6, also on the VLE.

New/Digital Media HW - Internet

HOMEWORK TASK (individual or pairs) for ALL Year 12s – By Monday 15th June

1. Set up a new blog called MEST3 Critical Perspectives

2. Post up the address in the correct comments section (below) before the deadline

3. Create a ONE MINUTE video that consolidates your learning this week (you should use Premiere or Movie Maker); post it on YouTube (you may need to set up an account); and embed it into your blog

4. Include text (summarising some of the information you’ve learned); images (moving or still; shot yourself or found online); and an appropriate soundtrack

5. Answer the key questions in your video that you've covered this week - What is so special about the internet? What is wrong with the internet? How does the internet change audiences?

Use the Powerpoints from the lesson to help you by clicking Mest3 Internet L1-3. This will take you to the VLE (after logging in) where you can download the slides with all the key information (at the top of the Year 13 Media page).

Mest3 Blogs 12D1

Post your blog address here, with your first name...

Mest3 Blogs 12C2

Post your blog address here, with your first name...

Mest3 Blogs 12C1

Post your blog address here, with your first name...

Best Independent Study Work!!

Well done to everyone for another year of brilliant coursework! The vast majority of you exceeded their minimum target grades which is a great achievement.

Now, could all of you take time to read some of the following A Grade Med 5 essays. It's excellent revision for the exams as it will build up your synoptic ability (for Med 6), and they're all about the representation of women so they'll help, particularly, with the Med 4 exam (giving you the chance to revise key quotes/theories, and providing you with more examples/case studies to refer to). It's a good idea to make condensed revision notes from each one.

At the very least, make sure you read these by Avneet, Hardeep and Madenah as they're truly outstanding...

• “Who the hell is she…..a whore?”Are women in action movies represented as empowered female role models or as sex objects? With Particular reference to “Wanted” (2008).

• “You think of women as disposable pleasures rather than meaningful pursuits.” Has the representation of females changed in the action adventure genre?With reference to 'Casino Royale' (2006).

• “Mankind faces extinction...This fall...One woman...Is the final hope...For our survival.” How has the on screen representation of women changed, with particular reference to the action/horror film 'Resident Evil: Extinction'?

Then, consider these excellent efforts too, by Jaspreet, Samandeep, Rajan, Priyanka and Ajitpal...

• “You know me I don’t really believe in marriage; now Botox on the other hand works everytime.” Do representations of females in 'Sex and the City: The Movie' differ from representations of females in previous media texts? If so, how? And why?

• ‘‘Kiranjit finds herself behind bars and her punishment is lifetime imprisonment but she is instead relived. Why? Because behind bars she finally found life…freedom.’’ How are Asian women represented in the film ‘Provoked’?

• "The WWE Divas are the sexiest women on television." How and Why Have the Representations of Women Changed Over Time in World Wrestling Entertainment?

• How has the role of female characters changed in action adventure movies and become more dominant over the years with reference to “Resident Evil Extinction.”

• Historically, James Bond movies have confirmed Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze. Is that still the case today?

Module 6 Exam Revision

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, Maltby, Phillips etc.)
2. Representation, especially feminist theory (Mulvey, Clover, Gauntlett, Gunther, Tuchman, Elasmar, Miles, Cortese, etc.) & post-colonialism (Hall, Nandy, Spivak, Bhahba etc.)
3. Documentary (mediation, construction, Direct Cinema, Cinema Verite, reality TV)
4. Film & Broadcast Fiction, especially film language (cinematography, editing, mise-en-scene, sound)
5. Module 1 MIGRAIN keywords/glossary

• Keep reading the 'Media Keywords A-Z' handout (the big one) and test yourself on media terminology.
  
• Revise your wider contexts timelines.
  
• 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, so analyse and compare...

1. extracts, title sequences and opening sequences from any genre of TV programme, film (soap, sitcom, documentary, news, gangster, thriller, etc.).
2. TV adverts and film trailers.
3. video games, music videos and internet viral videos.

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/annotating/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

Don't forget - you can bring any timed essays in over the next month to show to your teachers before the exam on Thursday June 11th at 1.30pm in the Hall. ARRIVE at least 15 MINUTES EARLY!!

Module 4 Exam Revision

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 on this topic, your own self-produced revision guides, teacher's summary notes, essay plans, etc.

Genre...
Genre pack, Slasher pack, repertoire of elements worksheets (on each slasher film), watch key clips from the texts again (they might still be available on YouTube but most of the links here have been taken down on this list...do a new search and you mind find them), genre theory quotes, your own self-produced revision guides, 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). See these particularly good ones from past students...Alice, Heena, Jaskeerat, Jatinder, Kalpan, Pip. And if you post them up to your Med 5 blog as they did we can give you some feedback on them.

• 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 month to show to your teachers before the exam on Thursday June 11th at 1.30pm in the Hall (before the Module 6 exam). ARRIVE at least 15 MINUTES EARLY!!