End of Year 12 Assessment

Paper 1 Section A

1.) Analyse the Close Study Product Score hair cream advert using narrative theory including Todorov (9 marks)


The Score Hair Cream advert is an example of Todorov's equilibrium theory as it purveys a new equilibrium to readers. The product's purpose is to "get grooming action" and so the man who is placed literally above the women communicates the fact that this product will alter your physical appearance for the better and make you more appealing to women who are desperately needing for men in power as we see through the woman who reaches out for the man. The brand’s personality and voice is all about masculine supremacy and self-belief, and is heavily reinforcing stereotypes of a patriarchal society.

Furthermore, Applying Barthes' Enigma and Action codes theory to the advert, The strap line: ‘Get what you’ve always wanted’ is an action code, like the image, a bold aspirational statement. The tone of the copywriting continues to hammer home Score Hair Groom’s masculine qualities describing its ‘masculine scent’ and reassuring the target audience that it’s ‘made by men’ as we see through the anchorage text. This might address any hesitation the average male might have about purchasing grooming products as no women were involved in the creation of this product, it is solely for men, it smells manly and using it will not feminise you in any way. 

Lastly, Applying Levi-Strauss' theory of binary oppositions, we can see that the advert is using female sexuality to show men they can have power: you can conquer and you will be desired. The brand’s personality and voice is all about masculine supremacy and self-belief, and is heavily reinforcing stereotypes of a patriarchal society. The woman are also dressed provocatively which was new in the 1960s and hints an element of sexual objectification of women. The Score Hair Cream reinforces gender roles and also emphasises the gender stereotype imbalance. It links to gender roles in the 1960s where men were far superior as opposed to women who were objectified. Therefore, the key image with the man who is lifted up by five women implies that men will feel empowered by the Score Hair Cream.

2) “Postmodernity is said to be a culture of fragmentary sensations, eclectic nostalgia, disposable simulacra, and promiscuous superficiality.” – Jean Baudrillard

To what extent can your music video Close Study Products be described as postmodern? (20 marks)

When analysing postmodernity, 'Ghost Town' and 'Letter to the Free' can both be described as postmodern to an extent.

With reference to 'Letter to the Free', Jean Baudrillard and Jameson's theory can be applied. Baudrillard argued that audiences view the ‘copy’ of reality in the media as more real than the original. Fredric Jameson discussed the idea of ‘historical deafness’ by suggesting the media-isation of history means we only understand historical events through their media representation quite prominently seen in 'Letter to the Free' as it was written for Ava DuVernay’s Netflix documentary 13th focusing on the historic legacy of the 13th amendment to the US Constitution. Theoretically written to outlaw slavery, the 13th Amendment had the effect of paving the way for local and State law reforms that created loopholes that effectively enabled the continued enslavement of Black Americans through mass imprisonment. This notion of historical deafness directly links to Strinati's definition of postmodernism as well as the concept of "confusion over time and space". The black square hovering in the air appears throughout the clip, which, in a final shot, is framed as empty space in a field and represents the fact that blackness cannot be defined in time or space. Therefore, this shows that there are some postmodern elements in 'Letter to the Free.'

On the other hand, 'Ghost Town' poses more postmodern aspects as opposed to 'Letter to the Free.' The video combines eerie shots of a deserted East End of London with the band in a 1962 Vauxhall Cresta lip syncing. The mise-en-scene and cinematography seem to reference a range of film styles including British social realism, thriller and horror genres, with the expressionist lighting drawing attention to the different meanings of the lyric ‘ghost town’. This hybrid mix of references and music video forms an experimental combination of narrative (the journey), performance and concept which means that the video can be read through a postmodern approach with reference to intertextuality (pastiche) and hybridity. Nonetheless, Baudrillard uses the word 'simulacra' to suggest that culture produce versions of reality to help explain our place and function in the universe. Furthermore, Baudrillard argues, these cultural products, or versions of reality, are in fact 'simulations'. This links directly to 'Ghost Town' as the representation of time and place within the video is England in the early 1980s, specifically London as shown in the video, but also Coventry. This video depicts an overemphasis on the city and therefore is seen as a 'copy' of the city and can be seen as the very few representations of the events to today's audience.

Additionally, 'Ghost Town also unveils bricolage. Bricolage refers to the process of adapting and juxtaposing old and new texts, images, ideas or narratives to produce whole new meanings and is linked to the 

In conclusion, although 'Letter to the Free' offers some postmodern elements, 'Ghost Town' far outweighs 'Letter to the Free' and showcases more postmodern elements thus, it can be considered as a postmodern media product.


Paper 1 Section B

3) Identify three strategies used to promote Chicken to an audience. Explain a reason for each strategy. Each of the reasons must be different. (6 marks)

One strategy used to promote Chicken to an audience was through the use of some traditional marketing such as a trailer and a film poster with review quotes. This was because traditional marketing required to meet conventions of film promotion: trailer, film poster etc and so the  construction of poster and trailer emphasised social realism and the arthouse element of the film (focus on nature, beautiful cinematography etc.)

Another strategy used to promote Chicken to an audience was through the use of quotes/recommendations from industry figures/celebrities (e.g. Sir Ian McKellen) as well as Film festival circuits. This created a buzz by building and sharing critical acclaim from reviews, industry figures, film festival awards etc.

A final strategy used to promote Chicken to an audience was through social media i.e. Facebook, Twitter etc. This was because social media promotion was inexpensive or free; which created word-of-mouth marketing; effective in reaching educated, digitally-literate social realist audience.

4) How do regulatory contexts shape the output of media industries? You should refer to your film industry Close Study Product, Chicken. (9 marks)


Hesmondhalgh argues that the media industry is a high risk business but the cultural industries constitute a particularly risky business and this includes the film industry. The impossibility of predicting audience tastes coupled with the high costs of production and the effects of mass competition mean that the business of making commercially successful media is very difficult. Hesmondhalgh also suggests that the media businesses are reliant upon changing audiences consumption patterns. Thus, audience tastes continuously adapt making it incredibly difficult to produce material that guarantees satisfaction. This goes to show how precarious it is to create a media product that is to be released out to the public as we just do not know how successful it really is going to be. Furthermore, The BBFC institution is responsible for classifying films and giving them age ratings as well as researching what the British Public's attitudes and opinions are so that they can classify films according to that to help regulate such films. Therefore, the BBFC rating is important to film studios about whether they can be successful. 

However, it doesn't always impact output and that for niche independent productions like 'Chicken', perhaps regulatory factors are less of a concern which can be seen as a benefit of independent cinema. 'Chicken' was not particularly affected by regulatory contexts. It was a micro-budget arthouse film with a very low budget from private donors therefore, if 'Chicken' had been rated 18 instead of 15, it wouldn't have put an end to the whole project because it was unlikely to make huge amounts of profit anyway. This is because being an arthouse film, (focusing on the artistic value rather than the commercial) 'Chicken' was targeted for a niche audience, a mature audience who were able to tackle and understand the subject matter that the film dealt with and so to conclude, it can be argued that regulatory contexts have little or no affect on small-scale films such as 'Chicken'.

5) How useful are media effects theories in evaluating the success of media products? Refer to your Radio Close Study Products, Life Hacks and War of the Worlds, in your answer. (20 marks)

It can be argued that media effects theories are useful in evaluating the success of media products as they enable us to understand what types of effects media products have on audience members. Life Hacks and War of the Worlds can both be seen as CSPs that have had some sort of effect on audiences, however, to what extent this effect may be is debatable. 

In 'Life Hacks' and 'War of the Worlds' media effects theories are applicable. In 'Life Hacks' we can apply Blumer and Katz' uses and gratifications theory. They state that media audiences are active and make conscious choices about the way they consume media. They suggest there are four main uses or gratifications (pleasures) that audiences get from the media. The first one that directly links to 'Life Hacks' is surveillance. This is because as part of their remit, it is important that they inform, educate and entertain and so this element of information useful for living is a prominent one as young audiences are able to learn and gain knowledge about mature topics such as sex, relationships, mental health etc. Another one of Blumer and Katz' uses and gratifications that link to 'Life Hacks' is personal identity. As there are many guest speakers that participate in the 'Life Hacks' podcasts, there are a wide variety of speakers from different ethnicities and races. This allows audience members to find themselves reflected to the hosts and speakers and also allows them to relate to the content at hand. Lastly, a sense of diversion is picked up in 'Life Hacks' because on the 'Life Hacks' podcast there is honest and fun chat around all the questions young audience members may be too scared to search for. 

George Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory proposes the idea that television is responsible for shaping, or ‘cultivating’ viewers’ conceptions of social reality. The combined effect of massive television exposure by viewers over time subtly shapes their perception of social reality. He argues that as audiences are exposed to frequent images of crime and violence in news programmes and TV drama they develop a belief that the world they live in is much nastier than it really is (what he refers to as Mean World Syndrome). Gerber argues that the mass media cultivate attitudes and values which are already present in a culture; the media simply maintain and propagate these values amongst the audience. By extension, the content of radio programmes like 'Life Hacks', could shape a young person’s perception of the world that they live in and the problems that they may face.

Furthermore, Media Effects theories are also applicable to 'War of the Worlds', in fact more so than 'Life Hacks' to an extent. Orson Welles’ broadcast is frequently cited as an example to support passive audience theories, such as the Frankfurt School’s ‘Hypodermic
Syringe Theory’. This states that audiences consume and respond to media texts in an unquestioning way, believing what they read, see or hear. This might be true of the audiences of the 1930s, unfamiliar with new media forms like radio, but in the modern age it carries less weight. It is questionable as to how far most of the audience were actually duped by the broadcast. As has been noted, those who ‘bought into’ the idea of an invasion, may well have been influenced by external factors such as the social and political context of the time. It was not impossible to believe that a foreign power was invading American soil in 1938. Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory might offer a more accurate explanation of the audience’s behaviour in response to the radio broadcast since it emphasises the longer-term effects that media texts have upon audiences. Based on his research into television viewing, cultivation theory states that high frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the belief that they are real. Heavy viewers of TV are thought to be ‘cultivating’ attitudes that seem to believe that the world created by television is an accurate depiction of the real world. Therefore, applied to 'War of the Worlds' it could be argued that an audience familiar with the frequent interruptions to radio shows over the weeks leading up to the broadcast did not question the faux invasion broadcasts during Welles’ production.

In conclusion, media effects theories are useful in evaluating the success of media products however, they are more useful in 'War of the Worlds' to an extent.

Paper 2

1) Liesbet van Zoonen suggests that gender is constructed through media language and that these constructions reflect social contexts. 

How far does an analysis of Men’s Health and Oh Comely support this argument? (25 marks)

Gender is definitely constructed through media language and these constructions hugely reflect social contexts as identified in 'Men's Health' and 'Oh Comely'

The intention of the encoding of the central image is twofold. Firstly the image is designed to, literally, embody the 'Men’s Health' aesthetic. In this case it is Hollywood action star Vin Diesel. Being Vin Diesel it also has the role of linking the concept of aesthetics to other markers of success; in this case film-star, celebrity and status. Vin is posing whilst accentuating his biceps and this is all captured through a long shot so that the emphasis is on Vin's physical appearance promoting strong brand identity. There is a clear link to Van Zoonen's description of gender and discourse who suggests that the media reinforces sex role stereotypes and sexualises both men and women's bodies. We see through the central image that he is uncomfortable thereby suggesting he is staged that way as Van Zoonen suggests: he is socially constructed. The patriarchal discourse places images of hyper-masculinity as the masculine ideal effectively depicted through Vin's choice of simple clothing in order to keep his body as the focal point. We can also see that this is an example of intertextuality where the magazine cover language, narrative and messages are dependent on the audience knowing another media product. Without that knowledge the cover loses its power of signification. With relation to encoding the cover is clearly anchored (and so is more closed) by audience recognition and by labels. Furthermore, bell hooks suggests that gender roles are not natural as they're constructed and also suggests that the media projects men in one way and shames those who do not fit that agenda also known as "normalised traumatisation". This is where men are used to show how they should look, and anyone who does not comply with 'the norm' is seen as different. This goes to show that toxic masculinity is being presented with an emphasis on physicality. The way in which Diesel is propped also points towards Gauntlett's theory of masculinity being 'in crisis' however, through this front cover of 'Men's Health', we see that masculinity is indeed not in crisis as traditional masculinity is being presented here although this does not reflect our changing social contexts, in which men are largely encouraged to speak about their "problems of masculinity" as Gauntlett puts it.

The cover is arranged to be attractive to readers and the typography is interesting as the title is a serif typeface (which has an authoritative feel) whereas the majority of the text is sans-serif (which gives it a more contemporary, youthful styling). There are also a couple of stencil-style sub-titles; which have a military aesthetic, and the use of a hashtag which is obviously designed to have connotations of new technology despite the fact that print is over 600 years old. The overall effect is designed to reduce any element of femininity. The cover lines such as "Demolish" and "Blast" are particularly written in an uppercase style and reveal to readers what's to come throughout the contents of the magazine. The fact that there is an aggressive undertone to the cover lines highlights dominance and strength. Furthermore, the "why social's going mental" line on the front cover suggests that 'Men's Health' may be trying to change their ethos and also represents an alternative male representation as the focus is on mental health as opposed to the very masculine feel that is given off throughout the rest of the front cover. This also has connotations of diversity and also reflects social contexts as  The study of Men’s Health can be linked to social and cultural contexts through reference to body image and changes in what society deems acceptable and unacceptable representations. Furthermore, the true grit page showcases Phillip Howells, a 69 year old man also known as "the marathon man'. We see an alternative representation of men here as opposed to Diesel and the fact that Howells is not on the front page shows how 'Men's Health' continously thrive to promote the traditional representation of men. As Gauntlett suggests, there are generational differences in the media today and this is what we clearly see here. Additionally, masculinity is not in crisis here as this feature shows that you do not need to be young and healthy to continue training and keeping fit.

However, in 'Oh Comely' a different view on gender is represented. 'Oh Comely' is produced by a small, independent company, Iceberg Press and is targeted to a niche audience. There are androgynous elements to the choice of model and her clothing and body language are not either hyper-feminine or overly sexualised. What can be read from the image is the combination of jewellery and clothing (especially the combination of the British country clothing-green and cream palette) which connote middle and upper-class identity. The model is also not a celebrity, nor is she a recognisable character. In this way the cover is an example of an open text encoding as the images and writing leave much up to the decoder being the reader. On the cover of Oh Comely magazine there are clear echoes of feminist theorist bell hooks’ concepts. For hooks it is important that women tell their own stories, which is reflected in the sub-title “Words of hard-won wisdom”. The language choices here are reminiscent of poetry and other forms of creative writing which reflect the creative focus in the magazine. On the subject of language choices the title of the magazine is also deliberately archaic (old fashioned). 

In other sections of the 'Oh Comely' magazine such as the Speaking Out section, we get a closer look into what 'Oh Comely' offers. Van Zoonen suggests that western beauty ideals restrict female participation in the media to a limited number of roles. Women tend to be excluded beyond a certain age or conform to tightly controlled conventions governing physical beauty. However, this is not the case for 'Oh Comely' and this is because in this section, many women from different races and ethnicities are being represented as well as women who do not fit the conventional gender stereotypes of tall and slim as suggested by Megan Crabbe who expresses body positivity and clearly does not fit western beauty ideals. Therefore, it can be argued that 'Oh Comely' successfully reflects current social contexts as we see a shift towards a more postmodern and accepting era today and 'Oh Comely' presents this very well.

In conclusion, both 'Men's Health' and 'Oh Comely' are useful in evaluating the success of media products. 

 “Television dramas reflect the social and cultural contexts of their production.”

To what extent does an analysis of your television Close Study Products support this view? (25 marks)

Both Capital and Deutschland 83 largely do reflect the social and cultural contexts of their production to an extent.

Capital was promoted specifically as a 'state of the nation' series, reflecting the BBC's status as an institution with a unique remit to represent the country. The series, an adaptation of a best-selling novel deals with pressing contemporary issues relevant to British society and culture; the financial crash and its repercussions, divisions in society based on wealth, Britain as a multi-cultural society, Britain as a European nation (or not), threat of terrorism and its effects. The series looks at the way London has become very polarised; with extremes of rich and poor, has become multicultural (with an immigrant underclass) and how working class areas have now become gentrified and expensive. The idea is represented more precisely through the Kamal family and Quentina, a Zimbabwean asylum seeker as well as the Polish builders. The open door shot behind them is in the facade of No 92 which is the most opulent of all the houses in the series but coming out of the door is the child-minder carrying the Yount’s youngest child. This motif, someone other than the babysitter taking care of the child, builds a theme in the episode where the Younts use their money to add luxuries to their lives which they have begun to see as necessities and cannot imagine coping without despite their close proximity to far poorer people and really emphasises the distinction between the two different classes.

Furthermore, Capital is both left wing and right wing in terms of its portrayal of some elements. For example, according to Gramsci who used the term Hegemony to describe the dominance of one social class over others, dominant ideologies are normalised, accepted and natural as nobody questions them therefore, anyone who does not fit into mainstream society is discredited. When applied to Capital, we see that in the first episode, left wing propaganda with dominant capitalist ideologies are represented: to succeed in Britain, one must work hard and this is completely evident through the character of Roger Yount who still works on his laptop late at night when he should really be spending time with his family but all in all although bankers are demonised in Capital, they are people who are working hard in order to provide for their families. Additionally, the Kamal family’s corner shop is usually seen to be open till late too which also demonstrates how they work hard as well, therefore, Marxists would argue that this is a crucial factor in the elite maintaining control and influencing what is seen as ‘common sense' and reflects the social contexts of Britain during the time of its production.

Deutschland 83 is part of cultural phenomenon of the early twenty first century which for the first time saw TV series not in the English language become part of mainstream UK broadcasting. It deals with the political past of Germany through the setting of the last decade of the cold war. This political past is explored through a revisionist approach to German and European history which questions some of the previous certainties about that period. This is a useful product to explore the vital issues of how nations explore their past through popular culture and how this is also a way of commenting on contemporary society. The production, distribution and circulation of Deutschland 83 shows how audiences can be reached, both on a national and global scale, through different media technologies and platforms, moving from the national to transnational through broadcast and digital technologies. Being a co-production of AMC Networks' Sundance TV and RTL Television (German and American), it goes to show how foreign language TV is now becoming a part of mainstream media and it can also be argued that Deutschland 83 was a deliberate attempt by the German media industry to develop a prestige series which could take advantage of the new openness of 'foreign' products abroad.

Furthermore, the series can be seen as visually interesting, constructing a stylised representation of 'real' places which transmit meanings about characters, places and issues. This fun postmodern element reflects modern media contexts through the use of bricolage. It contains a hybrid genre through the combination of the genres: spy thriller, coming of age and historical period drama whilst also blurring high culture (foreign language) and popular culture (coming of age dramas). Deutschland 83 poses more postmodern elements. This is evident through the supermarket scene where a long shot captures a super-saturated colour palette of the stacked shelves of tins and vibrant fresh fruit that displays Andy Warhol’s tin art and effectively promotes Deutschland 83’s postmodern aspect. Furthermore,  the choice of music signifies to the viewer the life-changing event that is occurring. Martin (the protagonist) is dramatically learning the difference between capitalist West Germany and his home in the DDR. This reinforces the audience understanding of his status as an under-prepared, and so atypical, spy-hero. The use of the Eurythmics 1983 “Sweet  Dreams” reinforces the motif of superabundant consumer products to build the theme of temptation as well as creating an audience pleasure of nostalgia as it accurately represents the time period the drama is set in. Furthermore, the spy montage scene is a great example of pastiche which refers to media products that imitate the style of another text, artist or time period. Historical dramas as well as postmodern dramas are popular, therefore, Deutschland 83 reflects the cultural contexts of 2015.