Paper 1 mock exam learner response

 

1) Type up any feedback in full (you do not need to write mark/grade if you do not wish to).

Q1: Technical Codes? 

Q2: Excellent use of theory

Q3: No reference to hyper reality

Q4: Good grasp of guantletts idea 

Q5: -

Q6: "Social media" not traditional. - Traditional techniques!

Q7: -

WWW: well structured, focused on the audience - good work!

EBI: lacks attention on newsbeat and in relationship with the audience.

56/84 B Exceeds AUPC (C) = CPx4

Now read through the genuine AQA mark scheme. This is vital as the paper was an official exam paper and therefore the mark scheme tells us a lot about what AQA are expecting us to produce. Please note that some of the CSPs have changed since last year's exam so we've updated some of the indicative content for our 2024 CSPs.

2) Write a question-by-question analysis of your performance. For each question, write how many marks you got from the number available and identify any points that you missed by carefully studying the AQA indicative content in the mark scheme:


Q1: 4/8 

Additional points: Could've mentioned technical codes for how the advert has been constructed in terms of camerawork, and other key signifiers such as the brand name and the copy such as anchorage and slogans. The model has intertextual references to 1950's women celebrities e.g. Marilyn Monroe.

Q2:10/12

Additional points: Could've mentioned verbal codes which goes and supports the social norm. The advert has a voiceover which suggests "The trends we love. The tools we need." which does support van Zoonen's ideas on sex role stereotypes and women being expected to look and dress a certain way.

Q3:3/9

Additional points: How the advert has an impact due to its sexist characters representations. The performance codes (mise-en-scene) dominate more than the actual actors. The performance of gender lacks any creditability as it is over stereotyped and shows a gender binary. The jungle is heavily constructed and shows the hunter referring to colonialism and creates this idolised representation of the man. 

Q4:14/20

Additional points: Couldve mentioned the social media culture - the song and video emerged from which reflects the idea of how people use the media to construct their identity, which is further reinforced from how the video is constructed like a typical TikTok video. The idea of the new hybrid genre of 'country rap' influences how audience construct their identity through music genre due to this evolution and change in music.

Q5.1:2/3

Additional points: 3rd correct answer was D.

Q5.2:3/3

Additional points: None.

Q6:4/9

Additional points: The UK release of the trailer took a lot of cost for the advertising in cinema and TV - which focused on the nostalgic elements of the 80s through mise-en-scene and soundtrack which grabs audience attention. They also went on interviews and festivals to make publicity but they spend too long on this so this may have been the reason why the lost the box office to Yesterday, a movie with the similar genre and style.

Q7:16/20

Additional points: A lot of the audience now days focus on social media and so Radio Newsbeat ask its audience to interact with them platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. This allows a connection to build between the audiences and producers (Blumler and Katz: Uses and Gratifications theory - Personal Relationships).

3) Look at Question 4 - a 20-mark essay evaluating Shirky's 'End of audience' theory. Write an essay plan for this question using the indicative content in the mark scheme and with enough content to meet the criteria for Level 4 (top level). This will be somewhere between 3-4 well-developed paragraphs plus an introduction answering the question planned in some detail.

Question: How valid is David Gauntlett's claim that audiences use representations in media products to construct their identities? 

You should refer to the Close Study Product Old Town Road in your response.

Intro: Gauntlett's claims are valid to a great extent. Audiences do use representations to construct their identity.

Para 1: Old Town Road shows collective identity towards the queer community, as Lil Nas X and also shows fluidity in identity. This is evident from costumes, jewelry and make up, such as nail polish worn by Lil Nas X - represents queer identity. Also fluid through the Knowing reference by Billy Ray Cyrus - talks about  a very masculine American man "Marlboro Man" whilst wearing a pink suit - shows fluid identity. Targets queer audiences and influences them how to act therefore shows Gauntlett's claim on how audiences use media to construct their own identity.

Para 2: Plays with identity through its postmodernism elements of the parody and pastiche elements - it plays with identity throughout the whole video of black people, queer people and how there is " a change in time" with new representations of these type of people in todays world yet using a more traditional setting. This also shows generational differences on how queer people and all races are much more accepted - more woke society. Therefore allows audiences to constructs their own identity based on media representations.

Para 3: Identity as fluid is also shown through ethnicity in the video. Shows how black people are much more accepted in todays society. Subverts stereotypes of black people as criminals, showing them as hero (Propps seven spheres of action) - Lil Nas X shown in much more positive light, and also educates people on how 25% of cowboys were black but most representations are all white - Yeehaw agenda came as a result of this and shows how Gauntlett's claim is correct on how audience construct their identity based or media representations as due to this this song,  black people wanted to reclaim their past culture as cowboys.

Para 4: Both the template of the song and the music video came from social media platforms such as YouTube and Twitter, which shows how much publicity the social media culture has, and this is also seen through how the video is constructed as a TikTok video with all the dance trends and references to social media culture as in the scene where the pedestrian records Lil Nas X comes on to the road with a horse - this shows how audiences constantly use social media representations to construct their own identity.

Conc: Therefore, Gauntlett's claim are valid, and audiences do use media representations to constructs their own identity, and this is increasing in the digital age.

4) Based on the whole of your Paper 1 learner response, plan FIVE topics / concepts / CSPs / theories that you will prioritise in your summer exam Media revision timetable.

1. Postmodernism concept
2. Film Industry unit - Blinded By the Light
3. All of Radio (especially Newsbeat)
4. Hesmondhalgh - all theories
5. Gauntlett's theory of identity