OSP assessment learner response

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

• WWW:
• Good knowledge of dominant / preferred readings for the unseen media product analysis
• Some attempt at referencing the OSP CSP's but these examples are rather vague/lacks depth
• EBI:
• For Q1 - not entirely convinced your readings for negotiated and oppositional are completely accurate - see mark scheme for alternative readings
• More specific examples/figures needed in relation to industries/Representations. You also need to reference more theories e.g. Shirky

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.)

• Reinforces white, western, middle-class representation of family life to the exclusion of other backgrounds (race/ethnicity, sexuality, age, class). Presents the white, western ‘2.4 children’ average as desirable, aspirational lifestyle – some audiences will reject this.
• Some audiences may reject the stereotypical gender roles with a mother playing with the two children and no father in shot (presumably at work). This arguably reinforces negative and outdated gender stereotypes.
• Google presenting its smart speaker as a ‘natural’ part of home life will be strongly rejected by audiences concerned with data, privacy and the power technology companies such as Google have in modern western societies.

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

• The ‘End of Audience’ that Clay Shirky writes about means that a wider, more diverse range of values and ideologies are now available to consumers. This would suggest Hesmondhalgh’s theory is not valid. Taylor Swift’s online and social media presence arguably supports this with her promotion of a liberal agenda that challenges attitudes towards gender in society and the music industry. The power and influence of Taylor Swift’s fans (‘Swifties’) also shows that a wider range of values and ideologies are now available in the cultural industries thanks to technology and social change.
• The Voice offers an explicit Black British perspective on news stories and issues in London and the UK. This alone sets it apart from mainstream media and suggests that Hesmondhalgh’s view that only a narrow range of values and ideologies are available is not entirely valid. Features such as the first black photographer to shoot the cover picture of Vogue magazine (December 2018) and campaigns such as the Black Pound campaign encouraging readers to spend their money with Black businesses (also seen in the suggestion to ‘Buy Black on Black Friday’) both reflect this agenda.
• Swift’s website and social media presence also arguably reinforces dominant capitalist ideologies in the way everything is used to maximise profit. The website contains plenty of opportunities for Swift fans to spend their money on merch, collectable versions of her albums (including on cassette tape, CD and vinyl) or tour tickets. An entire tour microsite gives audiences the opportunity to engage with the tour and demonstrate their level of fandom via social media – usually through the money they spend following Swift. This would support Hesmondhalgh’s ideas regarding a narrow range of values and ideologies and also his arguments around commodification and the demand for profit in the cultural industries. Swift’s Eras tour has grossed more than $2bn and may bring in over $4bn when other revenue streams are included – she is big business and ultimately exploits her fans for cash just as Hesmondhalgh accuses the major conglomerates and tech companies of doing.

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 three well-developed paragraphs in addition to an introduction and conclusion.

• Para 1:
• Taylor swift + hegemonic values and ideologies of mainstream media
• following despite championing women in the music industry e.g. tortured poets society marketing advertises Swift's appearance
• women as a spectacle - Van Zoonen
• supports Hesmondhalgh's idea
• Para 2:
• Voice's failure due to the poor construction of their website and social media presence despite opportunities afforded to them
• Not the powerful voice for black ppl in British media it should be
• goes against Hesmondhalgh's idea - failure due to low quality not due to narrow beliefs.
• Para 3:
• Swift's website reinforces dominant capitalist ideologies in the way everything is used to maximise profits.
• Contains plenty of opportunities for Swifties to spend money on merch or tour tickets.
• Microsite dedicated to her tour to get audiences exited and more likely to spend money
• Supports Hesmondhalgh's ideas regarding a narrow range of values and ideologies and his argument around commodification and the demand for profit in the cultural industries
• grossed more than $2bn and may bring in  over $4bn when other revenue streams are included - she is big business and ultimately exploits her fans for cash just as Hesmondhalgh accuses the major conglomerates and tech companies of doing

5) Finally, identify three key areas you plan to revise from the OSP unit before the January mock exams (e.g. CSP elements or media theories) having looked at your feedback from this assessment.

• Links between media theories and CSPS
• Practice exam style questions
• key theorists