Y13 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).

WWW: Excellent writing for Q2 - concise & focused

EBI: Ensure you cover all keywords in questions ('myth' in Q1?)

2) Focusing on the unseen question 1, pick out three bullet points on the anticipated content and link each point to the three aspects of the question - denotation, connotation, myth. 

Denotation - The denotation of the costume, props, colour and body language

Connotation - The connotations of the image with reference to USA’s national identity through the burning flag and the reference to the Western genre

Myth - Notion of a patriotic country, valuing an independent spirit associated with

masculinity.

3) Look at the anticipated content for the 25-mark Magazines question. Pick out three points on GQ and three on The Gentlewoman that you think are particularly interesting for this question on social and cultural contexts.

GQ:

GQ supports David Gauntlett’s view that the mass media is a force for change and is actively

liberalising society – he talks of a “slow and steady process of change and transformation”.

This would support the idea that as the mainstream media and corporations become more

‘woke’ that brands need to move with this social and cultural change.

The new masculinity that GQ is offering would subvert Liesbet van Zoonen’s work on

Feminist Media Studies from the early 1990s. Her discussion of sex role stereotypes being

reinforced in mainstream media products is challenged by the new GQ – Harry Styles or

Pharrell Williams wearing traditionally feminine clothing in photoshoots for example.

GQ’s new approach to gender could also challenge bell hooks’s idea of normalised

traumatisation and the corrosive effect of traditional hegemonic masculinity. This idea that

patriarchal society damages both women and men is perhaps subverted by recent editions

of GQ magazine.

Gentlewoman:

CSP edition front cover features Scarlett Johansson but construction of cover certainly

reflects the changing social and cultural contexts both in terms of media language and

representation of celebrity. The cover lacks the typical conventions of a magazine cover – no cover lines aside from the celebrity’s name – and the cover image is unusual. A tight close-

up with exaggerated make-up shot slightly from below offers a fresh and unusual representation of a female Hollywood star.

CSP edition features also suggest producers are responding to changing social and cultural

contexts. Ramla Ali's boxing feature offers a working-class woman from a minority group

talking about her strength and what it is like to be punched. Isabella Tree rewilding feature

reflects changes in attitudes towards the environment and climate change, a key interest for

younger demographics in particular. Finally, the Stella McCartney feature on a vegan

handbag also reflects social and cultural changes in society.

In contrast, it could also be argued that these features do not represent a huge social and

cultural change and in fact offer more of a reflection of The Gentlewoman’s upper middle-class, wealthy typical reader. The Gentlewoman Club reinforces this, an exclusive series of

events where attendees are hand-picked by Penny Martin and take place in conjunction with

luxury brands. The pretension and privilege in the Gentlewoman is nothing new, just

repackaged for a new generation.

4) Write a full essay plan for the 25-mark Magazines question. The mark scheme contains plenty of ideas you can use here. Your plan should include notes/bullet points addressing the following:

• Introduction: one sentence answering the original question and laying out your argument clearly.

Yes, an analysis of the close study products supports this view, as the rise of digital media and a shift in culture has caused magazine producers to think outside of the box in order to stay relevant.

• Paragraph 1 content:

Gentlewoman - "Alternative publication"

• Paragraph 2 content:

Gentlewoman - Gentlewoman Club

• Paragraph 3 content:

GQ - Jonathan Bailey feature (progressive representations of men)

• Paragraph 4 content:

GQ - Diversification into online content

• Conclusion: sum up your argument a final time in one sentence

In conclusion, an analysis of the close study products supports the view that media producers must respond to changing social and cultural contexts to maintain audiences.

5) Finally, identify three key skills/topics you want to work on in A Level Media this year before the final exams in June.

Topics:

Semiotics

Feminist theory

Skills:

Timing