Tips given by the examiners for the G325 exam in June

Today we were given tips from the examiners for our exam in June.

G325- Hints, tips and past questions

Umbrella Topics:

• How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?
• To what extent is human identity increasingly mediated?
• How do the contemporary media represent youth and youth culture in different ways?

TO SECURE A LEVEL 4 ANSWER:

There are no heard and fast rules, but the examiner’ report on the June 2010 exam gives some tips:

• Representation
• Key theories such as Marxism (for example)
• Ideology
• Hegemony

And make your connections between examples and theoretical context explicit and sustained. You must be able to set at least two different approaches against each other, for example feminist and Marxist.

Examiners tips:

‘Candidates were able to utilise the ideas of Gauntlett on identity along with Judith Butler and a range of others very well in relation to film and magazines.’

• Prepare some quotations and be able to discuss the ideas…

WHAT DO THEY KEY TERMS ACTUALLY MEAN?

• Representation- It is the construction in any medium (especially mass media) of aspects of reality, such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstracts concepts.
• Ideology- for the purposes of Media Studies is, put simply, the ideas behind a media text. In any society, there is an agreed set of beliefs that underpins society. For example, the moral values of Christianity that underpin much of the British society even today.
• Hegemony- The accepted and agreed beliefs in any particular society. For example, you could say that football has hegemonic status in the UK.

What you are getting marks for:

• Explanation/analysis/argument -20
• Use of examples -20
• Use of terminology -10

YOU MUST TALK ABOUT AUDIENCE AND INSTITUTION AS WELL AS REPRESENTATION. HOW INSTITUTIONS CONSTRUCT TEXTS AND HOW AUDIENCES RESPOND.

Specimen Questions:

• Discuss the contemporary representation of youth and youth culture using specific textual examples from at least two media to support your answer.
• How far does the representation of a particular social group change over time?

Refer to at least two media in your answer.

JAN 2010:

·        Analyse the ways in which the media represent one group of people that you have studied.

·        ‘The media do not construct collective identity; they merely reflect it.’ Discuss.

JUNE 2010:

• With reference to any one group of people that you have studied, discuss how their identity has been ‘mediated.’
• ‘Media representations are complex, not simple and straightforward’. How far do you agree with this statement in relation to the collective group that you have studied?

JANUARY 2011

• Analyse the ways in which the media represent groups of people.
• What is collective identity and how is it mediated?