Well done on completing the latest Media assessment - it's another great opportunity to revise the CSPs and develop your exam technique. The first part of your learner response is to look carefully at your mark, grade and comments from your teacher. If anything doesn't make sense, ask your teacher - that's why we're here!
Magazines and Music Video assessment learner response: blog tasks Create a new blog post called 'Magazines and Music Video assessment learner response' and complete the following tasks: 1) Type up your WWW/EBI feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential). 2) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Write down the mark you achieved for each question: Q1: Q2: Q3:
Q4:
Q5:
3) Look specifically at question 2. Use the indicative content in the mark scheme for question 2 to write three connotations of the design and layout of Tatler. 4) Now look at question 3 - Heat magazine. Use the indicative content in the mark scheme to write three ways celebrities are represented in Heat magazine.
5) Look at question 5 - Arctic Monkeys and audience identity. This is a real AQA past question with lots of potential answers given in the mark scheme. Choose three answers that specifically refer to the Arctic Monkeys CSP and write them here.
6) BLACKPINK - How You Like That didn't come up in this assessment. If this CSP comes up in your end of Year 1 exam, what three things about BLACKPINK and How You Like That could you try to include in your answer?
Our first television Close-Study Product is Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child from 1963. This is an in-depth study which means we need to analyse the product in terms of media language, industries, audience and representation. In addition, this CSP will be examined in Paper 2 with a short clip to analyse. Notes from the lessons
Narrative theories
Todorov: Equilibrium Todorov suggested that all narratives follow a three part structure. They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when a new equilibrium is restored. Equilibrium > Disequilibrium > New equilibrium
This can be applied to most media narratives. Propp: Character Types
Vladimir Propp stated that there were seven basic character roles when he analysed classic fairy tales and that these were present in most narratives. Media products still use these recognisable character types today: Hero, Villain, Heroine/Princess, Father, Donor, Helper/Sidekick, False Hero
Roland Barthes: Enigma and Action Codes
Action Codes: anything that suggests something dramatic is about to happen. E.g. when the TARDIS begins to take off or when the shadow appears in the final shot of the episode.
Enigma Codes: a narrative code that creates mystery and gives the audience questions to keep them watching e.g. who is the Doctor and where is he taking them? Will the teachers get home? What is the mysterious shadow in the final scene?
Levi-Strauss: Binary opposition
Binary opposition is a theory that all narratives are driven by conflict of a series of opposing forces. There are many examples that can be found in this Doctor Who episode e.g. good v evil; young v old; human v alien; dark v light etc.
Doctor Who: An introduction
Listed in Guinness World Records as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world with over 800 episodes.
The Doctor explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS [Time And Relative Dimension In Space]. The TARDIS has a vast interior but appears smaller on the outside.
The Doctor travels through space and time preventing evil aliens or people from harming innocent people or changing history.
The Doctor has gained numerous reoccurring enemies during his travels, including the Daleks and the Cybermen.
Twelve male actors have headlined the series as the Doctor. The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the show with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation. In 2018 the BBC had their first female incarnation for the thirteenth Doctor.
Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
Social and historical context
First episode: Saturday, November 23rd, 1963 on the BBC. The plot was a narrative arc (a story over several episodes) involving the Doctor and his companions voyaging 100,000 years into Earth’s past to help some cavemen discover fire.
William Hartnell was the first Doctor, as an anti-hero who frequently put his companions in jeopardy for his own curiosity. Daleks made an appearance in the first series, as the arch enemies of the Doctor.
Jodie Whittaker took over the role as the Thirteenth Doctor in 2018 and is the first woman to be cast as the character.
1960s Britain
1961: First man in space – Russian Yuri Gagarin.
1962: The Beatles spark a British music revolution.
1964: BBC2 TV channel launched (third UK TV channel).
1965: The introduction of the mini skirt in a fashion show.
1967: BBC Radio 1 pop music station launched.
1969: First Man on the Moon – American Neil Armstrong.
1969: Concorde is flown for the first time.
1970: Mass media – 90% of households in UK have a TV, many now in colour.
The 1960s saw a shift in British culture. There was more freedom for young people and a breakaway from traditions.
Episode analysis: An Unearthly Child
An Unearthly Child (sometimes referred to as 100,000 BC) is the first narrative arc in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC TV in four weekly parts from 23 November to 14 December 1963. Scripted by the Australian writer Anthony Coburn, it introduces William Hartnell as the First Doctor and original companions; Carole Ann Ford as the Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman, with Jacqueline Hill and William Russell as school teachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton. The first episode deals with Ian and Barbara's discovery of the Doctor and his time-space ship TARDIS in a junkyard in contemporary London.
Plot of episode 1
Schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright are concerned about one of their pupils, Susan Foreman, who seems to have a very ‘alien’ outlook on England. They have come to her listed address to investigate. They arrive in a junkyard and find a police box, which proves to be no ordinary police box. When Ian and Barbara enter, they discover it to be much bigger on the inside than the outside. In the TARDIS is Susan and her grandfather, the Doctor. Fearing that Barbara and Ian will give away the secret of the TARDIS, he kidnaps them and takes the machine to the Stone Age, where they will have to fight for their lives.
The First Doctor was played as less mischievous and more cruel than later incarnations. He also seems less concerned about saving the human race.
His companion was made his ‘granddaughter’ because it was thought inappropriate for an old man to be accompanied by a young girl if she were unrelated to him.
Representations Daniel Chandler's representation theory: CAGE This is a theory about how the media constructs or represents individuals or groups of people through the media. Key markers of identity can be remembered through the acronym CAGE: C- Class A- Age G- Gender E- Ethnicity
Characters and representation in An Unearthly Child Susan Foreman Susan Foreman is the first of a long-standing tradition of Doctor Who companions. It was felt improper in 1963 for an older man, such as the Doctor, to be travelling through space with a young 15 year old girl; so she was written as his Granddaughter. She is a strong link to the young target audience and will often react in ways that the audience might in future episodes [e.g. screaming at aliens]. Classically relatable. She also provides a link between the chaotic alien madness of the Doctor and the human confusion embodied by Barbara and Ian (and the audience). She is therefore a translator of the more Sci-Fi elements of the story to a naïve 1960s audience. She can often be seen explaining some of the Doctor’s stranger outbursts to the humans Barbara and Ian. Another example of exposition.
The Doctor The Doctor represents the new age of technology and science that was emerging in the 1960s. The ‘space race’ was underway and the world was fascinated with all things space travel and linked to other planets. He represents this new world of discovery.
He is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey and he explores the universe with usually human companions who serve as audience surrogate characters to ask questions which allow the Doctor to provide relevant exposition. He is often eccentric, distracted and dark in mood. Some commentators have said he symbolises the struggle between good and evil, some have said he is a symbol of a God-like presence who wanders through time and space trying to change history for the better.
Teachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton
Barbara and Ian represent traditional human values and are classically middle class. They are the people the Doctor explains everything to, so that the audience understands as well. This is known as exposition.
They are also Science and History teachers so often offer advice and opinions to the Doctor on matters of space and time. They also have very clearly defined gender roles in the series.
Barbara and Ian also play the narrative role of mother and father to Susan who is very naive and who has not had that paternal guidance from the Doctor. They are very traditional in their gender roles. Ian is very physical when there is fighting or physical work to be done. Barbara is represented in a more homely, caring role in the series. These were stereotypical gender roles in the early 60s – but times were changing. Ian and Barbara are bonded by their human characteristics in their Space adventures. They represent the caring, empathetic part of the human condition in how they look after Susan and, in later episodes, the Doctor himself.
Audience
Reminder: demographics and psychographics
Demographics: The audience classified through ‘fixed’ characteristics such as: age, gender, race/ethnicity, where you live, job.
Psychographics: The audience classified through beliefs, values, hobbies and interests such as: Strugglers, Reformers, Aspirers and Mainstreamers.
General audience notes:
Mainstream family audience – broad appeal as millions of people watch the BBC.
Long-running which shows it appeals to mainstream audience (age 10-40+).
An Unearthly Child given PG certificate – parental guidance.
Demographics: A-E class as some complex plot points but also action that is easy to understand.
Gender: split down middle (although traditional science fiction fans were male, this has changed over time. From 1970-2010 the female sci-fi audience grew by 22%).
Audience pleasures
We can apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory when analysing the audience pleasures offered by Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child. Remember, we must consider it from the perspective of a viewer in the 1960s who would have reacted in quite a different way to an audience in 2020. Remember, the four key categories for Uses and Gratifications theory:
INFORMATION/SURVEILLANCE: learning information that you did not already know. Doctor Who offers its audience an education about space travel, science and history.
PERSONAL IDENTITY: personally relating to something - seeing your lifestyle on screen. Think about how different audiences may identify with Susan, her teachers or the Doctor.
DIVERSION/ENTERTAINMENT: escapism and being entertained away from your normal life. Science Fiction is a classic genre for escapism - what examples of this could be found in the episode?
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: caring about characters and wanting to find out what happens to them. This is the first episode of four - which characters do you think the audience will want to follow on their journey?
The 3 Vs
VISCERAL PLEASURE: Physical thrill of watching something e.g hairs on the back of your neck in a horror film, sport, big explosions.
VICARIOUS PLEASURE: Experiencing something through the characters (e.g. time/space travel).
VOYEURISTIC PLEASURE: Watching something you wouldn't normally get a chance to see (e.g. inside TARDIS).
Doctor Who Fan Culture: Whovians
Doctor Who now has an international online fan culture of events, fan fiction, fan-edited trailers and more. The BBC also produces merchandise to sell to this audience.
The 'Whoniverse'
The ‘Whoniverse’ is made up of podcasts, spin-offs (other shows that derive from the main Doctor Who and have settings, ideas, characters in common e.g. K-9 which is a kid’s show about Doctor Who’s robot dog) and documentaries, behind-the-scenes, sneak peaks and so on.
In the most recent series of Doctor Who, this fan culture actually appeared in an episode:
You can read more about Doctor Who's fans and its cultural impact in the extension articles at the bottom of this post.
Industries
TV industry in 1963
There were only two TV channels in the UK in 1963: BBC and ITV.
In terms of technology, videotape had only been in use for seven years when An Unearthly Child was made. It allowed the BBC to create the space and time travel effects we can see in the episode which were considered amazing at the time.
In 1967, BBC2 launched as the first colour TV channel. BBC1 and ITV then switched to colour in 1969 as more people bought colour TVs.
Compared to the digital and streaming TV landscape of today, 1960s television was a different world.
Importance of Doctor Who to BBC
Doctor Who is one of the most iconic franchises that the BBC has. It has been shown all over the world through BBC Worldwide and generates huge income for the BBC.
In 2014, a BBC Worldwide Report stated Sherlock and Doctor Who as the BBC’s biggest exports of the past year. The worldwide simulcast (simultaneous transmission) of “The Day of the Doctor” in 2013 saw this episode air at the same time in 98 countries on six continents.
Doctor Who franchise: spin-offs
The BBC has maximised the popularity of the Doctor Who franchise by creating a series of spin-offs that build on the same universe or characters as the original show. These include:
K9
Sarah Jane Adventures
Torchwood
Class
These spin-offs allow the BBC to target slightly different audiences while still taking advantage of the huge Doctor Who fanbase.
Spin-offs - opening titles:
Doctor Who - LIAR: Blog Tasks
Create a new blogpost called Doctor Who - LIAR: Blog Tasks and complete the following questions:
Language and Contexts
1) How can we apply narrative theories to this episode of Doctor Who?
Todorov's Equilibrium:
Propp's character theory:
Barthes's enigma and action codes:
Levi-Strauss's binary opposition:
2) In your opinion, what is the most important scene in the episode and why?
3) What genre is An Unearthly Child and how can you tell? Make specific reference to aspects of the episode.
4) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the social and historical contexts of the 1960s? Representations 1) What stereotypes of men are reinforced and subverted in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child? How? 2) What stereotypes of women/girls are reinforced and subverted in Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child? How? 3) How do the representations of young people and old people in An Unearthly Child reflect the social and historical context of the 1960s? 4) What representations of race/ethnicity can be found in Doctor Who: An Earthly Child? Is this surprising or not? Give reasons for your answer and consider historical / cultural context (the 1960s). Has this changed in more recent series of Doctor Who?
5) How is social class represented in An Unearthly Child? Think about how education and knowledge is presented in the episode.
Audience 1) Who is the target audience for Doctor Who? Do you think it has changed since 1963? 2) What audience pleasures are offered by Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child? Apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.
Personal Identity:
Diversion (Escapism):
3) What additional Uses and Gratifications would this episode provide to a modern 2020s audience? 4) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to An Unearthly Child? 5) What kind of online fan culture does Doctor Who have? Give examples. Industries 1) What was the television industry like in 1963? How many channels were there? 2) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the level of technology in the TV industry in 1963?
3) Why is Doctor Who such an important franchise for the BBC?
4) What other programmes/spin-offs are part of the wider Doctor Who franchise?
5) Why does the Doctor Who franchise have so much merchandise available? Give examples.
Our next topic is Television - A crucial in-depth topic. These are particularly important CSPs as we know they will definitely come up in Media Paper 2. The first 42 marks of this paper will be based on your knowledge and understanding of the two TV programmes across Media Language, Industries, Audiences and Representations. The CSPs: Doctor Who (1963) and His Dark Materials (2020) We need to study the following episodes as our in-depth CSPs: Episode 1 of Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child (1963) Episode 1 of His Dark Materials (Season 2): The City of Magpies (2020)
Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child Opening:
His Dark Materials Season 2 Trailer:
Assessment: Paper 2 Section A
Television will be tested using two medium response questions on an extract clip from one of the two episodes we will be studying. One question will be worth 8 marks and one will be worth 12 marks. There will then be one extended 20-mark essay covering the whole of both of the episodes you have studied. Introduction to TV Drama
Television drama is a popular TV genre. ‘Binge-watching’ series in one go is a recent phenomenon while other dramas have built hugely loyal fanbases (e.g. Doctor Who) over many years.
There are many sub-genres and hybrid genres in TV drama from costume drama to fantasy or science-fiction.
Key conventions
TV Drama has certain recognisable conventions or typical features. These include:
Dramatic narrative, usually linear (with continuity across episodes.) This is called a narrative arc where the story goes across the series.
Ensemble cast (characters with own storylines). Sometimes an episode will focus more on one character or another.
Specific technical codes e.g. realistic lighting and editing for social dramas to keep it gritty. Common use of flashback, point of view shots, dialogue and voice over, enigma and action codes throughout.
Use of stereotypical ‘stock’ characters get storylines across quickly.
TV Drama Series A TV drama series is a set of connected TV episodes that run under the same title e.g. Stranger Things, Doctor Who or His Dark Materials. They are usually structured in ‘seasons’ or ‘series’ and often end with a ‘season finale’. (‘Season’ is the American term but you will hear the British term 'series'.)
Genre
Genre Definition: A style or category of TV, film, music or literature.
Genre is the term to classify any TV or film media product that has a chosen style and follows certain codes and conventions e.g. comedy, action or crime drama.
Genres can change over time and there is increasingly a fashion to combine genres to create hybrid genres. E.g. Science fiction and fantasy.
NCIS
We can use the mnemonic NCIS to remember how to analyse the genre of film or television: Narrative: the storyline and preoccupations / issues e.g an action adventure film usually features a dangerous quest or mission. Todorov’s Equilibrium theory of narrative structure might apply here. Characters: the people who drive the story. Here you may see examples of Propp’s character types e.g. In fantasy there is often a hero, princess, helper, villain etc. Iconography: the mise-en-scene (CLAMPS) to create a particular look e.g. a horror movie may be particularly focused on blood, darkness and set at night. Setting: the locations or time period used e.g. in Western movies, you will often see it located in American or Mexican deserts around 1800s.
Our second music video CSP is Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor. Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band from Sheffield. The lead singer is called Alex Turner. Since forming in 2002, they have released six albums and won seven Brit Awards. They were one of the first bands to come to the public’s attention due to the internet, heralding a new way that bands are produced and marketed. I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor is their first single from debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not released with niche, independent record label Domino. The album was released in January 2006 and went straight to number 1 selling over 350,000 copies in its first week. Unlike BLACKPINK, Arctic Monkeys weren’t put together by an entertainment company, they were all friends from school. They formed in 2002 and wrote songs based on their lives and what they saw on nights out in Sheffield. They played pubs and small venues in and around Sheffield, and built up a huge following online using Myspace. You can read more about the Myspace phenomenon on Forbes here.
This background video on the Arctic Monkeys is relevant for us up until around 3mins 30:
Video analysis and audience appeal
The power of the internet
Social Media was only starting to be introduced in the early 2000s.
You could chat to people with similar interests on chatroom or forums.
You used AOL or MSN Messenger to talk to your friends, send emojis and share pictures and music.
Myspace was released in 2003 and was one of the first major social networking sites. Myspace was used by bands and artists to gain fans without the need for a record company.
Arctic Monkeys' music was shared on P2P sites, though this wasn’t known by the band or promoted when they found out. It allowed their music to be heard by a much wider audience.
The sharing of their music encouraged people to talk about and share their music, which created a buzz about the band.
Their fan base moved online, creating online communities where they could share songs and information.
Arctic Monkeys: performance video
This is a performance video designed to look like a 1980s TV performance on programmes such as Top of the Pops or The Old Grey Whistle Test. It was filmed using old 1980s Ikegami 3-tube colour TV cameras to give it an authentic, nostalgic effect.
The simple performance video subverts music video conventions that became steadily more complicated and narrative-based in the 1980s and 1990s.
It opens with the singer introducing the song and adding the words 'Don't believe the hype'. This could be a reference to the online following the band built up using Myspace.
Audience
Arctic Monkeys' audience are likely to be predominantly white, middle class and reasonably young. Psychographic groups might include Reformers and Explorers. Recent global success pushed the band into bigger psychographic groups such as Mainstreamers.
Audience pleasures would include diversion - the song is upbeat and fast-paced. Fans who followed the band from the early days might find a sense of personal relationship while many young people would get a sense of personal identity from the lyrics to the song (about going out to a club and drinking).
Older fans would enjoy a sense of nostalgia from the 1980s-style performance video.
Industries
Convergence and technology
Technological convergence is the development of technology (such as phones and tablets) that allows us to access all types of media through one device. This has fundamentally changed the way music videos are produced, consumed and shared.
Technological convergence has created both challenges and opportunities for the music industry - both artists and record companies.
Record company
Arctic Monkeys did not sign to a major label, but recorded their own music before signing to independent record label, Domino Records. They were not interested in working with a major as it would undermine their creative control.
Their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not went straight to number one and sold over 350,000 copies in its first week of release.
Music video regulation
Music video regulation is controlled by the BBFC who set certain standards and ratings for different age groups who they believe should be exposed to content specific to their age via age ratings and certification. YouTube and Vevo work in partnership with the BBFC to age rate all music videos for artists who are signed to Sony Music UK, Universal Music UK and Warner Music UK (the 'big three'). However, not all music producers sign up to this though and the BBFC does not have the power to regulate content on YouTube.
The BBFC regulate many different aspects of music videos. The sort of issues the BBFC considers in classifying music videos include:
drug misuse
dangerous behaviour presented as safe
bad language
sexual behaviour and nudity
threatening behaviour and violence
Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor: Blog tasks
Audience 1) What do we know about the Arctic Monkeys audience? Think demographics, psychographics and how they got into the band. 2) What audience pleasures are offered by the music video for I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor? 3) Pick out three particular shots, scenes or moments in the video that would particularly appeal to Arctic Monkeys fans. Why did you choose those moments? 4) How did fans take a leading role in making Arctic Monkeys famous back in 2005? 5) How are fans positioned to respond to the band? What does Arctic Monkeys want fans to think about their video?
Industries 1) How did the Arctic Monkeys first achieve success and build up their fanbase? 2) Why was P2P file sharing and MySpace an unexpected aspect to Arctic Monkeys' early success? 3) How does the rise of Arctic Monkeys differ from how BLACKPINK were formed and became famous? 4) Who is Arctic Monkeys record label and how many copies did they sell of their debut album? Why did they choose an independent record label? 5) Looking at the wider music industry, has the internet been a positive or negative development for record companies and artists? Why? Grade 8/9 extension tasks Read this excellent Guardian feature on the Arctic Monkeys on the 10th anniversary of I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor. What key statistics can you take from the article concerning developments in the industry and the Arctic Monkeys' role in these changes? Read this BBC News report from the time - documenting the records Arctic Monkeys broke. Finally, read this short Guardian feature asking if Arctic Monkeys changed the music industry. What does the article suggest? You'll need to finish this case study for homework - due date on SatchelOne.
Our next media topic is Music Video. We will be studying the industry and audience contexts for this topic and need to cover two CSPs: BLACKPINK: How You Like That
Arctic Monkeys: I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor We need to study the industry and audience contexts for these products: Industry: how music video is produced and marketed and how this has changed over time. Audience: Target audience and audience pleasures. How music contributes to an audience's sense of identity. Fandom. How the internet has changed the position of the audience. PLUS: Historical, cultural and social significance of the music videos and the impact of the internet on the music industry. Music video will appear in Paper 1, Section B of Exam Section B is only on INDUSTRIES and AUDIENCES and will consist of:
1 short answer question
2 medium answer questions – one on audience, one on industry
1 extended essay style question on one of the media forms we have studied - which is very likely to be Music Video due to the advance information we have from AQA about the Summer 2022 exams.
This essay question will require you to make judgements and draw conclusions.
Music Video: Introduction and History
Music Video Key Conventions
Music videos typically feature movement – often fast paced either in terms of actors, camerawork or editing. Many contain a performance element or narrative. Music videos can also feature visual effects and intertextuality.
Music videos were originally designed as a promotional device to sell the band or artist’s music but have developed over time to become a recognised artform or product in their own right. Modern music videos no longer have the huge budgets of the 1980s and 1990s but digital media means they are now more accessible than ever. Videos such as Psy’s Gangnam Style have received over 3 billion views on YouTube. Intertextuality Intertextuality is when one media text references another media text – through genre, conventions, mise-en-scene or specific cultural references. Music videos often use intertextual references – often to classic films but also to television, popular culture, news, videogames or even other music videos.
Music Video History
Originally, music videos were made like mini ‘films’ of the bands performing (e.g. The Beatles, Elvis)
MTV was launched in 1981 as a platform for music videos and the first music channel on television. Programs such as BBC show Top of The Pops also showcased music videos from the charts alongside ‘live’ stage performances.
In the 1980s and 1990s big budgets were spent on producing innovative and creative music videos such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller that had a film narrative, a well known director and featured intertextuality (horror films)
Music Video in the Digital Age
In 2005 the launch of YouTube changed the way that consumers access and enjoy music video. Now self-promotion is more common.
The rise of new and digital media paved the way for bands such as One Direction ‘manufactured’ by the industry and increasingly promoted through convergence on social media to maximise profits for the record companies. Problems With Piracy
Piracy became a huge problem for the music industry as they could not keep up with illegal downloading and streaming services where fans shared content for free therefore… The 2000s saw the rise of streaming services with subscriptions such as Spotify, Apple Music, Beats Music and (most recently) Youtube Music.
New platforms and music apps on smart phones mean that listeners are now becoming one-device consumers and using their phones for all media access.
Our First Music Video CSP is BLACKPINK - How You Like That.
This 2020 video promoted the lead single from Blackpink’s first Korean-language studio album, The Album. The video, released on 26th June 2020, was premiered on Blackpink's YouTube channel at the same time as the single was released.
The video broke many YouTube records, including most-watched premiere (1.66 million concurrent viewers), most views within 24 hours for a music video (86 million views) and fastest video to achieve 100, 200 and 600 million views. It was the 3rd most viewed music video of 2020. As of Autumn 2021, the video has had over 1 BILLION views.
K-Pop: Global Phenomenon
The K-pop genre reflects the global nature of the media and music industries. Over the last 20 years, K-pop has become a cultural sensation as groups like BTS and BLACKPINK enjoyed global success. This has also resulted in Korean culture becoming mainstream in the West.
Audience
BLACKPINK’s Audience: Blinks
BLACKPINK fans are known as ‘Blinks’ and are largely teenage girls and young women. Their fans are worldwide but they are particularly big in the Philippines and Indonesia as well as western countries such as the UK and USA.
Avril, a 16-year-old Blink (Blackpink’s fandom name) from Peru discovered them in 2018. “Everything about them made me become a fan,” she tells Vogue over Twitter. “The way they perform, their iconic songs and choreos, their friendship, even the way they dress. Blackpink were on a whole new level.”
Audience Pleasures
Applying Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory:
Diversion: Music video conventions – performance, effects, fast pace etc.
Personal relationships: Fan interaction online through social media is a key element of K-pop’s global success. Fans feel like they ‘know’ the band members.
Personal identity: K-pop fandom often involves copying the look of band members and seeing their own style reflected on screen.
Surveillance: Western audiences gain knowledge of Korean music and culture.
Marketing and Promotion to the Audience
The video’s release was preceded by a series of teasers on the band’s social media accounts (including posters, photos focusing on individual band members and videos) and a reality show (24/365 with Blackpink, available on YouTube).
A “dance performance” video including the choreography for the music video was released in July 2020; by March 2021 this had achieved over 600 million views and was placed in the top 20 videos of the year by Billboard magazine.
Dance performance:
BLACKPINK 24/365 - Behind the scenes of the How You Like It music video shoot:
Industries
BLACKPINK: Manufactured by YG Entertainment
Blackpink was formed in 2016 by Korean entertainment company YG Entertainment and by 2020 was one of the most successful K-Pop bands in the world. As of 2021, the band was the most followed girl group on Spotify and the most-subscribed music group, female act, and Asian act on YouTube.
The Changing Nature of the Music Industry
How You Like That demonstrates the changing nature of the music industry and how important YouTube and social media has become for music artists.
The way people consume music videos has changed – now phones, tablets and YouTube are the primary ways audiences engage with music videos (known as convergence). It also shows music video has become a media form in its own right, not just a way to sell an album.
BLACKPINK’s billions of YouTube views also bring in money through advertising.
Music: A Global Industry
K-pop demonstrates the global nature of the industry with BLACKPINK selling out arenas across the UK and USA as well as in the East. They played Wembley Arena in 2019 as well as huge US music festival Coachella.
Music Videos: Regulation
With music videos now largely consumed on YouTube, regulating the content of music videos is very difficult. Some UK-based record companies get their music videos rated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
The kinds of issues the BBFC considers in classifying music videos include bad language, dangerous behaviour presented as safe, drug misuse, sexual behaviour and nudity, and threatening behaviour and violence.
Introduction to Music Video and BLACKPINK HYLT: Blog tasks Introduction Q's: 1) What are the key conventions of music video? 2) What is intertextuality? 3) When did music videos first become a major part of the music industry? 4) What launched in 1981 and why were music videos an important part of the music industry in the 1980s and 1990s?
5) How are music videos distributed and watched in the digital age?
BLACKPINK:How You Like That Q's:
Audience 1) What are BLACKPINK fans known as - and what would the demographics / psychographics be for the BLACKPINK audience? 2) What audience pleasures are offered by the music video for How You Like That? 3) Pick out three particular shots, scenes or moments in the video that would particularly appeal to BLACKPINK fans. Why did you choose those moments? 4) How was the How You Like That music video marketed and promoted to the audience?
5) Why is K-pop a global phenomenon and what has helped it to become so popular?
Industry 1) How were BLACKPINK formed and what records have they broken? 2) What other successful artists have YG Entertainment created? You may need to Google this.
3) How has technology and the internet (known as technological convergence) changed the way audiences consume music videos?
4) How do BLACKPINK and K-pop show that the media and music industries are now global?
5) How are UK-based music videos regulated and what types of content require warnings?
Read this fantastic Guardian feature on K-Pop in 2025 and its struggles with globalisation and falling between a Korean and a western audience. How do BLACKPINK and our CSP fit into this picture of a struggling industry?
Well done on completing your last Media assessment as well as preparing for your next one - the more we practice these kind of questions the more confident we'll be in the exams next year. The first part of your learner response is to look carefully at your mark, grade and comments from your teacher. If anything doesn't make sense, ask your teacher - that's why we're here! Your learner response is as follows: Create a new blog post called 'Media Assessment 2: Learner Response' and complete the following tasks: 1) Add your score, grade, next step and positive (the question that you are the most proud of) to your assessment tracker, which is in your folder front sheet.
2) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential). 3) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully (you'll need your Greenford Google login to access this). Write down the mark you achieved for each question: Q1: Q2: Q3: Q4: Q5: Q6: Where you didn't achieve full marks, write WHY you think you missed out on the extra marks. Use the indicative content suggestions in the mark scheme to help with this. If you got any media terminology wrong in the assessment you can make a note of it here. 4) Look specifically at question 3 - did you successfully write about both the preferred and oppositional readings? Did your answers match any in the mark scheme? Copy in one answer from the mark scheme that you could have used. 5) Now look at question 4. Write a definition of vertical integration plus the benefits of it listed in the mark scheme to revise this key industry terminology. You may find the blogpost on ownership and control helpful here. 6) Finally, look at your 20-mark essay - question 6. Read this exemplar answer to help give you an idea of what a top-level response looks like. Then, write five points from either the exemplar answer or the mark scheme that you could have used in your answer. This will be excellent revision for a future film industry exam question.
Your learner response is homework if you don't finish it in the lesson - due date on SatchelOne.
Heat is our second magazine Close Study Product. We need to study the media language and representation of people and groups on the front cover of Heat 21-27 November 2020.
The key notes on Heat are here:
Terminology: Low Brow and High Brow Culture
High Brow: Intellectual, cultured. Aimed at intelligent or educated people. E.g. University Challenge / The Times.
Low Brow: Lacking culture or intellectual content. Usually aimed at less educated people or seen as a 'guilty pleasure'. E.g. reality TV, celebrity magazines.
General
From Bauer Media’s website about the brand of Heat: “Heat is the brand that sets popular culture alight and gets people talking. Now a huge multiplatform brand that's unrivalled in the entertainment market, heat is more than just a magazine- it's a radio station, a podcast, an app and has a huge online and social media presence.”
From the Heat media pack: "In print – we bring readers a truly unique, quality experience. From clever A-list access shoots no other magazine could pull off to celeb news – heat has the celeb contacts to give readers the exclusive every time."
The magazine also offers shopping and lifestyle tips: "Our all-inclusive approach promises style for everybody, no matter what shape or size, and our team test fashion and beauty products to make sure readers spend their hard-earned pennies wisely. And Life Hacks gives readers down-time inspo by curating the buzziest experiences in travel, food, fitness, wellbeing and homes."
Heat's target audience
FEMALE/MALE: 90% / 10%
AVG AGE: 37
AGE PROFILE: 52% AGED 15/34 (14% 15-24, 37% 25-34)
SEGMENT: 50% ABC1
MARITAL STATUS: 57% MARRIED (or living with partner) / 43% single
Source: Heat Media Pack
Media Language
Typography/Fonts: Sans serif fonts to make the magazine feel modern, informal and offering the latest gossip. ‘Posh’ written in serif to make it feel ‘posh’.
Cover lines: Indirect address favoured by celebrity gossip magazines emphasises the gossip feel. Questions to audience create inclusive, gossipy feel and words like ‘shock new pics’ and ‘Behind closed doors’.
Name checks/star appeal: the cover is packed with celebrity gossip and the magazine sells itself on having the latest celebrity gossip. Note the stars are given first names only - Heat readers know these celebs already and want to hear the latest.
Colour scheme: Pink, yellow and red. Bright colours to attract attention – important without a single central image. Gossip magazines tend to be busier and more packed with images to suggest issues that are bursting with different stories.
Representations
The people represented on the cover are mostly celebrities and well known actors, reality television stars and music artists. Why?
Celebrities are presented as important and desirable – but some of the paparazzi photography is designed to make them look like ‘normal’ people.
Social and Cultural Contexts The features in Heat focus on a few key areas:
Relationships: normative and subversive as words are used such as ‘secretive’, ‘baby daddy’ and ‘heartache’. Focus is on relationship breakdowns.
Shopping: Christmas shopping suggestions on front cover. Heat magazine emphasises High Street shopping recommendations and affordable ways to get the latest looks.
British TV and music: Most of the images and stories relate to reality TV stars and/or pop stars (or former pop stars). This is an example of intertextuality with Heat regularly references other media products (e.g. ‘I’m A Celeb Exclusive’).
Heat Case Study: Blog Tasks
Work through the following tasks and questions to build a detailed case study for Heat - 21-27 November 2020 - our CSP front cover. This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question on magazines.
Introduction - Heat Media pack
1) Look at the Heat Media Pack. Go to page 2: the Heat mission. Write three things that Heat offers its readers under 'print'. 2) Now go to page 3 of the Media Pack - celebrity focus. What does the page say that Heat offers readers? 3) Now look at page 4 of the Heat Media Pack. What other content does Heat magazine offer its readers aside from celebrity news? 4) Look at page 5. What is Heat magazine's audience profile? Write all the key details of their audience here.
Media Language
1) How are the cover lines written to make the audience want to buy the magazine? Consider the interest/intrigue they create. 2) What are the connotations of the Heat colour scheme on this particular front cover? 3) How are images used to create interest in the magazine? Find three reasons for your answer. (E.g. paparazzi images or aspects of mise-en-scene such props, costume, make-up, body position, facial expression etc.) 4) What differences can you find between the use of design and typography between Tatler and Heat? List at least three differences and explain the effect on audiences.
Media Representations 1) What type of celebrities appear on the front cover of Heat? List them here.
2) How are celebrities represented in Heat? (Positively? Negatively? Reinforcing or challenging stereotypes?) 3) How are women represented on the cover of Heat? Think about both images and cover lines here.
4) How do Heat and Tatler represent social class? What different social classes can you find in the features and celebrities on the cover? (E.g. middle/upper class / working class)
Grade 8/9 Extension Tasks 1) How does the front cover engage audiences with possible narratives? Look for stories, cliffhangers, dramatic cover lines etc. 2) What are paparazzi images and why are they crucial to the front cover of Heat? 3) How does the front cover juxtapose text and images to create contrast and narrative on the front cover of Heat? 4) What do these two magazines suggest about representations of social class in the British media? Complete for Homework - due date on SatchelOne
