Media Studies

November Mock Exam Revision

Component 1A
Lesson 1

Images: This refers to everything within the mise-en-scene including costume, setting,
props, colour, lighting, facial expression, and body language.
Layout and design: This refers to the way the elements in the image have been organised.
You might comment on the camera shot or angle selected, the position of the ‘hero’ in the
frame, the position of the hero in relation to other elements in the frame, and the focus of
the shot.
Language: This refers to any written codes you can see. This could include fonts used, tone
and register, as well as any language features such as alliteration, emotive language,
rhetorical questions, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, repetition, sarcasm, intertextuality, and
colloquialism.

Examination Question:

Section A: Exploring Media Language and Representation

Media Language

Question 1 is based on the The Sun newspaper. Use the front page when
answering the question.

Explore how ‘The Sun’ uses the following elements of media language to
create meanings:

(a) images [5]

(b) language [5]
(c) layout and design [5]

Images

The central image is a map of Europe with the UK clearly divided from the rest of Europe by a thick
red vertical line that is like a piece of tape. The ‘red tape’ is an idiom for bureaucracy, meaning that
the UK doesn’t want to be involved in the complicated administrative procedures that being in
Europe involves. There is also a white vertical line at the bottom which makes the cross sign, being
reminiscent of the St George Cross, which is part of the English flag. This connotes patriotism and
nationalism, which in turn encourages the reader to view migrants from Europe as a threat. In the
bottom left corner there is a small close-up image of David Cameron, the Prime Minister at the time,
with a worried facial expression. The fact that the image is so small presents him as being a weak
character against the European politicians.

Language

The headline seems to be directed at the PM and says, “Draw a red line on immigration or else!”.
Informal register is being used to deliver an ultimatum to the PM himself, as well as the use of the
imperative ‘or else!’ is quite inappropriate and disrespectful to the PM as he is in charge of the
Media Studies
November Mock Exam Revision
Component 1A
Lesson 1
country. The article begins with the words “The Sun says”, which makes it seem that the newspaper
is a respected voice and should be listened to by the PM as well as the readers. There is emotive
language used throughout the article including ‘flood’ to connote that there are too migrants coming
to Britain from Europe, and that they are seemingly unstoppable and are causing devastation. The
use of direct address at the top of the headline “You tell him”, as well as the use of the collective
term “The British people” in the article, makes the reader feel a part of this group of people making
demands of the PM. This then positions them to assume the same viewpoint on immigration as the
newspaper, that it is a bad thing and needs to be stopped.

Layout and Design

The headline text is written in capital letters and in bold font. This connotes the forceful nature of
the words and makes the message feel quite sensational. The word ‘immigration’ is written is a
distorted black colour, compared with the rest of the words in white; it is also positioned inside the
white horizontal line and across the red tape. This connotes that ‘immigration’ is destroying the
countries of the UK. The only countries that have been identified in Europe are Bulgaria and
Romania, and the font used is much smaller than the ‘UK’ font. This reinforces the idea that the
newspaper wants to represent the UK as a more powerful and affluent place, and that migrants from
smaller less economically well-off countries in the east of Europe might want to travel to.