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OSP: Paul Gilroy - Postcolonial theory and diasporic identity

  Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 170: Gilroy – Ethnicity and Postcolonial Theory . Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets or you can access it online here using your Greenford Google login. Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks: 1) How does Gilroy suggest racial identities are constructed? He suggests racial identities are historically constructed and that racism causes race. He argues against ethnic absolutism as it counters his argument that racism causes race. 2) What does Gilroy suggest regarding the causes and history of racism? Gilroy suggests that racism occurs due to  colonisation, slavery, nation philosophies and consumer capitalism.  3) What is ethnic absolutism and why is Gilroy opposed to it? Ethnic absolutism is the idea that humans are part of different ethnic compartments, with race as the bases of human differentiation. Gilroy i...

Taylor Swift: Audience and Industries blog tasks

  Background and audience wider reading Read this Guardian feature on stan accounts and fandom . Answer the following questions: 1) What examples of fandom and celebrities are provided in the article? - Julia Fox and her fandom (@JuliaFoxSource who is her biggest fan account) - Ariana Grande - Arianators  - Cardi B - Bardigang - Lady Gaga - Little Monsters 2) Why did Taylor Swift run into trouble with her fanbase?  When Swift's presale for her concert came out, Swifties (her fan base) were locked out of Ticketmaster's system which left Swifties to be disappointed.  3) Do stan accounts reflect Clay Shirky's ideas regarding the 'end of audience'? How?  They reinforce Shirky's ideas of "end of audience" as stan accounts produce their own content and news related to a celebrity which may not be filtered or professional. Furthermore, stan accounts act as unpaid advertising which reflects the blur of content and promotion. Additionally, the news and content ...

Taylor Swift: Language and Representations blog tasks

  Narrative Go to  our Media Magazine archive  (issue  MM79 ) and read the feature All Too Well on Taylor Swift and how she controls her own narrative. Answer the following questions:  1) Why is Taylor Swift re-recording her earlier albums?  Taylor Swift has re-recorded her earlier albums as they were sold to Shamrock Holdings for $300m by Scooter Braun. She wanted full ownership of her records so she re-recorded her albums which would nullify Braun’s involvement. 2) Why did Taylor Swift choose to make the short film 'All Too Well'?  Taylor Swift chose to make the short film “All Too Well’ to push her professional creative boundaries but to also communicate Swift’s relationship with actor Jake Gyllenhaal. 3) What other examples are provided in the article of Taylor Swift using media to construct her own image?  We see how Swift constructs her own image as she released her album 1819 (2014) as a direct response to criticisms about her private life....

Year 13 Baseline assessment: Learner response

  1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential). 32/40 WWW: Sanjivani, this is a strong attempt from you, well done! Your Q1 was spot on and your Q2 was effective at communicating how magazines have been impacted by digital print.  EBI: Revise media affect theories and consider their relevance to the CSPs which you have studied. More examples for Q3 would have strengthened your response.  2) Focusing on the BBC Newsbeat question, write three ways it helps to fulfil the BBC's mission statement that you didn't include in your original assessment answer. Use the mark scheme for ideas. -  This includes politics, economics, crime, sport and entertainment. The BBC’s remit demands that it offers informative content to all audience demographics and this helps fulfil its remit for reaching teenagers and young adults with news content. - This includes politics, economics, crime, sport and entertainment. The ...

Influencers and celebrity culture: blog tasks

  1) Media Magazine reading Media Magazine 72 has a feature linking YouTube influencers to A Level media theories. Go to our Media Magazine archive , click on MM72 and scroll to page 60 to read the article ‘The theory of everything - using YouTubers to understand media theory’. Answer the following questions: 1) How has YouTube "democratised media creativity"? YouTube has  democratised media creativity as ordinary users are now able to upload their own content and become prosumers (producers and consumers). This means everyone can become producers due to social media allowing for audiences to easily create content.  2) How does YouTube and social media culture act as a form of cultural imperialism or 'Americanisation'?  YouTube and social media act as a form of " Americanisation" or cultural imperialism as they make up majority of the internet and therefore influence and share US cultural references, language and attitudes.  3) How do influencers reinforce c...

Clay Shirky: End of audience blog tasks

Media Magazine reading Media Magazine 55 has an overview of technology journalist Bill Thompson’s conference presentation on ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ It’s an excellent summary of the internet’s brief history and its impact on society. Go to our Media Magazine archive , click on MM55 and scroll to page 13 to read the article ‘What has the internet ever done for me?’ Answer the following questions: 1) Looking over the article as a whole, what are some of the positive developments due to the internet highlighted by Bill Thompson? The internet is open to innovation such as emails for easy communication, searching up things on websites for information, Spotify and YouTube as sources for entertainment.  2) What are the negatives or dangers linked to the development of the internet? The internet is dangerous due to its lack of regulations and moderation. For example, spamming of scams but also harmful images of child abuse and other dangerous content. Due to a lack of mod...

Magazines: final index

  1) Magazines: Front cover practical task 2) Magazines: GQ - Language and Representation 5) Magazines: The Gentlewoman - Language and Representations 7) Magazines: Industries - the appeal of print and independent magazines 3) Magazines: GQ - Audience & Industry 4) Magazines: Front cover practical task LR 6) Magazines: The Gentlewoman - Audience and Industries