COM3703 Assignment 3 Semester 2 2024 | Due September 2024

COM3703 Assignment 3 Semester 2 2024 | Due September 2024. All questions answered. 1 INTRODUCTION (5) In the introduction, you should clearly identify/indicate what you will discuss in the assignment and also how your assignment is going to be structured. You should refer to all four themes/study units that you are covering in your assignment, as well as the particular topics within the theme on which you will answer questions. Furthermore, if you are using any media texts as examples in your answers to some of the questions, you need to identify those media texts by name/title in the introduction. The introduction should ideally be a paragraph of approximately eight sentences and not more than half a page. 2 MEDIA, LANGUAGE AND DISCOURSE (35) Select a newspaper article and conduct your own case study on the use of language by the media. You must attach your selected newspaper article as an addendum. You must select the appropriate media text (newspaper article) as instructed. Do not select any other text such as a magazine article, a journal article, a book chapter and so forth. No marks will be awarded if the article is not included. Your study should be guided by the following aspects: 2.1 Identify the main concepts, words or jargon in the text and demonstrate how these are used to convey the message. (5) 2.2 Critically discuss the argumentative structure of the article. (5) [25% deduction for not referencing sources] 2.3 Identify and discuss the discursive practice that produced the text. You must clearly motivate your answer. (4) [25% deduction for not referencing sources] 2.4 Who is the audience for the text? Motivate your answer. (4) 2.5 Discuss whether the text is presented in active or passive voices or both and explain how the choices affect the meaning being communicated by the text. (5) [25% deduction for not referencing sources] 2.6 Describe the metaphors used and their effect on the message being conveyed. (4) [25% deduction for not referencing sources] 2.7 Discuss the three functions of language fulfilled by the text. (6) [25% deduction for not referencing sources] 2.8 Do you think the text was successful in conveying the message to the intended audience and why? 3 FILM THEORY AND CRITICISM (35) You must select any film of your own choice that you feel will easily support and demonstrate a clear ideological perspective. In order to do this, you first have to have an understanding of the concepts of “ideology”, “film criticism” and “film theory”. This means that you should read through the theory and make notes of what will be applicable to this analysis of the film you select. For instance, if you do not understand the concept of ideology you might select a film that has no ideological themes or elements or characteristics or that does not clearly demonstrate a clear ideological perspective. This means that you will be wasting your time viewing or re-viewing a film that is not ideal for this type of analysis. Your selected film must be your own example. It must not be from the prescribed book or study guide. This, therefore, excludes the following films: • Jobman (Roodt 1989) • Taxi to Soweto (Van Rensburg 1991) • Tsotsi (Hood 2005) • U-Carmen e Khayelitsha (Dornford-May 2005) • Yesterday (Roodt 2004) • Revolutionary Road (Mendes 2008) • No Country for Old Men (Coen & Coen 2007) The film you select must not be: • a documentary/mockumentary • a mini-series • animated film • a television programme (such as a medical drama or soap opera) 3.1 Details about the chosen film (a) Title of film (½) (b) Director (½) (c) Main characters (½) (d) Studio/independently made/producers (½) (e) At least two themes from your film (NOT IDEOLOGICAL THEMES, GENERAL THEMES) (1) 3.2 Discuss and describe “genre” in order to clearly define the film’s genre (the film you have selected). Provide your own examples of two different film genre categories and one film for each genre to illustrate the point of view. (3) [25% deducted for not referencing sources] You may not use the following films Revolutionary Road (Mendes 2008) and No Country for Old Men (Coen & Coen 2007) (Fourie 2017:351–355), or any of the films discussed in the section on Genre theory in the prescribed book. 3.3 Describe your film in the following phases: (4) • Exposition • Climax • Resolution • Denouement [25% deduction for not referencing sources] Refer to Wigston (2017:264–266), and his chapter on Narrative Analysis. Also, see Wigston (2009:160–162) in your study guide. 3.4 A discussion of ideology. (5) [25% deduction for not referencing sources] Begin your discussion by defining the concept of ideology. Refer to Prinsloo (2017:209–211) and Fourie (2017:367) of your prescribed book for a clear, concise explanation of ideology. Then describe ideology in your own words, which you will further integrate into your filmic analysis later on. Provide examples of different types of ideology. 3.5 Discuss the following concepts and provide an example of each: (3) (a) Mainstream cinema (b) Oppositional cinema (c) The “subject” in relation to film [25% deduction for not referencing sources] Provide one filmic example, of your own choice, per concept to help illustrate the theory. These examples can be from any film, they do not have to be from your selected film. Refer to Fourie (2017:364–369), Fourie (2017:70–71), and Prinsloo (2017:209–211) in your prescribed book, and Fourie & Marx (2009:216) in your study guide. 3.6 An ideological analysis of the film of your choice: application. Address the following questions/concepts in your analysis: (a) Identify and describe two ideological themes within this film. (2) (b) Identify whether it falls into “mainstream cinema” OR “oppositional cinema”. Specify WHY and provide two reasons from the film itself to support your reason/answer. (3) (c) Analyse the relationship between the film you have selected, its/your society, and the predominant ideology of that society. (3) (d) Specify whether or not the film SUPPORTS OR OPPOSES the dominant ideology that PRODUCED it. Provide two reasons from the film to illustrate its support or opposition to that society. (3) (e) Referring directly to the film, describe the director’s ideological stance. Provide two reasons to justify your description. (3) 4 QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEYS IN MEDIA RESEARCH (35) The portfolio question is a continuation of Assignment 01. 4.1 Write an introduction in which you restate the research questions the research study sought to answer. 4.2 Develop an online questionnaire (Google Forms) consisting of the following sections (attach the questionnaire as Addendum A): Section A: Letter of introduction (4) Section B: Demographic details, formulate closed-ended questions where you ask participants to indicate their age and gender. (4) Section C: Formulate closed-ended questions measuring the following: the extent to which audiences trust South African Broadcasting News media companies in general, the media platform individuals prefer to use for news (Radio, TV, Social media, etc.). Lastly, formulate a closed-ended question measuring individuals’ views of SABC coverage of the 2024 elections (i.e., whether they think SABC was objective/biased in its coverage of the 2024 elections). (6) Secondly, pilot the questionnaire by sending it to five of your friends via e-mail or any social media application. 4.3 Present the results using frequency tables and graphs. 4.3.1 Present Section B results using graphs, explain what is in the graph (3 marks for the graph and 2 marks for the description). (5) 4.3.2 Present section C results using a frequency table, and explain what the table contains (4 marks for the table and 4 marks for the description). (8) 4.4 Now answer your two research questions based on the findings of your pilot study. (6) 5 MEASURING MEDIA AUDIENCES (35) You are the research consultant for your campus online newspaper. Your campus wants to select the most appropriate social media platform for its newspaper and the topics that students will find interesting. Develop a research proposal intended to identify the preferences, political attitudes, interests, age, gender, and income of the campus newspaper’s target audience. 5.1 Explain the importance of using more than one research instrument when measuring media audiences. Select at least two research instruments appropriate for this research and motivate your choice. (6) [25% deduction for not referencing sources] 5.2 Describe the sampling method and sampling type that you will use to draw up a sample for the research and motivate your choice. (4) [25% deduction for not referencing sources] 5.3 Describe media convergence and explain why it is important for the campus’s newspaper to use online platforms. (4) [25% deduction for not referencing sources] 5.4 Based on the scenario above, identify and describe two variables that have to be measured in this research. 5.5 Describe the unit of analysis in this study. (2) 5.6 Briefly describe the difficulties in defining ‘visiting’ or ‘reading’ in audience research. (6) [25% deduction for not referencing sources] 5.7 Explain how you would measure the sites most students ‘visit’ on campus and motivate your choice. (4) 5.8 Identify and describe an audience theory that can explain why students prefer certain media over others. (3) [25% deduction for not referencing sources] 6 CONCLUSION (5) Here you will present a summary of the contents of your portfolio exam as a conclusion. The conclusion should mirror your introduction and you should never include new information or theory in your conclusion. Once again, you will refer to all the themes discussed in the portfolio and refer back to media examples and similar items that you might have used for analysis. The conclusion should ideally consist of a paragraph of approximately eight sentences and not be more than half a page long. 7 SELF-ASSESSMENT AND SELF-REFLECTION (5) See earlier in this tutorial letter for guidelines.