Signs, communication and modes of address — AQA GCSE Media Studies 8572
AQA GCSE Media Studies · 8572
Signs, communication and modes of address
Media language
What you need to know
Semiotics: signs, denotation and connotation, and the terms code, anchorage, icon and symbol.
Communication as a sender, a message and a receiver: how a producer encodes meaning for an audience.
Selection, combination and exclusion: every element of a product is chosen, and the choices build narratives, a sense of reality, points of view, messages and values.
Modes of address: direct address, which speaks to the audience, and indirect address, where the audience overhears; register and formality. Examiners report that many candidates can't define indirect address.
The Close Study Products for 2027 and 2028 exams are His Dark Materials ('The City of Magpies') and Doctor Who ('An Unearthly Child'); the Daily Mirror and The Times; Marcus Rashford's and Kim Kardashian's online presence; Lara Croft Go, with Blackpink The Game for 2027 exams and Lego Fortnite for 2028 exams; the Galaxy, Represent and OMO adverts; the Tatler and Heat covers; Black Widow and I, Daniel Blake; the Arctic Monkeys and Blackpink videos; and Radio 1's launch and Kiss Breakfast. Kim Kardashian: Hollywood was set only for 2025, so past questions on it are practice only.
