Social and Cultural Contexts in the Observer 1960's

 Representation of women:

Lingerie and clothing ads - representing the context of housewives caring about clothes and luxuries as men went out to work most of the day. Also represents women as sexual objects and as performers of beauty and pleasure rather than having actual thoughts, as the women presented in the ads are more mannequins than people - having less of an opinion, while the clothing would appeal either sexually our desirably to the reader.

The Queen herself in the paper is only valuable as 'the crown' - she may bring comfort and hope and is respected as royalty, but she doesn't offer solutions or have a political stance in media or as a royal power as represented in the newspaper.

Representation of ethnicity:

The representation of black Olympians reflects the changing of racial stereotypes in the coming decades, and was certainly a mark in history for racial equality. While racial slurs are used, they would probably be custom at the time - but no longer excusable in modern society.

The use of these slurs implies the newspaper was written and edited by white British persons, who wouldn't think twice with the racist societal norms to use such language, which complies with the context that Black persons at the time would not be allowed the education to get such a job, nor the money to pay for such.

Social Conditions:

The inclusion of the mining town disaster show the appalling social conditions the townsfolk had to live under - their land and occupation being sold away to a force that killed their next generation. The fact that none of the public had the money or influence to control this, while capitalists cashed in on cheap mining, shows the classism of the time - and how a visit from the Queen to the site of a tragic event caused by unbridled capitalist greed which she and other people in power were perfectly able to prevent would not be as appreciated by the locals compared to the media.

Yr 10 - 03 Brief 1

Hobby Magazine for 14-18 Age Group:

Name Ideas:

The Whitecap (reference to a violent wave, loud and contains seafoam and 'bubble plumes', similar to red tops?)

The Plume (reference to feathers and smoke)

The Spritz ('The Sunday Spritz', reference to possible terminology for spray paint techniques, possible reference to tabloidized content)

The Cordial(pleasant tasting medicine/fruit juice, and adjectively used to describe something pleasant)

Front Page:

Use empty canvas? Mixture of digital art and photoshop in terms of editing. Use previous paintings, or create photoshop/collage examples to fill in the blanks)

Add in dummy/side articles, summarize them but keep the focus.

Main Hobby Article Ideas -

Painting/Fine Art:

('Interview' with 'an artist' (borrow Claudia/Lucy?)) 

Relatability to audience - 

('Young adult finds solace in art during global pandemic, starts Christmas card company, makes thousands in large wave of recognition') ("I used social media to promote my company, in hopes of gaining traction - but I never thought that within a span of six months, I would go from using painting as a personal coping mechanism to an actual part-time job, which now pays most of my rent, and is soon to be my sole source of income.")

Dummy/Side Article Ideas - 

Theatre/Acting related - 

Tie into fine art/painting ('interview' with 'an actor/actress' (definitely borrow Claudia))/ description of a performance? Possibly one based off of a painting or artist - ("Monet", a performed biography of the Founder of Impressionism)

Fine Art/Design related -

('Architects experimented with Minecraft as an engineering and design tool, the city they built is now under construction')

('Florida Man sells 13-year collage piece for 70 million dollars')

(' 'Banksy' involved in Reading Bridge Graffiti war')

Incorporate a person's similar magazine/article? (collaborations between projects / favours / mentioning of the same event (articles exist in the same magazine reality?))

Yr 10 - 03 Creating Media

 If I were to choose immediately at this point, I would likely choose:

For the music video, I would likely choose a song such as 'Smalltown Boy' by Bronski Beat, which has a narrative and story already in the song, so lip syncing isn't entirely required as long as there is engaging and matching imagery and scenes, but it does have relatively understandable and malleable themes that could work well with different editing styles and shots.

In terms of the 'hobby magazine', activities such as gaming, particular areas of the Arts or music would be favourable, purely because of the expression and freedom they allow in terms of design and structure in the layout and theme. Plus, I'm better at performing on paper than on a platform, so it may be easier than the music video and factual programme.

However, the factual programme would allow me to cover historical, social and geographic concerns and topics, that would likely cover uncommon true topics such as Mariya Oktyabrskaya, a Soviet mechanic who's soldier husband died fighting Nazis in WW2, and in response she bought a tank named "Fighting Wife", and set out as a soldier on her own to kill many more Nazi soldiers herself. This is a topic that I'm surprised is not talked about much, but might not be appropriate for 14-18 audience depending on how it is approached.

Yr 10 - 01 The Avengers

What is your impression of the sixties era? 

The sixties era was a time of change as people began challenging unfair standards, beliefs and rights with movements and new ideals to achieve equality and balance.

Where does this come from? 

As values were changing with the new Labour government in this post-WW2 decade, the production of more controversial ideals, movements and products challenged past and present standards of that time, shown in the Equal Rights Movement, the second wave of Feminism, and the rise of popular yet unexpected idols such as the Beatles. Plus, student movements across the US began alongside the Vietnam war, as the public started to realise there was more loss than gain, and that they were barely numbers on paper to higher powers.

5 key events from that era that shaped it:

The Vietnam War, JFK's Assassination, The Equal Rights Movement, The Second Wave of Feminism, and Moon Landings.

5 famous figures associated with that era: 

Martin Luther King Jr, John F Kennedy,  The Beatles, Muhammed Ali and Alfred Hitchcock.

Yr 10 - Cuffs 01

 Chapter  end of 4 / start of 5 How does Jo come across? How does she deal with other people?

Jo comes across as complex and torn between justice and her own empathy, showing one more calm, sympathetic side in front of the family, and a more aggressive, agitated side outside in the corridor, showing obvious frustration at how she can't get what she needs for the case. She states "that kid is my only witness" with slight aggressive tones and body language, showing her unrest at the fact she can't attain the information, but also seemingly showing her more aggravated, objective side. She also seems to respect the father's point of view, showing her awkwardness in posture and mannerisms as he berates the police force, proving she does empathize and contain some sense of humanity, but objectively ignores it and continues to pursue her goal.

She deals with people by either trying to persuasively and passively convince them  shown in how she speaks to the witness and his dad, or by using a more aggressive, slightly threatening approach shown in her interaction with the standby lawyer of the witness. This creates a more two-faced look for Jo, who will actively switch between a more passive, calm approach to a more combative one if she doesn't acquire what she needs from people.

In conclusion, Jo comes across as bilateral, and tries to first passively persuade then threaten to achieve her goal, while being objective enough to not overly sympathize or empathize with the witness, suspect or victim in order to perform consistently in a likely high-stress workplace, but does occasionally crack when faced with an unmoving obstacle. This effectively creates a more realistic view of an investigator to the audience, while allowing her to be human enough with flaws for the audience to empathize with.

Yr 10 - Background to Television in the 2010s

1.Explain technological convergence. [2] 

The combining of technologies that were originally unrelated to become more closely integrated and united as they advance and develop.

2.Explain 'channel surfing'. [2]

The consistent and constant scrolling or changing of channels in search of something the viewer finds interesting and/or entertaining.

3.Give 3 examples of how channels create brand loyalty [6]

An example of how brands create loyalty with their viewers is by providing specially catered content for a very specific audience. By aiming content to a very specific and niche community, the brands sacrifice a large portion of their viewers for continuous, loyal viewers that will stay with the brand throughout it's adaptation of its content over time, e.g Doctor Who.

Another example of how brands create loyalty is through their dependence on the streaming service to promote their brand alongside their content through entertainment - for example, the service will roll the end credits showing the branding of the content alongside promotions and cross promotions of the next available show, providing entertainment and information to keep the viewer 'hooked' to the channel while they subconsciously note the branding of the credited content.

Lastly, 'on demand' content from the same streaming service is often provided alongside 'live' content (e.g. BBC iPlayer and (the numerous BBC channels)). This is often used to allow the viewer to scroll and watch through content they may have missed, or saved for later - building trust in the streaming service and branded content as they know it will appear 'on demand' if they miss the 'live' showing. For example, the development of 'long form television drama' reflects how viewers may need an 'on demand' service to continuously watch and gain attachment to the content, rather than if it was completely 'live', the viewer could miss an entire episode and lose interest after not fully understanding the plot from the beginning of the series.

4.What is 'long form television drama' ? [2]

'Long form television drama' is a type of content designed as a series of episodes, commonly split into 'seasons' or 'parts', containing a continuous and entertaining plot, accompanied by sub-plots. The spreading out of this dramatic story over a series of episodes builds interest and fascination in the story, as it continues through various sub-plots usually in each episode to 2-3 episodes which lead to the final confrontation of the main plot at the end of the series. This provides more time for the series to expand and world-build to entertain the viewer compared to a movie, which commonly lasts between 1-2 hours.

Yr 10 - 01 Television

 1.What do you understand by the terms 'live' content and 'on demand' content? 

‘Live’ content means the viewer’s chosen entertainment depends on what is currently available and ‘live’ on television, whilst ‘on demand’ content consists of pre-recorded content that the viewer can watch as they please without missing potential ‘live’ content.

2.What is the demand for 'live' content like? 

It’s a saturated market, especially on platforms such as Twitch and Youtube, but can be quite profitable. The demand is high as many people want to experience the same content, first-hand, as the streamer and rest of the world in real time.

3.According to ratings research, there are 8 programmes cited as the top live shows for family viewing. How many have you watched? 

3 - The Masked Singer, Strictly Come Dancing and The Great British Bake Off

4.Apply Blumler and Katz's audience framework to what you learn from this article. 

The article meets the reader's search for entertainment, education and emotional reassurance by incorporating statistical evidence of audience approval of popular shows, which meets the reader's need for emotional reassurance and sense of belonging in that particular audience while also providing education on the subject. 

Shown by the statistics, the fact that many people watch 'live' content with other people, usually family members, allows them to bond with each other - and so associating that particular content with familiar memories of bonding, making it more likely that they will continue to watch that content with that same group of people.

Plus, the entertainment factor is met through the clear involvement of a popular form of 'live' content, Strictly Come Dancing, shown in the centrepiece image to allow the reader to be drawn by the familiar figures from the popular show.