1. Role of the Media

2. Role of the Media Meeting needs: inform, educate, entertain
Question two of the exam is about the ROLE OF MEDIA and will focus in on one of three possible areas:
Meeting needs: inform, educate, entertain
Influencing attitudes and behaviours: intentional, unintentional
Meeting particular purposes: profit, self-interest, public service
At Higher the Role of Media question is worth 20 marks. This means that 20% of your overall grade is based on how well you do in this section.

3. Role of the Media
2. The Role of Media (2015 exam question)
All media content can be described as having been constructed to meet a particular purpose. In some content there may be one, obvious purpose; in other content there may be several purposes, some quite subtle.
Discuss this with reference to media content you have studied. In your response you must:
(a)  give detailed information or ideas about the role(s) of media referenced above, and discuss this by giving some opinions, arguments or conclusions about it;
(b)  give specific examples from media content which illustrate your information, your ideas or your discussion

4. Role of the Media You are expected to do three things:
Draw at least one conclusion which provides a judgement in relation to terms of the question, connected to the evidence presented, and provide reasons.
Make points of discussion which debate TWO sides of an argument, offer critical comment or develop a line of argument/opinion
Make points that communicate ideas and information on the role of media. These points can include relevant issues, facts, perspectives or theories.

5. Role of the Media To answer the role of the media question you need:
A range of texts to refer to (we will mainly use moving image and print adverts, but, films and TV programmes are also valid)
A range of potentially controversial issues to write about - we will focus on how the media influences behaviour by perpetuating, maintaining, and challenging dominant ideologies around gender and sexuality
We will also look at how this role of the media can (or cannot) be justified by the other two (i.e. meeting needs, achieving purposes)

6. Role of the Media To begin, we will look at some old print adverts:
Describe how gender is represented in these advertisements.
When describing these representations, make sure you refer to the use of codes such as written language, clothing, colour and body language.

7. Role of the Media Group Task Step 1:
Pick 2 or 3 advertisements (at least one must be moving image)
At least one of your adverts should have been produced before 1990
Find out as much background information as you can for the advert (e.g. What product does it advertise; what advertising company produced it; when was it shown; where was it shown; was it in any way controversial?)

8. Role of the Media
Step 2:
For each advertisement, analyse how it represents gender (i.e. the cultural meanings, roles, stereotypes etc. associated with masculinity / femininity). Does it reinforce or challenge stereotypes? How might it influence behaviour and/or attitudes?
As appropriate to your text, you should refer to a range of features (including mise-en-scene, sound, framing, lighting, colour, spoken/written language etc.) to show how it creates its representation. Remember that representations are created not just by what is included in a text, but also through what is left out (i.e. Selection and Deselection)

9. Role of the Media
Step 3:
Plan how you are going to present your advert to the class (as part of your presentation you must have detailed notes on each advert, either hand-written or typed, that can be photocopied/printed and handed out to the rest of the class). You can use a powerpoint if you want, though you don’t have to ...

10. Role of the Media Some Helpful Links:
literacy/ad-analysis/436-analyzing-ads-gender
socializ_b_ html
advertising/
analysis-of-the-gender-stereotyping-phenomenon-in-tv-commercials/
advertisements-representation
shatter-gender-stereotypes