OSP 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. Good arguments preferred, especially for Zendaya

EBI; a more substantial and detailed answer needed for q2 including making consistant reference to hesmondhalgh.

14/34 D

2) Read the whole mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify three specific aspects from Figure 1 (the Google Home advert) that you could have mentioned in your answer (e.g. selection of image, framing and focus, colour, text etc.)
Dominant or preferred readings: Google represented as unthreatening, safe and a natural part of middle-class family life.

Oppositional or counter-hegemonic readings:

• Reinforces white, western, middle-class representation of family life to the exclusion of

other backgrounds (race/ethnicity, sexuality, age, class). Presents the white, western ‘2.4

children’ average as desirable, aspirational lifestyle – some audiences will reject this.

Negotiated readings:

• Negotiated readings could include an acceptance of a warm picture of family life – plus the

potential usefulness of the speaker – despite concerns over how the device uses data and

the growing power of companies such as Google and Amazon.

3) Now use the mark scheme to identify three potential points that you could have made in your essay for Question 2 (Hesmondhalgh - validity of theory/narrow range of values and ideologies).

-Zendaya significantly raised her profile with her response to E! TV show Fashion Police and

its criticism of her Oscars look which many considered racist. This went viral, particularly

amongst Gen Z, and reflects the way new technology is increasingly allowing for a wider

range of values and ideologies. Zendaya has also used her platforms to support gun control

campaigns and call for more Black representation in the film and TV industries both in front

of and behind the camera. She cites the example of her influence over the casting of her

family on Disney show KC Undercover and also spoke of “opening the door” so that Black

creatives can find opportunities across the industry and not just tokenistic roles.

-Paul Gilroy has written extensively on the experience of Black British people and his work on

‘double consciousness’ is worth exploring in relation to this question. The Voice arguably

plays an important role in offering a more diverse range of values and ideologies in offering

Black British audiences representations that more closely reflect their experience of life in

Britain. Gilroy would arguably agree with Hesmondhalgh’s view that the cultural industries

promote a narrow set of values and ideologies – ideologies that are dominated by white

voices and a white perspective. If The Voice offers black audiences the opportunity to see

representations that are not created by media producers that are overwhelmingly white

(and middle class) then it is arguably offering an important service to British culture despite

its low production values or YouTube view counts.

-The Voice should be successful due to the opportunities that are offered by digital media

and the new media landscape in creating a platform for values and ideologies such as a

strong Black British voice. However, the poor construction of the website and social media

presence (poorly worded polls, cluttered design, low-quality photography, lack of fresh

content, poor video production values, weak sponsored content) means it is not the

powerful voice in British media it should be. This may reinforce the validity of

Hesmondhalgh’s ideas when it comes to a narrow range of values and ideologies.

4) Use your exam response, the mark scheme and any other resources you wish to use to write a detailed essay plan for Question 2. Make sure you are planning at least three well-developed paragraphs in addition to an introduction and conclusion.

introduction-Industries

• The role of the cultural industries in society and the way media products can influence or

impact on audiences.

• The relationship of recent technological change and media production, distribution and

circulation.

• How media industries target audiences through the content and appeal of media products

and through the ways in which they are marketed, distributed and circulated.

Representations

• The way values and ideologies are constructed through the representations in the products.

• The relationship between recent technological change and dominant ideologies in the digital

media landscape.

Zendaya

• The ‘End of Audience’ that Clay Shirky writes about means that a wider, more diverse range

of values and ideologies are now available to consumers. This would suggest

Hesmondhalgh’s theory is not valid. Zendaya’s online and social media presence arguably

supports this with her promotion of a liberal agenda that challenges attitudes towards race

and gender in society and the media industries.

• Other examples of Zendaya’s progressive causes are feminism (“True feminism has to be

intersectional”), LGBTQ+ rights (portraying a cis-trans love story in Euphoria on HBO) and

mental health advocacy (particularly anxiety). These are all arguably causes that challenge

the traditional values and ideologies favoured by older generations and therefore could

create a challenge to Hesmondhalgh’s work.

• As a former Disney child star, a more cynical approach to Zendaya’s online presence may

suggest that she constructs her social media and online presence very carefully to create a

persona that is economically successful and appealing to her target audience. If we view

Zendaya’s online presence as primarily a marketing tool for her film and TV work then this

would strongly reinforce Hesmondhalgh’s view that the cultural industries values profit over

principle and therefore only reinforces a narrow range of values and ideologies.

The Voice

• The Voice offers an explicit Black British perspective on news stories and issues in London

and the UK. This alone sets it apart from mainstream media and suggests that

Hesmondhalgh’s view that only a narrow range of values and ideologies are available is not

entirely valid. Features such as the first black photographer to shoot the cover picture of

Vogue magazine (December 2018) and campaigns such as the Black Pound campaign

encouraging readers to spend their money with Black businesses (also seen in the suggestion

to ‘Buy Black on Black Friday’) both reflect this agenda.