TV 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)

WWW: Good grasp of the text and key terms.

EBI: think about ways fiction texts don't construct an ideological position but follow genre conventions. 

2) Read the whole mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify at least one potential point that you missed out on for each question in the assessment (even if you got full marks for the question).

Q1-

• A range of different genres are suggested on the poster – e.g. the background is almost space (sci-fi); the silver symbol in the background alludes to comic books/Marvel universe; the woman on the left suggests martial arts or kung-fu movies – this is reinforced by the faint images in the background(man in mid-air kick on right-hand side); the helicopter in the top right hints at the war movie genre.
• There are many examples of intertextuality: the main central image suggests a bridge between James Bond and Austin Powers (bond parody) with Tower Bridge in the background reinforcing London as a location

Q2-

• media products – particularly fictional genressuch as dramas – are constructed for entertainment and escapism
• the construction of representation through thenarrative conventions of enigma and suspense is highly artificial, making it very difficult to read the programmes as representations of reality
• the Marxist approach to media studies, that all media is ideological, is outdated

3) The first question demanded a response using postmodern terminology. Write a definition here of the three main terms:

Bricolage: the juxtaposing of old and new texts, images, ideas and narratives to create new meaning.
Pastiche: media products that imitate the style of another text, artist or time period.
Intertextuality: when a media product refers to another media product.

4) Read this exemplar answer for the 25-mark question in the assessment. Select a quote from the essay for each of the following aspects from the mark scheme:

a) analysis of the products that focuses on contexts and ideological positioning

In Deutschland 83 (D83), the historical drama / spy thriller genre inevitably constructs an ideological position in their representation of contexts. Here, like Capital, it could be argued that western capitalist ideologies are being unconsciously reinforced through the construction of the narrative and key elements of mise-en-scene.

However, some audiences may challenge this dominant or preferred reading and suggest that other ideological readings are available. In Capital, there are many elements of the narrative and characterisation that certainly fit with the ‘woke’ leftwing perspective in the ongoing culture wars.

b) use of media theory

Applying Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, this is unconsciously communicating to audiences the value in working hard, earning money and contributing to consumerism and capitalism - maintaining the status quo and reinforcing more rightwing ideology.

c) a judgement or conclusion on the question

In conclusion, it is impossible to ignore the ideological positions constructed by television dramas and Capital and D83 are no exception to this. However, it could be argued that different audiences can read these fictional genres in different ways depending on their own perspectives and therefore social, cultural and political contexts are not the only aspect to this process.

d) examples from the TV CSPs 

Bogdan the Eastern European builder is shown sleeping at work, Quentina insists on working long days illegally because she doesn’t want to take state handouts, even Roger is portrayed in an ‘under-the-armpit’ camera shot on a packed tube train and later working on his laptop in bed.

The supermarket scene in the West where Martin first sees the plentiful food, colourful fruit and policemen eating ice creams presents the West as offering a much higher standard of living than the East and therefore reinforcing the dominant capitalist ideology we see across so much of western media.

e) use of media terminology 

Here, like Capital, it could be argued that western capitalist ideologies are being unconsciously reinforced through the construction of the narrative and key elements of mise-en-scene.

Similarly, in the spy training montage split-screen editing and visual effects are used

to present the difference between East and West with fruit appearing on the western side

and an empty space on the East.

5) Based on this assessment, write three things you need to revise before the upcoming end of Year 12 exams.

• intertextuality
• postmodern theorists
• genre theorists
• how genres communicate meaning