Supercurricular

A-Level Media Studies Super-curricular

Analysis of US Vogue, April 2008 cover using structuralism and semiotics      18/11/2025

The cover stars LeBron James and supermodel Gisele Bündchen, and it caused a huge backlash in the US with accusations of racism. People had an oppositional reading of the photograph as they believed it. reinforced stereotypes of ‘aggressive’ black men and ‘helpless’ white women.

LeBron's facial expression is a symbolic code that he is frustrated and quite tense. The use of his wide stance makes him appear to be more powerful and can be seen as intimidating; it even gives off the impression that he is wild and untamed. In contrast, Gisele is presented with a smile and is almost posed as if she is relying on the strength of LeBron to stabilise herself. This creates a binary opposition of strength and power vs weakness and vulnerability. These stereotypes being applied to a black man vs a white woman promote stereotypical hegemonic ideologies that black men are dangerous, aggressive people who should be dealt with caution and defensiveness. In addition, the body language of Gisele reinforces the patriarchal ideology that women are weak and can only exist with the support of a man. The use of the colour blue on Gisele's silk dress connotes calmness, trustworthiness and peace; this is contrasted by the dark black of LeBron's basketball uniform, which connotes evilness, fear and authority. The use of these colours sustains the stereotypes that women are reliant on men as they trust them as their authorities, and it also reinforces a stereotype of light features, fair skin is more trustworthy than darker features and skin tones. 

Media Magazine, February 2005 - In a class of its own: the American Teen Movie                  19/11/2025

The genre only came about due to economic and social changes in post-WW2 America and Britain. The stereotypes and demographics associated with teenagers didn't exist before this, as the transition from childhood into adulthood was quicker, and older teens used to adopt their parents' identities in terms of appearance and dress. Only kids from wealthy families would go to university, and everyone else began working, then got married and started a family. Due to the immediate post-war baby boom and political stability, more teenagers were around, and more of them could afford to attend university. Consequently, more teenagers had leisure time, disposable income, and cars, which gave them more independence and space that teens before this era didn't have. Between 1952 to 1958, the teen market grew by 2.8 million, and the media industry took this opportunity to grow its teen demographic. 

In 1955, Rebel Without a Cause, directed by Nicholas Ray, became the basis of the genre. It helps to demonstrate how media aligns with Steve Neale's genre theory as it starred James Dean, who played Jim Stark, a troubled outcast who was introduced to a new school, town and hoped to fit in and find a sense of belonging. This theme has been revisited in several films aimed at teens, such as Grease, Pretty in Pink, and Mean Girls. Most teen movies now address themes of the 'teenager's sense of individual identity' and how they deal with the dominant, popular group in a high school environment. Nearly all teen movies project the narrative that these characters are eventually welcomed into these environments and their enemies are defeated, creating reassurance for teens in the same real-life situations.

These narratives also usually present the idea that a successful romantic life comes with this sense of belonging and offer a 'mythological rite of passage'.

There have been hybrid adaptations to this genre, such as teen/high-school/horror hybrids like Carrie, which was the gateway to an assortment of movies: Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Scream. In addition, sci-fi, updated classics, gross-out comedy, and even adult/child role reversal movies have all become key recurring themes throughout the teen movie industry.

There was also a rise in independent teen films in the early 2000s, like Thirteen and Elephant, both of which explore darker, raw, serious issues that teens face. Both films were low-budget but highly regarded for the style of cinematography and realism that appropriately reflected the lives of teens at the time, creating a great impact on the teen genre.

This relates to my studies of Neale's genre theory that genre is an ever-changing process of repetition and difference, which leads to different hybrids and even completely different genres. This can also be applied to Baudrillard's theory of postmodernism, as most of the movies within the hybrid genres are based on movies about the high-school experience, rather than the authentic experience teens have in real life.

Shelter's Our House campaign, September 2025 - Our House. It's not a home         29/11/2025

I chose this Shelter film as the initial thumbnail of the campaign ad created intrigue as it made me question why so many people were having to sleep in these cramped conditions. Furthermore, the use of the title 'Our House. It's not a home' creates contrast between a physical house and a place you can call home. This reinforces the idea that a building doesn't equate to a safe space for many in the UK. In addition, the anchorage of 'Our House' on the thumbnail uses a sans-serif font to make a more impactful, bold effect and drives the idea that a house is not always a home into the audience's mind. 

This specific film depicts the narrative that although many have housing, due to unlawful landlords, these houses are in conditions that are unsafe, unhealthy and hazardous. This campaign brings awareness to the idea that you can have a house and still be homeless due to the horrific conditions people are forced to endure, as they have nowhere else to go. The audience is positioned to feel sympathy for families who live in conditions such as these, to be more aware and prepared to help those in these conditions, and to not neglect the fact that homelessness looks different for everyone.

This reflects altruistic behaviour as it encourages sympathy, charity and kindness from those in more fortunate situations to give to those in need of aid. Moreover, campaigns like this create a voice for the homeless who are often overlooked and disregarded due to misrepresentation and ignorant stereotypes.

Media Theory for A Level by Mark Dixon - Postmodernism: Jean Baudrillard      01/12/2025

Reading this chapter helped me to develop a deeper understanding of hyperreality and how most things we see today as our "reality" are actually simply fantasies constructed by the media. For example, many Disney stories can be traced back to folklore based on a country's culture. However, now all the Disney stories include completely fictional characters, locations, and storylines, yet people constantly travel to places like Disneyland to meet the characters in these stories, even though they are simply humans dressed in costume.

Furthermore, I was able to gain a new understanding of Baudrillard's hyperreal 'inertia', which is when we become paralysed due to constant consumption of opposing truths in media, leading to us being able to form our own deeper meanings of the media for ourselves, as we only know what we are being fed. For instance, newspapers constantly produce media that is influenced by political agendas. This creates an environment in which our beliefs are already created for us, and our only choice is to pick which set of beliefs to conform to.

Research into Vogue, May 2022 and The Big Issue, November 2021 Conventions     14/12/2025

On the Vogue front cover, we can see that they use the famous model Lila Moss, daughter of supermodel Kate Moss. We also see throughout that they use celebrities such as Jung Ho-Yeon, actress from ‘Squid Games’; Lily-rose Depp, model and daughter of Johnny Depp; Amanda Seyfried, famous actress; and Hunter Schafer, actress from ‘Euphoria’. The portrayal of these beautiful models and actresses in Vogue facilitates value transfer as the audience aligns the beauty, fame, and wealth of these women with the brands they represent, inclining them to buy from those brands to achieve the same level of success. This is an example of how commercial magazines conventionally use more aspirational advertising to encourage consumers to purchase, as well as how editorials are dictated by the social and cultural contexts of the time by using celebrities that were relevant at the time – such as Zoe Kravitz with her appearance in Batman. Furthermore, we can clearly see that Vogue uses models and advertises international brands, reflecting its globalised outlook. This can further be demonstrated through Vogue having different editions for different countries. Vogue also uses conventional distribution methods to sell its issues by selling the magazines in stores. Another feature of Vogue is the use of glossy, high-quality material that creates a sleek, high-end feel to the magazine. The use of these materials reflects the luxury fashion and beauty brands that Vogue promote in its editions. This connotes a sense of exclusivity and makes Vogue more appealing, as consumers will feel more inclined to purchase Vogue and the products featured to make themselves appear more affluent and expensive. Vogue is also known for printing monthly rather than weekly, which helps to increase the value of the brand as it makes the magazine rarer and more premium. However, Vogue is beginning to diminish the number of editions put out each year, and it is soon to become only 8 editions a year soon which would only increase the value of each edition. There is also a sense of objectification in Vogue magazine, with celebrities such as Zoe Kravitz in a Black Opium advert posing in a seductive way with her lips parted and one model who is literally reflecting the pose of a statue next to her in the shot. These editorials reflect that within the commercial industry, women are often used as objects for the male gaze and are seen as canvases to be turned into art. Lastly, each page is an advertisement for luxury brands using highly influential figures to draw consumer interest, demonstrating how Vogue actively promotes consumerism.

In contrast, The Big Issue conventionally focuses on altruistic advertising and aims to evoke sympathy and empathy from its audience to help its campaign. The Big Issue features articles on topics such as mass migration and uses images mainly of children who have to migrate to find refuge in another country. These types of images create pathos towards people in less fortunate situations and make the audience feel as though they must donate to help. In addition, there are also articles featuring high-profile billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, who donated $100m to help the homelessness issue in the US. This representation of wealthy celebrities influences others who have the means to be altruistic and conveys a more socialist ideology that we, as a society, should help those in need. The Big Issue tends to focus on using celebrities and focusing on issues associated with the UK, like the Beatles and Adele. However, there are also examples where more global celebrities have featured on the covers, such as Taylor Swift, and articles that mention issues affecting other countries, like the article about Jeff Bezos donating to American organisations. It also uses unique distribution methods by using street vendors and online subscriptions rather than selling in stores. This is why the front covers are usually so vibrant and eye-catching, as they need to encourage people to stop and purchase from the vendors. The Big Issue is also known for being more vocal in its ideologies. It talks about problems with changing social care payments, the need to thank teachers more through fairer wages, and talks about the disgust with the Borders Bill, emphasising a clear stance on each of these that aligns with their campaign. These articles also highlight these issues as detrimental and problematic for the population and use stories of how celebrities struggle with poverty and homelessness to change the misrepresentation of the homeless and change people’s outlook, demonstrating how the representation is more issue focused. In addition, their stance against issues that aren’t beneficial for the less fortunate and highlighting influential people who donate to causes helping those impoverished, shows how their main goal is to promote social justice and enterprise to position their audience as sympathetic towards those in unfortunate circumstances and inspire philanthropy. The Big Issues also uses cheaper paper materials and is sold weekly, which helps to keep the costs of producing the magazine down and generate more revenue to go towards the vendors.