Media Studies

What is Media Studies?

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.

What will I study?

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.

Assessments

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.

Paper one:

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

Paper two:

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.

Trips, visits and enrichments:

• Trips to conferences such as Media Live! In Paris and annual trip to London to explore a range of museums and studios.
• Annual visits and taster experiences to The University of Worcester and their media and cultural studies course.
• Guest speakers who work in media industries and television – Nathan Wilkes Blue Zoo/ Disney, Lucy Stevens Channel 4, Bob Hockenhall Midlands today.

What can it lead to?

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.