Film & TV 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- Some very detailed writing, with clear expression. Good revision.
EBI- More balance for Q3; more needed on Deutschland 83 and a bit more on the general issues missed by Q3 (realism, ideology, interpretations.)

2) Read the whole mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify at least one potential point that you missed out on for each question in the assessment (even if you got full marks for the question).
Question 1- 

• Possible theories: Steve Neale – similarity and difference and Schatz – genres are dynamic and go through cycles. 
• Kingsman: The Secret Service has been developed from a comic and makes many intertextual references to the long-running and hugely successful James Bond: 007 film franchise.
• A range of different genres are suggested on the poster – e.g. the background is space like (sci-fi); the silver symbol in the background alludes to comic books/Marvel universe; the woman on the left suggests martial arts or kung-fu movies – this is reinforced by the faint images in the background (man in mid-air kick on right-hand side); the helicopter in the top right hints at the war movie genre.
• There are many examples of intertextuality: the main central image suggests a bridge between James Bond and Austin Powers (bond parody), the image at the top is visually reminiscent of Matt Damon’s Bourne films (e.g. The Bourne Identity).

Question 2-

• The struggle to distribute a micro-budget independent film in a global market dominated by major conglomerates. 
• Small cinema release in arthouse cinemas appropriate distribution for the film – a British social realist drama.
•  Construction of the Chicken branding on the poster/DVD packaging etc. effective in communicating the genre and key selling points of the film – arthouse, social realism, beautiful cinematography, the theme of nature etc.
• Quote on the poster from acclaimed actor Sir Ian McKellen.

Question 3-

Points that support the assertion that representations in Capital and Deutschland 83 reflect the social and cultural context in which they were produced:

• All media production is conditioned by the dominant ideology, the value system and perceptions of reality
• The contexts of production are more important and influential than any intent of the ‘authors’ as it is impossible for the individual to transcend social and cultural contexts

Points that argue against the assertion that representations in Capital and Deutschland 83 reflect the social and cultural context in which they were produced:

• All media products are constructions with only a partial link to reality, therefore social and cultural contexts are irrelevant.
• The contexts of production are relatively insignificant in creating meanings (reception theory); meanings derive from the interaction between the audience and the product.
• Television dramas have the power to influence and change the social and cultural contexts in which they are received.

Capital

• Capital has been accused of left-wing bias for negative representation of wealth/upper middle class white British people and positive representation of multiculturalism and illegal immigrants. (DailyMail article by Christopher Stevens- "Capital was as stuffed full with fashionable causes as Jeremy Corbyn's function diary")

Deutschland 83

• Binary oppositions to represent East and West Germany and their signifying values. 
• Representations portray both sides. At times appear to favour the West (and therefore capitalism, dominant ideologies, hegemony – e.g. supermarket scene). However, the hero is an East German, reflecting values associated with communism and socialism.
• The postmodern visual aesthetic draws on pastiche, using exaggerated popular culture references and stylized mise-en-scene. Therefore representations do not reflect the genuine social and cultural context but a nostalgic view of 1980s culture.

3) The first question demanded a response using postmodern terminology. Write a definition here of the three main terms:

Bricolage: Juxtaposing of old and new texts.

Pastiche: Refers to the media products that imitate the style of another text, artist or time period.

Intertextuality: When a media text uses references from other media texts.

4) The second question was on the film industry. Write down two points from the mark scheme about Chicken's promotion and distribution that you didn't include in your answer. 

• Chicken premiered on TV in April 2017 on Film4 
• Digital distribution in USA/Canada followed in January 2018 and the film is now available on Amazon Prime in the UK. 

5) Look over your mark, teacher comments and the mark scheme for Question 3 - the 25 mark essay question on your TV Close-Study Products. Write a complete essay plan for this question based on the suggested answers in the mark scheme. You can either use something similar to your actual answer or alternatively start from scratch. Make sure it is an extensive, detailed plan focused on the question (representations) and offering specific references to Capital and Deutschland 83 for each section. Try and cover the two texts equally if you can and aim to plan around 5-6 paragraphs in total.