Today’s question strand:To What Extent Is Human Identity Increasingly Mediated?

How is who we are affected by the media?

Box 1: Can you rewrite it in a simpler form?

Box 2: Why does it matter?

What negative stereotypes are present in our 3 key texts?

• 3a. Tamara Drewe

• 3b. Fish Tank

• 3c. Wasp

What representations of Britishness might be passively consumed?

Consider Gender, age, class, ethnicity…

4a. What theories do we know?4b. How can the negative stereotypes affect

us applying these theories?

Gauntlett’s gender and identity theories for active audiences– girl power, decline of tradition, masculinity in crisis – reflection of society – media and audience both input on identity

Stuart Hall’s positioning theory – encoding, decoding, preferred readings because of dominant ideologies (hegemony)

Hypodermic needle model – if audiences are completely passive what affect could this have?

5. Real life examples

Can you find any examples in the press where representations of Britishness in film have affected someone in real life?

What impact will the media representations have on our own identities?

6. So what will happen in the future if the media keep ‘mediating’?

POINT: Are you agreeing or disagreeing with the question?AGREEING: The film Fish Tank reinforces negative stereotypes that affect our beliefs.

EVIDENCE: What evidence supports your point? (micro evidence)The production design of Zoe’s flat which is run down, messy, dirty, doors falling off

cupboards etc connotes her as poor and neglectful as a young, single Mum in Britain.

EXPLAIN: What theory supports your point?Stuart Hall’s positioning theory suggests that when the audience decode they often have a preferred response which shows that these stereotypes would be believed.

Today’s question strand:To What Extent Is Human Identity Increasingly Mediated?

POINT: Are you agreeing or disagreeing with the question?AGREEING: The media does have an affect on our identity.

EXPLAIN: What theory supports your point?The Hypodermic needle model states that the audience are passive and will absorb

the messages conveyed without question.

EVIDENCE: What evidence supports your theory? (micro evidence)In Tamara Drewe, the ideology that only beautiful people succeed is reinforced by the fact that Gemma Arterton’s character along with her new nose returns to her home town with new found confidence which wasn’t displayed in the flashback sequence

when she had a large nose and was being bullied.

Today’s question strand:To What Extent Is Human Identity Increasingly Mediated?