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Television

infoWhy this? Television is an in-depth CSP requiring students to apply all four areas of the theoretical framework simultaneously. The unit develops understanding of narrative, genre, audience reception, representation and global television industries.

scheduleWhy now? By this stage students have sufficient theoretical understanding to tackle a sophisticated media form. Television allows them to consolidate earlier learning and apply it in a more challenging, synoptic way.

neurologyYou need to know

  • Television CSPs are studied through media language, representation, audiences, industries and context.
  • Crime dramas use conventions such as investigation, conflict, enigmas and recurring character roles.
  • Television series combine episodic narratives with longer narrative arcs.
  • Neale argues genres rely on repetition and difference.
  • Mise-en-scène communicates meanings about place, character and society.
  • Cinematography, editing and sound shape tone and audience alignment.
  • Opening episodes establish characters, conflicts and enigmas.
  • Television narratives may follow disruption and repair structures.
  • Binary oppositions help organise narrative meanings.
  • Representations of place and identity are constructed rather than neutral.
  • Television representations can reinforce or challenge gender conventions.
  • Hall explains representation through construction and power.
  • Van Zoonen and bell hooks provide frameworks for analysing gender and intersectionality.
  • Broadcasters and production companies influence television products.
  • Funding, scheduling and platforms affect television production and distribution.
  • UK television operates within public service and regulatory contexts.
  • Global distribution allows products to reach international audiences.
  • Hesmondhalgh argues cultural industries use strategies to reduce risk.
  • Audience targeting uses demographic and psychographic information.
  • Marketing and branding help attract audiences.

rocket_launchYou must be able to

  • Compare television CSPs using the theoretical framework.
  • Identify and analyse crime-drama conventions.
  • Apply Neale's genre theory.
  • Analyse mise-en-scène in television drama.
  • Analyse cinematography, editing and sound.
  • Analyse narrative structure and enigmas.
  • Apply Todorov's narrative theory.
  • Identify binary oppositions in television narratives.
  • Analyse representations of place and identity.
  • Analyse representations of gender.
  • Apply Hall's representation theory.
  • Apply Van Zoonen and bell hooks to television texts.
  • Analyse how media language constructs meaning.
  • Explain institutional influences on television production.
  • Analyse the impact of PSB and regulation.
  • Analyse global distribution strategies.
  • Apply Hesmondhalgh's theory of cultural industries.
  • Identify risk-reduction strategies used by television industries.
  • Construct audience profiles using evidence.
  • Compare audience targeting and marketing strategies.


Revision Quiz

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