SEPTEMBER 2016 ISSUE 57 WOMEN ON TV NEWSPAPERS GANGSTERS ROCKSTAR MYTHOLOGY THE ARCHERS FILM AND THE LAW WHY I LOVE… MM57_cover.indd 1 20/07/2016 12:51 Contents 12 Women in TV Steph Hendry identifies MediaMagazine is published and celebrates new by the English and Media developments in TV drama Centre, a non-profit making which offer more diverse organisation. The Centre and proactive views. publishes a wide range of classroom materials and 16 Leading Ladies – runs courses for teachers. Melissa McCarthy and the If you’re studying English Last F**k-able Day at A Level, look out for In a world where J-Law is emagazine, also published deemed plus-sized, what by the Centre. hope for ‘real’ women and their representation in Hollywood cinema? Jonathan Nunns considers the significance of the rise and popularity of Melissa McCarthy. 12 19 The Cinematic Myth of 04 Making the Most of the Gangster MediaMag Mark Ramey explores the perennial appeal of 06 A New Day for British the gangster genre, and Journalism – Or Is It? argues that it offers deeply MediaMagazine examines philosophical insights into the rise and fall of the the human condition. recently-launched tabloid newspaper, the New Day, 22 Bombs, Bangs and Bad, The English and Media Centre intended to buck the Bad Boys 18 Compton Terrace trend of ever-downward The Night Manager was a London N1 2UN newspaper sales. Telephone: 020 7359 8080 huge success for BBC Drama, Fax: 020 7354 0133 fusing together motifs 09 Can The Guardian from the worlds of both Email for subscription enquiries: Survive in a Changing [email protected] spy and gangster genres. Media Landscape? Fay Jessop explores the Neil Paddison examines versions of masculinity it Editor: some of the ways in which offers, and its links to class, Jenny Grahame the Guardian is reaching out power and sexuality. to a global digital audience Copy-editing: Andrew McCallum as print sales decline. Subscriptions manager: Bev St Hill Design: Sam Sullivan Newington Design This magazine is not photocopiable. Why not subscribe to our web package Print: which includes a downloadable and printable PDF of the current issue or S&G Group encourage your students to take out an additional £12 subscription? Cover: Happy Valley, Tel 020 7359 8080 for details. © Red Production Company/ BBC, with permission 2 MM57 final 20.7.16 4pm.indd 2 20/07/2016 17:02 26 And Your Specialist 48 Reading James Bond’s Subject is... Mastermind and Movies in the 21st Century Me Symon Quy goes Media teacher Austin McHale undercover to explore how reflects on the appeal of the Bond formula draws quiz shows, and his own on the political, social experiences of sitting in and cultural contexts of that big black chair. the era to stay fresh. 30 The Myth of the Rock 54 Preparing your AQA Star and Why It Needs Cross-media Study 19 Challenging Jonathan Morgan provides Why do we love nothing you with the essential more than seeing something revision guide to the cross- beautiful get destroyed? media study for AQA’s AS Andrew Parker-Law Media – but it can be used explores the narrative of as an adaptable checklist the doomed rock star. whichever exam spec you are preparing for! 34 Harry, Noah’s Ark and Us Andrew McCallum recounts 58 Generation Ambridge how his family’s role in How did an ‘everyday story 48 61 a campaign to promote of country folk’ become the partnership between the most talked about a charity and a football soap on social media? club shed light on how a Caroline Birks investigates. media campaign unfolds across different platforms. 61 Why I Love... The Results A short explanation for 38 Back to the Future – Why the judges' decisions and Repertory Cinema Matters the three winning entries: In Media and Film Studies we Why I Love... Film Noir; can only really understand Why I Love... Screenwriting; what’s happening now Why I Love... Television. if we understand what 34 happened in the past. Roy Stafford focuses on just one concept – that of the repertory film screening. 42 Can Film Change the Law? Student Christian Haywood considers how far film can change society. 46 Goom's Cartoon – Roland Barthes’ Narrative Theory 16 3 MM57 final 20.7.16 4pm.indd 3 20/07/2016 17:02 Making the Most of MediaMag Film and the Law The Newspaperewspaper IndustryIndustry This article explores films which have impacted If you’ve read the articles on the New Day on society and ultimately led to changes in the law. and the Guardian, you’ll know the pressures on Could the same be true of television programmes? newspaper circulation, and the ways the news Below is a list of TV docudramas which have industry is addressing them. You’re going to try to created huge controversies that have led to changes keep the newspaper industry afloat by creating a in government policy and/or social attitudes: template for a mini-version of a daily newspaper, – The War Game (Peter Watkins, 1965 – just as the i was originally created as a ‘lite’ what if Britain had lost WW2?) alternative to the Independent (sadly now closed – Cathy Come Home (1966 Jeremy Sandford and down). The i now has its own website, which gives Ken Loach’s drama about homelessness) a good feel of how the newspaper itself operates. – Threads (Mick Jackson, 1984 – about Have a look here: https://inews.co.uk/about/ the aftermath of nuclear war) • Pick one of the following as the basis of your new mini – Who Bombed Birmingham? (1990, a docudrama newspaper: the Guardian; the Daily Mail; the Express. which resulted in the exoneration of 6 men • Create an appropriate name for your mini- wrongly convicted of an IRA atrocity) newspaper which links it to the original, and – Hillsborough (Jimmy McGovern, 1996, which led to design a masthead and any iconography or the re-opening of the official enquiries into 96 deaths) symbols you want to associate with it. – Bloody Sunday (Paul Greengrass, 2002, • Write a one-paragraph mission statement explaining investigating the unlawful killing of 14 civil rights its point of view, aims, and target audience. Explain activists by British soldiers in Derry in 1972) your pricing policy, and how you intend to deliver – Common (Jimmy McGovern, 2014 – about the essential news stories to your audience. the punitive Joint Enterprise laws) • Brainstorm a structure for your newspaper • In pairs, chose one of these texts to research as – have a look at https://inews.co.uk for a mini case-study – you’ll find plenty of material some different ways you could break down online, but a good starting point is http:// your content into different categories. www.screenonline.org.uk. Prepare a short • Using today’s news stories to kick you off, draft presentation for the class which includes: a front page for your new paper, indicating the – An overview of the content – what’s number of front page stories, the position of the issue behind the drama? photographs, any furniture such as price, contents, – The social context social media links, etc. Make sure you focus on – How audiences and politicians appropriate front-page content and layout. responded to the drama • Draft a double-page-spread for a feature in your – What changed as a result of the drama. new paper – it can be on a topical news item, or a broader issue related to style, culture, or politics, as long as it reflects the values and mission of your paper. Make sure you focus on both the content and the design and layout of your DPS. • Pitch your new paper to the class, explaining your decisions and policy, and why you think it might succeed in recruiting a readership. And... if you’ve already been working in print for your AS production work, you’ll have ready-made skills to actually create a mock-up of your new paper. 4 MM57 final 20.7.16 4pm.indd 4 20/07/2016 17:02 Reading James Bond Some Practical and In this article Symon Quy suggests that the Bond franchise uses Revision Activities binary opposition and the behaviours and ideologies of the villains Bond must overcome to construct a sense of British identity and values. But could Get your creative and ICT skills up to this process work for other franchises, including those from other nations? speed by practising on some visuals • Pick another franchise with which you are familiar – it could be: and infographics, using MediaMag – a superhero franchise like Batman, Iron Man, Mad Max, articles to help. This is useful both or anything from the Marvel Cinematic Universe for your blog and for exam revision – an action franchise such as Indiana Jones, Die Hard, Pirates of the Caribbean or Mission Impossible – adapting information from one – a franchise associated with a particular genre, such form into another is an excellent as fantasy, rom-com, horror, comedy, SF, etc. revision technique. Here are three – a particular sequence adapted from literature, such suggestions from this issue: as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc. The Newspaper Industry – a franchise from a non-Western culture such as China, India or Japan. Read the data on the circulation • In your group, list the different villains encountered in your chosen and readership of the Guardian and franchise, and explore the criminal activities and iconography associated its websites (page 10). Create a chart, with each one. Using online sources, conduct some contextual research to identify the cultural concerns each villain represents. Remember that graph, PowerPoint presentation although these may be global franchises, they will draw on the ideology or infographic which represents and values of the national film industry which produced them.