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

Statement of Aims

I have though very carefully and have decided that i will go for brief one television. I have looked at a few shows to get inspiration for the show that i would like to create.  i first wanted to create a show inspired by the TV show "euphoria" starring Zendaya. "Euphoria" follows the troubled life of 17-year-old Rue, a drug addict fresh from rehab with no plans to stay clean. i got draw to this poster and TV series as it had an element of what i would like for my TV series to look and feel like. the idea of the series i have is to have the idea of a teenager in high school with a dysfunctional family with drug awareness in it. seeing that the brief is aimed at ages 18-34,i thought it would be relevant to touch on important subjects while keeping the series slightly light hearted. i also then looked at the TV series "the fosters" which 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, and "shameless" which follows the life of a dysfunctional family trying to get by on what they have in life by also making and getting into trouble with others. This is because i wanted to merge the ideas of dysfunctional families and drug awareness in my TV series. I finally looked a Netflix series called "insatiable". i took inspiration from this poster as the series is based on a teenage girl in high school which is exactly what i was going for in my series. i still had to think of a name and decided to go with the name "Bliss" which means perfect happiness; great joy. i got the inspiration of this title from "euphoria" as that means a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness however, the poster and atmosphere of the TV show is quite dark. For my magazine front cover, I am thinking of having either one or two people from my show to fully introduce the target audience to the show and the people behind it. I am thinking of mimicking the Euphoria poster by taking the pictures on low light settings. The models will cover their faces with their hands on order to give the effect of their identity being secret until people read the double page spread that I compose.

Explain how the radio industry targets audiences. Refer to Late Night Woman’s Hour to support your points. [ 10 marks ] 

Late Night Woman's Hour is a BBC Radio 4 show that is a late night edition of Woman's Hour. The main demographic are females as it is implied in the in the title of the show. The stereotypical audience listener is a middle class woman likely to be over 30 and mothers. This would be due the sophistication of all of the topics that are discussed in the show. There are many ways in which radio industries are able to target their audiences.

One way in which the radio industry targets its audiences is through their choice of presenter on the radio show. In Late Night Woman's Hour is presented by Lauren Laverne on Radio 4. She is known to be youthful and have a reputation for being very outspoken. Laverne is also known as a DJ, model, television presenter author singer and comedian. Due to her being known for all of her jobs, she is able to attract younger female listeners who are interested or are fans of her work. This will also lead to audiences tuning into the show to listen to their favourite presenter which will make them stick around to listen to the show. This also links to the fact that she is associated with BBC Radio 6 where she was apart of an alternative music band called "Kenickie" which appeals to a young audience for a variety of audiences to listen 

Another way in which the radio industry targets its audience is through the topics that they discuss in the show. Late Night Woman's Hour is centred on female topics that women can relate to. For example in the episode "Home", Lauren Laverne discusses the topics of home, hygge and domestic norms. Other topics discussed on the show include things such as: culture, moral issues as well as politics. Due to the main target audience of the programme being female, the programme focuses on more female oriented topics, however, they also talk about broad topics to suit for their niche male audience. The stereotypical listener is mainly interested in topics including affairs, family, home and crafts. This allows a wider range of topics to engage different audiences.

An alternative way in which the radio industry targets radio audiences is through the availability across a variety of platforms. Before the mid 1990s, radio could only be listened to on one platform. Now thanks to things such as digital transmission, many more radio stations can be broadcast to different people. As there has been a change from analogue radio to digital audio broadcasting which allows access to a wider range of audiences. People can also listen to the show on multiple devices such as phones, tablets, laptops and more as people can listen to podcasts live or can download them if the time the show is live is inconvenient. This allows for more people to access the show due to convergence.

History of games consoles

History of Gaming

1972- Atari Pong and Home Pong
1977- Atari VCS 2600
1978- Magnavox Odyssey 2
1978- Mud Gaming
1978- Space Invaders
1980- Pac Man
1980- Space Invaders Championship(first competitive gaming tournament)
1982- Commodore 64
1983- Game Crash
1985- Nintendo Entertainment System
1986- Sega Master System
1986- The Legend of Zelda
1989- Nintendo Game Boy
1989- Sega Genesis
1989- Nintendo Game Boy
1990- Windows PC games
1991- Nintendo Super NES
1993- Atari Jaguar
1993- Doom
1995- Sega Saturn
1995- Sony Playstation
1996- Nintendo 64
1996- Pokemon
1997- Grand Theft Auto
2000- The Sims
2000- Playstation 2
2001- Nintendo Gamecube
2003- STEAM/Call of Duty
2004- Nintendo DS
2005-Xbox 360
2006- Nintendo Wii
2009- Minecraft
2011- Skyrim
2012- Wii U
2013- Sony Playstation 4
2013- Xbox One
2013- GTA V
2017- Nintendo Switch

MMORPG- Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game
Augmented Reality- interactive experience of a real world environment where the objects in real life are enhanced by computer generated perceptual information
Persistent world- a world in which still exists even if the player is not logged in or no players are there
CRPG- Computer Role Playing Game

The PSVita was a handheld video game console which was developed and manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. it was released on 17th December 2011 first in Japan and the released in places such as Europe, North America and other international territories on 22nd February 2012, Sony has discontinued the production of the console as it was the least successful console to be made. Due to it being a part of the 8th generation of video game consoles, it competed with Nintendo's 3DS.

How do mainstream films target or maximise their audience?

How do mainstream films target and maximise their audience? Refer to Straight Outta Compton to support your points ( 10 marks)

In the media industry, there are many ways in which films target their audiences as well as attempt to expand it. In the mainstream film "Straight Outta Compton", there are many ways in which this is done.

One way is through the use of storyline and actors. Straight Outta Compton is a biographical film based on the group of N.W.A which consisted of members such as Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Eazy E. The storyline would maximise their audience as many older individuals may recognise them and remember listening to their albums and music as they made quite a big impact in black urban music. the storyline can also contribute to maximising audiences as many people can relate to and remember their journey towards now. In the movie, there are real life events that are presented such as the 1992 Los Angeles riots which is a very memorable event that occurred where 2,000 California Army National Guardsmen patrolled the city to attempt to restore order in the city. The 1992 L.A riots was a serious riot that lasted five days which was described as a civil disturbance. This maximises audiences as they will be intrigued to learn more in depth what exactly happened for the people who have never heard about it to help educate young people about the kind of problems people faced in past and present times. This relates to the social context of guns and violence in society.

Another way in which mainstream films maximise and target their audience is through the use of product placement promotions. In Straight Outta Compton, there are many brands and companies that are implicitly being advertised due to what the actors are either wearing or using. The most noticeable promotion comes at the end of the film when Dr.Dre starts his own music label. As it shows the future of Dre's venture into the music world alone, it shows viewers that he created Beats by Dre. This is a promotional act as it allows people watching the film to recognise what his company and hopefully persuade individuals to purchase the product because it is being advertised by a big company itself. Due to the age certificate of the movie being 15, teenagers are most likely to ask their parents to buy it for them.

On the other hand, a different way in which mainstream films maximise their audience is through the use of promotional marketing campaign. Straight Outta Compton has done this successfully as the promotion poster has become a viral trend where people are recreating the poster with their own twist to it. This allows audiences to get more involved in the promotion of the movie as it allows others who are not aware of the film to be influenced to check where the trend started fro and make them interested in learning about the film. This is a good way to maximise their audience as many celebrities such as athletes, musicians actors and models have also taken part in the marketing campaign such as Serena Williams, Jamie Foxx and many other celebrities. They put a tool on their website straightouttasomwhere.com to allow users to upload a picture and a step saying "Straight Outta" then putting their city. This was first started by Dr.Dre's company Beats.The involvement from audience got the campaign a Shorty Award.

An alternative way in which mainstream films target their audience is the genre  of music. Straight Outta Compton is about the beginning of black urban music such as rap. Individuals that are interested in this the of music are more likely to listen watch the film as they may want to know how exactly rap music started to become a genre. It can also appeal to people that do not listen to or are unfamiliar to rap music. This would allow them to want to take interest in the movie as it will help them to better understand the genre and may even influence them to become interested in listening to that genre and maybe even listen to some of the music produced by some of the artists that the appear in the movie.

Mainstream films can also maximise their audience through the trailer. Unlike many other films, Straight Outta Compton took into consideration the diversity in audiences so they decided to make three different trailers for the movie to target black, white and hispanic people to be persuaded to watch the film in the cinema. The use of different trailer to appeal to different audiences allows the film to be more appealing to others as it does not subject itself to a specific demographic. This pursues others to talk more openly about the film as it is not aimed at a certain group, but instead it involves every group and does not isolate anyone as it spreads the message that fils should not be subjective of their audiences.

Water Aid ad

in the water aid charity advert, there are many technical codes to provoke responses as well as emotions to connect with the target audience.
the main target audience for the wateraid advert is mainly middle aged older people. this can be obvious to the audience as at the ending, it promotes the advert by telling viewers to text sunny to the number to donate £3 a month. this is clearly targeted at an older audience since they are more likely to be able to donate. in the advert, the landscape in Africa in the beginning is represented as dry due to the close up of the crops. then following that, the colours start to brighten as the overall tone of the advert begins to become more positive.
the song sun shine on a rainy day presented in the advert links to the target audience which are adults in their 30s. the song was made in 1990s which is when the target audience was younger which we give them a sense of nostalgia. The director of the advert uses warm colours/tones in order to speak with the audience. To audiences, these warm colours connote a sense of safety which makes them feel happy for the community. The directors of the advert have decided to name the main character as it allows the audience to feel a personal connection to the person as if they know them personally.
the use of camera shots allows audiences to focus more on what the advert and director is trying to show us. an example of this is in the beginning of the advert when they use a wide shot to give audiences a good look what the landscape looks like. another example is when they use a close up on the main characters face which allows audiences to see the emotion in her face. one other way they use close up in the advert is to show the main focus. in the Water Aid advert, iconography is used a sweater is presented as a motif in every scene. nearing the end of the advert, sun shines on the water which allows audiences to realise not to take advantage of water as people in poorer countries see it as a necessity as well as valuable and precious.

Vance Joy's Riptide

Vance Joy's Riptide is an indie music video which has an intertextual genre of horror implemented into it. there is a key representation of genre in the music video mainly focused on women. the women in the video seem to be sexualised. for example, in the beginning of the video, the woman seems to be at the dentist fearing for her safety. later on, we then see another woman at the seaside removing her bathing suit while the audience is in the view of someone looking at her from behind. this can be said to be the male gaze as each woman in the video can be seen in either a vulnerable state or sexualised. another thing is that it also gives slight glimpses of women being abused by most likely, men. this can be a reference to David Lynch's Blue Velvet where the woman is a famous singer and she is continuously abused by her "lover" while someone is watching from a hiding place. this is a directly referenced in Riptide as the female singer progressively becomes more traumatised and distraught. Another use of intertextuality in the music video is reference from the work of director Wes Anderson.

Representation in the media

Representation in the media

In media, representation is the way that different forms of media portray and shape various social groups or issues in a certain way whether it is based on prejudice, bias or stereotypes. Representation can be shown in either a negative way or a positive one. The different social groups that are categorised in media are gender, age and ethnic background, race and identity. However, these groups can be portrayed in a positive or a negative way.

Ethnic backgrounds, race and identity is another main social group that people around the world are put in due to their representation in the media. The difference between ethnicity and race is that ethnicity is normally defined by language, cultural and national customs as well as beliefs whereas race can be defined by physical attributes and characteristics that could link to skin colour. Media and society today can make representation of ethnicity powerful whether it is good or bad. Certain ethnic groups are seen more positively. One predominant racial and ethnic stereotype for Muslims and Arabians is that they are terrorists, but they are only seen as this because the media has swayed people into believing that this is true by striking fear into society’s eyes by labelling them due to the previous events of terrorist and bomber attacks such as 9/11. Other stereotypes include things like the French are the best chefs and are very romantic or that black people are violent are normally apart of gangs which all of these stereotypes can easily be debunked but due to the media picking certain ways to portray these people, it is affecting how society sees them in general.

The first example of representation in the media is through the music video of Childish Gambino’s (aka Donald Glover) “this is America”. It is said to be a narrative video as it displays the various problems that black people in particular have had to face over the years. This music video is well known for its subliminal messages and meanings behind the work. The first representation is through the stance he does at the beginning of the video while holding a gun. This is known as “Jim Crow”. The stance is named after a racist fictional character which labelled African-Americans as stupid, lazy and inhumane while being performed and created in the early 1800s to represent the ethnic minority. Another representation is in the background. As Glover is singing and dancing in the foreground, many people do not notice the events occurring behind him such as riots and even a man jumping off a railing. This is to show that society is so fixated on good things that they fail to come to terms with reality and that we don’t focus on details. 

Also in the beginning when Glover shoots the man, we soon see that the gun he used is taken with a red cloth and treated with care. However, the body of the deceased man is dragged off to the side. This makes audiences believe that in America, guns are more valued for than individuals. Another intriguing representation is through the choir scene where the choir begin to sing and then get shot by Glover. This is a reference to the 2015 Charleston church shooting performed by white supremacist Dylann Roof while killing nine innocent black people in South Carolina. Glover put this in the video to raise awareness about the situation as well as to show people that black people are mistreated daily due to the colour of their skin. The final way that representation is shown through the video is at the very end where you see Glover running from a group of white people. This represents the fact that black people in America particularly are still living in fear while running away from the social injustices in society today. This can also be viewed as a slave running away from their slave owners as Glover, a black male, is running away in fear from white people. All of these representations relate to Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory and George Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory as the video uses media language and concepts in the narrative to convey meaning. It also helps to tackle some of the various problems people are dealing with in society.

In media today, men and women are noticeably different in the way that they are portrayed. The portrayal of women in the media has changed progressively in the years to view them in a more positive and acceptable light. However, women are still seen in a negative light due to what the media called “the male gaze”. The male gaze is how different media texts visualise women through the perspective of a male and their attitudes towards women. This also plays in with the typical stereotypes of a woman which are to be submissive and inferior to men, domestic, infatuated with looks, feminine and vulnerable. This also pals on they are meant to dress. In the 20^th century, women were seen as housewives and are expected to be seen in dresses, heels and skirts with their hair done whereas now, women are sexualised more than ever as they are seen with heaps of makeup and hardly any clothing to wear at all. Due to social and cultural aspects in the media, this is how society sees women now. Just like women, the representation of men has also changed over the years. The traditional stereotypical attributes of men are to be athletic, dominant, superior, independent, heroic and highly intelligent. However, metro sexuality is slowly emerging into the media where a man gets in touch with his femininity while being into fashion, health and fitness and romance.

The second example of representation in music videos is in The Weeknd’s “Earned It”. The main representation that is predominant through the whole video is gender. Throughout the whole video, audiences can see that he is wearing a black suit which gives connotations of a strong, powerful and authorial man. Linking to this, he is sitting in the audience while a group of women who are wearing a minimal amount of clothing are dancing for him. This reflects on the view that in media, women are seen as inferior to men who are seen as dominant and superior. Later on in the video, the audience see a woman descending from the ceiling while being tied up. This makes viewers seem as if she and the other women in the video as objects which plays on the “male gaze”. This is when the director makes a media product through the male’s perspective. This relates to Liesbet van Zoonen’s Feminist theory where men and women are represented differently in the media while women are normally objectified due to media these days in society.

In conclusion, even though representations of certain groups of people may not seem wrong, the media can be manipulative as it can paint anyone as good or bad without really knowing who the person they are targeting or talking about personally or what challenges they have endured during their life. They may not always be negative, but it may not give audiences a true look into the social group and could really damage our society which can influence someone’s knowledge of the group and actions as well as behaviour towards them.