EXAM PAPER 1 SECTION B

 

EXAM PAPER 1 SECTION B 

PAPER 1 Section B   45 marks ( 45 minutes writing time )

Complete all of  the following questions and publish on your blog. You can plan and research your answers .   

 3a What is a media conglomerate ? ( 2 )

Companies that have ownership over a large number of companies in various mass media such as radio, publishing, movies, television etc. E.g. Walt Disney Company

3b  How does ownership shape the content of newspapers ? Refer to the Mirror and The Times (8)

Ownership of newspapers can shape its content through the paper's political views. As The Mirror is a left-winged newspaper, this means that they stand for progressive ideas such as gradual change, supporting young people as well as equal opportunity for all. They believe in larger state with more state control over the economy and more spending in order to provide or improve welfare. On the other hand, The Times is a right-winged newspaper. This means that  they stand for more traditional values such as nationalism, smaller state and lower taxes. They believe in the idea of law and order and more freedom for businesses while focusing on individuals' social class. Overall, The Mirror would favour the Labour party and link stories based on more liberal ideas whereas The Times would favour the Conservative party and link their stories with more conservative ideas.

Another way ownership shapes the content of newspapers is through where they owners are from. With newspapers such as The Mirror and The Times, due to them both being British newspapers that are owned by British people, (The Mirror and The Times are owned by Rupert Murdoch), they are more likely to talk about things such as British politics like Brexit and the Prime Minister as well as local news and events happening during different times while also including British celebrity gossip and entertainment channels such as ITV and BBC. These factors would shape the newspaper to report on British news rather than maybe American news.

3c  What has been the impact of recent technologies on all elements of  the newspaper industry   and how has it responded to these challenges ?  Refer to The Mirror and The Times   ( 12)

One major impact that technology has had on the newspaper industry is the lack of buying print newspapers. Due to a lot of people having social media, this allows people to get the news that they need from the internet by either searching for it online, or news stories being shared to them by friends or family. this also allows them to get their news for free without having to pay for a physical print copy. A way in which newspapers have faced this particular challenge is that some have made social media accounts in order for people to share news stories to their family and friends easier. This can also be shown by hashtags associated to the newspapers and articles. Newspapers such as The Mirror and The Times have a Twitter and Instagram account in order for people online to interact with others. This has also lead to newspapers moving to online instead of print. This is due to the fact that people can access the newspaper more frequently and they can just load it on their phone, tablet or laptop. They can still make money through advertisements on the website. On the websites for The Mirror and The Times, people must subscribe to the newspaper in order to have full access to different content.

4a  What is the importance of  fandom in media products ?  Refer to the Assassins Creed franchise to support your points  ( 8 )

One importance of fandoms in media products is that it allows the media product to have a devoted fan base. With Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft have made many follow up games to its first Assassin's Creed game due to such great reception from fans. This enables the creators to be able to make more games for the series as it has accumulated a dedicated fanbase that are genuinely interested in the games. this means that more copies of the game would be sold and that more profit would go to the developers to make more games consumers would like. With this much of a devoted fanbase, developers can also be critiqued by their fanbase as as their opinion can help improve the players' game experience.

Another importance of fandom the fandom is through social interactions. In Assassins Creed, the game offers players social experiences as not only can players play by themselves, but they can also play on a multiplayer mode with friends, family or new people that they have met online through the game. This can also lead to people that already have the game to persuade others that they know to get it so that they can play together online. This then leads to more product promotion and recognition which then leads to more profit for the creators.  

4b How is the gaming industry regulated or what are the challenges in this particular industry  ?  (8)

One way the gaming industry is regulated is through PEGI. PEGI is the video game  age rating system regulator in Europe which was established in order to ensure that parents are choosing a game for their child that is appropriate for their age group. It is supported by many game manufacturers such as Sony, Microsoft and many others. The age ratings used by PEGI are; 3, 7, 12, 16 and 18 where 3 is suitable for all age groups in which sounds as well as pictures should not be likely to scare young children and 18 where the game may include mature subjects such as gross violence, drugs etc that may depict real life situations.

A challenge faced in the gaming industry is when it comes to selling and consumers buying the product. Although PEGI rates all games for it to meet the criteria for the right age group, some parents may buy their children a game with an age rating higher than the child's actual age. This can be argued to have a drastic change in the child's behaviour and the parents could blame the creators of the game which could lead to an outcry of hate towards the developers from other parents. This could then lead to other people no longer wanting to support the game further and the game no longer being sold which would result in a loss of money for the developers.

5    How important is historical context to media products ? 

                Refer to your Tide advertising case study.               (7) 

In media products, historical is very important as it gives people insight on the development of technology and products in general throughout the years. In the Tide advert, the main image clearly shows that the advert is promoting washing powder. This links to new technological home appliances being developed rapidly in the 1950s during the post-WW2 consumer boom which were purposefully designed and created to make domestic chores easier for women. This included products such as fridge-freezers, microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners and of course, washing machines which were all deemed as desirable products.

Another important factor of historical context in media products is that it allows people to learn more about representation of individuals. The main image is of a 1950s housewife hugging the advertised product. During this time, women were the primary target market for products that were being developed to help for house chores. This links to the stereotypical representation where women are made to take care of the domestic chores, care for the rest of the family and serve their husbands as they are the "men of the house".

Film poster research

Euphoria synopsis: An American adaptation of the Israeli show of the same name, "Euphoria" follows the troubled life of 17-year-old Rue, a drug addict fresh from rehab with no plans to stay clean. Circling in Rue's orbit are Jules, a transgender girl searching for where she belongs; Nate, a jock whose anger issues mask sexual insecurities; Chris, a football star who finds the adjustment from high school to college harder than expected; Cassie, whose sexual history continues to dog her; and Kat, a body-conscious teen exploring her sexuality. As the classmates struggle to make sense of their futures, the series tackles the teenage landscape of substance-enhanced parties and anxiety-ridden day-to-day life with empathy and candor.

 

Insatiable synopsis: For years Patty was overweight, which caused her to be bullied, ignored and underestimated by the people around her. But she is now thin and seeking revenge against those who ever made her feel bad about herself through fat-shaming. Enter Bob Armstrong, a disgraced attorney with a passion for coaching beauty pageant contestants. As one of the only people who sees Patty's potential, he takes her under his wing -- first as a legal client, then as a pageant contestant. Bob hopes to coach Patty to the top of the pageant game, but he and wife Coralee have no idea how deep her rage goes or how far she will go to exact revenge on the people she feels have wronged her. are the two layouts of posters that give me a bit of inspiration to create an idea of what i would like mine to look like. 

The Fosters synopsis. Follows the lives of Stef Foster and her life partner Lena Adams and their struggles to raise their children Brandon, Jesus and Mariana in San Diego.



I have decided to go for these three pictures because I believe that these would go very well with the concept of the series that I am trying to create. I am most attracted to the first and second images. I will most likely go for the first image. I will adapt this by putting the title of my series on the tape. My series is a drama based on drug abuse, violence as well as family.

Black Panther Historical and Cultural context

The Harlem Renaissance: The Harlem Renaissance was the development of the Harlem neighbourhood in New York City as a black cultural movement in the early 20th Century and the subsequent social and artistic explosion that had resulted. this movement roughly from the 1910s through to the mid-1930s. This period of time is considered a golden age in African American culture, manifesting in literature, music, stage performance as well as art.

Source: https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/harlem-renaissance

The Black Panthers: The Black Panthers (who were also known as the Black Panther Party), was a political organisation that was founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in order to challenge police brutality against the African American community during that time. The Black Panthers dressed in black berets and black leather jackets. They organised armed citizen patrols around Oakland and other U.S. cities. At its peak in 1968, the Black Panther Party had roughly around 2,000 members. The organisation later declined as a result of internal tensions, deadly shootouts and FBI counterintelligence activities aimed at weakening the organisation.

Source: https://www.history.com/topics/civil-rights-movement/black-panthers

Afrofuturism: a cultural movement that uses the frame of science fiction and fantasy to reimagine the history of the African diaspora as well as  to invoke a vision of a technically advanced and generally hopeful future in which Black people thrive. This movement is normally expressed through art, cinema, literature, music, fashion, etc.

Source: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/afrofuturism#:~:text=noun,%2C%20music%2C%20fashion%2C%20etc

Oscarssowhite: a hashtag used to call out the lack of diversity—especially people of colour but also women and the LGBTQ community—in nominations for the Academy Awards, or Oscars. It has expanded as a call for greater inclusion of marginalized groups in all aspects of the film industry.

Source: https://www.dictionary.com/e/pop-culture/oscarssowhite/#:~:text=%23OscarsSoWhite%20is%20a%20hashtag%20used,aspects%20of%20the%20film%20industry.

The Story of The Black Panther

How does Black Panther fit into the Marvel franchise and universe ?

The character of "Black Panther" existence was first hinted at  in Iron Man 2. Marvel fans are first introduced to the character of Black Panther in Captain America Civil War where T'Challa's father, T'Chaka is killed in a terrorist attack bombing said to have been orchestrated by The Winter Soldier also known as Bucky Barnes. Captain America brings half of the Avengers to help Bucky as they believe he has been brainwashed whereas Iron Man brings together the other half of the Avengers as well as other heroes in the MCU including Black Panther to capture Bucky for the different problems he has recently contributed to such as the bombing and assassinating Tony Stark's parents. This then leads to the movie, Black Panther taking place one week after the events of the bombing of the Vienna International Center which then leads to T'Challa becoming the king of Wakanda and taking his father's place on the throne.

What makes it different from other films in the Marvel cinematic universe ?

According to the director Ryan Coogler, the movie represents what it it means to be a black person in America, Africa and generally in the world as the film does not attempt to hide or dodge issues of race and identity that are normally classed as complicated that affects modern day black individuals in their everyday life. He says that Black Panther tackles one of the most important genres; "Superhero films that deal with issues of being of African descent." Black Panther is the first mega budget superhero film to have a predominantly black cast and African American director.

TV advertising campaign

The TV advertising campaign that I have chosen is Metro Trains' Dumb Ways To Die. This campaign is a PSA (public service announcement) to help raise awareness to people to take care of themselves when around trains as it could lead to fatal accidents. Metro Trains decided to make the campaign targeted at kids so they made the choice to mix catchy music, cartoon characters to get their attention while also making it light hearted by making different jokey ways to die such as poking a bear with a stick. The sense of dark humour gives the campaign a more serious tone which can then make the ad targeted to a mixture of audiences. The jokes in the ad such as using yourself as piranha bait underline the main message of staying safe around trains as the song practically states that it is in fact a dumb way to die.

TV Advertisements

5 slogans for products recently advertised

Just the right amount of everything- iPhone 11
You only get an ooo, with typhoo- Typhoo tea
Greatness awaits-  PS4
There's a smile in every Hershey bar- Hershey's chocolate
Believe in better- Sky broadband

Shock tactic adverts

An example of a shock tactic advert is with NHS smoke free. In the ad, they use a graphic picture which is meant to imitate what happens to your blood when you smoke. The tagline of the ad is "Everytime you smoke, your blood gets thick and dirty with toxins". This is a very good use of shock  tactic as it will make people who smoke second guess about putting a cigarette in their mouth.

Another advert with shock factor is Barnardo. In the advert, the man is talking to someone in the point of view of the viewer. Later in the ad, as the man begins to "flashback" to his timeline from an adult to child where he had difficulties being from a foster home. This is a very good use of shock tactic as it may allow people to relate to the struggles of having to move from different foster homes in his life.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a psychological concept where he believes that there are 5 fundamental principles that everyone needs from most to least important:

Physiological
Safety
Love
Esteem
Self-actualization

Examples of stereotypes include:

Dumb Blonde Girl
Asians are very smart
Goths wear black clothes and are depressing
Black boys carry weapons
All Mexicans went to America illegally

There are many different ways in which music can be used for adverts such as:

To evoke emotion
To create suspense
To accompany a story

An example of an elite person featuring in an advert is Usain Bolt partnering with Virgin Media. Virgin Media's goal is to persuade people to buy their service of broadband and wifi. they decided to choose Usain Bolt to promote their company because he is well known and is known as the fastest man in the world. As Virgin is meant to be fibre optic and fibre optic is meant to be fast, the use of Usain Bolt correlates well with the ad as it makes potential customers believe that virgin media runs fast and smoothly just like Usain Bolt himself.

another example of an elite person featuring in an advert is from Pepsi when partnering with Kendall Jenner. the advert was about people attempting to rebel against the police by holding a protest in the middle of the street. on one side there are protesters while on the other, are a line of guards with batons in a straight line. Kendall Jenner then walks from the protesters to the police. she then hands a pepsi can to the officer and as he accepts and drinks it, the crowd cheers. However, this received a wave of backlash as it was said to be mocking protests for equal rights for black people.

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is a term that refers to when once piece of media takes inspiration from another and makes a parody by referencing it. an example of this is with Star Wars and Vodafone. Vodafone is a sim and phone provider that helps you to either sell your phone or buy another one. One time, they partnered with Star Wars and

My Tv poster layout: Bliss