Media Homework first draft with Faisal - Will be video'd

How to teach Genre

Genre is part of the Key Concept of Language, and can be applied to all kinds of media text. Putting media texts such as film, television programmes, print media, or music into categories is useful as a way of establishing some kind of control over information. Each genre follows its own kinds of conventions - language, characteristic signs and sign systems. However, genres are fluid and not fixed and under constant renegotiation between media industry and audience through the combination of the familiar and the unexpected.

Narative

Media texts use world events, news and imagination to put together good stories in the form of film, drama, etc. They may also be continuous or serial narratives, such as television news broadcasts or soap operas… like east enders u zimme.

Representation

Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.
This is in relation to the key markers of identity - Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicity (the 'cage' of identity) - How do men look at images of women, women at men, men at men and women at women?

Media Audience

When media texts produce their entertainment they always have a core audience and a secondary audience in mind. With that they research into the likes and intrests of that core audience and market where appropriate for the audience, for example if the film is a horror for over 18’s they will not advertise on cbbc or childerens programs.

Media theory and Language

Understanding Media Theory describes the ways in which our means of communication determine what and who we are, how we behave, what we do and do not think about, how our feelings develop and are limited, and who we can and cannot reach.

Uses and Gratifications Theory is a popular approach to understanding mass communication. The theory places more focus on the consumer, or audience, instead of the actual message itself by asking “what people do with media” rather than “what media does to people” (Katz, 1959) . It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfill specific gratifications. This theory would then imply that the media compete against other information sources for viewers' gratification.