MEST3 Exam Blog

Monday 8 May 2017

Section A - revision task

Task 1: List 10 stories/debates/examples that you could use for the Identities and the Media question:

Using Snapchat to give a voice to sexual abuse survivors - allows people to relate, as well as share their stories more openly and confidently. People are able to become more aware of serious cases such as this.
Pride (movie) - the film gives a strong message of teaching people to be proud of who you are, rather than being ashamed. Audiences are pushed to view the LGBT community positively rather than a negative addition to society.
Caityln Jenner - allows people to be more aware of the struggles transgender people face. As it Caitlyn Jenner is a celebrity more people know about the issue and it is now more openly discussed, (Daily Mail ) as well as allowing people to feel more comfortable about expressing who they are.
Moonlight (movie) expresses the struggles in the black community.
Jean Kilbourne: Killing us softly - her documentary shows how the media show a false representation of women by photo - shopping them into the "perfect ideal woman "
Superhumans - Rio Paralympics Advertisement - shows that disabilities shouldn't stop you from doing anything, gives audiences a sense of determination.
Laura Bates, feminism campaign - using the internet allows women to share their stories regarding sexual abuse, helps women feel like they can share their stories.
Post-colonialism, Yasmin (movie) - shows the representation of British Muslims, subverts Said's theory of Orientalism.
No More Page 3 - Lucy-Ann Holmes started the 'No More Page 3' campaign, she is a feminist who did not want glamour models to pose for the newspaper.
Everyday Sexism Campaign -

List 10 stories/debates/examples that you could use for the New/Digital Media question:

BBC sets up team to debunk fake news
Citizen Journalism - Asian Tsunami, 2004 - 'accidental journalists' tourists filming holiday, caught up in the natural disaster
You don’t have to act like a newspaper on the net Peter Preston - decline in newspaper industry.
Publishers and journalists must work together to save journalism, Roy Greenslade
NSPCC records 88% rise in children seeking help for online abuse
Twitter misses out on ‘Trump bump’ as shares plummet and losses widen
Why a digital detox is bad for all of us
The Guardian view on big data: the danger is less democracy. Editorial
Vizio smart TVs tracked what viewers were watching without consent
We’re over the digital revolution. This is the age of experience - Simon Jenkins

Sunday 7 May 2017

MEST3 PPE - Learner Response

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

- learn more statistics

- go over key theories and examples

- more detail & focus on question

- more detail

Read through the mark scheme. Pay particular attention to pages 6-8 that have suggested content for each of the questions in Section A. How many of these potential points did you make? Did you successfully answer the questions? The original question paper is here if that is helpful.

Which was your strongest question in Section A? Why did you do better in that particular question? Note the number of marks each question is worth.

In section A I got the same mark in each question, however, I think question 2 was my strongest question. I answered it well, I just needed to structure the way I wrote my answers better.

5) Which was your weakest question in Section A? Again, try and identify why this happened. Did you misinterpret the question? Did you run out of time?

My weakest question was question 3. This was because I was beginning to run out of time. I needed to add more detail and depth into my answer as well as showing both sides of the argument.

6) Now look at pages 11-12 of the mark scheme for Section B - New/Digital Media paying particular attention to the suggested essay content on page 12. How many of the broad areas suggested by AQA did you cover in your Section B essay? Did you successfully answer the question?

I successfully answered the question, however, I lacked a lot of depth and detail. Not only this, but I also lacked critical autonomy when answering the question.

Read the Examiner's Report in full. For each question your answered, would you classify your response as one of the stronger answers or one of the weaker answers the Chief Examiner discusses? Why? What could you do differently next time? Write a reflection for EACH question in the paper: Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q6 OR Q7.

Q1 - for this question I will make sure I show a clear understanding of the question, as well as focusing more on media language.

Q2 - for question I need to include different to more than just the two media products and answer the question with more detail.

Q3 - In with question I needed to add more analysis and have a balance in my argument.

Q6 - For this question next time, I would focus on more than one industry and show a solid debate.

Choose your weakest question in Section A and re-write an answer in full based on the suggested content from the Examiner's Report. This answer needs to be comprehensive and meet the criteria for Level 4 of the mark scheme. This will be somewhere between 3-6 well-developed paragraphs (depending on the question/number of marks available).

ignite presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1u0eVhcxRUsx274_c6TLXouaIqpJbuCb-VkgCJ3dfXrU/pub?start=true&loop=false&delayms=15000

Case study research tasks

The basics

Your chosen industry: Television

Your chosen case study (i.e. text/institution etc.): Netflix

Have you received approval for this case study from your teacher? Yes

Audience

1) How has new and digital media changed the audience experience in your chosen industry?

Through Netflix, audiences are now able to access whichever shows, whenever they want. Either through laptops, phones, or tablets.

2) Has new and digital media changed the way the audience consume your chosen product?

Audience's are more likely/frequently able to watch shows and movies, without having to wait.

3) Has the size of the audience changed as a result of new and digital media?

The size of the audience as increased due to 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.)

The positive changes due to new and digital media, have allowed audiences to have more of a variety of what they want to watch. As well as this, they have a much easier access in being able to watch movies and shows. Netflix use personalisation to control the media that users can consume through the choice of what they offer. It also has a free profile system, where users can create up to five profiles on one subscription. Personalisation is a key element to the success of Netflix, as they need to keep existing users happy as well as attract new users.

5) What are the negative changes new and digital media have had on your chosen audience? (E.g. quality of product etc.)

Some of the negative changes new and digital media have had on my chosen audience is that due to Netflix being such a well known institution, many people are aware of what it is. This therefore could create a seclusion in families, as people are given the opportunity to watch things separately instead of together, or as a family. Moreover, another negative factor of Netflix may be that audiences have to pay a monthly fee in order to keep their account. Netflix do not have the constraint of multi-platforms, so have the freedom to exploit the immediacy of e-media: for perhaps the first time, Netflix was offering audiences the kind of viewing pleasures that they would only normally get from purchasing the DVD box set, and then watching it in its entirety.

6) What about audience pleasures - have these changed as a result of new and digital media?

Some audience pleasures are that they are able to stream the app of Netflix whenever, on whatever they want. Not only this, but the quality is always in HD and you also have the opportunity of downloading the specific text you would like to watch.

7) What is the target audience for your chosen case study? Write a demographic/psychographic profile.

As Netflix is such a well-known institution, the target audience would vary quite a lot. Also, there's so many different genres and programmes that are suitable for everyone.

Male: 50%

Female: 50%

Age: 16-35

Institution

1) How has new and digital media had an impact on ownership or control in your chosen industry?

Television is by far the most-used platform for news, with 67% of UK adults saying they use TV as a source of news. However, there has been an eight percentage point decrease since 2014 (75%), following a three percentage point decrease between 2013 (78%) and 20143 .

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?

New and digital media might threaten my chosen industry due to other industries being on demand therefore being in competition with Netflix.

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?
Netflix has used social media platforms such as, Instagram and Twitter to promote it's products by publishing it's texts that are available

Netflix has used social media to promote its products by making accounts on the particular platforms. For example, people are allowed to tweet, on twitter about certain shows trending, even celebrities are doing so. As well as this, the Netflix account either Tweet or upload pictures on Instagram to keep shows trending.

2) Provide\chosen industry?

3) What has the impact been for audiences? These may be positive and negative.

This has been positive for audiences, as they are able to keep up to date with what shows or films that have been released. Or even to see what shows are making a comeback to Netflix.

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?

Monday 13 March 2017

Collective identity: blog task

1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'
Who are you? -
This section talks about what we do in order to construct our identity; fashion statements, hairstyles,make-up or indeed. We have complex ideas about our selves; there is a difference between the person we think we are, the person we want to
be and the person we want to be seen to be.

I think, therefore I am -
This section is about how we perceive ourselves and the system of categories we fit into ;Our identity would have been based around aspects of our lives that were constructed outside of our selves; class, religion, gender and the predetermined roles that were part of the accident of the family we were born into.

From citizen to consumer -
This section goes on to talk about people buying what they 'want' instead of what they actually 'need'.

The rise of the individual -
Dominant values help shape how we see ourselves; and by the late 1960s and 1970s the
notion of individualism began to take hold, reacting against what can be seen to be the more conformist values of the past.

Branding and lifestyle -
Branding is the association of a ‘personality’ with a product.

Who will we be? -
Through the anonymity of the internet and particularly the possibilities afforded by the
creation of avatars, we have more control over our public image now than ever before.

2) List five brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.
Adidas
Disney
Nike
Apple
Topshop

3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?
I do agree that the modern media is about 'style over substance', meaning that people put try hard to fit into a well-known brand, they end up forgetting about their own identity.

4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.

Baudrillard suggests that the media constantly has a dominance over us, and he calls this '‘media saturation’. He also states that, high cultural value being placed on external
factors such as physical beauty and fashion sense over internal traits such as intelligence or compassion. The influence of the media in providing the images, the products, the role models and the ideas that we use to help construct an idea of identity and image has been tackled widely in film.

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?
I think my presence on social media does present an accurate reflection of who I am. However I have removed pictures form a social media site due to what it shows about me as an individual.

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?
I strongly disagree with data mining, I don't think companies should be allowed to have personal information in order to sell us products.