Media Paper 2 learner response

 Y12 Media exam: Paper 2: Learner response 

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

Q1) WWW: Excellent close textual analysis, EBI: use paragraphs and talk about the city skyline- iconic of London's financial district.

Q2) WWW: some excellent detailed writing with lots of industry knowledge demonstrated, EBI: You need to be a bit more convincing about how the CSPs challenge hegemony and consider genre.

2) Read the mark scheme for this exam carefully (posted on your exam teacher's Google Classroom), paying particular attention to the 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 skyline of contemporary/futuristic skyscrapers are signifiers of the city, banking/finance etc;

• the grey skies are portentous, signifying a feeling of impending doom

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.

• an ideological reading might suggest that capitalism is a corrupt system which only benefits the few (Hesmondhalgh/hegemony)

• the positioning of character and mode of address can be interpreted as signifiers of race and gender (the dominant white male, evasive black male, diminished female) - link to intersectionality/bell hooks

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.

- Capital is a state-of-the-nation drama and this genre immediately gives it an urgency and realism that reflect the political and cultural contexts of its setting. The elements of crime and family drama all set around one London street creates a sense of authenticity that could unconsciously communicate certain ideologies to its mainstream BBC audience.

- In Deutschland 83 (D83), the historical drama / spy thriller genre inevitably constructs an ideological position in their representation of contexts. Here, like Capital, it could be argued that western capitalist ideologies are being unconsciously reinforced through the construction of the narrative and key elements of mise-en-scene.

- Similarly, you could argue there is a fetishisation of the working class in D83 with the East presented as so much warmer and more welcoming than the West. Martin’s mother’s birthday party early in the first episode contains genuine warmth and happiness as partygoers sing ‘99 luftballons’ in stark contrast to the cold, tense BBQ scene at General Edel’s house in the West towards the end of the episode. Perhaps both of these shows are deliberately constructing a range of possible readings to reflect modern social, cultural and political contexts.

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

- past paper questions - complete and get marked

- learn more genre theories

- practise applying theories to CSPs like TV drama