Sir John Lawes School

Year 11 into 12 Homework ‐ A Level Media Studies

Welcome to the Media A‐Level course; to help prepare you for your studies in year we would like you to complete the following summer home learning.

A big part of the A‐Level course is looking at some of the historical and social contexts of media texts.

1.   Firstly, we would like you to create a timeline of influential events starting from the early

1900s and how these impacted on the media – for instance, 1927, the first film with sound, The Jazz Singer, WWII, and the use of propaganda etc. Carry out research and present at least 15 deciding factors/events.

2.   We would then like you to create a two mood boards, either digitally or on paper/card. One mood board should feature print adverts from the past that shows women in a “housewife” role. A good place to start is the “Tide” advert of the 1950’s (see below).

The 2nd mood board should focus on modern print adverts that challenge the stereotypes and representations shown in the 1st mood board, a good starting point could be the “This Girl Can” campaign shown above.

3.    We would then like you to produce an 750‐1000 word essay using the title ‘explore how the representation of women has changed in advertising over time’, using the examples from your mood boards to help support your points. You may like to include key findings from

the texts, use of media language (mise‐en‐scene, colour, language/words, camera angle, shot type etc…) and any relevant theories you may know.