Sample questions from previous years

Do some of these and email them to me, it is the best way to prepare for the exam.

2 (b) Celebrity and the Tabloid Press
The following areas may be covered for all questions in this section:
• Knowledge and understanding of how representation is constructed in the specified
medium
• Detailed textual examples to illustrate points of comparison and address the question set.

1. Compare the extent to which the representation of celebrity in your chosen two
tabloid newspapers is dependent on stories about their private lives as opposed to
their careers.

2. Compare the ways in which the visual and written elements of your two chosen tabloid newspapers represent celebrity.

3. Compare the extent to which the representation of celebrity is restricted to stories about secrets and scandal in your two chosen newspapers. [45 marks]

4. Compare the representation of celebrities’ successes and/or failures in the two tabloid newspapers you have studied. [45 marks]

5. Compare how the representation of celebrities reinforces or undermines their celebrity status in your two chosen tabloid newspapers

A conference on female celebrity, something for you to think about

This one-day event sponsored by the School of Film and Television Studies will examine how discourses of tabloidism, “reality,” and scandal shape the construction of female celebrity in contemporary and historical periods. It originates with the broadly-felt sense that female celebrity (at least of a certain kind) is seen to be depreciating in value and it asks why this might be the case. While work on stardom/ celebrity has acknowledged the existence of hierarchies of fame, surprisingly little attention has been paid to how such hierarchies are gendered. We will explore whether such hierarchies have intensified of late and the factors which are shaping this process, while also reflecting on how this shift might constitute a challenge for the next wave of scholarship on stardom/celebrity.
Questions include, but are not limited to: Is the perceived uncoupling of talent from fame in fact a particularly gendered phenomenon? Is it postfeminist? How do new delivery systems such as YouTube and older ones like celebrity magazines favor and foster the spectacle of female “train wreck” celebrity? What kinds of narratives about wealth and class do these female celebrities anchor and how do they uphold or challenge nationalized/regionalized archetypes of the “chav” or “white trash?” How do the scandals in which they so often figure differ from those of some male celebrities (as was amply demonstrated in 2007 when a comparative dignity and respectful distance was accorded by a variety of media outlets after Owen Wilson’s suicide attempt)? What contemporary views about female sexuality are inscribed onto the bodies of these celebrities? What drives the fascination/repulsion for “bad” women/girls (Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Rosie O’Donnell, Amy Winehouse, Charlotte Church, Jade Goody) in today’s celebrity culture and what are the historical precedents for this? Related and proximate topics including divadom, celebrity feuds, the “toxic” celebrity couple, and the potential reinforcement of age-old cultural prohibitions on attention-seeking as “unfeminine” will also factor in symposium discussions.

Gender representation in tabloids

You may be asked to comment on the representation of gender in tabloids, in the Observer on Sunday 18th May this article  ( scroll right down to the last section, 'Do some people despise Amy' appeared. It discusses the differing popularity between male and female celebs, this is down to how they are represented, in a positive or negative light, by using approving or disapproving language, the choice of images, flattering or unflattering and the general tone and editorial point of view that is presented. 

Marketing magazine reveals that the 5 most loved celebs are men ( McCartney, Lewis Hamilton, Gary Lineker, Simon Cowell & David Beckham).

The 4 most hated are women ( Heather Mills, Amy Winehouse, Victoria Beckham, Kerry Katona). 

I think this would be a very interesting statistic to include in your response and consider why this should be so, Simon Cowell for instance promotes himself in a very hard, almost, Mr Nasty way, and the Beckhams, husband and wife, what has she done to incur the publics' hatred, he was the one who had the affair yet she is the one vilified.

The McCartneys also a married couple with Heather coming off worst. 

Interesting also to note that 3 of the men are sportsmen