Section A Exam Practice ...

Media Forms
How does the text both subvert and reinforce the typical conventions for a newspaper front page? (12 marks)



The text of the front cover of the newspaper 'i' has text which reinforces the typical conventions of a newspaper front page due to the size of the font. For example, the way the masthead of the front cover is larger in order to catch the audience's attention. Also, the idea of presenting a game section in the newspaper such as crosswords for example, it's stereotypical of a newspaper to generally have one at the last few pages; this would make people such as travellers on their way to work catching public transport want to complete the puzzles in order to pass time, this is a method to attract customers in to buying the newspaper as it's cheap and fun.
Furthermore, the heading underneath the masthead which says 'the essential daily briefing' is a summary of what the newspaper itself is and the word 'essential', meaning a necessity would mean that everyone needs to have one of these daily newspapers; a sell-line which will make people buy the newspaper, overall, the print tends to promote itself by it's sell lines and rhetorical questions making the audience wanting to know the answer within.Also, the textual information assumes significant cultural and social knowledge as it is showing a stereotypical side of Britain in itself talking about 'A right royal party' highlighting typical elements of the UK that most people would tend to know about interesting tourists for example to buy the newspaper in order to raise their awareness about Britain; the stereotypical topic on the cover can also be seen as a unique selling point (USP) as not many other print adverts would do this. In contrast, the different story lines on the cover subvert the typical conventions of a newspaper front page as there are more stories on the cover like a magazine cover would usually have making this 'newspaper' appear to people as a 'magazine' instead.

Media Institutions
Why might the ‘i’ newspaper have been successful in a newspaper industry that has generally been in decline? (12 marks)

The newspaper may have been successful due to 'i' using the theory of Katz and Blumler of Uses and Gratification showing that the audience use media for a lot of purposes. This would be because the newspaper may be an impression of a magazine and by the audience reading this newspaper, they would feel a sense of escapism and feeling like they are a part of something, which highlights one of the factors of reading the magazine for personal identity purposes of this particular theory and to also reassure them about themselves being a very sneaky and sly method in order to gain more sales; this links to the 4 C's of young and Rubicam.
Moreover, in an industry that has been in decline, the occasions taking place such as the Queen's Diamonds Jubilee may have allowed the newspaper, 'i', step back into business as they may have attracted the attention of viewers. Also, as the price of the newspaper was only 20p, this may have also been another USP as it may have allowed the demand to increase and lead to an automatic increase in sales revenue and profit for 'i'.
As mentioned, the price of the newspaper was 20p on weekdays and 30p on the weekend, this is a clever business tactic as on weekends, more people may tend to go out and by increasing the price, people would buy 'i' as it would still be relatively cheap compared to other newspapers such as the Times which would be a lot more expensive, not many magazines or newspapers would tend to do this therefore making it a very clever tactic.

Media Audience

What would you espect the "i" newspaper's target audience to be based on this front page? (12 marks)
Based on this front page, I believe that the target audience for this magazine would be approaching tourists as (mentioned above), it helps to raise their awareness on Britain in itself and other British people travelling to work to complete 'Daily crossword puzzles' as written on the front cover of the newspaper. The understanding of the audience all depends on the psychographics such as their lifestyles and the audience for 'i' would have lifestyles such as travelling to work or just simply tourism.
This audience in particular would tend to consume this paper the most as it is affordable and contains a lot of information which may intrigue them.
The primary audience of the magazine would be the adults of the older generation of 30+ who would tend to buy magazine compared to the secondary audience of the younger generation of teenagers aged 16+ who would usually buy magazines such as the 'SUN' for 50p as it approaches the younger target audience compared to this newspaper of 'i'. Also, stereotypically, teenagers would usually read magazines compared to newspapers.
Moreover, you would expect sophisticated people who would usually have less money to purchase this newspaper as it is cheap or the young students who would have no 'pocket money'. 'i' would be a cheaper option to purchase compared to the other more expensive newspapers and magazine such as the SUN and the TIMES which are worth 50p or above.

Media Representations
How is Britain represented in this text? (12 marks)


Britain is represented within this text as it shows a patriotic society and the main image shows the huge 'party' being thrown and lots of indications of the typical British colours such as blue, red and white which are in the flag and represent the whole of the United Kingdom, the fact that this was done was to inform and advertise it to people all around the UK in order to create a 'buzz' about both 'i' and the Diamond Jubilee in itself. Also, as the queen is world renown, this allows the target audience(s) of this newspaper to purchase it even more. Camera angles used such as long shots and mid-shots shows the atmosphere of Britain and the Queen's expressions make it seem that she is enjoying the celebrations and the connotations from this may show the cultural side of the UK. The body language of the image of the queen shows that she is not making a direct mode of address towards the audience making them want to take a good look at the cover of the newspaper.The newspaper presents the community of people living in the UK. The queen is being represented as a woman of authority and because her picture is larger than the rest connotes her importance towards this nation. The words 'A RIGHT ROYAL PARTY' are written in blue, red and white which reinforces the stereotypes of Britain and also represents us as a country who has a view of themselves as being very proud of their nationalities. Binary opposition is shown within the text itself between the colours creating a sense of juxtaposition and the contrasting colours connote Britain being of a multicultural background; also being welcoming.Moreover, the largest story of the paper is about the Diamond Jubilee this is seen as it is covering most of the page automatically catching the audience's eye.

POSTER ANALYSIS

Case Study #2 - Ted

TED REVIEW

Set in Boston, Massachusetts in the year 1985, John Bennett is a lonely boy who can't make any friends, one Christmas he receives a teddy bear from his parents and immediately grows attached to it. John names him Ted, and wishes one night that Ted could be alive; inexplicably, a shooting star passing overhead causes his wish to come true and Ted is alive the next morning, much to the fear and eventual jubilation of his parents. Due to his sentience, Ted becomes a star for a short period of time.

25 years later, John works at a car rental place and has continued a strong bond with Ted, which his girlfriend Lori doesn't like as she thinks their friendship, which includes mass consumption of alcohol and drugs, is keeping John mentally a child. On their four year anniversary, John and Lori come home to find Ted with a quartet of hookers one of them having defecated on the floor during a game of Truth or Dare.

Lori gives John a chance to prove he can live without Ted, and John relents, helping Ted get an apartment and a job at a grocery store which his rather crude and rash behaviour is praised and he is quickly promoted after having sex with a new cashier, Tami-Lynn while on shift. Their daily hangouts become frustrating to Lori as John uses excuses to cut out of his responsibilities and work early, she gives him a final chance.

Meanwhile, Ted is approached by a man named Donny and his overweight son Robert with an offer to buy him from John which they refuse. Lori and John attend a party hosted by her boss Rex, whose crush on her is frustrating to both of them. Ted calls and tells John that Sam Jones from Flash Gordon is attending a party at his house. John resists at first not wanting to hurt Lori, but Ted quickly convinces him to come meet their childhood hero. Once there, John and Ted join Sam in several shots of alcohol and drugs, escalating into a fist fight with Ted's neighbour Ming, who Sam mistakes for his movie's villain Emperor Ming. John soon realizes the time but before he can leave, Lori comes in and tearfully breaks up with him, breaking John's heart. Realizing Ted's influence is to blame he tells Ted to stay away from him and goes to live at a hotel.

A week later, Rex, still pursuing Lori asks her out on a date and she accepts, hoping to get over John. Ted comes to John and after John provokes Ted into a fight that ends with a lamp and television falling on John, they reconcile, they decide to interrupt the Norah Jones concert that Lori is attending with Rex to sing a special song to her, but he is quickly booed off stage, Lori ends the date with Rex and returns home.

The next day, Ted comes to Lori and tells her that John is lost without her and offers to leave forever if it would help their happiness. Lori considers this and leaves to meet John, but Ted is shortly thereafter kidnapped by Donny and Robert. Taken to their home, Ted has one of his ears ripped off by Robert due to his foul mouth but tricks the boy into playing a game of hide and seek, using the distraction to staple his ear back on and call John who had reconciled with Lori. They go to Donny's house just as they are escaping with Ted and the two give chase that leads them to Fenway Park. Ted is injured during the chase but manages to outrun Donny as they climb up one of the spotlight towers. Donny grabs Ted by the foot and accidentally tears Ted in half, who falls to the stadium floor. Donny escapes when the police show up as John and Lori frantically try to piece Ted back together. He admits that the two of them need each other more than they need him, and the magic that gave him life leaves him an ordinary teddy bear again.

Lori and John rush home refusing to accept his death, but they are unable to patch him up and accept that he is gone. That night as John sleeps, Lori makes a wish, and the following morning, Ted is revealed to be alive but manages to fool John into thinking he was resurrected mentally retarded. John exclaims that Lori wished for Ted's life back and she corrects him saying that she wished for her life back instead, and John finally proposes to her, Ted becomes the best man at their wedding while the ordained Sam Jones presides over the service and Ted finally realizes their place together.

Ill Manors Test Feedback

FEEDBACK:
-Include more explicit references to theory - Propp, Todorov, audience theories etc... and link a paragraph on this...

TARGET:
- Talk more about theories such as, Todorov, Propp and audience theories

LEARNER RESPONSE:
In terms of theories, Ill Manors follows the conventions of Propp's theory. For example, Aaron played by Riz Ahmed, is the "villian" as well as a "hero" as he is bad at first and wants to cause trouble however, at the end of the film, he seems to improve his behaviour and decides to change. Also, coming to the end of the film, he saves a baby from falling which makes him a "hero" according to Propp's theory. Secondly, according to Todorov's theory with the equilbrium, disequilibrium, and then the equilibrium again, Ill Manors does follow this. For instance, the protagonist is his normal self (equlibrium), then starts to cause trouble along with his friends or so called "gang" (diseqilibrium), then he finally decides to change for the best and becomes a hero by helping others and making it back to the equlibrium where everything is normal (normality).