Media Paper 2: Learner Response :)

1) Type up your feedback in full (you do not need to write mark/grade if you do not wish to).

WWW: Q1 is a strong response to the unseen text and you also clearly have good knowledge of the TV CSPs

EBI: The key aspects holding you back in Q2 are question focus and your central argument. Firstly, you need to sharply focus on the evaluation of the theory. Secondly, I would have focused on active audience v hegemony (dominant ideologies) as the test for Hall's theory rather than one programme supporting it and the other not 

2) Read the mark scheme for this exam carefully, paying particular attention to the 'indicative content' for each question. Firstly, focus on the unseen question and identify two aspects of the poster that you could have written about in your answer.

• The visual codes and iconography of the image including colour and setting as it relates to the thriller/horror/supernatural etc genre (isolated setting, low key lighting, blue hue)

• The use of costume and props to construct teen stereotypes (leather/biker jacket, cat ears, red dress)

3) Look at the indicative content for Q1 again and make a note of any theories or examples of media terminology you could have used in your answer.

• The use of costume and props to construct teen stereotypes may create a sense of personal identity for teen viewers which allows us to apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory 

• The link between genre and stereotypes – the representation of victim in the thriller/crime drama 

• The representation of youth as diverse in terms of gender and race which also emphasises the personal identity aspect of Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory 

• The use of props to denote the narrative and genre elements

4) Now focus on the TV 25-marker. Read this exemplar response for the TV question and pick out three arguments, phrases or theories from the essay that you could use in a future question on Capital and Deutschland 83.

• However, to take an oppositional view of Capital, it could also be argued that the programme unconsciously promotes a right-wing, capitalist ideology. This questions the validity of Hall’s theory, as perhaps producers are unknowingly reinforcing ingrained dominant ideologies rather than deliberating encoding a particular viewpoint 

• Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony is relevant here as it could be argued that Capital’s relentless focus on the importance of hard work, earning money and contributing to the London economy unconsciously reinforces capitalist ideology 

• In evaluating the validity of Hall’s theory, the key question here is whether the producers have deliberately encoded these value judgements or whether this is an example of the hegemonic dominance of capitalist, right-wing ideologies in western media products 

5) Finally, identify three things you need to revise for Media Paper 2 before your next assessment or mock exam.

• Ensure that I have learned the theories relating to Capital and Deutschland 83 in enough detail so that I can reference them in my answers to get more marks 

• Revise theories that can be linked to unseen products 

• Revise hegemony in detail so I can talk about it in my answers confidently