Kalbir
Violence has always been the ‘Devil’s advocate’ of new mediums of entertainment; all embryonic forms of media have had to weather criticism about their portrayal of violence, ranging from books (take for instance The Lord of the Flies[11] or The Colour Purple[12], both frequently banned from American schools for their seemingly excessive violent content) to movies (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2[13] comes to mind, and was banned in Australia until 2006. It is interesting to note that the Australian government seem to have a certain penchant for banning media texts), lending credence to the notion that video games are merely experiencing the beginnings of their journey to respectability (and therefore are frequently the source of recent moral panics)[14]. It could be argued that games do not face criticism due to their violent content, but rather simply because they are games; countless film-makers, artists and authors have tackled difficult subjects such as violence (among others such as sexuality and hatred) and have been critically acclaimed for these works because they dared to explore humanity’s dark side[15]. Due to this, one could make the argument that games should not be censored as they are simply under criticism with the same ‘knee-jerk’ attitude that has plagued mediums before now, mediums which have gone on to produce some of the most telling and intriguing narratives ever witnessed.
This is a level 4 because of you can see the level of work produced, it is clear and the candidate has taken part in a high level of research as shown from a bibliography. It is clearly labelled and the research has not come from one source but included a variety of way in which the research was conducted. All of the research and writing is relevant to the question, which allows you to follow the answer easily and this shows that the candidate understanding. Applies a situation of a film being censored and how it is important so that it does not lead on to a moral panic. Given examples of they types of films which were censored due to the graphic image suggests he is making comparison to the extent of video games and the images they contain within them.
How are reality TV documentaries, such as Wife Swap and Super nanny constructed? Why is this genre so popular?
Bianca
Wife Swap and Supernanny are highly mediated as they are two week events edited down to an hour. Some might argue that documentaries used for mainstream entertainment, with little educational content, are replacing “challenging forms of documentary”. This could lead to the dumbing down of programmes as “standards will not be maintained”. If we look at the hypodermic needle theory, it could be argued audiences might perceive this constructed “reality” as real but this is based on the assumption that audiences are passive. A more realistic audience response is Blumler and Katz’s uses and gratifications theory as audiences are becoming more active, negotiating or opposing the dominant readings.
This candidate also shows the information she collected which is clear and easy to understand where this information was gathered from. The candidate understands her chosen topic and applies many media theories and is able to apply them effectively. Also includes textual analysis, which shows an understanding of how this creates popularity. And different types of uses and gratification the audience receive. Further she elaborates on the narrative theory this reiterates her understanding and showing how the different types of texts are constructed.
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