Work to do

A2 Media Studies

In the period of WO’B’s absence, you should complete the work stipulated on this sheet.

You need to remember that the end of the academic year is close and that this is now the time you need to start preparing for the summer exam. The work set here is done with the sole purpose of helping you to start to prepare for the summer exam.

Task 1 – In what ways are the texts postmodern?

Using Youtube, watch clips from the texts we have studied and note down in what ways that text can be considered postmodern – you should separate your notes to address historical period, style, theoretical approach – you do not necessarily have to have as answer for all 3 dimensions. In some cases, you may well need to do some research to help you with this – make google your starting place.

Texts studied:
The Office
Life on Mars Pulp Fiction Scream
Jedward @ National TV Awards
SingStar The Wire World of Warcraft
Second Life X-Factor Britain’s Got Talent
Big Brother
Celebrity Big Brother
The Truman Show Eastenders Live The Brits Live
Rock and Chips
Blade Runner Halo 3 Grand Theft Auto 4
Youtube (the collection clips exercise) Chat Roulette (n ews articles) Date Movie Batman

Task 2 – Essay questions

For each essay question, you should spend one hour writing it. Answers should be hand written. You should do some internet research beforehand on the relevant texts to help you with th essay.

1. “Postmodern culture is all empty pastiche and lacks in substance”. Discuss this view.

In this question, you should structure your answer around Pulp Fiction, Scream, The Truman Show, Balde Runner and Date Movie only. This question invites a debate – you need to discuss the reasons why the statement is and isn’t true for each of the films. You need to use specific examples from each of the films and consider very carefully the concepts of cultural capital and cultural competence.

2. How has television responded to the opportunities and threats of life in a postmodern, media-saturated society?

With this question you need to be mindful of how the TV industry in Britain has changed drastically over the last 20 years – in a mluti-channel TV environment and in a media-saturated society, TV channels have to compete fiercely for our attention – this is now along way removed from the ‘golden age’ of British TV in the 1970s and 1980s. In this answer, you should focus your answer on reality TV and ‘event’ TV and think laterally about the threats to TV from our consumption of other media – think carefully about how much time you spend watching TV versus being on Facebook, or MSN or playing video games.

3. In what ways can video games be seen as a postmodern form of media?

Your answer needs to centre around the change in text-reader relations and draw from examples from SingStar, Halo 3, GTA 4 and the COD games. You should also discuss the high levels of intertextuality prevalent in many video games – many video games ‘borrow’ liberally from the look of films and TV programmes – refer to the case study material on GTA 4, use Youtube to observe the similarities between the start of the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and the game ‘Medal of Honor: Frontline’ or the similarities between the battle sequence in the film ‘Stalingrad’ and the game ‘COD: Finest Hour’. This could also lead to a consideration of the reverse direction – games which have been made into films – such as Resident Evil and Hitman.

4. “In a world where we are bombarded by media messages, where there is so much to look at, as a result, media texts are losing their power to influence us”. Discuss this view.

This question is asking you to weigh up hoe much or how little the media does or doesn’t affect us. You should use the ‘GTA in the dock’ extract as a starting point for thinking about the media does or doesn’t influence us and give arnge of specific examples from the texts we have studied and consider nhow they have or haven’t affected you. For example, did watching ‘The Wire’ make you into a drug dealer or did it just leave you feeling confused? You should focus on four texts to bases your response around. By the need of the answer, make sure you have firmly addressed the issue in the question.

ALL 4 ESSAYS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED IN THE FIRST LESSON AFTER EASTER