Lesson 3

Lesson 3 - The Big Issue and Intertextuality

Task 1: Answer the following questions and then reveal the answers.

What does the Big Issue mean by anti-establishment?

The Big Issue's mission is to challenge traditional power structures and amplify marginalised voices. It takes an anti-establishment stance by critiquing government, corporations, and mainstream media on issues of social justice, poverty, and homelessness.

What is the logo of a magazine called? It is usually at the top of the magazine.

Masthead

What does CAGES stand for?

Class, Age, Gender, Ethnicity and Sexuality.

What side of politics does liberalism sit on?

Liberalism is a political ideology that generally sits on the left side of the political spectrum, alongside other progressive ideologies such as socialism and social democracy.

New Learning: Intertextuality

Intertextuality - An interconnection between similar or related works.

Intertextuality refers to:

borrowing/referring to other eras/styles
referring implicitly to certain contextual events
when a text refers to another media product to shapes its meaning in a hope that audiences will recognise it.

Task 4: Analysis of a front cover

Pick two of the four covers.

Analyse the cover using the following strucutre.

CODE (e.g. image, text)
CONNOTATION (e.g. patriotism, diversity)
EFFECT (e.g. highlights social issues, promotes inclusivity).

Aim to come up with at least 5 points.

Task 5: Bringing it all together.

Read the exemplar response from OCR in response to the following exam question:

Analyse why The Big Issue magazine has used an intertextual approach to the referendum on its front cover. In your answer you must:

analyse the use of intertextuality to create meaning in the source
make judgements and reach a conclusion about the advantages of this use of intertextuality to The Big Issue magazine. [15]

Consider:

what makes it a good response?
where could it be shortened and be more succinct?

Whilst reading, stop to annotate:

what textual evidence from the front cover does the response use and how?
how does the response refer to the TBI's brand values?
how does the response explain the purpose of the intertextuality in the cover?

abba cover website

Examiner Comment:

A comprehensive response to the set question which applies knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media to analyse The Big Issue meeting AO2. There is comprehensive application of knowledge and understanding of the media to analyse The Big Issue including in relation to their contexts, for example, the intertextual reference to 70s pop band Abba and their song Winner Takes It All. The response identifies how the front cover represents the referendum and explains why this is used to reflect the status and identity of the magazine in order to appeal to the target audience and to give additional meaning to the referendum vote. This is the foundation to the response with a focus on the issue of intertextuality in address of the question set. Throughout the response there is a convincing and perceptive analysis of why The Big Issue magazine has used an intertextual approach to the referendum and it consistently provides logical connections. The application of knowledge and understanding of the media is analysed in relation to production and recognises a socially conscious target audience and these contexts are used to make judgements and draw conclusions regarding why The Big Issue magazine has used an intertextual approach to the referendum. This is a fully evaluated response to the question set on The Big Issue as a niche publication with alternative representations to the mainstream media.

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