End of Year 1 exam - learner response

 Create a new blogpost on your Media Exam blog called 'End of Year 1 exam learner response' and work through the following tasks:

1) Type up your feedback in full (you do not need to write mark/grade if you do not wish to).


WWW: This exam starts well with clear knowledge of narrative theory and issues relating to masculinity. Section A is pretty solid across the board so the challenge is maintaining that through extended essay based questions.

EBI: Very obvious Section B dragged you down significantly so clearly revision of the in depth CSPs is essential. TV industry also a clear weakness. In general there is a lack of specific reference to CSPs .. the specific Mens Health pages .. the music videos ..specific scenes and aspects of Maybelline advert. The textual analysis is crucial for the higher grades.

2) Read the mark scheme for this exam carefully, paying particular attention to the 'indicative content' for each question. Identify ONE point you could have added for the first three questions in Section A:


Q1 additional point/theory: 


  • Conventions: cover lines create narrative enigma – “Those slimy rodents...”; “The 100 dames...”; “...bachelor girls run wild” etc.
  • Intertextuality: cover creates intertextual reference to King Kong stories/movies of 1950s which engages audience using narrative.

Q2 additional point/theory/CSP reference: 

  • Evidence of the male gaze (Mulvey) with passive blonde female wearing revealing top reflects male dominance of the time period. Media products typically represented men in a hypermasculine way.
  • Changes in culture/society are reflected in That Boss Life advert – gay marriage, LGTBmovement, equal rights etc.
  • Gauntlett – identity becoming more fluid; changes over time; generational differences.
  • Selection of Gutierrez reflects changing times – digital influencer, chosen for popularity and number of followers, reflects influence of audience in modern culture.
Q3 additional point/theory/CSP reference: 


  • Protest song with cultural significance: slavery, 13th amendment, ‘black codes’, documenting discrimination in society and mass incarceration, link to Selma (director/cinematographer), civil rights movement. Use of floating black square motif to build on lyrical references.
  • Billie Jean one of the archetypes of music video – a video that set the conventions of the genre (Goodwin – music video theory).
  • Genre theory – Buckingham & dynamics of genre; Neale ‘similarity and difference’. Billie Jean hugely influential in the pop music video genre.



3) Section B requires you to write extended essays with 35 minutes and 5-7 well-developed paragraphs per question (excluding introduction and conclusion). Count the number of paragraphs you wrote for each question in Section B excluding your introduction/conclusion:


Q6 number of paragraphs: 1


Q7 number of paragraphs: 3/4


4) Question 6 (TV industry) was arguably the hardest question on the exam. Write a new paragraph that answers the question referring to either Capital or Deutschland 83 and the global TV industry. Use the indicative content in the mark scheme to help you.


Deutschland 83 can be seen as more of a global series compared to Capital because it was internationally a co-funded production between German money as well as American money. This series was internationally consumed better in other countries rather than its own country Germany. Where as, Capital explores different themes such as terrorism, immigration and financial crisis which reflects the global nature of TV industry. However, the themes were explored in a way that only a British audience would understand, recognise and identify with for example the financial crisis and the rising house prices. 

5) Question 7 was a synoptic question that rewarded your ability to cover all four key concepts of Media. Write a new paragraph for this essay using the indicative content in the mark scheme to help you.


Mens Health retained a loyal audience because the have moved with the changing face of masculinity while still reinforcing certain aspects of hypermasculinity (e.g. Vin Diesels muscles and physique). The five cover lines emphasise weight loss or dieting which is a very different representation of masculinity compared to 50 years ago (e.g Score hair cream advert). However, the cover lines offer aggressive, hypermasculine language (e.g slay, demolish) which reinforces the traditional masculinity. This suggests that Mens Health are willing to move with the time in order to maintain a loyal audience.



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