Compose a title

What should be done:

1    Use the archive of Media Magazine in your library or the online edition to explore possible media issues and debates.  This is a resource written by teachers, students and people who work in media industries and is a good way to explore a range of possible areas that may interest you.

2     Choose the medium that you wish to explore

3    You need to explore a key concept out of one or more of the following;

Genre  - Narrative - Representation

4    Choose an area of interest and outline your investigation by creating a working title

For example, ‘An investigation into representation of gender in music videos’

   Write a 100 word synopsis of your investigation and present this to your class for discussion

Here is an example of a possible investigation;

Working title

‘An Investigation into the representation of gender in the music videos of Lady Ga-Ga and Pixie Lott’

Area of interest

I will conduct close textual analysis of two key music videos, ‘Bad Romance’ by Lady Ga-Ga and ‘Cry Me Out’ by Pixie Lott.  I will compare and contrast representations of these popular artists and decode messages and values inherent in the narratives of each video. I will then apply media theories studied such as Laura Mulvey’s ‘male gaze’ and conduct secondary research to look at how these texts have been received by audiences and the wider critical media.  I will then conduct my own primary research by holding focus groups and using the results of focused questionnaires to see how a target audience respond to the texts.  A question I hope to answer is about the effects of  these representations of gender on the main target audience of teenage women.

How should I present the task?

On one sheet of A4 outline your area of investigation in approximately 100 words and provide a working title

Present this to your class for discussion

This will form the basis of a tutorial with your teacher who will advise and assist in clarifying the direction of your investigation