2nd Edition

Media Theory for A Level The Essential Revision Guide

By Mark Dixon Copyright 2024
294 Pages 7 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

294 Pages 7 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

294 Pages 7 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Media Theory for A Level provides a comprehensive introduction to the 19 academic theories required for A Level Media study. From Roland Barthes to Clay Shirky, from structuralism to civilisationism, this revision book explains all the core academic concepts students need to master to succeed in their exams. Each chapter contains comprehensive explanations of the academic ideas and theories... Read more

Media language

1. Semiotics: Roland Barthes

            Concept 1: Denotation and connotation

            Concept 2: The media’s ideological effect

2. Structuralism: Claude Lévi-Strauss

            Concept 1:Binary oppositions

            Concept 2: Binary oppositions and ideological significance

3. Narratology: Tzvetan Todorov

            Concept 1: The three-act ideal

            Concept 2: The ideological effects of story structure

4. Genre theory: Steve Neale

            Concept 1: Repetition and difference

            Concept 2: Industry effects on genre-driven content

5. Postmodernism: Jean Baudrillard

            Key concept: The real and the hyperreal

 

Media representation

6. Representation: Stuart Hall

            Concept 1: Media representation processes

            Concept 2: Stereotypes and power

7. Postcolonial theory: Paul Gilroy

            Concept 1: Racial binaries, otherness and civilisationism

            Concept 2: The legacy of empire and British identity

8. Feminist theory: Liesbet van Zoonen

            Concept 1: The female body as spectacle

            Concept 2: Masculinity in the media

9. Intersectionality: bell hooks

            Concept 1: Interconnected oppression

            Concept 2: hooks’ call to action

10. Gender as performance: Judith Butler

            Concept 1: Gendered identities are constructed through repetition and ritual

            Concept 2: Gender subversion and gendered hierarchies

11. Media and identity: David Gauntlett

           Concept 1: Traditional and post-traditional media consumption

            Concept 2: Reflexive identity construction

 

Media industries

12. Ownership effects: James Curran and Jean Seaton

            Concept 1: Media concentration

            Concept 2: Effects of concentration on media content

            Concept 3: Diverse ownership creates diverse products

13. Regulation: Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt

           Concept 1: Citizen and consumer models of media regulation

            Concept 2: Regulation in the globalised media age

14. The culture industry: David Hesmondhalgh

            Concept 1: Maximising profits and minimising risks

            Concept 2: The effects of the internet revolution are difficult to diagnose

 

Media audiences

15. Media modelling effects: Albert Bandura

            Concept 1: Violent behaviours are learned through modelling

            Concept 2: Audiences copy media modelling

16. Cultivation theory: George Gerbner

            Concept 1: Fear cultivation

            Concept 2: Media consumption leads audiences to accept mainstream ideologies

17. Reception theory: Stuart Hall

           Concept 1: Encoding and decoding

            Concept 2: Dominant, negotiated and oppositional decoding

18. Fandom: Henry Jenkins

            Concept 1: Fan appropriation

            Concept 2: Audience–producer convergence in the digital age

Concept 3: Fans use participatory culture to effect wider social change

19. The end of audience: Clay Shirky

            Concept 1: Everybody makes the media

            Concept 2: Everyday communities of practice

 

Bibliography

Index   

Biography

Mark Dixon is an Eduqas A Level examiner and Head of Media and Film at Durham Sixth Form Centre. He is also a freelance author, and has written for The Guardian, TES, Media Magazine and Teach Secondary as well as authoring a range of digital resources for Eduqas Media.