SECTION B INTRODUCTION

G325 Critical Perspectives

The Exam

The Critical Perspectives Exam is on Tuesday 4th June (pm) and is 2 hours long. The question paper is split into two parts.

Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production Section B: Contemporary Media Issues

The way we will be covering this is by splitting the class into project teams that will become experts in one of the themes, the team will produce an information film on their topic that will act as a revision guide. All teams will also teach their topic to the rest of the class. This should ensure that in the exam every student has a choice of more than one theme.

Each theme has 4 prompt questions that give an idea of some of the key debates within that media issue and it is also important that each project team has examples from at least two different sections of the media to illustrate their key points, i.e. music industry, press, film, video games, internet.

You will be assigned to a project team and that project team will create its own blog in order to house all of your research.

You will work in 6 teams to find information for, research, plan and create an info film.

The purpose of the info film is to act as a revision guide for yourselves and the rest of the class.

It must include a guide as to what essential elements need to be included in preparation for the exam, textual examples and make reference to contemporary media theorists.

Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production

The first section is split into two questions, each worth 25 points.

It is recommended that you spend 30 minutes on each question.

Question 1a is a reflection of your skills development and allows you to refer to all of your practical work in relation to one or two of the following production practices: digital technology, creativity, research & planning, post-production, using conventions of real media texts.

Question 1b is a chance to critically analyse one piece of your own work in relation to key media concepts such as genre, narrative, audience, representation and media language.

Section B: Contemporary Media Issues

For question 2 there are 6 themes and on the question paper there is a choice of two questions for each theme.

You only answer ONE question, it is worth 50 marks.

Section B is your opportunity to engage in some of the contemporary debates and issues in the media industry today.

Our Approach

Section B first = 8 weeksSection A – Question 1a & 1b next = 9 weeks

including revision of Section B and mocks.Section B will be approached using project

pairs and the creation of 4 practical artefacts to address the four prompt questions that each theme has.

The practical artefacts will demonstrate your understanding of the theme and form your revision for Section B.

Section A will be a whole class approach.

Section B: Themes

Media & Collective IdentityMedia in the Online AgeContemporary Media RegulationWeMedia & Democracy

We are not covering Global Media or Media and Postmodernism.

What candidates need for each theme:

Ability to create a debate within the theme by exploring multiple perspectives.

Knowledge of contemporary examples across a minimum of two different media areas i.e. film, music, videogames, press, social networks, television, internet etc.

Ability to apply academic theory.A past, present, future view on the theme.Critical reflection on the theme in relation to

their own life and experiences.

Media & Collective Identity Prompt Questions:

1. How do the contemporary media represent nations, regions and ethnic/social/collective groups of people in different ways?

2. How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?

3. What are the social implications of different media representations of groups of people?

4. To what extent is human identity increasingly mediated?

Examples: Representations of youth in London Riots, on tv, in film, in the press. Representations of disability in sport, in the press, in film, on tv.

Media in the Online Age Prompt Questions:

1. How have online media developed?2. What has been the impact of the internet

on media production?3. How is consumer behaviour and audience

response transformed by online media, in relation to the past?

4. To what extent has convergence transformed the media?

Examples: music online (Lady GaGa, SonyBMG, RoughTrade, Justin Bieber), film online (YouTube, illegal downloads), online TV (iplayer, 4OD etc), videogames online etc.

Contemporary Media Regulation Prompt Questions:

1. What is the nature of contemporary media regulation compared with previous practices?

2. What are the arguments for and against specific forms of contemporary media regulation?

3. How effective are regulatory practices?4. What are the wider social issues relating to

media regulation?Examples: The Press & Leveson Report, Film

Censorship, Social Networking & Libel, regulation of virtual worlds, videogame regulation.

WeMedia & Democracy Prompt Questions:

1. What are 'We media’?2. Where/how has 'We Media' emerged?3. In what way are the contemporary media

more democratic than before?4. In what ways are the contemporary

media less democratic than before?

Examples: Wikileaks, Anonymous, Arab Spring, London Riots, Crowdsourcing, Twitter and Operation YewTree.

Section B timeline

W/beg 7th Jan – introduction, decide on project pairs, decide on theme, initial research undertaken and blogs established.

W/beg 14th Jan – Case study work W/beg 21st Jan – Finalise case studies and introduce theory W/beg 28th Jan – Theory & essay structure advice. W/beg 4th Feb – Creation of individual Prezi for prompt question one (to be completed

out of lessons as ACJ is on a trip all week). DEADLINE: Prezi on project pair blog by end of week. HOMEWORK – Write an essay response for practise exam question based on prompt question one.

HALF TERM ( 11-17th Feb) W/beg 18th Feb – Creation of info film using found images in Project Pairs on prompt

question two. DEADLINE: Info film (No more than 5 minutes) on project pair blog by end of week. HOMEWORK – Write an essay response for practise exam question based on prompt question two.

W/beg 25th Feb – Creation of Xtranormal film on prompt question three (ideally individually). DEADLINE: Xtranormal film on project pair blog by end of week. HOMEWORK – Write an essay response for practise exam question based on prompt question three.

W/beg 4th March – Creation of final artefact (form is negotiable i.e. powerpoint, animation, podcast, other) for prompt question four, either individually or in groups. DEADLINE: Artefact four on project pair blog by end of week. HOMEWORK – Write an essay response for practise exam question based on prompt question four.

Move onto Section A.