These are your last lessons on your NDM independent case study - now it's time to prepare a presentation.
This case study will make up at least two crucial paragraphs in your MEST3 Section B essay on New and Digital Media. Make sure you complete the following: 1) Make sure you have answered every question in the original NDM case study blogpost in full. 2) Create a 20-slide, five minute Ignite presentation in which you teach the rest of the class about your chosen case study. Fill it with useful information that other students could use in Section A of the MEST3 exam - statistics, the decline of traditional industries, particular texts, artists or institutions etc. 3) Set your presentation to 15-second auto-advance and rehearse the delivery prior to presenting to class after Easter. Final deadline for NDM case study and presentation delivery date: Monday 24 April
The third research task for your New/Digital Media independent case study is find recent online articles about your institution and industry that give you up-to-the-minute examples, statistics and quotes. The very nature of new and digital media means the landscape is constantly changing and examiners love seeing examples from the days and weeks leading up to the exam. You may want to look back at your index of NDM stories you have been collecting weekly since September - this is when finding great articles all year really pays off. Other good sources are the usual newspaper media/tech pages... The Guardian: Digital Media The Guardian: Technology The Independent: Media News The Telegraph: Digital Media News ...but don't stick exclusively to these. Find your own too - there may be blogs, magazines such as the Economist, industry-specific sites and more. We've also been linking stories from our Twitter account all year - @blogmacguffin - so make sure you're following that and look back at what we've posted over the last couple of months too.
The original case study structure and task list is here - use this as a guide for your research but don't be constricted by it. Whatever relevant information you can find is going to be useful. Ultimately, you are working on a blog post similar to your critical investigation Notes and Quotes document - and the quality and depth of this blog post will largely determine your final MEST3 exam grade. Your next deadline is 3,500 words on your NDM case study blog post by Tuesday 18 April.
A reminder we have confirmed dates for A Level Media Easter coursework sessions. The sessions will take place on: Monday 3 April 9am - 3pm (Mr Bush & Ms Quinn) Tuesday 4 April 9am - 3pm (Mr Halsey & Ms Quinn) Wednesday 5 April 9am - 3pm (Ms Quinn)
We are VERY lucky to be able to open up the Media department for three days so make the most of it. Media computers and equipment will be available on all three days but if you want feedback and an idea of what grade you're working at you will need to see your coursework teacher on the relevant day or email them. Ms Quinn will be on hand for advice and guidance but will be running the Wednesday session single-handedly so please bear with her. Good luck with the coursework and keep working to those phenomenal professional standards we know you are capable of!
The second research task for your New/Digital Media independent case study is to use our archive of A Level Media factsheets. This is a brilliant resource with 140+ A Level-standard factsheets on a huge variety of Media topics. There will almost certainly be a factsheet in the archive on your chosen industry or institution - and there may be several. A few examples include: 050 We Media 067 Lady Gaga and the digital music industry 083 The impact of new media on TV 104 Audiences in the digital age 112 Netflix 113 TV and social media 114 Online privacy: Google 122 The changing face of the music industry
You'll find the archive on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets Make sure you read the relevant factsheets infull - as well as making notes and highlighting key quotes and statistics. The original case study structure and task list is here - use this as a guide for your research but don't be constricted by it. Whatever relevant information you can find is going to be useful. Ultimately, you will end up with a blog post similar to your critical investigation Notes and Quotes document - and the quality and depth of this blog post will largely determine your final MEST3 exam grade. Remember your current deadline: 1,500 words on your NDM case study blog post by Monday 27 March.
The first research task for your New/Digital Media independent case study is to use the Media Magazine archive. This is an invaluable resource that you have already used for your critical investigations. Now, you need to return to the archive to find any relevant articles on your chosen industry and institution. Use our Media Magazine archive but particularly the Word document with the contents page for each issue to search for relevant articles. Bear in mind there have been some particularly good features in recent issues released since you did your critical investigation research. Make sure you read the articles in full - as well as making notes and highlighting key quotes and statistics. The original case study structure and task list is here - use this as a guide for your research but don't be constricted by it. Whatever relevant information you can find is going to be useful. Ultimately, you will end up with a blog post similar to your critical investigation Notes and Quotes document - and the quality and depth of this blog post will largely determine your final MEST3 exam grade. If you're wondering what this Media Magazine research might look like, here's a great example from last year. Remember, Rabia went on to achieve an A* in Media so this is the level we're aiming for! Note: you need to have your industry and text/institution approved by your exam teacher before you begin this research. Do this by email if you miss the lesson due to PPEs. Your initial deadline is 1,500 words on your NDM case study blog post by Monday 27 March.
You've studied your main New/Digital Media case study, the news industry, in great detail and have also covered the second exam topic: Identities and the Media. You now need an independent New/Digital Media case study for your Section B exam essay. This should be on an aspect of the media YOU are particularly interested in. Choose an industry - it could be film, music, gaming, social media or something else. You then have to choose a case study within that industry - it could be a particular text (e.g. film, game etc.) or an institution (e.g. Rockstar Games or Snapchat). Once you have selected your case study you need to get it approved by your teacher - and then embark on the tasks below. You will have lesson time to complete this case study and regular deadlines to complete for each section. First deadline: establish the basics for approval by your teacher - due Monday 20 March.
Case study research tasks The basics Your chosen industry: Your chosen case study (i.e. text/institution etc.): Have you received approval for this case study from your teacher? Yes/No Research and answer the following tasks on your MEST3 exam blog: Audience 1) How has new and digital media changed the audience experience in your chosen industry? 2) Has new and digital media changed the way the audience consume your chosen product? 3) Has the size of the audience changed as a result of new and digital media? 4) What are the positive changes new and digital media have brought to the audience of your case study? (E.g. greater choice, easier access etc.) 5) What are the negative changes new and digital media have had on your chosen audience? (E.g. quality of product etc.) 6) What about audience pleasures - have these changed as a result of new and digital media? 7) What is the target audience for your chosen case study? Write a demographic/psychographic profile. Institution 1) How has new and digital media had an impact on ownership or control in your chosen industry? 2) What impact has new and digital media had on ownership in your chosen case study? 3) How has new and digital media changed the way institutions produce texts? 4) How has new and digital media changed the way institutions distribute their product? 5) How might new and digital media threaten your chosen industry? 6) How has new and digital media changed the way your chosen industry is regulated? UGC 1) What examples of user-generated content can you find in your case study? 2) How has UGC changed things for audiences or institutions in your chosen case study? Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony 1) What would be a Marxist perspective of the impact of new and digital media on your chosen case study? 2) How would a pluralist view the impact of new and digital media in your chosen industry? 3) Are there any examples of hegemony in your chosen industry or case study? Globalisation 1) How has globalisation impacted on your chosen industry or case study? 2) In your opinion, has globalisation had a positive or negative impact on your chosen industry and case study? Why? 3) Can you find examples of cultural imperialism in your case study or industry? (The 'Americanisation' of the world) Social media 1) How has your industry or case study used social media to promote its products? 2) Provide examples of how your case study has used social media and explain the impact this would have on audiences. 3) Is social media an opportunity or a threat to your industry and case study? Statistics 1) What statistics can you find to illustrate the impact new and digital media has had on your industry or case study? For example, in news, the UK newspaper industry sold more than 12m copies a day in 2001 but in 2014 it was below 7m. 2) Looking at these statistics, what impact has new/digital media had on institutions in your chosen industry? 3) What has the impact been for audiences? These may be positive and negative. Theories 1) What media theories can you apply to your chosen industry and case study? Select THREE media theories and explain how they are relevant to your case study. Note: these can be ANY of the theories we have learned over the whole of Year 12 and 13. Issues/debates 1) What media issues and debates can you apply to your chosen industry and case study? Select THREE media issues/debates and explain how they are relevant to your case study. Wider examples and secondary texts 1) What other texts or institutions are also relevant to your case study? What would be good secondary texts or examples to use to support the findings of your independent case study? Ignite presentation When you have completed your independent case study research, prepare a 20-slide, 5 minute Ignite presentation on your chosen industry and case study. You will present this in class to widen our overall knowledge of the impact of new and digital media on a variety of industries, examples and texts. Remember the Ignite rules:
20 slides
15-second auto-advance
No more than 20 words on each slide
You will not be able to include ALL of the above sections so be selective and choose the aspects you feel will be most interesting and relevant to your audience - the rest of the class.
Your upcoming MEST3 mock will be the first time you have attempted Section A for this crucial exam. Although it shares some similarities, it is noticeably different to Section A in MEST1 and therefore requires a different set of strategies and revision. The key difference is that you will be presented with TWO unseen media texts. These can be in the form of a video clip or printed on paper (print or e-media platform). Alternative, you may get one of each. You then have THREE questions to answer in 45 minutes. The marks and timing is as follows: Question 1 Media forms - 8 marks - 10 minutes Question 2 linked to Identity, New/Digital Media or media debates - 12 marks - 15 minutes Question 3 linked to Identity, New/Digital Media or media debates - 12 marks - 15 minutes The critical element of Section A is that questions 2 and 3 require a wide variety of examples from across the media - in effect, this is a mini essay. To reach the top level, you must discuss media texts that are NOT the unseen texts in the exam. This is where your case studies, NDM story index and Year 12 work need to come to the fore. MEST3 Section A: blog tasks Question 1 preparation: Media forms 1) Revise your key media terminology and theory from Year 12: Film Language & MIGRAIN. 2) Watch a series of media texts on YouTube (TV programme openings, trailers, adverts, music videos etc.) and write notes on the use of media language to communicate a message to the audience. Try and apply key media terminology such as narrative or ideology to the text. Question 2 preparation: Identities and the Media (Note: this question could be either Identities or New/Digital Media) 1) Revise your case studies from Year 12 with a particular focus on identity: Ill Manors (e.g. youth, politics, ideology), British film industry (e.g heritage cinema, national identity), your independent case study etc. 2) Revise our Year 13 Identities and the Media unit - making sure you know the examples and theories well enough to apply them in the exam. 3) Use these potential Identities and the Media Section A questions to plan responses and revise key examples from across the media. Question 3 preparation: New/Digital Media (Note: this question could be either Identities or New/Digital Media) 1) Revise any new/digital media aspects to your case studies from Year 12: e.g. Ill Manors Tag London campaign, A Field In England distribution strategy, your independent case study etc. 2) Revise our Year 13 New/Digital Media and News unit - making sure you know the examples and theories well enough to apply them in the exam. 3) Revise your index of NDM stories - updated to at least 48 last lesson. It is advisable to go through the stories and perhaps pick 10-15 particularly relevant, memorable or controversial stories that could add real depth and discussion to a mini-essay response. Learn the key statistics or quotes that you will need to apply them in the exam. 4) Use these potential New/Digital Media Section A questions to plan responses and revise key examples from across the media. Ultimately, the number of marks you receive will depend on how well you engage with and answer the question. The reason you need to revise lots of examples is so you can choose the most relevant to whatever question comes up in the exam. Your mock exam is on Friday 24 March at 8.30am. Good luck!
Now that we've finished our work on Identities and the Media, you need to put together an index so you can easily access your work for revision. Your Identities and Media index should include the following:
Remember, your index should link to YOUR blogpost for each of these tasks.
This is a significant amount of work and should prepare you well both for the MEST3 exam and potentially help with your Critical Investigation final draft too.
Next week we will be returning to New/Digital Media and developing our independent case study for MEST3 Section B.
New/digital media story index You also need to update your index of new/digital media stories that you have been posting each week. Your TOTAL number of stories should reach AT LEAST 48. You can add to a previous index if you wish but need to update the posting date to bring it to the top of your blog. If you don't finish any of these tasks in the lesson you must finish for homework - due next lesson without fail.
Our final topic for Identities and the Media is collective identity: the sense of belonging to a group. This is something the media has a huge influence over - everything from advertising to social media profiles can affect our sense of identity and where we fit in. We need to learn some key theories and also consider the impact of new and digital technology on issues of collective identity. Notes and key theories Collective identity Collective identity is the shared sense of belonging to a group. In Media Studies, we need to consider the influence media has over a person’s sense of identity. This is closely linked to the key concept of representation as the way groups are portrayed in the media can influence our sense of identity.
Collective identity: theories
Marxism and the Frankfurt School
Marxists believe identity is constructed through hegemony imposed by the ruling elite. A sense of individual identity is a myth that prevents people challenging powerful groups.
This links to the Frankfurt School, a group of influential Marxists who viewed media audiences as passive vessels. They believe the media is used to control and manipulate people. Example: Apple branding Apple’s early branding suggested individuality and creative freedom... But in fact it was always a massive profit-seeking corporation looking to sell as widely as possible.
Later, iPhone adverts subtly suggested a certain lifestyle that has become synonymous with Apple products. Everything suggests creative possibility and individual opportunity but Marxists would argue this merely hides the fact we are being manipulated by a faceless corporation into handing Apple huge amounts of money (why is an iPhone so much more expensive than an Android phone for example?)
Daniel Chandler: CAGE
Daniel Chandler suggested the acronym CAGE, stating our identity is constructed through class, age, gender and ethnicity.
Does this still apply in the 21st century? Do we construct our own identities along these lines? Think about your presence on social media.
Stuart Hall: media construction
Stuart Hall suggests the media actively constructs our society rather than reflecting it back.
Our identity is part of this and therefore any sense of individuality we may feel is actually constructed through the media we engage with.
Constructing our own identities
New technology has changed the way we see ourselves and others. Through social media we can construct identities for ourselves.
Example: Facebook/Instagram
How did you choose your profile pic?
What do you ‘like’?
What groups have you joined?
How many friends do you have? How many people 'like' your posts?
Does social media have a positive influence over our identity? Or is it corrosive? Simon Sinek's view on the millennial generation went viral a few months ago and is worth watching again for the section on social media, technology and how it influences our sense of identity:
Shared identity online
New technology has also created the opportunity for people to form groups online that represent their shared identity. This is a much more positive influence of new technology and the internet on collective identity. Think about the work we have already done on feminism and online activism - blogs, forums, social media accounts and whole campaigns and movements (#blacklivesmatter) have given audiences a new sense of collective identity. These can empower individuals and create a strong sense of belonging - think back to Sherry Turkle's famous description of the internet as a place to be "alone together".
Collective identity in the 21st Century
So, collective identity doesn’t just refer to representations in mainstream media. It also refers to self-constructed identity by users of social media and communities formed online of shared identity (e.g. Feminism).
Collective identity: blog task
Read the Media Magazine article on collective identity: Self-image and the Media (MM41 - page 6). Our Media Magazine archive is here. Complete the following tasks on your blog: 1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?' 2) List five brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity. 3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?
4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more. 5) Is your presence on social media an accurate reflection of who you are? Have you ever added or removed a picture from a social media site purely because of what it says about the type of person you are? 6) What is your opinion on 'data mining'? Are you happy for companies to sell you products based on your social media presence and online search terms? Is this an invasion of privacy? You will have lesson time to complete this but will need to finish for homework anything you do not cover in the lesson(s). Deadline: confirmed by your teacher.
We've focused on how film can influence our sense of identity and who we are - but how does the wider media influence this? Our work on Feminism concluded with how Jean Killbourne documented the influence advertising can have on women's self-esteem and as part of our identities and the media unit we need to consider media effects and the impact on audiences. This will also allow us to bring in some of our work from Year 12 that may be useful in the MEST3 exam. Complete the following tasks using Media Factsheet 121: Identities and the Media. You'll find it in our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets Read the Factsheet in full and then complete the following tasks: 1) The Factsheet discusses how identity is a complex subject. What does it suggest defines our identity? 2) Complete the task on page 2: suggest media texts that could reinforce that someone is non-mainstream; edgy; a pleasure seeker; fashionable; witty and fun; cutting-edge. 3) What examples are suggested for a case study on urban youth? 4) What does Hebdige argue with regards to youth culture? 5) What other theorists are referenced alongside Hebdige? How do they link to the issue of youth identity? 6) How can we link our Year 12 case study on Ill Manors to youth and identity? What specific examples from the case study could be used to discuss Hebdige’s theory that youth culture challenges mainstream culture and dominant ideologies? 7) What does theorist David Gauntlett suggest regarding the media’s influence over the construction of identities?
8) Do you agree that Hebdige’s view that youth culture will always seek to resist mainstream culture and challenge dominant ideologies?
Complete for homework: due date set by your exam class teacher.
