AQA
GCSE grade 5 in English language or English literature.
Media Studies interrogates the media’s role in society, culture, politics and the economy. Focusing on communication processes and their impact on the lives of the individual, we explore a range of media platforms such as television, music videos, radio, advertising, newspapers, the internet and video games.
Media Studies focuses on key issues and debates in relation to language, representation, the media industry and audiences. In order to explore the topics at A level, a range of critical and analytical frameworks will be employed to evaluate the way that the media is constructed and operates. Your understanding of media will be developed through theoretical perspectives such as semiotics, feminism, post modernism and post colonialism.
Media studies is a course with two written papers – paper one and paper two which are both 2 hours in length. The written papers are 70% of the A level and 30% coursework which is practical media making. Both exam papers focus on set close study products from the exam board.
Advertising – Score haircream and Black Beauty is beauty
Music videos – Ghost Town (The Specials) and Old Town Road (Lil Nas X)
Newspapers – The Daily Mail and The Guardian
Radio- War of the Worlds (1938) and Newsbeat
Film – Blinded by the Light
Magazines – GQ and Gentlewoman
TV – The Killing and No Offence
Gaming – The Simms Freeplay and Horizon Forbidden West (2022)
Websites and On line – The Voice newspaper and Zendaya on line presence.
Media Studies can lead to a wide range of degrees with many students going on to work in communication, cultural studies, journalism, business and marketing, politics and teaching. In the current landscape, media is often a choice which students make in relation to apprenticeships. Organisations such as the BBC, Channel 4, MICROSOFT offer extremely attractive apprenticeships to students with the skill set drawn from media studies. We have a high percentage of students annually who go into media industries and work within advertising, television and marketing.
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