Media Theory for A Level

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.

• Media language 1. Semiotics: Roland BarthesConcept 1: Denotation and connotationConcept 2: The media’s ideological effect2. Structuralism: Claude Lévi-StraussConcept 1:Binary oppositionsConcept 2: Binary oppositions and ideological significance3. Narratology: Tzvetan TodorovConcept 1: The three-act idealConcept 2: The ideological effects of story structure4. Genre theory: Steve NealeConcept 1: Repetition and differenceConcept 2: Industry effects on genre-driven content5. Postmodernism: Jean BaudrillardKey concept: The real and the hyperrealMedia representation 6. Representation: Stuart HallConcept 1: Media representation processesConcept 2: Stereotypes and power7. Postcolonial theory: Paul GilroyConcept 1: Racial binaries, otherness and civilisationismConcept 2: The legacy of empire and British identity8. Feminist theory: Liesbet van ZoonenConcept 1: The female body as spectacleConcept 2: Masculinity in the media9. Intersectionality: bell hooksConcept 1: Interconnected oppressionConcept 2: hooks’ call to action10. Gender as performance: Judith ButlerConcept 1: Gendered identities are constructed through repetition and ritualConcept 2: Gender subversion and gendered hierarchies11. Media and identity: David GauntlettConcept 1: Traditional and post-traditional media consumptionConcept 2: Reflexive identity constructionMedia industries 12. Ownership effects: James Curran and Jean SeatonConcept 1: Media concentrationConcept 2: Effects of concentration on media contentConcept 3: Diverse ownership creates diverse products13. Regulation: Sonia Livingstone and Peter LuntConcept 1: Citizen and consumer models of media regulationConcept 2: Regulation in the globalised media age14. The culture industry: David HesmondhalghConcept 1: Maximising profits and minimising risksConcept 2: The effects of the internet revolution are difficult to diagnoseMedia audiences 15. Media modelling effects: Albert BanduraConcept 1: Violent behaviours are learned through modellingConcept 2: Audiences copy media modelling16. Cultivation theory: George GerbnerConcept 1: Fear cultivationConcept 2: Media consumption leads audiences to accept mainstream ideologies17. Reception theory: Stuart HallConcept 1: Encoding and decodingConcept 2: Dominant, negotiated and oppositional decoding18. Fandom: Henry JenkinsConcept 1: Fan appropriationConcept 2: Audience–producer convergence in the digital ageConcept 3: Fans use participatory culture to effect wider social change19. The end of audience: Clay ShirkyConcept 1: Everybody makes the mediaConcept 2: Everyday communities of practiceBibliographyIndex