Thursday, 18 May 2017

TV Industry Genre and Representation - REVISION

Starter: Fill in the spaces on the gap handout provided which is to do with Happy Valley and genre.

Exam Question:
“Media representations of people are often simplistic”.
How true is this of the representations of people in your three main texts?
[30]

Your responses to exam questions need to refer to specific extracts from the 3 texts.
This means you should be able to discuss the relevant iconography, visual and technical codes whether you are answering a Text question (genre, narrative, representation) or an Audience question.


1.       Genre – Make detailed notes on the codes and conventions of the genres of each programme: crime, drama, sitcom, documentary, reality. Additionally look for where the genre has been treated in an unconventional way i.e. Always Sunny in Philadelphia. We’ve already looked at Drama in Film (Whiplash and Theory of Everything) so you should understand how Drama works but research and make notes first, if you’re not sure, on the conventions of the other genres then analyse how they are present (or not) in the Case Studies. There are plenty of texts books and web sites that will explain the conventions of the genres if you cannot work them out.


2.       Representations – Make detailed notes on how Characters are represented based on their age and gender. Remember that representation is about how People, Places, Events or Issues are re-represented in media (a version of something we know from real life, based on real life, or actually taken from real life e.g. First Date) and they can be positive or negative. If they are negative they may well be stereotyped or under-represented or the representations will be very biased. Look for how much narrative time a character is given, what status they have, how they are costumed, how they are directed to perform, how much dialogue they are given, how important they are to narrative events and cause-effect logic etc. Make notes on the significance, if any, of Place (locations/settings) e.g. Happy Valley and British Social Realism, First Date and London, Philadelphia/Paddy’s Bar and Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Make notes on Issues such as drugs and poverty, gun laws and gun ownership in America, the ideology of romance in the UK (e.g. heterosexual, homosexual etc).

Task 1:
You adopt a department role. One of the following:
  • Sound
  • Editing
  • Lighting
  • Framing
  • Costume (include make-up, hair and jewellery)
  • Props / Setting
Watch the clips of Happy Valley, First Dates, Always Sunny and indicate on white boards the approach taken by your 'department' to that specific clip.

Task 2: Note on the master sheet (middle of the table) the observations that people have made about their department.

Watch the clips of Happy Valley, First Dates, Always Sunny and indicate on white boards the approach taken by your 'department' to that specific clip.








http://www.channel4.com/programmes/first-dates/on-demand/61921-024



Task 1: Plan and write a response to the following exam question (Around 1000 words).

“Media representations of people are often simplistic”.
How true is this of the representations of people in your three main texts?
[30]

This question invites a personal opinion (which needs to be coherent and backed-up with examples), but it also invites candidates to discuss the construction of representations within their main texts. Candidates may also discuss any aspect of ‘people’ and ‘representation’. For example gender, ethnicity, disability, youth etc.
Points covered may include reference to:
 Selection, construction and mediation; agendas
 The relationship between the narrative and the representation
 Characters, roles and attitudes
 Construction through technical codes
 Appearance – dress codes, body language, mode of address
 Stereotypes, traditional or unconventional representations
 Theory as appropriate – for example Mulvey




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