A-level media studies case studies

This page is currently very much out of date! Use the industries tab instead! 

Here you will find links to the case studies we have done so far, and which frameworks and theories you will need to know for each. Remember: knowledge of the case studies and how they relate to the textual analysis toolkit is the single most important aspect of media studies!

Component one - media products, audiences and industries

Advertising - Tide print advert, Wateraid audiovisual spot advert, Kiss of the Vampire theatrical poster

A) Media language (Barthes and Levi-Strauss)

A) Representation (Hall, Gauntlett, Van Zoonen, hooks, Gilroy)

B) Audience (Gerbner, Hall)

Music video - Formation, Beyonce (2016), Riptide, Vance Joy (2013)

A) Media language (Barthes and Levi-Strauss)

A) Representation (Hall, Gauntlett, Van Zoonen, hooks, Gilroy)

Newspapers - The Daily Mirror and The Times (13/03/2019)

A) Media Language (Barthes, Levi-Strauss)

A) Representation (Hall)

B) Audience (Gerbner, Hall, Shirky)

B) Industry (Curran & Seaton, Livingstone & Lunt, Hesmondhalgh)

Film Industry - Black Panther (2018) and I, Daniel Blake (2016) 

B) Industry (Curran & Seaton, Livingstone & Lunt, Hesmondhalgh)

Radio

B) Industry (Curran & Seaton, Livingstone & Lunt)

B) Audience (Hall, Shirky, Jenkins)

Videogames

B) Industry (Curran & Seaton, Livingstone & Lunt, Hesmondhalgh)

B) Audience (Banduras, Hall, Shirky, Jenkins)

Component two - media products in depth 

Television in the global age

Coming soon...

Magazines: mainstream and alternative - Woman (1964) and Adbusters (2016)

Media language (Barthes and Levi-Strauss)

Representation (Hall, Gauntlett, Van Zoonen, hooks, Gilroy)

Industry (Curran & Seaton, Livingstone & Lunt, Hesmondhalgh)

Audience (Gerbner, Hall)

Online media in an online age

Coming soon...