Learner Response: OSP Assessment

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

Mark: 23/34 

Grade: C

A really good effort, Hannah, you should be proud of what you have achieved in this assessment. Q1: A really strong analysis of the unseen advert and a good abiliyu

2) Read the whole mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify three specific aspects from Figure 1 (the Google Home advert) that you could have mentioned in your answer (e.g. selection of image, framing and focus, colour, text etc.)

3) Now use the mark scheme to identify three potential points that you could have made in your essay for Question 2 (Hesmondhalgh - narrow range of values and ideologies).

4) Use your exam response, the mark scheme and any other resources you wish to use to write a detailed essay plan for Question 2. Make sure you are planning at least four well-developed paragraphs in addition to an introduction and conclusion.

5) Finally, identify three key areas you plan to revise from the OSP unit (CSP aspects or theories) having looked at your feedback from this assessment.

If you do not finish your learner response in the lesson your work is returned, this needs to be completed at home by your next exam lesson.

Video Games: Further Feminist Theory

 1) What definitions are offered by the factsheet for ‘feminism ‘and ‘patriarchy’?

Feminism is a movement which aims for women to be treated as equal to men socially, economically, and politically.

 patriarchy (male dominance in society). Feminists see the patriarchy as a limitation to women receiving the same treatment and benefits as their male counterparts.

2) Why did bell hooks publish her 1984 book ‘Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center’?

She had identified a lack of diversity within the feminist movement, and argued that these diverse voices had been marginalised, being put outside the main body of feminism. 

3) What aspects of feminism and oppression are the focus for a lot of bell hooks’s work?

Women in lower class and poor groups, particularly those that are non-white, would not have defined women’s liberation as women gaining social equality with men since they are continually reminded in their everyday lives that all women do not share a common social status.” 

Feminism’s goal to make all women equal to men is flawed; not all men are equal to men as a result of oppression, sexuality, ethnicity. 

She argues that male involvement within the equality movement was important, encouraging men to do their part. 

4) What is intersectionality and what does hooks argue regarding this?

5) What did Liesbet van Zoonen conclude regarding the relationship between gender roles and the mass media?

6) Liesbet van Zoonen sees gender as socially constructed. What does this mean and which other media theorist we have studied does this link to?

7) How do feminists view women’s lifestyle magazines in different ways? Which view do you agree with?

8) In looking at the history of the colours pink and blue, van Zoonen suggests ideas gender ideas can evolve over time. Which other media theorist we have studied argues this and do you agree that gender roles are in a process of constant change? Can you suggest examples to support your view?

9) What are the five aspects van Zoonen suggests are significant in determining the influence of the media?

10) What other media theorist can be linked to van Zoonen’s readings of the media?

11) Van Zoonen discusses ‘transmission models of communication’. She suggests women are oppressed by the dominant culture and therefore take in representations that do not reflect their view of the world. What other theory and idea (that we have studied recently) can this be linked to?

12) Finally, van Zoonen has built on the work of bell hooks by exploring power and feminism. She suggests that power is not a binary male/female issue but reflects the “multiplicity of relations of subordination”. How does this link to bell hooks views on feminism and intersectionality?

The Voice Case Study

 Language and textual analysis

Homepage

Go to the Voice homepage and answer the following:

1) What news website key conventions can you find on the Voice homepage?

Headlines, pictures, advertisements, subcategories, social media links.

2) How does the page design differ from Teen Vogue?

3) What are some of the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content, values and ideologies of the Voice?

4) Look at the news stories on the Voice homepage. Pick two stories and explain why they might appeal to the Voice's target audience. 

5) How is narrative used to encourage audience engagement with the Voice? Apply narrative theories (e.g. Todorov equilibrium or Barthes’ enigma codes) and make specific reference to stories on the homepage and how they encourage audiences to click through to them.

Lifestyle section

Now analyse the Lifestyle section of the Voice and answer the following:

1) What are the items in the sub-menu bar for the Lifestyle section and what does this suggest about the Voice audience?

2) What are the main stories in the Lifestyle section currently?

3) How does the Lifestyle section of the Voice differ from Teen Vogue?

4) Do the sections and stories in the Voice Lifestyle section challenge or reinforce black stereotypes in British media?

5) Choose two stories featured in the Lifestyle section – how do they reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice?

Feature focus

1) Read this Voice opinion piece on black representation in the tech industry. How does this piece reflect the values and ideologies of The Voice?

2) Read this feature on Michaela Coel supporting Oxfam's Second Hand campaign. Why might this feature appeal to readers of The Voice?

3) Read this Voice news story on Grenfell tower and Doreen Lawrence. How might this story reflect the Voice’s values and ideologies? What do the comments below suggest about how readers responded to the article? Can you link this to Gilroy’s work on the ‘Black Atlantic’ identity?

Audience

1) Who do you think is the target audience for the Voice website? Consider demographics and psychographics.

2) What audience pleasures are provided by the Voice website? Apply media theory here such as Blumler and Katz (Uses & Gratifications).

3) Give examples of sections or content from the website that tells you this is aimed at a specialised or niche audience.

4) Studying the themes of politics, history and racism that feature in some of the Voice’s content, why might this resonate with the Voice’s British target audience?

5) Can you find any examples of content on the Voice website created or driven by the audience or citizen journalism? How does this reflect Clay Shirky’s work on the ‘end of audience’ and the era of ‘mass amateurisation’?

Representations

1) How is the audience positioned to respond to representations in the Voice website?

2) Are representations in the Voice an example of Gilroy’s concept of “double consciousness” NOT applying?

3) What kind of black British identity is promoted on the Voice website? Can you find any examples of Gilroy’s “liquidity of culture” or “unruly multiculturalism” here?

4) Applying Stuart Hall’s constructivist approach to representations, how might different audiences interpret the representations of black Britons in the Voice?

5) Do you notice any other interesting representations in the Voice website? For example, representations or people, places or groups (e.g. gender, age, Britishness, other countries etc.)

Industries

1) Read this Guardian report on the death of the original founder of the Voice. What does this tell you about the original values and ideologies behind the Voice brand? 

2) Read this history of the Voice’s rivals and the struggles the Voice faced back in 2001. What issues raised in the article are still relevant today? 

3) The Voice is now published by GV Media Group, a subsidiary of the Jamaican Gleaner company. What other media brands do the Gleaner company own and why might they be interested in owning the Voice? You'll need to research this using Google/Wikipedia or look at this Guardian article when Gleaner first acquired The Voice.

4) How does the Voice website make money?

5) What adverts or promotions can you find on the Voice website? Are the adverts based on the user’s ‘cookies’ or fixed adverts? What do these adverts tell you about the level of technology and sophistication of the Voice’s website?

6) Is there an element of public service to the Voice’s role in British media or is it simply a vehicle to make profit?

7) What examples of technological convergence can you find on the Voice website – e.g. video or audio content?

8) How has the growth of digital distribution through the internet changed the potential for niche products like the Voice?

9) Analyse The Voice’s Twitter feed. How does this contrast with other Twitter feeds you have studied (such as Teen Vogue)? Are there examples of ‘clickbait’ or does the Voice have a different feel?

10) Study a selection of videos from The Voice’s YouTubechannel. How does this content differ from Teen Vogue? What are the production values of their video content?

Videogames: Introduction - Women in videogames

 part 1: Medium article - Is Female Representation in Video Games Finally Changing?

1) How have women traditionally been represented in videogames?

Damsels in distress.

2) What percentage of the video game audience is female?

42%

3) What recent games have signalled a change in the industry and what qualities do the female protagonists offer?

Tomb Raider, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, The Walking Dead series. These women are strong, independent, wilful and compassionate.

4) Do you agree with the idea that audiences reject media products if they feel they are misrepresented within them?

I agree with this as the female audience of a game decreases significantly when females are misrepresented in them compared to the female audience of a game when females are properly represented.

5) What does the writer suggest has changed regarding recent versions of Lara Croft and who does she credit for this development?

Rhianna Pratchett: create a protagonist who players could identify with.  “the essence of the new Lara Croft became the struggle she felt within herself”

Part 2: Tropes vs Women in Video Games – further analysis

Title of video: Women are too hard to animate.

100 word summary: The video discusses the idea that some game producers say that creating female characters in video games is just too much work. This started the hashtag #womenaretoohardtooanimate and a discussion into how long it took for mainstream video games such as Fifa to introduce  women to the game. It also talks about how when women are featured in video games, they're often hyper-sexualised in their appearance and actions; they also rarely play an important role in the game and are side lined to being the sidekick. They are portrayed as a helper who has restricted movement and importance in the game.

Part 3: Anita Sarkeesian Gamespot interview

1) What reaction did Anita Sarkeesian receive when she published her videos on women in videogames? You can find more information on this on Sarkeesian’s Kickstarter fundraising page.

 intimidation and harassment effort has included a torrent of misogyny and hate speech on my YouTube video, repeated vandalizing of the Wikipedia page about me, organized efforts to flag my YouTube videos as "terrorism", as well as many threatening messages sent through Twitter, Facebook, Kickstarter, email and my own website.  These messages and comments have included everything from the typical sandwich and kitchen "jokes" to threats of violence, death, sexual assault and rape. 

2) How does Sarkeesian summarise feminism?

Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings."

3) Why do stories matter?

Narratives have always been a core way human beings learn about, make sense of, and understand the world we live in. movies, TV, music, books, and video games are helping to shape our collective cultural universe.

4) How does Sarkeesian view Samus Aran and Lara Croft (the two protagonists from our upcoming CSPs)?

Samus Aran's body is a reward for players. Lara Croft is still objectified and sexualized for a presumed straight-male audience. 

5) How has the videogame landscape changed with regards to the representation of women?

Female characters have evolved since the days of the original Metroid, Super Mario Bros., and Zelda games. a slightly larger number of female characters and more protagonists, but things have gotten worse in many ways. In the 1990s we saw the rise of the "Fighting F@#k Toy," the ubersexualized yet violent female character--and today this trope has basically become the default representation for women in much of the gaming industry. resurgence of the "Damsel in Distress" in recent years as developers rush to remake or reboot many of the classic 1980s games. This trend has also brought with it an upsurge in original retro-style games that pay homage to the classic gaming era but often borrow or reproduce the old sexist themes, plot devices, and humor. This kind of appeal to nostalgia can obviously be a lot of fun, but sadly it's often unnecessarily done at the expense of female representations.

6) Why are Mirror’s Edge and Portal held up as examples of more progressive representations of women?

both characters are women of color, and both serve as the protagonists of their own games without being overly sexualized or objectified. in addition to the female protagonists, both games worked to creatively expand the first-person/shooter genre--a genre overflowing with lackluster clones. Both employed interesting underdog plots, innovative gameplay mechanics, and emphasized less violent creative problem solving instead of brute force. 

7) What are the qualities that Sarkeesian lists for developers to work on creating more positive female characters?

Developers are going to have to take some risks and step outside of the expected or established conventions. some very basic things I look for in female characters are: protagonists with agency not tied directly to their sex appeal; transformative story arcs where characters are struggling with or overcoming personal flaws; and some emotional depth and expression.

8) What is the impact of the videogames industry being male-dominated?

Being male dominated does play a big role in the types of games, narratives, and characters produced. Including more women on development teams is critical for change,  it's important to keep in mind that the problem is not solved by simply having a few token women on staff, or even by just putting one woman in charge of a project. Game companies need to change their male-dominated spaces and internal cultures to shift away from the old boys' club mentality.

9) What did Sarkeesian hope to achieve through her ‘Tropes vs Women in Video Games’ series?

 I want to promote media literacy and give people some tools to look critically at the games we play. To clearly present the issues surrounding women's representations as a systemic problem by identifying reoccurring patterns. Sexist representations are part of a larger institutional problem across all entertainment industries. We can play and enjoy many games while simultaneously being critical of some of their harmful aspects. We can recognize and point out the more problematic representations without necessarily throwing the whole game out.