Using the media key concepts

1. MEDIA STUDIES
USING THE KEY CONCEPTS: MED 1 AND 2
The key concepts are a gift from the exam board. They offer a
checklist of what you should be covering with your examples. They
should not be ignored.
The key concepts should be used for both MED 1 and MED 2. MED 1
will explicitly state ‘using the seven key concepts’, but MED 2 should
be approached with the concepts in mind. A well constructed answer
should have elements of each key concept.
The following should give you an indication of how the concepts should
be used.
MEDIA LANGUAGE – this is a tool that you can deconstruct any text
with. A text does not use media language, you do when you are
analysing it. Therefore this does not need to be mentioned as ‘media
language’, using connote, denote, iconography, signification, cropping
etc will get you the credit, and indicate that you have a good
command of terminology.
INSTITUTION – who produces the text? Mainstream media is big
business, turning over large amounts of money. It is in the institutions
vested interest to support the status quo, as this will guarantee that
they can carry on making money.
GENRE – all media texts belong to a genre, which will have specific
codes and conventions. You should discuss genre in your opening
paragraph for MED1, i.e. what is it that you are looking at. Codes and
conventions are to do with how the text is organised and what it looks
like. Media industries use genres because they aid audience
understanding (the genre helps determine how we read a product) and
save them money.
REPRESENTATION – all media texts represent, or re-present. Again
talk about this in terms of ‘issues around representation include…’ or
‘representations on offer…’. Representation is linked to ideology –
certain groups are represented in certain ways according to dominant
ideology. There is a tendency in mainstream media to marginalise
groups who do not conform, or are perceived to be dangerous because
they are different, through representation. These are issues you need
to consider in detail for MED1.

2. AUDIENCE – who the text is aimed at will go a long way to explain
issues around representation. You must consider target audience
carefully, either as part of your intro, or in conclusion. You must sum
up evidence to support your assertion with regard to target audience.
Be as specific as you can. How is it aimed at them? What will gain you
extra marks is to think about it in terms of institution.
IDEOLOGY – all texts/media products have an ideology behind them,
and offer an ideology (which can be broadly described as a set of
unspoken rules governing society). With (Western) mainstream texts
the ideology to look out for is: male over female (patriarchy);
heterosexual; white; supporting consumer society/economy; pro
family unit; support for the status quo etc. You must talk about the
‘ideology on offer’. Ideology is offered through the selection or
omission of material; through presenters or voice over; through
representations etc. This is the type of thing that you could talk about
in conclusion.
NARRATIVE – all texts have a narrative. The narrative of a print
based text is revealed through its layout and organisation. Always
think about it as how it tells its story. Narrative will always work with
other elements to suggest an ideology i.e. the classic narrative of
cinema through continuity editing and closure does suggest an un-
problematic world, harmony etc; pure entertainment does take us out
of our day to day lives, sedating us.
WIDER CONTEXTS – this is the difference between an A and a B. You
must show your knowledge. If you indicate awareness of social /
political / historical context, and indicate how these factors determine
the text you will get a good grade. All texts somehow reflect their
context; all texts can be explained through their context.
REMEMBER to use these as a checklist – do not analyse with these
as headings as this is not how they want you to do it. Try to
interweave them – any point about Representation has implications for
Audience and Ideology for example.