Well done to all students who sat the component one exam!
As you possibly saw on Twitter, reactions were pretty mixed to the exam. Having heard your accounts of the questions, I think it's safe to be positive about your responses! Obviously it's a shame that so many 'big' topics didn't come up, but we always knew that was a possibility.
The good news is, the hard part is over!
It might sound crazy, but component two is 'easier' than component one. Here's why:
- No uncertainty: Woman, Adbusters, Zoella, Attitude, Humans and Les Revenants will all, absolutely DEFINITELY come up!
- Easier to revise: you know what's coming up, so you can prepare dedicated case studies for each product!
- More scope to argue: You have 50 minutes on each industry to present your excellent arguments, and to explore concepts like hegemonic norms and ideological perspectives! Lucky you!
- More freedom: instead of defining what a film is or something, you get to talk about what you want to talk about, as long as you answer the question. Make sure you underline key terms!
- Less bitty: let's face it: component one is a bit messy. It can be tricky to work out how everything fits together. NOT SO with component two! Three industries, all of which you know (and love), and you spend 50 minutes on each one!
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| These are the only six texts you need to think about for the upcoming exam, and they will come up! |
There are of course a few downsides
Given that you are expected to know everything there is to know about the six case studies, your examiner will have higher expectations of you. But, as I keep trying to tell you lot, you are excellent students and you will impress the examiner with the strength and clarity of your argument.
So what should you be doing over the next week?
ONE - Make sure you have three explicit examples (eg pages, scenes, videos, depending on the industry) for each of the six key products
TWO - Make sure you have some big opinions. For example:
- What do you feel about the fact that Woman magazine reinforced patriarchal hegemonic values for profit and power?
- How does Humans use themes of hyperreality to allegorically criticise the ways in which we use technology?
- How do you feel about the limited opportunities for audience interaction and singular, mass market representations that Attitude online sells it's gay, male target audience