Questionnaire

YEAR 12 MEDIA STUDIES
STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE

NAME: Madeleine Jones

GCSE RESULTS:

ADDITIONAL SCIENCE (B)

ART & DESIGN: FINE ART (C)

ASTRONOMY (C)

DRAMA (B)

ENGLISH LANGUAGE (A)

ENGLISH LITERATURE (A*)

MATHEMATICS (E)

MEDIA STUDIES (A*)

RELIGIOUS STUDIES (C)

SCIENCE (B)

SOCIOLOGY (C)

HOBBIES:

Acting, listening to music, photography, playwriting and creative writing, and reading.

I especially enjoy photographing nature and wildlife in natural environments

PRINT MEDIA:

I occasionally read the newspapers i and The Guardian. I like i because it is pitched at a level more associable with my own age, and The Guardian simply because it isn’t Tory. I often opt to watch the news on TV instead, both in the morning and evening – I really enjoy keeping up with national and local politics, my government and most other articles that make it onto national news, as all stories aired are affecting me ultimately, holding the capacity to shape my life aims and decisions. I sometimes browse the Daily Mail Online, primarily for amusement, despite the website and the printed version of it being dominated by Conservative opinion. I dip in and out of beauty, fashion and lifestyle magazines here and there, too.

RADIO MEDIA:

Once upon a time I listened often to the radio, however I no longer tune into any station. This is because I accessed the radio primarily to listen to music, and now that YouTube comes as an inbuilt app in phones, I have a faster, more satisfying way of consuming albums and songs - there are no annoying adverts or presenters or music to tolerate if you search for a piece on YouTube.

MUSIC INDUSTRY:

I can listen to most music and find myself enjoying what I’m hearing, but my favourite genres are acoustic, ambient, bluegrass, classical, Celtic or Gaelic folk, jazz, piano, reggae, rhythm and blues and soft rock and I access compositions and songs via the Internet, opting almost always to use YouTube. When listening to songs, I prefer to listen to ones sung in another language, like French or Italian or Spanish, old Irish and Scottish folk songs, too. I also like soundtracks to television shows or films that I enjoy, or have enjoyed, watching.

Previously, I used to purchase albums and tracks on iTunes, but stopped after realising that – with the aid of Wifi – it is far cheaper (YouTube is free, for example) to listen to music online. When travelling and internet connection is not so reliable, I’ll probably tune into radio stations instead. I do intend to start using iTunes again, however, as this can prove frustrating when you can’t consume the pieces you want.

My opinion on illegal downloading of music remains rather neutral; I mean, of course, breaking the law should be wrong, but I also regard it unfair to forbid people accessing something that informs our opinions and is categorised a norm for so many – music – when not everybody can so easily access money. What I’m getting at is, if a person illegally downloads content because buying it is out of the question, I don’t really feel that they’ve done much wrong, perhaps only in the eyes of the law.

Although as a young person I’m inevitably influenced by segments of social media, I detest popular chart music, so definitely don’t actively draw inspiration for the way I choose to dress – amongst other personal identity idiosyncrasies – from the mainstream music industry. Nor do I derive ambition and attitude from the industry, or at least I certainly don’t do so consciously.

VIDEO GAMES:

I’m not exactly an experienced gamer. I play often on my Nintendo DS and the Wii, however, when online video games become too boring, and occasionally borrow my brother’s PlayStation and Xbox. Minesweeper is a slight guilty pleasure of mine, but I don’t think that counts as a video game. I used to consume a lot more video games when I was younger, but they’re something I’ve either grown out of as I’ve got older or struggle to find time to play, again, as a result of getting older.
Violent behavior, in my opinion, correlates not so coincidentally to the amount of time an individual consumes video games. The majority of popular game designs accessed by young males are almost always patriarchal in nature, often featuring ‘negative’ concepts, such as physical violence and weapons, of which appeal, stereotypically, more to males. This results in game content frequently being inclined to marginalise females, ultimately allowing young audiences to internalise socially unaccepted norms and values, especially ones held toward women.
Although negative effects to video games exist primarily in relation to gender, due simply to inaccurate or outdated portrayals, other consequences to playing video games, like ethnic discrimination, misleading representations of foreigners and age exploitation, all hold equally bad connotations.
I think such internalisation is wrong, however I also think it to be positive; the fact that video games are capable of impacting attitudes so drastically is rather incredible. If media texts offer negative influences, there is the possibility that they can alter public perception positively as well.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES:

New technologies have, without doubt, completely shaped my understanding of the world.It is hard to imagine a life for myself not dependent upon such inventions and devices as the internet and mobile phones.
Technological advancement, since my parents were my age, has seen so many introductions and upgrades that I struggle to comprehend how different their upbringing must have consequentially been. To me, my ability to communicate with others – other people who belong to other cultures and live on the other side of the globe – is not only a privilege, but one I absolutely take for granted on virtually a daily basis. Answering the phone, composing an email, sending a text message, activating Bluetooth, opening Twitter, creating this blog post – all these things were once impossible! The fact that finding out about new films, old films, new television programmes, old television programmes, music and any separate media texts I may wish to investigate is as easy as it is definitely aids in better informing me as a young learning person and my understanding of the world I’m both a part of and the world we are either yet to see or have seen.

TELEVISION:

Television has to be my most consumed media text, and I rely on channels such as BBC One and ITV to supply me with good quality fabrications. Recently, some of the dramas both have been seen airing are of such good quality; the writing, the filming and the acting alike are all examples of very near faultless performances.
In the past, I’ve appreciated watching series like Call the Midwife, Broadchurch, Doctor Who, Foyle’s War, Sherlock, Whitechapel and Spooks, the latter of which I now enjoy re-watching all ten series of on demand.
My favourite genres include action, adventure, comedy, crime, mystery and thriller. When I’m not being enthralled by the latest British drama on my screen, I hold an interest in the film industry, this time preferring American productions. In particular, camerawork and cinematography fascinate me, especially in action-adventure thrillers or horrors. Although I know I want to write and act in the future, journalism, marketing design, representational issues within modern contexts as well as older ones, and video games could be classed as extra media passions of mine.

Spooks finished in 2011, but remains my favourite television show

FEATURE FILM:

As previously mentioned, my favourite genres are action, adventure, comedy, crime, mystery and thriller. Whether watching a film in the cinema or an episode of a television series at home, these are my preferred genres to consume. If I had to pick just one, it would be crime, as this genre is so open to evolvement; Scandinavia is currently pioneering the ways in which crime dramas are produced. Locations are constantly changing, making performances set in this genre highly exciting to follow – I like the fact that the genre is able to adapt and survive in almost any given environment, and maintain a pacey, usually unpredictable narrative no matter what the setting or context.

Three films I regard as outstanding are The Italian Job (1969), Back to the Future (1985 – although the entire franchise impresses me) and the Bourne films.

I probably consume very little of what the film industry has to offer, only visiting the cinema intermittently throughout the year and watching few DVDs. Occasionally I’ll view a work on the computers within my own household. My preferred way of viewing films depends upon the film itself; some productions are clearly designed for maximum success on the big screen, as others cater to smaller scale consumption as well. Personally, I enjoy watching films from the comfort of my home. Going to the cinema to consume something automatically makes a production more spectacular, more outstanding; when taking a step back and consuming from a more familiar position, I feel I’m better able to develop an accurate perception of how good or not a composition truly is. I also favour the fact that other opinions aren’t able to mingle with mine (in a cinema I’m inclined to feel what those surrounding me do) when I’m deciding if I like or don’t like a piece. Having said that, I enjoy watching material with both my family and my friends because it’s a fun way to spend our time together.

My favourite cinema is Cinema City, which is fortunately situated within my city. I think the stone architecture inside the building is beautiful, and take an interest in the place for its uniqueness. I know of no other cinema close to me that screens plays live from theatres – an experience I find to really enjoy – as well as new films being shown in more popular haunts in the heart of the city. Additionally, Cinema City is great because whilst attending, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in courses and workshops relating to all branches of media, such as cinematography and filmography, acting and creative writing. As a young person, it’s so refreshing to be offered such possibilities when education is esteemed as important as it is, and academic failure is deemed not an option.

CONCLUSION:

The most interesting media text available to me of which I’ve consumed is definitely Spooks, the expired television show. Politics, spies and of course, human interaction, combine to create a consistent, seriously addictive narrative. With intense action unfolding all over the world on a weekly basis, characters to love and hate, trust and distrust, comedic and tragic additions and eerily realistic rendering of the contemporary struggles our world is confronted with, the show should never halt to grip the viewer. Phrased simply, there’s such a rich mix of themes, totally applicable to the life we know and live in, that the division has something to offer and appeal to everyone.

The timelessness of the series is worth noting also, as it mirrors the innovative idea behind the script. The dilemmas imposed upon our favourite protagonists each week were spookily reflective of the current affairs and global horrors within the news when aired, and are still applicable to societies today.

Virtually all age groups can derive enthrallment from this brilliant thriller; a perfectly balanced cast throughout the series saw all ethnicities, sexes and ages proportionally represented, with youngsters and elders both saving the day, blacks and whites both experiencing cultural, national and racial prejudice and females kicking-ass just as well as their male equals, I hesitate to think of a thing to dislike about the perpetually exciting production!

Identifying a media text that has altered my attitude to any of the following; myself, my family, my friendships, my community, my country, my values, my inspiration and my creativity is rather difficult, as in a sense, all media formulations have an over-arching purpose – to edit individual and public opinion – that sees the above altered in one way or another. However, I would perhaps pick Severn Cullis-Suzuki’s 1992 speech, made at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a piece of media that significantly altered most of my views toward those referenced above. Below is a recording of a then 12-year-old Severn, of whom I respect ridiculous amounts for doing what she does in the video.