MEST3: Critical Perspectives exam - Revision! MOCK ON 10TH DECEMBER

Hello hard-working year 13! 

I know you are all currently working extremely hard on your essays, planning linked production work AND revising for your mock so here is something to help your revision over the next week.  

What do you need to know?

Your mock exam is scheduled for Tuesday 10th December period 5. You will be answering Section A of the exam only; we have not covered everything for Section B yet so this will have to wait. This means you will be spending 45 minutes answering the questions and about 15-20 minutes viewing the text. 

Section A has three questions. You must answer all of them.

There will be information on the products which you should read, highlight and understand in order to answer the questions properly.

You will be shown the two media products three times. In between these viewings you should make notes in response to the questions. These notes will not be marked.

You should spend approximately 45 minutes answering the questions in Section A.
This section tests you on your ability to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of media concepts, contexts and critical debates


Here's what you should revise:

• Media concepts - MIGRAIN
• Semiotics
• Audience theories
• Understanding of a wide range of critical debates/issues/theories (your yellow folder!)
• Examples of a range of media products that might fit with debates/issues/theories
• Media terminology

How you could revise:

• Read through your yellow folder and re-write out notes, make posters, spider diagrams or record what you have learnt in a way that you will remember.
• Collect newspaper articles that are relevant and discuss current debates
• Find a range of examples to fit with each issue or debate we have discussed
• Analyse a few moving image texts - this could be adverts, trailers, extracts from news programmes or anything which involves you analysing how and why it has been constructed.
• Read through all of the past posts on the blog and use twitter to ask us questions
• Use the internet to search anything you may have forgotten or want to develop a proper understanding of

What type of thing will you be presented with?

Some information (which you are expected to highlight and use to inform your answer):

Media Product One – Adidas House Party Advert

Adidas launched the House Party campaign in January 2009. The advert was part of the Adidas Originals brand campaign which used television, cinema, print and online platforms. The Adidas website described the campaign as ‘set against the backdrop of a house party hosting an electric mix of people from the worlds of music, fashion and sport’. The advert includes David Beckham, The Ting Tings, Estelle, Missy Elliot, Katy Perry, Method Man and Run DMC. The song in the advert is the Pilooski re-mix of Frankie Valli’s original version of ‘Beggin’. Adidas also created a version of the advert which enabled users to click at various points of the film to view extra footage. Xbox Live also hosted a dedicated Adidas Originals section on its portal where gamers could browse and download content.

Media Product Two – NHS & Home Office Advert

The £4m campaign targeted 18 to 24 year-olds with the slogan, ‘You wouldn’t start a night like this, so why end it that way?’ There were two TV adverts in the campaign, one focusing on a young man and one on a young woman getting ready to go out. The campaign used TV, radio, press and digital platforms. The TV adverts appeared on youth programming, sport and music channels; the radio adverts on national and regional stations; and the print adverts in youth-oriented titles including Nuts, NME, Glamour and Reveal. In The Guardian, Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary at the time, said: ‘This new campaign will challenge people to think twice about the serious consequences of losing control. Binge drinking is not only damaging to health but it makes individuals vulnerable to harm.’

Three questions (which you must check you understand!):

Question 1

Evaluate how each media product represents young people. (8 marks)

Question 2

Why are shock tactics, such as those in media product two, so often used?

 You may also refer to other media products to support your answer. (12 marks)

Question 3

Consider the value of using online marketing to target a youth audience.

You should refer to other media products to support your answer. (12 marks)

Two products (which you must make notes on):

(Sorry for poor quality but I pinched it from Youtube!)

View this blog post as the perfect revision! It is a past paper from 2011. Watch the videos three times and make notes in between on representations, the key concepts, debates in the media and other things you feel are relevant. 

If you are working hard then I expect to see a few answers on this blog post to show me what you can do! 

The best answers will:

• Make detailed references to both products - this means referring to camera shots, music, setting etc
• Show a sophisticated understanding of media concepts - not just listing the concepts but truly engaging with them and exploring what the question asks of you
• A wide range of media issues, theories and debates (Question 2 and 3 requires a range of examples from other media you have seen)
• Critical autonomy - this means making independent points and not just repeating things I have told you without making it relevant to what you have seen. You must be specific to the product you are looking at and how that relates to wider issues within the media. Avoid making general points if you can't explain or support them. You should show an interest in the media and knowledge of many different things. Only the truly engaged and hard-working will be able to do this. Is it you?

Good luck with revision! Keep an eye on the blog and Twitter!