PAPER 2 MAGAZINES : Exam questions

 Next week you will be completing   mock exam questions for the Magazines section of Paper 2 .

 Please use the time before then analysing the key pages of the texts and any relevant theory and background information and planning the content of your answers.

You will have 50 minutes to complete both questions .

a) Discuss the influence of historical context on representations in the set edition of Vogue magazine. [15]

b) Explore how the set edition of The Big Issue conveys viewpoints and ideologies. [15]

 

PAPER 2C MAGAZINE Key Text 2 THE BIG ISSUE

                                                 THE BIG ISSUE

PRODUCT CONTEXT

 

• Weekly magazine

 • Publisher – Dennis and The Big Issue Ltd.

 • Genre – Independent/Current Affairs/Entertainment/Street magazine

 • First published – 1991

 • Creators – John Bird and Gordon Roddick

 • Current cover price - £2.50

 • Current circulation – 82,000

 • Distribution method – “Since the magazine was founded, we have been in partnership with the people who sell it. Vendors buy The Big Issue for £1.25 and sell it for £2.50. Each seller is a micro-entrepreneur who is working, not begging”  https://www.bigissue.com/latest/how-much-does-the-big-issue-cost/

  The magazine is one part of The Big Issue Ltd alongside:

 The Big Issue Foundation – an independently funded charity which provides support and guidance for vendors in areas such as training, education, health and housing

 Big Issue Invest – helps to finance sustainable social enterprises, charities and a social trading platform

 The Big Issue Shop – buyers purchasing eco-friendly products, or products from organisations which use profits to support social enterprises or charitable causes

 

                              LINK TO KEY TEXT ISSUE   

25th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE OCTOBER 17 2016

PAGES TO FOCUS ON :  Media language , social perspective and audience

 Front cover of magazine

 Contents Page (p.3)

 Editor's Letter (p.6)

 Feature: 'Letter to My Younger Self: Grayson Perry' (p.14-15)

 Feature: 'Vendor Success Stories: Moving On' (p.32-33, 35)

 Feature: 'Rise of the Homeless Bakers: No Soggy Bottoms Here!' (p.41)

 Adverts: look at selection  

Look at choice of language,themes and topics  layout, images,colour etc. and how that informs/entertains  the audience and gives clues to the magazine's editorial position and ideology 

PAPER 2C MAGAZINES Key text 1 VOGUE

PAPER 2C MAGAZINES 
Key Text 1 : Vogue Magazine ( 1965)

VOGUE MAGAZINE : wikipedia

A brief history of Vogue :  video




1  Summarise the key change in social attitudes  to gender that happened in the 1960s , as well as changes to the  economy ,consumer goods,travel.food and  culture such as fashion and music

Use these links  to help

The Changing Role of Women in the 1960s – BBC History File    

Historic UK article UK in the 1960s

Timeline of women's rights in the UK

These key changes  could include : 

 • Increased opportunities for women to have jobs – be more than wife or mother. • Developments – women attending university – intellectual and financial freedom – greater expectations. • Woman realised they were being badly treated – not paid the same as men for example. • Advertisements criticised for offering a limited view of women. 
• Betty Friedan (American feminist) – ‘women are shown solely as: men’s wife, mother, love object, dishwasher, cleaner and never as a person’. 
• Women’s rights ‘hot news’ by the end of the 1960s – women’s liberation movement – shocking for some. • Demands for equal pay/ opportunities – protests/ marches. • Advertisers ‘unsure how to react’ to the women’s movement – advert for intercity – women singing about their rights - but heading home before their husbands find out







2  Analyse the following sections of the Vogue key text magazine for technical codes and how they represent and appeal to  their historical target  audience , including reference to any of the changes explained above 

 Front cover of magazine
 Contents page (p.3)
 Feature: 'Money: Questions and Answers' by Sheila Black (p.14, 18)
 Advert: Revlon 'The applied art of eye-making' (p.17)

A LINK   ( Find Vogue in second half of document  )



 pinterest  link to full copy  of Vogue July 1965 issue

EXAM QUESTION : Attitude and Zoella

Clay Shirky argues that audiences in today’s online age are no longer passive consumers of media content.  How far is this true of online audiences ?

Refer to Zoella ( blog /youtube/other channels ) and  the Attitude website to support your answer. [30 marks]

50 minutes-1 hour      2-3 pages 

Brief 1-2  sentence introduction  explaining how you will be answering the question

Main points evaluating and applying  the theory ( and any other content)  to the texts, with specific examples from the texts to support your points 

You need to :


Explain the key points of the  theory including how modern online audiences are described as active,interactive and individual "prosumers".

Use specific and relevant examples from the key texts to explain how audiences can be seen as active (website features , content of articles and pages, specific  links to social media, range and type of opportunities for feedback and interaction e.g Zoella's youtube or Q and A, Attitude's social media accounts )

How far is this true ? Do both texts encourage their different audiences to be equally genuinely  active or interactive and to "talk back" to the producer ? Are more traditional methods and media used ?  How does this relate to their different target audiences ? 


Conclusion : evaluate how far you agree with the theory in general  and whether it fully explains how online life and social media works for young modern audiences..  Are all modern and young audiences active ?   Is social or online media different from traditional media in its relationship to  audiences ?  How important are other factors in how media is consumed , such as audience identity, media power , repetition of familiar stereotypes etc 

  You can use other theories and concepts such as parasocial interaction to support your points .

PRODUCTION : audiovisual production

 The filming and editing of the audiovisual  production part of your coursework ( music video or television show opening sequence ) must be completed by the February halfterm. 

Make sure you have carefully studied the requirements of the brief and the guidance on the Production page and you understand the producer , audience  and the specific instructions you need to follow  such as locations, content , cast numbers , range of camera shots etc. as this will be how the work is marked. 

If you feel filming the audiovisual production is impossible due to Covid restrictions , and you can't access key locations or cast members , you can choose the backup option detailed on the production page HERE 

 However , the backup option requires a lot of work and 40 storyboard cells or shot descriptions.

Planning  tips :

Come up with ideas for narrative or specific shots, use of music etc. by looking at similar videos/scenes in your genre for inspiration

Make sure your plans for the  audiovisual  production match and connect with the print production 

Music video : use the lyrics or mood of your chosen song to inspire the content of the video

TV : Make sure your plan includes at least three characters and at least two different filming locations

To plan the content of your work thoroughly and effectively , make sure you have completed a simple storyboard or a shot list  as well as a production schedule detailing dates, times, locations, cast list, props etc. 

Try to make sure you have planned the narrative and  content and you can begin filming over the holidays.  You can book equipment over the holidays or during college time with Romilly in the media office.

Filming tips :

shoot the entire content of your video-sequence a number of times from a range of angles : it'll demonstrate creativity and hugely help the editing process

shoot all scenes needed on one location on the same day to help continuity and realism..reshoots are challenging to organise 

Make sure all shots are technically well-executed as you can't fix this in the editing process ! 

use a tripod/phone adaptor ( available to book ASAP from Romilly ) to ensure no unwanted shaky cameras...this will lose marks

PAPER 2 ONLINE Media Text 2 : Attitude

        

                                                                             Homepage


                                             Powerpoint     Essential analyis and summary

 Using the above  links , explain  the following elements about the  Attitude website

Text

Analyse the design, layout, use of colour and content of the website...who do you feel is the target audience  ? Consider sexuality, age, gender , ethniciity, class ?  Are there any ways for the audience to feed back and interact with the website ?

Representation :   How is masculinity and sexuality represented in the website  ? Are certain stereotypes or elements foregrounded or given higher priority and focused upon more than others ?
If so, why ? Link to the target audience  


Industry:  How does  the website make money ?

                How closely linked is the website to the Attitude magazine in terms of ownership,
                  content and style  ?



Theory : summarise these theories and explain to what extent each theory can be applied  to the text  and audiences of  Attitude . You should also evaluate the theories and explain how effective you feel they are  

 Hall : stereotypes

Gauntlett : identity theory

Gerbner : Cultivation theory

Shirky : End of audience

PAPER 2 : Online Media 1 : ZOELLA

SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE ONLINE AGE

You will look at the role played by blogs and websites in the media today, exploring the way in
which these convergent media platforms increasingly overlap, as well as investigating the potential that they offer for self-representation.

The changing relationship between media producers and audiences will be considered, as the idea that media consumers have now become producers who regularly and actively participate in the creation and dissemination of media content online.

The impact of digitally convergent media platforms on media production, distribution and

circulation will also be explored.



  Text 1  : " Zoella "  : GENERAL ANALYSIS 

You should be mainly analysing her  blog and her  youtube channels  ( the archived  Zoella content and her recent  Zoe Sugg channel ) as well as her other outlets on insta,twitter etc.




Analyse and summarise the  content and purpose  of her blog/ youtube channel and insta

What areas of life does she focus on ?
Who is her main target audience ?

Does she simply entertain her audience or support,give advice and educate ?

What is her mode of address ?

Are there any differences between the  content and purpose of her various blogs and online channels ?

How does Zoella produce  income ? This link  will help and here's an article about youtube and its income channels




How can her audience interact with  or give feedback to Zoella/Zoe ? Here's an article about Zoella's rise to success and how she relates to her audience

Define parasocial interaction in your own words




Summarise the representation of gender as well as other representations  such as age , class or ethnicity that are most dominant in her blogs. You can also explain any use of stereotypes and  gender performativity along with relevant technical codes such as body language, use of colour, props and formatting.

What are the main differences between Zoella and Zoe Sugg as representations ?

How has her content , representation of herself and the use of technical codes in her youtube videos changed over time ?  Analyse the earliest and latest videos on her youtube channel 

THEORY  : Butler