1. Which boxes below could you use for each of these questions?
1. To what extent do audiences use media to construct their own sense of collective
identity?
2. “The media has replaced family, society and religion as the main source of
collective identity.” Discuss.
3. How far does the representation of a particular social group change over time?
2. Media texts such as _____
1. Media texts such as ____ acknowledge the plurality of
represent teens/ gender as gender identities/ teen
3. Media texts offer audiences
homogenous, reinforcing a sense identities OR Media texts
socialisation
of solidarity and collective represent gender in binary
identity terms, refusing the plurality of
gender
4. Media texts offer audiences a 6. Michel Maffesoli argues that
5. Audiences construct their
constructed certitude, a there is a ‘proliferation of
identity through tribes,
reassurance of their own lifestyle cultures’, meaning that
collecting around cultural/
identity, and a reassurance of we define our identities through
media experiences
how to behave the lifestyle we lead
8. Media texts reflect young
people as seeking their true
7. Young people’s identity is identity, struggling to discover
9. “Identities are not ‘given’ but
increasingly postmodern: it is who they are, and using grand are constructed and
fragmented, pick’n’mix, hybrid narratives of religion/ society/ negotiated.” "These [male]
and fluid, and media texts such family/ history/ community/ magazines are all about the
as ______ acknowledge and nationality to find who they are. social construction of
reflect this change in the For young people, finding your masculinity. That is, if you like,
construction of identity identity is like a journey, and their subject-matter." (David
media texts such as ______ Gauntlett)
recognise and represent this.
10. “a kind of false sisterhood that 11. Female lifestyle magazines 12. Identity is “the unfinalised self”
construct “The cult of
assumes a common definition of – a person can never be fully
femininity”; “consciously
womanhood or girlhood” revealed, finalised, labelled or
cultivated female bond”
(Angela McRobbie) known. (Mikhail Bakhtin)
(Marjorie Ferguson)
13. Gender is performance: our
gender exists only in the way we 14. Dr Linda Papadopolous Media 15. “A magazine is like a club. Its
behave and in the way we affects the psychological
first function is to provide
perform. It is a social construct development of young people
readers with a comfortable
that is always fluid and and leads to the sexualisation of
sense of community and pride in
changing. Gender is what you young people and anti-social
their identity” Janice Winship
do, not what you are. (Judith behaviour.
Butler)
17. Cosmo/ Glamour/ female listyle 18. Nuts/ FHM/ Male lifestyle
16. Glee/ Skins/ magazines magazines
21. Other media texts you have
19. My So Called Life 20. Gay magazines
studied
Take three colours, and use one colour per question. Then go through each box and decide
if you could use it in an answer for each question, and colour the box in according to which
questions it could be used for. Some boxes may fit all questions.
Then use these boxes and other ideas to create an essay plan for each question.