Savannah's A-Level Media Blog - Exam

  Feminist theory: blog tasks Media Magazine reading - two articles on feminism and theory Mulvey's theory of the 'Male Gaze' is the belief that the dominant view in media is masculine. Laura Mulvey also possesses the thought that certain media texts are created for the benefits of men and that women are, in a way, 'presented' for men. Examples of this theory are shown in thee article about Pan Am. In this article, the writer states that the main characters appearance is always the main topic of conversation. A line to support this is 'that ‘with a face like that you will find a husband in a couple of months’. This shows strong examples of Mulvey's theory. The main character is being told that her looks are 'up to standard' to satisfy a man. Other examples of the male gaze are shown in the article about Beyonce. The writer states that some of Beyonce's acts are contradictory as she simultaneously 'declares herself as an independent woman'...

  Introduction to feminism: blog tasks Case study: Everyday Sexism Watch this TEDx talk by Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates:   Laura Bates started the Everyday Sexism project to share her real life experiences and encourage other women to do so also. Laura bates uses Everyday Feminism to demonstrate how often women undergo sexism and how unnoticed it is by society and the people in it.  Everyday Feminism links to post-feminism as it illustrates how far the feminist movement has come but also how much more progress we have left.  Technology was essential to the success of the Everyday feminism project. Technology has given these women, from all around the world, the capability to share their stories and experiences. It also allows them to have privacy as they can remain anonymous. Personally, I believe that feminist campaigns such as Everyday Feminism will always be needed in society. Although equality between the sexes might become more balanced in ...

  Media regulation: blog tasks Regulation is required to provide rules and regulations to ensure organisations operate fairly  OFCOM is responsible for regulating broadcast media (TV and radio).  The three most important sections of the broadcasting code would be:  Protecting under 18s: This is important as kids are impressionable so they should be protected from content that might influence them egatively Harm and offence: This is important as TV viewing should be pleasuable rather than chaotic or saddening.  Crime: This is important as you would not want audiences to get influenced to commit acts of crimes.   I believe that ofcom should’ve broadcasted Wolverine an hour later to ensure that very young audiences will not be able to view the movie as they will most likely be asleep.  The PCC Code of Practice Section 1: Accuracy Section 2: Opportunity to Reply Section 3: Privacy* Section 4: Harassment* Section 5: Intrusion Into Grief and Shock It’s criti...

  Representation: blog tasks The article suggests that representation is an important part of media studies as representation can influence and/or alter the way we view the world.  Katie Middleton is used as an example to show the way that different meanings can be created in the media. The image of her wine tasting could be used to suggest that she ha a drinking problem whereas the secon image could be used to suggest that William and her are enjoying a nice day together.  The how, who and why of media representation: Producers will consider: • the expectations and needs of the target audience • the limitations provided by genre codes • the type of narrative they wish to create • their institutional remit.  Representation is decided through a series of choices and rejections.  Stuart Hall's theory of preferred and oppositional readings fit with representation As audiences decide if they will accept the representation given to them or if they will   dr...

  Public service broadcasting: blog tasks Ofcom report Read the first few pages of this  Ofcom report into Public Service Broadcasting in 2017 . The ofcom report suggest that TV viewing is changing as people are increasingly viewing content in a variety of different ways.  There are many differences highlighted between younger and older viewers. Older viewers tend to watch more TV on average whereas younger audiences tend to watch TV in comparison.  The report suggests that public service broadcasting remains highly valued. 78% of regular or occasional viewers of any PSB claim to be satisfied. The PSB channels spent a total of £2.6bn on first-run UK-originated content in 2016, Goldsmiths report New technology has facilitated on-demand access to television content, and created new services and platforms, while consumer behaviour has started to change rapidly, particularly among the young.  The report states that principles of independence, universality, citizensh...

  Cultural Industries: blog task The term ‘cultural industry’ refers to the creation, production, and  distribution of products of a cultural or artistic nature. Hesmondhalgh identifies that the societies in which the cultural industries are highly profitable usually are ones that support the conditions where larger companies, and their political allies, make money.  Some media products offer ideologies that challenge capitalism and inequalities in race & gender. This is because cultural industry companies have to continuously compete with each other. These companies want to appeal to and satisfy the desires of the profane and rebellious.  Hesmondhalgh identifies the problems regarding the cultural industries, these include: Risky business  Creativity vs commerce  High production costs and low reproduction costs  Semi-public goods; the need to create scarcity Cultural industries is considered as a risky business. One of the main reasons is that som...

Industries: Ownership and control blog task Media conglomerate research I partially agree that governments should prevent media conglomerates from becoming too dominant. This is because if one media conglomerate becomes extremely powerful, to the extent where they're taking over other conglomerates, then they would have the power to implement their political/societal beliefs onto millions of viewers.  Two Key Concepts: The Relationship Between Audience and Institution . The production process provides audiences with content that they desire, it also needs to provide audiences with gratifications. The promotion process researches the target audience that the media product is designed for. In this stage, advertising and marketing strategies are used to persuade the specific audience to engage with the media product. The distribution process uses methods that get the product to the audience in the most efficient way so that it is easily accessible  Funding models for media instit...