2. A2 Media Studies Exam – Section A:
Theoretical Evaluation of Coursework
In Section A you answer both 1(a) and 1(b).
Question 1(a) will ask you to discuss the development of your skills from
AS to A2 in relation to one or two of the following aspects:
•Digital Technology
•Creativity
•Research and Planning
•Post-production
•Using conventions from real media texts
3. 1(a)
• In the exam you should spend about 30 minutes
answering question 1(a). In order to do well on
this question you must remember to:
• Discuss both your AS and A2 coursework
• Demonstrate progress from AS to A2
• Refer to specific examples from your coursework
productions
• Use terminology
4. 1(b)
Question 1(b) will ask you to select one of your coursework
products, either AS or A2 and analyse it relation to one of the
following specified theoretical concepts:
•Narrative
•Audience
•Genre
•Representation
•Media Language
5. 1(b)
• You will need to spend about 30 minutes
answering question 1(b) in the exam. In order to
do well you should:
• Demonstrate your understanding of media theory
• Relate theory to a range of specific examples from
your coursework product
• Use theoretical and production terminology well
8. GENRE – FILM/MUSIC
VIDEO
You have 5 minutes to write down how your Foundation
Portfolio film opening or your Advanced Portfolio music
video fits into a specific genre
•How is it generically structured as a film opening?
•What generic features of a music video are contained within?
•Sub-genre: Thriller/Music video genre –
performance/pastiche/narrative/abstract (does this contain
recognisable narratives e.g. Romance?)
Back this up with specific examples that show how you’ve
replicated this genre
Must be specific – titles, actions, camera/sound/MES/editing
9. PROBLEMS WITH GENRE CLASSIFICATION
Theorist and Critic Rick Altman (1999) came up with a list of points he found problematic
with genre classification .
a) Genre is a useful category, because it bridges multiple concerns.
b) Genres are defined by the film industry and recognised by the mass audience.
c) Genres have clear, stable identities and borders.
d) Individual films belong wholly and permanently to a single genre.
e) Genres are transhistorical.
f) Genres undergo predictable development.
g) Genres are located in particular topic and narrative structure
h) Genre films share certain fundamental characteristics.
i) Genres have either a ritual or ideological function.
j) Genre critics are distanced from the practice of genre.
You can refer to Altman in creating a counter-argument to the traditional theorists in
explaining divergences in genre
10. GENRE THEORY
Daniel Chandler: Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on the notion
that they constitute particular conventions of content (such as themes or settings -
iconography) and/or form (including structure and style) which are shared by the
texts which are regarded as belonging to them.
The Shining could be read according to this
theory as conventionally, thrillers will seek to
place protagonists in an isolated location – The
Overlook Hotel
This convention is emphasised in
the film’s climax whenJack
pursues his wife into a bathroom
where she cannot escape. Pursuit
of an innocent victim as another
thematic convention (cf. North
by Northwest, Cape Fear)
11. LILY, THE MESSAGE,
PARIAH
Think carefully about your own films
Themes and Iconography
(plot
info/props/characters...)
Structure and Style
(camerawork and editing)
12. Rick Altman argues that genres are usually defined in terms of
media language (SEMANTIC elements) and codes (in the Thriller,
for example: guns, urban landscape, victims, stalkers, menaced
women OR certain ideologies and narratives (SYNTACTIC
elements – Anxiety, tension, menacing situation)
Tom Ryall (1998) sees this framework provided by the generic
system; therefore, genre becomes a recognisable collection of
images, sounds, stories, characters, and expectations
TRADITIONAL GENRE
THEORISTS
13. John Fiske defines genres as ‘attempts to structure some order into
the wide range of texts and meanings…for the convenience of both
producers and audiences.’
Steve Neale (1990) argues that Hollywood’s generic regime performs
two inter-related functions:
i)to guarantee meanings and pleasures for audiences [we enjoy
what we know]
ii)to play it safe with recognisable genres [hard-to-define films don’t
do well, financially at box office: Donnie Darko, Shawshank
Redemption]
Dial M For Murder
Cape Fear
Vertigo Dial M For Murder
14. Steve Neale declares that 'genres are instances of repetition and difference'
He adds that 'difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre': mere
repetition would not attract an audience.
Memento is a conventional thriller in
terms of plot – Protagonist seeks revenge
against his wife’s murderer. Yet the
narrative style creates the generic
divergence in being told backwards
Texts often exhibit the conventions of more than one genre. John Hartley
notes that 'the same text can belong to different genres in different countries or
times' E.g. Alien as bearing the iconography of a Science Fiction film (setting,
props, characters), but the stylistic approach of a Horror – Extreme close-ups
and heavy use of low-key lighting to unsettle audience
15. STEVE NEALE
Genres are ‘constantly changing and evolving’ and are not set
in stone. He thinks there are 5 main stages in film genres. Which
stage does your film fit into? Explain why.
Thrillers
The form finding itself (Vertigo)
The classic (The Shining/Usual Suspects/LA Confidential)
Stretching the boundaries of the genre (Memento)
Parody (High Anxiety)
Homage (Shutter Island)
16. Traditional argument: Genre is fixed.
Contemporary argument: 'genre is not... simply "given" by the culture:
rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change' - David
Buckingham
Buckingham’s argument therefore would compare nicely to Steve Neale
to add a further theoretical approach to your response
Fatal Attraction
Casino Royale Casino Royale
17. Nicholas Abercrombie (1996) – The boundaries between genres
are shifting and becoming more permeable. He identifies the use of genre
for media producers when he writes “Television producers set out to
exploit genre conventions” – Can apply this to Music Videos/Films
David Bordwell ‘any theme may appear in any genre' ‘One could...
argue that no set of necessary and sufficient conditions can mark off
genres from other sorts of groupings in ways that all experts or ordinary
film-goers would find acceptable'
HOWEVER,
18. Daniel Chandler: Embedded within texts are assumptions about the
'ideal reader', including their attitudes towards the subject matter and
often their class, age, gender and ethnicity.
David Buckingham
Attack The Block
CONTEMPORARY
GENRE THEORISTS
19. MUSIC VIDEO GENRE
THEORY
Katie Wales, 'genre is... an intertextual concept', and nowhere is
this more appropriate than with music videos
Andrew Goodwin - music videos follow the following
conventions:
1.Conventions depend on the genre of the music
2.Star persona is important and companies use close ups to sell
them to the audience
3.Voyeuristic images are used to attract an audience
4.They often contain intertextual references to other media
5.There is a link between the lyrics and the visuals
6.There is a link between the visuals and the music / pace etc
20. ANDREW GOODWIN
‘DANCING IN THE DISTRACTION
FACTORY’
Certain music genres contain conventions that audiences
wish to see:
•Rock bands traditionally will have performances of the band
energetically singing the track – perhaps in front of an audience,
drummers emphatically drumming, singers scowling down the mic
– all to show how tough they are
•Girl bands traditionally have a focus on heavily choreography
dance routines, fashion, attitude, independence
21. SVEN E CARLSSON
Music videos mostly fall under 2 categories:
•Performance (dance, song or instrumental focus)
•Conceptual (abstract ideas the artist wants to promote
through their song)
22. APPLYING THEORY
You have 5 minutes to explain how your film opening or
music video is part of the ‘classic, traditional’ or
‘experimental, contemporary’ ideas of genre theory
•Refer to specific examples from your production that show
how your text as a ‘classic’ or ‘evolving’ piece
•Refer to specific theorists
23. HOMEWORK – DUE
NEXT THURSDAY
Apply theories of Genre to one of your production pieces.
[25]
Explanation/Analysis/Argument – 10marks
Use of Examples – 10marks
Use of Terminology – 5marks
24. 'Uses and gratifications‘ research has identified many potential
pleasures of genre, including the following:
•One pleasure may simply be the recognition of the features of a
particular genre because of our familiarity with it. [we enjoy what
we know]
•Genres may offer various emotional pleasures such as empathy
and escapism - a feature which some theoretical commentaries
seem to lose sight of.
•Deborah Knight notes that 'satisfaction is guaranteed with
genre; the deferral of the inevitable provides the additional
pleasure of prolonged anticipation‘ [we anticipate what a genre
conventionally includes, the enjoyment is in the payoff]
GENRE AND AUDIENCE
25. PROBLEMS WITH GENRE CLASSIFICATION
Theorist and Critic Rick Altman (1999) came up with a list of points he found problematic
with genre classification .
a) Genre is a useful category, because it bridges multiple concerns.
b) Genres are defined by the film industry and recognised by the mass audience.
c) Genres have clear, stable identities and borders.
d) Individual films belong wholly and permanently to a single genre.
e) Genres are transhistorical.
f) Genres undergo predictable development.
g) Genres are located in particular topic, structure and corpus.
h) Genre films share certain fundamental characteristic.
i) Genres have either a ritual or ideological function.
j) Genre critics are distanced from the practice of genre.
27. Plot vs. Narrative
• Plot = the chronological events of a story.
E.g. The story of Titanic begins when
people board a really big boat and it ends
with the peaceful death of the old lady
(Rose).
• Narrative = the organisation of this story.
E.g. The film of Titanic begins in the
present with the old lady relaying her story
before the film has prolonged flashbacks to
the past
28. Create a Narrative from these Plot
events
A plum is eaten
A telephone rings
Busy traffic
A man dies
Ink
Spills
29. Theorists you need to know (and
learn to love)
• Tzvetan Todorov (Structure of narrative)
• Vladimir Propp (Characters in narratives)
• Roland Barthes (Codes of narratives)
• Claude Levi-Strauss (Binary oppositions)
34. Complete the left-hand column as we re-
watch your film then number the order –
Think about use of voiceover too
Narrative Event Chronological Plot
Order
35. TODOROV
Todorov describes narrative as going from equilibrium to
disequilibrium back to an altered equilibrium
Todorov describes narrative as going from equilibrium to
disequilibrium back to an altered equilibrium
Standard 3-
point
narrative.
•Beginning
•Middle
•End
More
detailed 5-
point
narrative
36. TODOROV
Equilibrium: (sets the scene)
Everyday Life
Disruption: (complication)
Something happens to alter the equilibrium
Conflict: (climax)
Trying to solve the problem (seek resolution)
Resolution:
Problem is sorted
New Equilibrium: (satisfactory end)
Back to normal (but never the same)- a new normal
37. Barthes
Barthes describes narrative as a series of codes that are read and
interpreted by the audience
Barthes describes narrative as a series of codes that are read and
interpreted by the audience
38. Barthes’ 5 CodesAction Code:
something the audience knows and doesn't need explaining e.g. someone being
wheeled out on a stretcher tells us they are going to hospital
Enigma Code:
something hidden from the audience (creates intrigue)
Semic Code:
something that the audience recognize through connotations
Symbolic Code:
Something that symbolizes a more abstract concept e.g. a darker than usual room of
a murder scene could symbolize the depth of darkness and depravity
Cultural Code:
Something that is read with understanding due to cultural awareness (e.g. youth
culture use certain words that are understood by that culture)
42. Propp
Studied Russian folktales and created a list of
distinguishable character typologies (categories)
including:
• The hero (sent on a quest)
• The villain (struggles against hero)
• The princess/prize (what the hero
seeks in completing the quest)
• The donor (gives vital information
or object to hero)
• The helper (aids in the quest)
43. LEVI-STRAUSS
Levi-Strauss describes narrative as created by constant
conflict of binary opposites
Levi-Strauss describes narrative as created by constant
conflict of binary opposites
Love – Hate
Black – White
Man – Nature
Light – Darkness
Peace – War
Protagonist –Antagonist
Movement – Stillness
Civilized – Savage
Young – Old
Control – Panic
Strong – Weak
Man – Woman
Wealth – Poverty
Mankind – Aliens
Humans – Technology
Ignorance - Wisdom
46. Propp’s eight character roles and
how they can be applied to the
shining.
The villain— struggles against the hero- In the shining
this character type could be considered to be either Jack as
he gets possessed and tries to kill his family or the hotel as
this is what possesses him.
The dispatcher—character who makes the lack known
and sends the hero off- This character type can not be
related to The Shining
The helper — helps the hero in the quest- In the shining
the helper could be the character Dick as he does help
Danny at some stages throughout the film and Danny
could be seen as one of the heroes.. However, this does
not directly relate.
47. The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable
to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. the hero's
journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain-
In the shining the princess or prize would be the main female protagonist Wendy
as she is the only female character; the former husband Jack deserves her but as
he comes possessed he no longer deserves her. The prize could be the character
Danny.
48. The donor —prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object- The
donor in The Shining could be the character Dick as he enabled Danny to use
his power by making him aware of it.
The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess- The
hero in The Shining could either be Danny or Wendy as they both survive until
the end.
False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess-
The false hero could either be Jack as he pretends to be someone he is not or it
could be Dick.
49. To some extent, Propp's eight character types do relate
to the film The Shining. However, not all of them can
be connected such as; the dispatcher and the father.
51. Bordwell and Thompson never did come up with a
complete narrative theory, they did however come up
with some interesting ideas.
They believed that chain of events within a media
form cause effects on a relationship occurring in time
and space and the narrative shapes this material in
terms of time space such as; where and when things
take place. This can be portrayed through using
effects to show the time and space by using flash
backs, forwarding time, slow motion and speeding
up.
52. This theory is evident within The shining. We see
the character Jack having flashbacks from past
events and we see Danny seeing things in the
future due to his power. Inter titles are used
frequently within the movie showing which day it
is connoting the high impact of the time in this
film.
54. Claude Levi- Strauss looked at narrative structure in terms of "
Binary oppositions" focusing on the different sets of opposite
values which reveal the structure of the media texts. His
narrative theory is different compared to other theorists as he
focused more on the arrangement of themes rather than the order
of a media text.
55. Examples of these binary
oppositions could be :
Earth – space
Good – bad
Past- Present
Normal- abnormal
Humans- Aliens
Known- Unknown
Dead- Alive
Happy- sad
Weak- strong
56. These binary oppositions can be applied to the film
The Shining in several ways. They moved to an
Isolated place when they were used to living in a
civilised area. The character Jack’s sanctity changed as
he became insane. Another example of these binary
oppositions could be the character Wendy; she
appeared weak at the beginning of the film but then
became a much stronger character at the end. Lastly
Danny appeared to be a normal boy at the beginning
but he soon realised, with Dick’s guidance that he had
a power.
58. Todorov was a Bulgarian linguist who produced and
published influential narrative theory work from the
1960’s onwards. His theory suggested that stories
begin with an equilibrium where any opposing force
are in balance. This equilibrium is then disrupted by
an event which leads to a series of other events
leading to the stereotypical end of all major events
being restored.
59. Todorov’s narrative theory can be applied to The Shining as the
film begins normally – the family moving away. A change in
equilibrium then occurs- Jack slowly becoming mental and then
the enigma is then resolved at the end as Jack dies and Wendy
and Danny escape unharmed.
60. Complex narrative structure
Today’s narratives have become increasingly complex as
producers know that audiences have a greater sense of media
literacy when it comes to making meaning of the text and reading
the signs. There are often numerous plot twists and surprises that
keep the audience intrigued with carefully spun storylines.
Films such as “Memento” (Nolan,2000) which weaves the story in
reverse gives the audience a similar experience to the protagonist
who has short term memory loss, as they try and fit the clues
together through the use of restricted narrative.
Unrestricted Narrative: What the are assumed to know e.g.
thriller there will be a crime so they will be expecting it
Restricted Narrative: The information that is withheld from thehttp://quizlet.com/4162490/narrative-theorists-flash-cards/
Now test your knowledge:
62. John Hartley
His best-selling book, Reading Television published
inin 1978 andco-authored with John Fiske, was the
first to analyse television from a cultural perspective,
and is considered a defining publication in the field.
This work also established Hartley as a pioneer and
international leader in contemporary television and
cultural studies.
63. The Hartley Classification
There are 7 socially grouped categories when it comes to
identifying audience:
• Self – ambitions or interests of the audience
• Gender
• Age Group
• Class – different social classes e.g. working, upper etc.
• Ethnicity
• Family
• Nation
64. Hartley also suggests that institutions produce:
“Invisible fictions of the audience which allow the
institutions to get a sense of who they must enter into
relations with”
In other words, they must know their audience to be
able to target them effectively.
66. Stuart Hall
• How messages are produced by media institutions
for the audience to receive
Four-Stage process
1.Production
2.Communication
3.Use (Distribution or Consumption)
4.Re-production
The focus and control is on the producer encoding a
message for the audience to respond to
67.
68. Criticism for this model of theory
• A linear approach to consuming media
• Allows for little interaction by the audience
• Producer is autonomous (they decide what
they want audience to understand)
• This model is rapidly losing favour in a
Media 2.0 society (re: Gauntlett)
70. Reception Theory
• In decoding the messages of media producers, audiences
will create their own meaning according to 3 readings:
1. Dominant (the preferred meaning the producer wants
them to have)
2. Negotiated (audience mostly accept the meaning but
may resist or challenge certain aspects)
3. Oppositional (a rejection of the dominant code leading
to an alternative result e.g. when watching a television
broadcast produced on behalf of a political party they
normally vote against).
71. The idea of audience is
changing…
• Julian McDougall (2009) suggests that in
the online age it is getting harder to
conceive a media audience as a stable,
identifiable group.
• However, audiences still make sense of and
give meaning to products.
72. Ien Ang
• Ien Ang, a leading professor of
Cultural Studies believes “audiences
only exist as an imaginary entity, an
abstraction, constructed from the
vantage point of the institution, in
the interest of the institution”.
• She follows the belief that media
forms are not truly reflective of
people’s views and serve only to aid
producers
73. Denis McQuail
• An audience can be described as a
temporary collective (McQuail, 1972). ‡
• Key terms: Mass / Niche & Mainstream /
Alternative
74. Julian McDougall
Often provocative and controversial, McDougall explores issues in education,
and calls on educators to abandon their prejudices and engage with what
students are already actually doing with new media forms. Building on work
from David Buckingham, Steven Johnson and David Gauntlett, he advocates
a shift away from students viewing cultural products as texts to a view where
even video games need analysis, explanation and research.
In this way, he is very much an advocate of exploring new and less traditional
forms of literacy, as well as analysing the relationship between new media
and postmodern theories,
Audiences ‡ Julian McDougall (2009) suggests that in the online age it is getting
harder to conceive a media audience as a stable, identifiable group. ‡
However audiences still clearly make sense and give meaning to cultural
products. ‡
An audience can be described as a temporary collective (McQuail, 1972). ‡ Key
terms: Mass / Niche & Mainstream / Alternative
75. John Hartley
• “Institutions are obliged to speak not only about an audience,
but crucially, for them, to talk to one as well; they need not
only to represent audiences but to enter in to relation with
them”
• Also suggests institutions should produce “invisible fictions
of the audience which allow the institutions to get a sense of
who they must enter into relations with”
• Therefore, the institutions must know their audience, in order
to target them effectively.
76. However
• Audiences still make sense and give
meaning to cultural products.
• Audiences are necessary for media products
to work as without a a demographic to aim
at (however niche or mainstream) it would
not be received by anyone.
77. Hypodermic Needle Theory
• The Hypodermic Needle Theory, also
known as the Magic Bullet Theory, was the
first major theory concerning the effect of
the mass media on society. Originating in
the 1920s, the theory was based on the
premise of an all-powerful media with
uniform and direct effects on the viewer or
audience. (i.e. information is injected into
audiences)
78.
79. Blumler and Katz
Uses and Gratifications Theory
• The Gratifications Theory assumes audiences
actively seek out media to satisfy individual
needs. The uses and gratifications theory looks
to answer three questions:
• What do people do with the media?
• What are their underlying motives for using
said media?
• What are the pros cons of this this individual
media use?
80. Uses and Gratifications
What the audience does for the media not what the media does for the audience.
Audience takes an active role on their media choice, which by seeking out the
media, a person fulfils the need to be informed:
(1) Diversion - Escapism.
(2) Personal Relationships - Substitution of media for companionship.
(3) Personal Identity or Individual Psychology - Value reinforcement or
reassurance; self-understanding.
(4) Surveillance - Information about factors which might affect them
personally, or will help audience do or accomplish something.
83. Representation
• How the media shows us things about
society through careful mediation of
re-presenting a shared view of the world
84. Stuart Hall
In our modern world our life is saturated with
visual representations
85. What do these images signify?
Consider:
Colour
Symbolism
86.
87. What do these images signify?
Consider:
Clothing
Props
Gesture
88. What do these images signify?
Consider:
Costume
Props
Differences in clothing and
positioning
89. How to apply theory in your
writing and use the theorists
• Assume your reader knows about the
theory/theorist
• Don’t explain the theory; use it
• A Todorovian analysis would argue...
• Steve Neale’s statements that Genre is ‘made up
of repetition and change’ could be useful here
because...
• Barthes’ notion of action codes provides a
useful way of understanding the film in that...
90. Ferdinand de Saussure -
Semiotics
• Meaning is constructed through the interpretation of
signs.
– Signifier = the physical/visual object i.e. A knife
– Signified = the meaning it creates i.e. Threat,
aggression, violence/self-defence and protection
• Representations are created through signs which signify
meaning. Like the knife, signs can have more than one
meaning leading to a polysemic reading of signs
91. Look over your images again
• Can you apply Saussure’s semiotics to
polysemic representations of the visual
signs in the frames?
92. List the characters in your films
• Who are they?
• What roles do they have in the narrative?
93. Richard Dyer
Stereotypes
• Stereotype (first used as a term by Walter
Lippmann in 1956)
• Has come to be defined as a negative
representation or over-simplification of a
category of people in a group
• Dyer explains that stereotypes reinforce
ideas of differences between people which
are natural – i.e. Criminals are represented
as low-lifes, untrustworthy...
94. Counter argument – Tessa
Perkins (1979)
• Stereotypes are not always negative
• Are not always about minority groups
• Stereotypes are not always false
• Apply this to your characters in your films
– E.g. What social group(s) do your characters
belong to? How is this made clear?
– What age group do your characters belong to
(e.g. Nervous, unsure teenagers...)
95. Counter Argument – David
Gauntlett and Martin Barker
• Identities are not given but are constructed
and negotiated (Gauntlett)
• Martin Barker condemned stereotypes for
mis-representing the real world by
reinforcing false stereotypes
96. Baudrillard
• Postmodern theorist
• Argues that representations no longer refer to reality or real things
• The representation has become more real to us than the reality – i.e.
The representation of mob bosses as Italian Mafia men instilled
through The Godfather, Goodfellas, The Sopranos
• This is re-presentation of reality is termed a simulacrum – a copy of
reality
• For Baudrillard, these images have become hyperreal – have no
relationship to the real. CSI and Silent Witness as examples of forensic
science investigations that through their popularity seem to typify our
perception of what that reality is like
• For your AS film consider how you have represented teenage
gangs and the police – What are your sources for this?
97. Your characters
• Pick one of the characters from either your AS or A2
film
• Create a profile about them
– Motivation
– Who they represent
– What they represent
• Where did you get your inspirations for your characters?
From reality or from media representations on film and
television? Remember your research for AS Cite these in
your answer. Real news stories (BBC) Documentaries?
Kidulthood? The Bill? Life on Mars…?
• Are they, therefore, arguably a simulacrum of reality?
98. Representation of People and
Places
• Teenagers
• Students (404)
• Police
• News presenters
• Legal high users
• Guidance counsellors
• Hackers? Online
attackers/trolls?
• Suburbia (Beyond All
Doubt/404)
• Seaside tourist town
(Sea View News)
• School