Congratulations on entering the sixth form and on choosing the brilliant subject of Media Studies!
You may think you know what 'media' is already and you probably have a good idea of the different types of media such as newspapers, radio, tv etc but over the next two years you will be studying the media in much more detail and learning to deconstruct (break down) the messages that we see in front of us.
We will be using this blog as a group for a variety of things:
- to share thoughts and ideas on current media debates
- to look at articles, adverts, websites and others
- to analyse and comment on media
- to have a go at using a blog and develop your own technical skills
Your teachers will post material for you to look at and study and you will be able to comment on that in the box below. Sometimes we will ask you for a specific type of answer or sometimes we will just ask your opinion. It is important that as a young adult you are able to think for yourself and form your own opinions - that is what media is all about!
Why is the media a good thing to study?* Well here are a few reasons... It helps us to understand the workings of the world and our individual places in it.
It is a source of modern culture and entertainment.
It requires us to learn and use critical thinking skills.
The media is made up of major industries and these are linked to business, politics and wider issues.
The media helps us to understand and define how we communicate with each other.
It helps us to learn new technology through constant change and adaptation.
Media has become part of our cultural diet and affects our day to day lives, whether we realise it or not! It is part of our everyday environment.
The media interprets our world and its values and ideas to us which in turn helps us to understand ourselves and others.
Media is carefully planned, designed and constructed to convey a certain message. It is incredibly interesting to break this construction down and understand the messages behind it.
The media brings us political and ideological messages all the time.
Media helps us to understand life by presenting it as larger-than-life, and compel us to think in terms of the audience.
That should have given you a small insight into what we will be doing during the course. Make sure you hold onto any magazines/dvds that you buy as these might come in helpful with your work. Any interesting articles or videos that you see can be posted on here (once approved) and links to media websites are also valuable for your studies. Good luck and work hard!
*adapted from www.medialit.org
