Creating Plans for 12 Mark Questions
How does the media portray American society & the American Dream? You may refer to other media texts to support your answer.
(12 marks)
Task 1 -
- Deconstruct the connotations of the term ‘the American Dream’
- What associations do you make with american lifestyle?
- What are the core messages and values of a text that might promote this?
- Compile a list any media texts or examples that you think promote this ideology of the american dream.
Think movies, TV shows, magazines, even celebrities that can be considered ‘products’ themselves...
Challenge -
Try and guess potential unseen texts that could accompany this Q3 type question...
Task 3
Using the connotations, and codes and conventions of the typical ‘american dream’ you have identified so far, create another mood board to identify media texts that promote this ideology.
Use Lino-it, Google Slides, Prezi or handwritten notes.
Consider different kinds of representations, linked to those connotations.
- Representation of men / women
- Representation of class
- Representation of money / capitalism
- Representation of power / control
- Stereotypes / countertypes
For example, try and move away from politics and towards the
construction of the ‘star’ - Richard Dyer
- Star power / celebrity / reality TV
- Rags to riches…
How does the media portray American society & the American Dream? You may refer to other media texts to support your answer.
(12 marks)
PEE Paragraph responses to the question. Suggested structure…
The ideology of the American Dream is represented in various ways in media texts.
One recurring theme is the concept of...
An example of this would be shown in…
This suggests… This connotes… This constructs an image of…
Another recurring theme is the concept of… >REPEAT<
However, there are also aspects of…
In recent texts, there is a move towards…
It could also be argued that the theme of…
Opposing ideologies present in other media texts also promote...
