1

2

A2 G325: Critical Perspectives in Media The purpose of this unit is to assess candidates’ knowledge and understanding of media concepts, contexts and critical debates, through their understanding of one contemporary media issue and their ability to evaluate their own practical work in reflective and theoretical ways.

• The examination is two hours • Candidates are required to answer two compulsory questions, on their

own production work, and one question from a choice of six topic areas (We're doing Media and Collective Identity).

• The unit is marked out of a total of 100, with the two questions on production work marked out of 25 each, and the media theory question marked out of 50.

There are two sections to this paper: Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production (50 marks) Section B: Contemporary Media Issues (50 marks) Section B: Contemporary Media Issues One question to be answered from a choice of six topic areas offered by OCR. There will be two questions from each topic area. The topic areas require understanding of contemporary media texts, industries, audiences and debates.

• Candidates/ centres must a topic area, in advance of the examination and, through specific case studies, texts, debates and prepare to demonstrate understanding of the contemporary issue.

• This understanding must combine knowledge of at least two media and a range of texts, industries, audiences and debates, but these are to be selected by the centre / candidate.

• The assessment of the response will be generic, allowing for the broadest possible range of responses within the topic area chosen.

• Each topic is accompanied by four prompt questions, and candidates must be prepared to answer an exam question that relates to one or more of these four prompts. There should be emphasis on the historical, the contemporary and the future in relation to the chosen topic, with most attention on the present.

3

Some thoughts on identity

"Identity is complicated. Everyone thinks they've got one. Magazines and talk show hosts urge us to explore our

'identity.' Religious and national identities are at the heart of major international conflicts. Artists play with the idea of

'identity' in modern society. Blockbuster movie superheroes have emotional conflicts about their 'true' identity. And the average teenager can create three

online 'identities' before breakfast."

David Gauntlett (2007).

On the one hand, identity is something unique to each of us that we assume is more or less consistent (and hence the same) overtime... our identity is something we uniquely possess: it is what distinguishes us from other people. Yet on the other hand, identity

also implies a relationship with a broader collective or social group of some kind. When we talk about national identity, cultural identity, or gender identity, for example, we imply that our identity is partly a matter of what we share with other people. Here, identity is about identification with others whom we assume are similar to us (if not

exactly the same), at least in some significant ways.

David Buckingham (2008). He argues that identity is complicated/complex.

“…collective identity [is] an individual's cognitive, moral, and emotional connection with a community, category, practice, or institution. It is a perception of a shared status or relation, which may be imagined rather than experienced directly, and it is distinct from personal identities, although it may form part of a

personal identity. A collective identity may have been first constructed by outsiders, who may still enforce it, but it depends on some acceptance by those to whom it is applied. Collective identities are expressed in cultural materials -names, narratives, symbols, verbal styles, rituals, clothing, and so on - but not all cultural materials express collective identities. Collective identity does not

imply the rational calculus for evaluating choices that "interest" does. And unlike ideology collective identity carries with it positive feelings for other members of

the group“

COLLECTIVE IDENTITY AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS. Annual Review of Sociology, January 01, 2001, Polletta, Francesca; Jasper,

James M

4

The important thing to remember about this exam is that you are theorising the concept of collective identity, what is? How is it formed? And how do people use the media to relate to an identity? Also remember what collective group you are talking about ‘Black Britons’. I’ll break these revision notes down into the 4 questions that you need to be able to address. In addition when answering the exam

� How do the contemporary media represent nations, regions and ethnic/ social/ collective groups of people in different ways?

� How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?

� What are the social implications of different media representations of groups of people?

� To what extent is human identity increasingly 'mediated'? � Remember the case study texts I’ve provided you with FILM AND

MUSIC texts but you can use others, as long as you reference 2 different types of media in the exam its okay.

Historical - dependent on the requirements of the topic, candidates must

summarise the development of the media forms in question in theoretical contexts. Films

• Sapphire, Basil Dearden (1959) • Flame in the Streets, Roy Ward Baker (1962) • Pressure, Horace Ove (1976) • Babylon, Franco Rosso (1980)

Music

• 2 Tone (Genre) • The Specials

Contemporary - current issues within the topic area.

Films

• Kidulthood, Menhaj Huda (2006) • Adulthood, Noel Clarke (2008) • Shank, Mo Ali (2010) • Freestyle, Kolton Lee, (2010) • 1 Day Penny Woolcock (2009)

5

Television

• Eastenders (BBC1) • Dubplate Drama (Channel 4, 2005 -2009) • Luther (BBC1, 2010) • West 10 LDN (BBC3, 2008)

Music

• Grime & UK Hip-hop • Wiley • Kano • Dizzie Rascal • Bashy • Giggs • Skinny Man • Akala • N-Dubz

Future - candidates must demonstrate personal engagement with debates

about the future of the media forms / issues that the topic relates to.

• Shank, Mo Ali (2010)

6

BREAKING THE QUESTIONS DOWN

Exam Board Wording Translation Examples

1. How do the contemporary media represent nations, regions and ethnic/ social/ collective groups of people in different ways?

The question is essentially asking you to compare how different contemporary media construct (represent) Black Britain in different ways

Compare how ‘Black Britain’ is represented through film texts and music, briefly refer to historical texts to get the point across that the landscape and make up of what we now refer to (or hypothesise) as Black Britain has changed. Explain how the media has contributed to this change, how do films like Adulthood, Kidulthood, 1 Day etc construct Black Britain compared to music texts and artists.

2. How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?

Compare how contemporary media construct (represent) Black Britain as opposed to how historical media texts constructed Black Britain

Compare how ‘Black Britain’ is represented through film texts and music in contemporary media text and historical media texts. Why were Black Britons represented in a particular way? Has is changed or stated the same why? Music is important here as there may not be as a significant change as there was with film

3. What are the social implications of different media representations of groups of people?

What is the significance on society when different media construct Black Britain in different ways?

This links in with the first question. Think about who consumes the media texts we have studied e.g. the films and the music, what do they do with it? Do they use the texts to help form their own identity and become part of that collective group. Or if outside of the ‘collective group’ do they use it to form their opinions of that collective group.

4. To what extent is human identity increasingly 'mediated'?

How much of someone’s identity can be said to come about due too a thought process influenced by the media?

Identity is constructed and mediated (it goes through a selection and organisation process). So how do Black Britons use the film and music to help them to organise and select their identity?

7

APPLYING THE TEXTS WITH RELEVANCE

Sapphire, Basil Dearden (1959)

� Historical text � Good for construction of how whites viewed Blacks e.g. the scene in

the club (Tulips) referring to light skinned women as ‘Lilyskins’. Shaping them as ‘Other’ being from the jungle dancing to the sound of the drum. The use of the red petticoat insinuating that black women are promiscuous, the use of the characters of ‘Johnny’ and ‘Horace Big Cigar’ their use language and the way the address the police showing them to be almost illiterate and submissive. What other examples can you extract?

� An example of Hegemony � White director � Social realist film/ Racial problem film � Made just after Empire Windrush arrived

Flame in the Streets, Roy Ward Baker (1962)

� Historical text � Good for construction of how whites viewed Blacks, Gabriel referred to

as an animal by his wife when eating bread, the use of the Mods, etc � Representing the changing landscape of Britain e.g. mixed race

relationships � Social realist film/ Racial problem film � Implementation of new immigration laws � White director

Pressure, Horace Ove (1976)

� Britain’s first black feature film � Black director � First film that featured the struggle and disenchantment faced by

British-born black youths � Deals with the identity struggles that children of immigrants had to face � Social realist structure

Kidulthood, Menhaj Huda (2006) and Adulthood, Noel Clarke (2008)

� Contemporary text � Films that represent the change in the meaning of ‘Black Britain’

through the representation of a youth subculture � Asian director and black director who grew up in the area the films

were made

8

� Films have become hegemonic texts of what it means to be young and ‘black’ or part of that collective identity

� Films that link in the music of the subculture, and so were popular � Focus on the youth the older generation missing in these films

Freestyle, Kolton Lee, (2010)

� Contemporary text � Provides a more positive representation of young ‘Black Britain’ � Single dad – positive representation � All generations represented � Young black people having access to opportunities and wanting to

achieve � But wasn’t as popular as films such as Adulthood and Shank

1 Day Penny Woolcock (2009)

� Contemporary text � White director � Gangs in Birmingham � Uses music of the subculture

2 Tone and The Specials

� A music genre created in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by fusing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae and pop.

� Music unlike film didn’t segregate � Youth found a common ground through their social experience and

communicated musically � British-born black youth and white youths mixing with no hostility

Contemporary music artists

� Dizzie Rascal, N-Dubz, Skinny Man � Following in the footsteps of 2 Tone � Paul Gilroy writing about music in the 1960s and 1970s “an historic

encounter between young black and white people… [and] the creation of a youth sub-culture in which black style and expertise were absolutely central.” This still is the case now

�

9

KEY WORDS and TERMINOLOGY

Mediation The process by which the media select, alter, interpret, edit or invent aspects of the world before presenting it to the audience in the form of representations. There is an important difference between mediated experience and one’s direct personal experience

“…our knowledge of the world is constructed by media representations” (Andrews, Maggie. Burton, Julia. & Stevenson, Elspeth. (2009). AQA A2 Media Studies: Student's Book (Aqa Media Studies for A2). Surrey: Nelson Thornes Ltd.)

Hegemony Antonio Gramsci and the concept of hegemony, put simply ‘hegemony’ refers to the supremacy of one social grouping over the other. Gramsci argued that the ruling elite always makes great efforts to persuade the rest of the population that maintaining the status quo is ‘common sense’. This involves convincing them that supporting the interests of the elite is in their own best interests.

“…media representations of ‘race’ and ethnicity are constructed in accordance with dominant ideological positionings which serve to shape and control how individuals understand others’, and their own, identities.” Fatimah Awan, Young People, Identity and the Media, PhD Research Project, 2008

Representation

• The constructed and mediated presentation of people, things, ideas, places

• Representation is the process by which the media present the ‘real world’ • Most importantly to represent is to ‘re-present’

“ In agreement with Hall, a significant body of research suggests that the media, as a key transmitter of representations and as a major source of information within society, has the power to control and shape attitudes and beliefs held in the popular imagination” Fatimah Awan, Young People, Identity and the Media, PhD Research Project, 2008

Post-Colonialism Refers to a complex and competing set of discourses that consider the legacy and intellectual ramifications of colonialism. By colonialism we are talking about the process of colonisation intrinsic to Empire building: one country’s claim to sovereignty over another. When referring to colonialism there is therefore a tendency to make implicit reference to the British Empire.

10

Black-British Original meaning a British resident with specifically Sub-Saharan African ancestral origins, who self-identifies, or is identified, as "Black", African or Afro-Caribbean. Imperial ‘Other’ Referring to Black migrants from former British colonies, who are seen as not belonging in the country they have migrated to Youth sub-culture A minority youth culture whose distinctiveness depended largely on the social class and ethnic background of its members; often characterized by its adoption of a particular music genre Syncretism Reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief, as in philosophy or religion, especially when success is partial or the result is heterogeneous.

SOME THOUGHTS TO END

� What does it mean to be part of the collective group ‘Black Britain’ � What did it mean to be ‘Black British’ and why has this changed? � How do the media represent ‘Black Britain’? � How can music be seen as anti-hegemonic in it’s representation of ‘Black

Britain’? � How do people use the media to help form an identity?

REVISE USEFUL QUOTES ON THE BLOG!