Investigating GCSE Media Studies

Authors: Barbara Connell, Jude Brigley, Mike Edwards

Published by: Hoder & Stoughton

Price: £16.99

ISBN-13: 978-0340758380

New books that help teachers and students to get to grips with GCSE Media Studies are always welcome, particularly when they are written by experienced media teachers as appears to be the case with this text.

The book has an introductory section with a succinct outline for teachers and a number of starter questions that appear to be pitched at year 11 students. It assumes that they know absolutely nothing about Media Studies, and in my own experience that is not a bad place to start. The student introduction seems a little simplistic, but when the text moves beyond the introduction it becomes quite demanding. It packs a great deal in to each chapter in terms of developing media terms and illustrating these through practical exercises and suggestions for discussion points. The first chapter – Putting yourself in the frame – is a good example in that it offers an ABC (from ‘anchorage’ and ‘body language’ to ‘connotation’ etc.) of visual imagery for the purposes of deconstruction and for analysis of the key concept of representation. The ‘Activity’ sections include examples of print ads, promotional posters and comics, so there is plenty of accessible material to work on for class groups and individuals who wish to extend their reference material.

The subsequent chapters contain much the same format of key ideas and helpful illustrations. The book uses a commonsense style of writing that builds up understanding through repetition, with helpful techniques for analysis of media texts. These techniques are usually presented as lists of key points to note, for example when students are looking at the structure of texts such as print ads or constructing their own magazine front covers. There book includes not only professionally produced magazine covers, print ads and so on, but also materials produced by GCSE students themselves. This is a clever idea because it allows readers to relate their own efforts to those of their peers and to recognise the validity of their own attempts at making meaning (which is, after all, what we like to claim as the core of Media Studies).

The book is divided into two parts – Part 1 is Exploring the Media Studies framework and Part 2 Studying major media industries. I’m not entirely convinced about the need to divide the text up in this way because it does move along quite naturally from media languages and texts to organisations, industries and institutions. Perhaps the rationale behind this is that it needs two years to cover the entire text so possibly the first section is intended for the first year of study.

I would also like to have seen a little more overt coverage of the concept of audience in the way that other key ideas such as representation and genre are covered. While there are references to how audiences are constructed for different types of media, the basic theories of audience could have done with a little more development. The main forms of media are discussed through chapters devoted to filmscapes, popscapes, soundscapes and so on. The need for a chapter on sportscapes seemed a bit of a stretch. The lack of colour for some of the excellent illustrations was also a minor problem but this is a recurring problem with media textbooks which do not always achieve the production values they deserve.

Despite these few reservations Investigating GCSE Media Studies is an excellent text that provides a fresh approach to delivering the syllabus (which is outlined in a very helpful way for students and teachers at the end of the book). It is a demanding text in some ways because it condenses so much terminology and so many practical tasks into each chapter.But the demands of the text are not excessive and those students who cope with the text should find that they are rewarded through a knowledge of the key concepts and practical skills needed to engage meaningfully with the ever expanding range of modern media.

http://www.mediaed.org.uk/content/view/82/133/