Identities: Feminist theory and blog task

A current debate in feminism is whether we are in a post-feminist state: is feminism still needed?

It's important to have your own opinion on this debate and, crucially, be able to support it with reference to feminist theory and current examples. 

Feminist theory: key notes

Judith Butler: gender roles

Butler believes traditional feminists are wrong to divide society into ‘men’ and ‘women’ and says gender is not biologically fixed.

By dividing men and women, feminists accidently reinforced the idea of differences between the two genders

Butler believes gender roles are ‘a performance’ and that male and female behaviour is socially constructed rather than the result of biology.

Butler and the media

If gender is a ‘performance’ rather than biological, we then need to think about what is influencing that ‘performance’.

And that’s where the media comes in. How might the media influence our behaviour in terms of gender roles?



Angela McRobbie: empowering women

McRobbie is a British cultural theorist known for her work analysing magazines aimed at women and teenage girls in the 80s and 90s.

McRobbie highlights the empowering nature of magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Glamour, taking a different perspective to traditional feminists.


This idea of ‘popular feminism’ fits into the idea of post-feminism and challenges the radical feminism of the 1970s.

Feminism: blog task

Watch the Beyonce video for ‘Why Don’t You Love Me?’ 

1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?

2) Would McRobbie view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women?

3) What are your OWN views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ (Mulvey)?

Complete for homework if you don't finish this during the lesson - due next week.

New Media Factsheets available

We have just added five new Media Factsheets to the archive on the M: Media Shared drive...

141 Media and Identities
142 Identity and Film
143 Politics and Persuasion
144 DTP coursework
145 VICE News

They are in the usual place on the school network: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets

Several of these are extremely relevant right now - our Identities and the Media unit is ongoing. In addition, VICE News would make a brilliant addition to your New and Digital case study on News.

These are brilliant resources - if you want an A grade, you need to be reading this kind of resource along with the latest issue of Media Magazine.

MEST4 Linked production: Research and planning

With your preliminary exercise completed, we now need to turn our attention to the actual Linked Production. Your initial task is to complete the research and planning for your production. Work through the following:

1) Confirm your production brief. You write this yourself but it's absolutely crucial this is clear, appropriate and achievable. You should have done this already - the original blogpost was here - but it may have changed as a result of your preliminary exercise.

2) Research: notes on at least THREE similar texts to the one you are creating. What are the key conventions? What can you learn/borrow from the examples you have looked at?

3) Project schedule: when will you film and edit this production?

4) Script - see the BBC Writers' Room for advice/script formatting. If you're making a music video, you'll want to write a treatment instead. This is an example treatment that I provided for GCSE Media students studying this topic.

5) Storyboard - sheets available in DF07 or you can use this AQA storyboard sheet.

6) Shot list - use Microsoft Word or a template like this to help you.

7) Mise-en-scene: casting details, location scouting with photographs, props, costume and make-up, lighting.

Note: for print productions, you will need to write all text required in Microsoft Word, plan mise-en-scene for all photoshoots and produce detailed sketches of all the pages you plan to produce.

All of the above needs to be posted to your MEST4 coursework blog.

Deadline: Friday 5 February

Identities and the Media: Feminism

Are we living in a post-feminist state? Do you agree there is still a need for feminism? To what extent does the media contribute to the identity created for women in popular culture? These are some of the questions we need to consider in this next section of our Identities and the Media unit.

Complete the following tasks on your blog:

Media Magazine reading

1) Read Playing With The Past: Post-feminism and the Media (MM40, page 64 - our Media Magazine archive is here).

2) What are the two texts the article focuses on?

3) What examples are provided from the two texts of the 'male gaze' (Mulvey)?

4) Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?

5) Choose three words/phrases from the glossary of the article and write their definitions on your blog.

No More Page 3

1) Research the No More Page 3 campaign. Who started it and why?

2) What are the six reasons the campaign gives for why Page 3 has to go?

3) Read this debate in the Guardian regarding whether the campaign should be dropped. What are Barbara Ellen and Susan Boniface's contrasting opinions in the debate?

4) How can the No More Page 3 campaign be linked to the idea of post-feminism?

5) What are your OWN views on the No More Page 3 campaign. Do you agree with the campaign's aims? Should the campaign continue?

6) Do you agree that we are in a post-feminist state or is there still a need for feminism?

Complete for homework if you don't get it finished in the lesson - deadline confirmed in class.

MEST4 Preliminary exercise: evaluation

Great work 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 along with written answers to the above questions.

Finish for homework - deadline set in class.

Post-colonialism: Edward Said blog task

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

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

2) 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?




3) Finally, choose THREE clips for EACH of the theorists and explain how you could apply that theory to the clip. Pick a selection of clips on YouTube from TV, film, music video or advertising and embed them in your blog before writing your analysis under each clip. Note: this means you need NINE clips in total on this blogpost.

Complete for homework: due next week

A Grade MEST3 Essays

Rabia (Q6)
Shanara (Q7)

Identities: Post-colonial theory & blog tasks

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.

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'

Destiny Ekaragha

Destiny Ekaragha spoke brilliantly at the Media Magazine conference about being a young black filmmaker in London. She showed clips from two of her films - the short Tight Jeans and the feature length Gone Too Far!

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)

2) List FIVE films, FIVE TV programmes and FIVE online-only productions that are discussed in the article.

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.

13C: 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. Of the six different statements, write which you think is currently your strongest and which is weakest. Explain WHY and, for the weakest, what you are going to do to improve in that area.

3) Read through the exemplar A grade essay. What does this essay offer that yours does not? Identify THREE things you can take from this essay to improve your own responses in future.

4) 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.

Finish for homework. Due: Monday.

MEST4: Preliminary exercise planning

Before you start shooting your preliminary exercise recreation, you need to complete planning documents.

Your planning does not need to be extensive but it DOES need to exist. You need to complete the following before you can borrow one of our camera kits:

Script/treatment
For a music video, you need to produce a treatment outlining what will happen in the video.  For a film or TV production, you'll need a script. Whatever you're producing, you need a written plan of what happens and what is spoken.

Storyboard
For a recreation, you may want to create a screengrabbed storyboard. This involves capturing each of the shots in the 30-second sequence you are recreating and pasting them in order with written notes in a blogpost or Word document. Alternatively, storyboard sheets are available in DF07.

Shot list
The most important document you will create: a full shot list containing every shot you need out on location. Take this document with you when you film and tick them off one by one.

Mise-en-scene planning
Mise-en-scene is the most important aspect of a good recreation. You need a location, cast, costume and props to exactly match the original production. This is one of the most difficult aspects of the task!

Put all of these documents on your blog - scans/pictures are fine or use Google Drive to save documents and link from your blog.

Preliminary exercise deadline (planning, filming AND editing): Friday 21 January.

Good luck!

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 collect the original photography and then design the page on Photoshop.



Recreation deadline: Friday 21 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. There is an excellent extended analysis of the media coverage of the riots by media professor David Buckingham in Media Magazine.

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: Friday

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 three full A4 pages per candidate (e.g. if a pair work on print work the minimum is SIX 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 (opening of a TV programme aimed at E4 audience) OR the other Y12 briefs (a three-minute extract from a 30-minute arthouse film; 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: Produce the opening few scenes of your TV programme establishing narrative themes, characters and location. You could include a title sequence and your finished product should be approximately two minutes long.


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 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:


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

Mr Halsey cover work – 06/01/16

Apologies – I won’t be in lessons on Wednesday for family reasons. 

Today is the deadline for your critical investigation first draft. 

Use this double lesson to proof-read your essay, check the formatting, ensure it is correctly referenced and has a complete bibliography. You also need a word count at the end (the word count does not include the bibliography). 

Remember, you need to submit a printed copy (1.5 line spaced) AND an electronic copy on your blog.

Here’s an example of a previous critical investigation that is formatted and referenced correctly in case you’re not sure how it should look.

Mr Qureshi is on hand if you have any questions and I’ll be back next lesson – good luck!

Happy new year!

Welcome back and happy new year for 2016!

We’ve got an incredibly important term coming up – it’s only 11 weeks in total but 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 (MM54) has excellent features on gender representation (both male and female), Media violence, social media and identity and why watching films is good for you. There may well be articles that are relevant to your critical investigations as well as exam preparation.

• Using our incredible NEW 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. This blogpost from before Christmas picks out many of the most relevant factsheets for our exam revision.

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!