1. Question 1
What three elements
must you include in
your Collective
Identity essay?
Question 2
Who said this?
"Identity is
complicated -
everybody thinks
they've got one."
Question 3
Who said this?
"People are increasingly curious
about our own construction of
identity, which is one of the
reasons why people buy
magazines and self-help books,
and watch 'people shows' on TV,
and also one of the reasons why
people are interested to do
courses in media or sociology or
psychology."
Question 4
Who said this?
"We should never confuse
changes in the media with
changes in real life. However I do
think that popular media can
take a leading role in this kind of
social change. On its own, the
media can't transform people's
attitudes, but I think it can help
to chip away at people's
prejudices."
1.ANSWER
2.Historical–dependenton
therequirementsofthe
topic,youmustsummarise
thedevelopmentofthe
wayBritishnessis
representedinfilmin
theoreticalcontexts.
3.Contemporary–examples
fromfiveyearsbeforethe
examination.
4.Future–youmust
demonstratepersonal
engagementwithdebates
aboutthefutureoftheway
Britishnessisrepresented/
issuesthatthetopicrelates
to.
ANSWER
DavidGauntlett
ANSWER
DavidGauntlett,2001
ANSWER
DavidGauntlett,2001

2. Question 5
Who said this?
"Identity is an
ambiguous and
slippery term."
Question 6
Who said this and
why?
"What to do? How to act? Who
to be? These are focal questions
for everyone living in
circumstances of late modernity
- and ones which, on some level
or another, all of us answer,
either discursively or through
day-to-day social behaviour."
Question 7
Who said this and
why?
'Techniques of the self' or 'arts of
existence' as 'those reflective
and voluntary practices by which
men not only set themselves
rules of conduct, but seek to
transform themselves, to change
themselves in their singular
being, and to make of their life
into an oeuvre that carries
certain aesthetic values and
meets certain stylistic criteria'
Question 8
What are the FIVE
practices you could be
asked about for
Question 1a?
ANSWER
DavidBuckingham,2008
ANSWER
AnthonyGiddens,1991,onhow
mediaproductscanbeusedas
partoftheconstructionofa
'lifestyle'anda'narrativeofthe
self'
ANSWER
MichaelFaucault,1984,onhow
mediamaycontributetothe
cultivationoftheself,andalso
leadpeopletomonitorand
policethemselvesandtheir
projectedidentities
ANSWER
DigitalTechnology
Creativity
Researchandplanning
Post-production
Usingconventionsfromreal
mediatexts

3. Question 9
What are the FIVE
media contexts you
could be asked about
for Question 1b?
Question 10
How many of your
portfolio pieces must
you refer to in
Question 1a?
Question 11
How many of your
portfolio pieces must
you evaluate in
Question 1b?
Question 12
What three stages of
your production
should you write
about for Question
1a?
ANSWER
Genre
Narrative
Representation
Audience
Medialanguage
ANSWER
Both–andanythingelseyou
havemade,evenathome.
ANSWER
ONE
ANSWER
Pre-production
Production
Post-production

4. Question 13
Name the genre,
director and year this
BBC series was made:
Pride & Prejudice
Question 14
Name the genre,
director and year this
film was made:
East is East
Question 15
Name the genre,
director and year this
film was made:
Bend It Like Beckham
Question 16
Name the genre,
director and year this
film was made:
In This World
ANSWER
PrideandPrejudice
(Romance/Drama,Simon
Langton,1995)
ANSWER
EastisEast(Comedy/Drama,
DamienO'Donnell,1999)
ANSWER
BendItLikeBeckham
(Comedy/Drama/Romance,
GurinderChadha,2002)
ANSWER
InThisWorld(Drama,Michael
Winterbottom,2002)

5. Question 17
Name the genre,
director and year this
film was made, plus a
2011 film by him:
Eden Lake
Question 18
Name the genre,
director and year this
film was made, plus a
well-known 2002 film
by him:
Ae Fond Kiss
Question 19
What genre of film is
director Ken Loach
known for?
Question 20
Name the genre,
director and year this
film was made, plus
the year it is set in:
Children of Men
ANSWER
EdenLake(JamesWatkins,
2008,alsodirected'The
WomanInBlack',
Drama/Horror/Thriller,2011)
ANSWER
AeFondKiss(Drama/Romance,
KenLoach,2004,whoalso
directed'SweetSixteen',
Crime/Drama,2002)
ANSWER
SocialRealism
ANSWER
ChildrenofMen
(Adventure/Drama/Sci-fisetin
2027,AlfonsoCuaron,2006)

6. Question 21
Name the genre,
director and year this
film was made:
This Is England
Question 22
Name the genre,
director and year this
film was made:
Slumdog
Millionnaire
Question 23
Name the genre,
director and year this
film was made:
Fish Tank
Question 24
Name the genre,
director and year this
film was made, plus
the year in which it is
set:
Made In Dagenham
ANSWER
ThisIsEngland(Crime/Drama,
ShaneMeadows,2006)
ANSWER
SlumdogMillionaire
(Crime/Drama/Romance,Danny
Boyle,2008)
ANSWER
FishTank(Drama,Andrea
Arnold,2009)
ANSWER
MadeinDagenham
(Biography/Comedy/Drama,
NigelCole,2010)

7. Question 25
Name the genre,
director and year this
film was made:
The King’s Speech
Question 26
Name the genre,
director and year this
film was made:
Disney’s ‘Alice In
Wonderland’
Question 27
Name the
organisation that has
replaced the UK Film
Council in terms of
funding British films.
Question 28
What funding scheme
has recently been
introduced to
encourage British
film-making?
ANSWER
TheKing'sSpeech
(Biography/Drama/History,Tom
Hooper,2010)
ANSWER
'AliceInWonderland'
(Adventure/Family/Fantasy,Tim
Burton,2010)
ANSWER
TheBFI(BritishFilmIndustry)
ANSWER
Moregeneroustaxbreaksfor
Britishfilms,orforfilmsmade
intheUK

8. Question 29-
Representation
Define a ‘chav’. Does
this person actually
exist?
Question 30-
Representation
What was the
nickname for the
women’s 1968 strike
at the Ford Plant in
Dagenham? How
might you regard this
from a feminist point
of view?
Question 31-
Representation
How might mise-en-
scene be relevant to
representation of a
particular social
group?
Question 32-
Representation
How might sound and
editing be used to
represent a particular
social group?
ANSWER
Amass-mediacreated
stereotypeAccordingto
Wikipedia,Thestereotypeofa
Chavincludeswearingbranded
designersportswear.[11]
Stereotypicalattiremightbe
accompaniedbysomeformof
goldjeweleryotherwisetermed
'bling'
ANSWER
TheRevlonRevolution–could
beseenasglamorisingthe
womenwhowerestriking,also
detratingfromtheatualissueof
equalpay.
ANSWER
Mise-en-scene-canbeusedto
representagrouppositivelyor
negatively.Clothingmayindicateda
specificstereotypeassociatedwitha
particularsocialgroup.Infictivetexts
suchasfilms,filmmakersare
deliberatelymanipulatinganimageor
representationofsomethingrealin
ordertostamptheirownartisticand
creativesealuponit.Forexample,
filmmakerscanmakeaplaceseem
invitingandpleasantbychoosingto
filmitonabeautifulsummer'sdayand
lightingitinacertainway.Ortheycan
makeaplaceappearmenacingby
filmingitasadark,stormyplacelitin
suchawayastoappeargloomyand
fullofshadows.EdenLake,for
example,beginsasapeacefulidyllin
theearlysummersunthendegrades
intoamuchcolder,bleakerforest,with
thetreeslookinglikeprisonbars.
ANSWER
Editing-Afilmmaybeeditedto
seemasifwearelookingatthe
worldthroughacharacter's
eyes,whichmaymakeusfeel
closertothemasweexperience
theiremotionalreactions.Think
oftheyoungboyin'ThisIs
England'.Soundmaybeused
withaparticularthemetune
(RomeoinBazLuhrmann's
'RomeoandJuliet')ora
voiceoverthatmakesthe
viewernaturallyempathisewith
thespeaker.

9. Question 33-
Representation
Give an example of
‘hyperreality’ created
by the mass media.
Question 34-
Representation
What is feminist film
theory and how
might it be useful in
discussing the
representation of any
social group?
Question 35-
Representation
What is ‘The Male
Gaze?
Question 36-
Representation
How might you
recognise a
postmodern text?
ANSWER
Wereceiveourviewoftheworld
increasinglythroughthemediain
theinformationage.Forexample,
manyofusexperiencedtheAugust
2011riotsinaveryrealsense(ie
wewerethere);butwealsosaw
themthroughmediainstitutions.
Assuch,theeventsweremediated
tousthroughthemedia.This
processenablesthemediatorsto
withholdcertaininformation,and
eventhechoiceofcreatingan
imagethatisalteredfortheirown
purposes(blamingthe'hoodies'?).
Theycanreplaceauthenticreality
withamanipulatedhyperreality.
ANSWER
Feministfilmtheory-theway
womenactandaretreatedin
themedia.Thisalsoprovides
theanalyticaltoolstoconsider
howclass,raceandnationality
arerepresentedinthemedia.
Therepresentationofwomen
hasbeenakeyareaof
developmentinfilmtheory.
ANSWER
Themalegaze.Thisconcept
stemsfromthe1970swhen
theoristssuchasLauraMulvey
concludedthatthecamerawas
oftenpositionedtorewardthe
pointofviewofthemale
viewer,whoisableto
voyeuristicallyabletogain
visualpleasurefromviewing
femalecharacters.Directors
suchasAlfredHitchcockhave
beencriticisedfor'objectifying'
theirfemalesubjects.
Additionally,violencetowards
womeninfilmssuchas'Psycho'
(Hitchcock,1960)canberead
asrevealingadeep-seated
mysogyny.
ANSWER
Howtorecogniseapostmoderntext:
1.Theydon'tpretendtobewholly
realistic,andoftendrawattentionto
thefactthattheyarefictitious-a
charactermaystoptheactionandtalk
tothecamera.
2.Theydeliberatelymixgenres,and
willborrowfrommusicvideos,tv,
animationandotherforms.
3.Theyoftenrefertootherfilms(a
processcalledinter-textuality).
4.Theyoftenrearrangeordisrupt
strictlinearnarrativeswithaclear
beginningandend,andprefercircular
narrativesandopenendednarrative
closure.
5.Theysometimescontainstories
withinstoriesorfilmswithinfilms.
6.Theofteninvolvecharactersthat
feeldisconnectedoralienatedfrom
theirenvironment,anddistrust
authorities.

10. Question 37-
Representation
What is ‘bricolage’?
Question 38-
Representation
What does theorist
Baudrillard point out
about the
postmodern world?
Question 39-
Representation
What is Marxism?
Question 40-
Representation
What is Barthes’
theory of semiotics?
ANSWER
Example-bricolage,apostmodern
termappliedtothemixing
togetherofdifferentgenres,is
usedin'ThisIsEngland'and'Made
InDagenham'whereweseea
mixtureofnewsfootageatthe
beginningofthefilm.
ANSWER
TheoristJeanBaudrillardhasbeen
dubbed'theprophetof
postmodernism'.Baudrillard,in
'SimulacraandSimulation',examines
thephenomenathatinthe
postmodernworld(post-1900),
audiencesaresosaturatedwith
representationsthatthesenow
precedeperceptionsoftheactual,
subtlychallengingthemintheprocess.
Forexample,victimsof9/11frequently
describedtheirtraumaasthetwin
towerscollapsedas"...likeafilm..."As
mediaproductsbecomeincreasingly
sophisticated,peoplemaychooseto
spendtheirlivesinthepredictable
comfortofcyberspaceratherthanin
theactualworldofrelationships,pain,
mishapsandconfusion!Thinkabout
thepopularweekendactivityof
'Larping'(liveactionroleplaying)and
thefilm'RoleModels'.See'The
Matrix'.
ANSWER
Marxism
Thistheoryhasintroducedthe
conceptofpoliticalaspectsinto
discussionaboutfilm.This
involvestheideasofMarxand
Engelsonforegroundingthe
discussionofclassandpower.
Manyfilmshaveelementsof
classstruggleandissues
surroundingcapitalistsociety.
Filmslike'MadeInDagenham'
canbeseenfromaMarxist
perspectivebecausetheydepict
charactersstrugglingwith
monetaryorclassconstraints.
ANSWER
Barthes-semiotics,enigmacodes,
'steakandchips'
Barthes,aFrenchmediatheorist
writingfrom1950sto1970s,
developedthetheoryofsemiotics-
whereanytextisacomplexbundleof
meaningwhichcanbeunravelledto
createawholerangeofdifferent
meanings.

11. Question 41–
Narrative
What is Barthes’
‘enigma code’?
Question 42-
Narrative
What is ‘the
hypodermic syringe
model’?
Question 43–
Narrative
What is ‘the uses and
gratifications’ model?
Question 44–
Narrative
What is Todorov’s
‘theory of
equilibrium’?
ANSWER
Thehandiestcodetorefertoin
essaysistheenigmacode-found
inallsuccessfultextsfrom'Bobthe
Builder'to'CSI'.Thesecodesare
constructedtoattractandholdthe
attentionoftheaudience,usually
becreatingamysteryorpuzzle
whichtheaudiencewanttosee
solved-whyhasthismanbeen
murdered?
ANSWER
thetheorythattheaudienceare
passivereceiversofmediamessages
thattheyinterpretuncritically.This
theoryispopularwhenthereisamoral
panic,suchasthecaseofJamieBulger,
atoddlerwhowasbrutallymurdered
bytwootherchildren.Thetwokillers'
defencerestedonthefactthattheir
youngmindshadbeencorruptedby
'videonasties'thatshowedhorrible
violenceasfun(aberrantdecoding).
ANSWER
MediatheoristsBlumlerandKatzput
forwardtheideathataudiencesput
mediatextstotheirownuses,instead
ofbeingmanipulatedbythem.Here
arefourdistinctusestowhich
audiencesputtexts:
1.Toreinforcepersonalidentity
2.Tofindcompanionshipandmeaning
bybeingpartofagroup:goingtothe
cinemaanddiscussingthelatestmovie
withfriends.
3.Peoplealsousemediatextstofind
outaboutcurrentaffairsand
information.
4.Finally,peopleusethemediato
communicatewitheachother.The
Internetisofcoursethebiggestway
thisisdone.
ANSWER
Todorov'stheoryofequilibrium-
basically,thepatternwheremany
narrativesbeginwithastateof
equilibrium,whichisthendisruptedby
anevent,forcingcharacterstofaceup
tothedisruptioninordertoreclaim
equilibrium.

12. Question 45 –
Narrative and Genre
What is Prop’s ‘theory
of character
function’?
Question 46 –
Narrative and Genre
What is ‘binary
opposition’?
Question 47 - Genre
Who said “Genre is a
type” and when?
Question 48 - Genre
What is ‘genre’?
ANSWER
Propp'stheoryofcharacter
function-wherecharactersand
eventscanbeseenasconstructsto
drivethenarrative.Proppsetupa
listofcharactertypeswithclear
functions:thehero,villain,donor
(whogivestheherosomemagical
keyorinformation),helper(assists
theheroonthequest),heroine
(usedbythevillainandareward
forthehero).SeeallDisney
Princessfilms,StarWars,TheLord
oftheRings.
ANSWER
Levi-Straussandbinaryopposition–
ClaudeLevi-Straussidentifieda
narrativesystemof'binaryopposites'
inwhichsymbolsandideasexistin
relationtotheiropposites,withwhich
theyareinconflict.Thetheoryisthat
thishelpsusdrawmeaningsfroma
text,suchastheneedtosidewitha
characterwhois'good'.Typicalbinary
oppositionsareGoodvEvil;Malev
Female;UsvThem(Think'EdenLake',
'AeFondKiss').
ANSWER
"Genreisatype"(Chandler,2001)
ANSWER
Thestudyofgenrehasoftenfocused
onfilm,wherecertaincodesand
conventionshavebeenidentified.
Thesearerecurrentcharacter,
narrativeandvisualtropes(patterns)
thatcanbeidentifiedoveraseriesof
films.Forexample,ifweconsiderthe
horrorgenre,wecanidentifykey
componentsthattellusweareviewing
thattypeoffilm.Forexample,useof
thesupernatural,goryscenes,shots
frombehindobjects,through
windows,atoddangles,useofa
vulnerablefemalecharacter,musicto
addtension,sometimesan'unhappy'
tragicending.

13. Question 49 –
Genre
Who said this and
when?
‘Genre is not... simply
"given" by the
culture: rather, it is in
a constant process of
negotiation and
change.'
Question 50 –
Genre
What is ideology?
Question 51 –
Genre
What is ‘hegemony’?
Question 52 –
Film Language
What is ‘film
language’?
ANSWER
'genreisnot...simply"given"by
theculture:rather,itisina
constantprocessofnegotiation
andchange'(Buckingham1993),
ANSWER
Simplyput,ideologyistheideas
behindamediatext,thesecret(or
sometimesnot-sosecret)agendaofits
producers.Itisimportanttobeableto
identifythedifferentideological
discoursesthatmaybepresentineven
anapparentlysimplephotograph.
Insociologicalterms,ideologyisa
bodyofideasorsetofbeliefsthat
underpinsaprocessorinstitutionand
leadstosocialrelations.Thesesetsof
beliefsarethoseheldbygroupswithin
society,andtheprevalentonesare
thoseheldbytheruling/dominant
groups.
ANSWER
Hegemony
Inanysocietytheacceptedandagreed
beliefsarethoseoftherulingclass,i.e.the
classwhichistherulingmaterial(withall
themoney)forceisatthesametimeits
rulingintellectual(withalltheideas)force.
Christianityisthemainhistoricalexample
(thinkofhowmanylegalsystemstake
Christianmoralvaluesastheirbasis).
Footballcurrentlyhashegemonicstatusin
theUK-glancethroughthesportspages
andseewhatcoverageothersportsget-
andeveryoneisexpectedtounderstand
andacceptitsnationalimportance.
Thisishowhegemoniestakehold:a
majoritydecideto'fitin'withthecultural
valuesandideasoftheirtimeandplaceand
theminoritykeeptheirobjectionsquiet.
Hegemonyisaboutconsent,andoneofthe
thingsitconsentstoisinequality-usand
them.
Themediacaneithermaintainorchallenge
this.
ANSWER
Filmisalanguageallitsown,awayof
communicatingusingimageswhichis
understoodaroundtheglobe.Likeany
otherlanguageithasrulesand
conventionswhichcanbe
deconstructed,and,through
deconstruction,understood.