A level Media Studies 2017-19 CHCHS (Eduqas) : June 2018

Thursday 21 June 2018

:on the link you will find the exam paper, mark scheme and at the end an example 'good' answer. take a ;look at the model answer and make notes especially on it structure, how does it start? how is the main body of text devided up and how does it end?

http://www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/media-studies/as-a-level/eduqas-a-level-media-studies-sams-from-2017-eng.pdf?language_id=1

I've taken the main points from the marking scheme and bullet pointed the main points as follows:

The main points to consider are as follows:

When answering the question :

· This is an extended response question. In order to achieve the highest marks, a response must construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning, and logically structured.
· Responses should address all of the bullet points in the question
· A range of representations may be referred to across the two products including: gender, ethnicity, age, issues and national identity.
· They may include reference to relevant theories such as reception theory or theories of representation
· responses must include comparisons between the set product and the unseen product
· Responses in the higher bands will explicitly engage with the 'how far' aspect of the question, making quantitive judgement.

Points to consider:

· the way issues, individuals and social groups are represented through a process of selection and combination
· how representations invoke discourses and ideologies and position audiences
· choice of characters/actors
· technical and audio codes used to construct representations in order to position audiences
- editing in order to position audiences

Analyse key similarities between how audiences are positioned by the representations, such as:

· the audience are positioned emotionally by both advertisements, as they both feature young people in potentially desperate situations
· the key character is central in the frame in both advertisements, positioning the audience close to the young females to encourage identification and empathy.
· both advertisements offer a contrast in the narratives and establish binary oppositions in the representations

Give examples to back up points made:

· WaterAid constructs a representation of a Western country, through the radio weather forecast and the mise-en-scène (radio and rain on the window), to position the target audience to identify with the environment. This is juxtaposed with the dry, arid African landscape, a very different and less familiar environment
· In Save the Children the narrative is completely located in London, a familiar location, however both the mise-en-scène and the narrative situation change as the child’s secure, familiar environment is affected by war
· Both use unexpected elements (the appearance of the community water point in the arid landscape in WaterAid; the transformation of London into a warzone in Save the Children) to position the audience
· Both advertisements use the media (radio broadcast in WaterAid, radio and TV news reports, broadsheet newspaper in Save the Children) as a ‘reliable’ source of information to construct the narrative and position the audience
· Both advertisements construct representations of characters who have been transformed by the end (although both have elements of circularity)

Analyse key differences between how audiences are positioned by the representations, such as:

· In WaterAid the construction of the representation of a developing country, including representations of age, gender and ethnicity, may be seen to challenge misrepresentations of developing countries and people of colour. The audience are positioned to draw on preconceived ideas. In Save the Children the country represented is familiar to the audience and challenges ideas of safety and security when the country is affected by war
· WaterAid uses a more positive representation to position audiences: the girl is happy despite the situation, reflecting the positive change brought about by access to clean water. In Save the Children the situation gradually deteriorates and the audience feels helpless
· In WaterAid the technical codes establish representations of gender, age and ethnicity and position the audience through, for example, the use of slow motion to establish a relaxed atmosphere despite the situation. In Save the Children the montage editing and cutting between shots suggests the panic and chaos

Draw conclusions about how far the representations relate to relevant media contexts, such as:

·Both advertisements relate to political and economic contexts:

o WaterAid is a non-governmental organisation that has been working to improve access to clean water in developing countries. The positive results of this work are shown in the advertisement but more is required (650 million people still don’t have access to water). The comment that ‘WaterAid receives 100% of donations’ is significant in relation to recent concerns about how much money donated to charities is directed to the actual cause. While international development is on the political agenda, it is an ongoing aim and there is not a specific crisis or incident that WaterAid is responding to here.

o Save the Children represents Britain, a developed country, and shows the impact of war to reinforce a message about the crisis in Syria, emphasised by the slogan ‘Just because it isn’t happening here doesn’t mean it isn’t happening’. This directly relates to the context of contemporary events in Syria and the Middle East that have been widely debated in parliament and the media, with many differing points of view and arguments about the level of involvement that Britain should have

Both advertisements use contexts to shock the audience out of their complacency, particularly the case with Save the Children, by transferring an unexpected cultural context/issues to a familiar setting.

· · Both advertisements use contexts to shock the audience out of their complacency, particularly the case with Save the Children, by transferring an unexpected cultural context/issues to a familiar setting.