Genre and intertextuality — Eduqas GCSE Media Studies C680
Eduqas GCSE Media Studies · C680
Genre and intertextuality
Media language
What you need to know
Genre as a set of shared codes and conventions that audiences recognise, and why producers and audiences value it.
Repetition and variation: products repeat conventions and vary them to stay fresh; genres change over time; hybrid products mix genres.
Intertextuality: how references to other media products make meaning, such as a poster echoing earlier films in its franchise or a music video borrowing from cinema.
How genre is asked about across the course, from magazine covers and posters in Component 1 to crime drama, sitcom and music video in Component 2.
Neale's idea that genres work through repetition and difference, so each new product both follows and changes its genre: a useful perspective, though not one the specification requires.
The set products for 2027 and 2028 exams are the Vogue and GQ covers; the Man with the Golden Gun and No Time to Die posters; the Guardian of 18 January 2022 and the Sun of 1 January 2021 (2027 exams only), then the Guardian of 6 May 2025 and the Sun of 22 March 2025 (2028 exams); the Quality Street and NHS 111 adverts; the Sun, Desert Island Discs, No Time to Die and Fortnite for industries and audiences; Trigger Point with The Sweeney, or Man Like Mobeen or Modern Family with Friends; and Lizzo or Taylor Swift, Stormzy or Justin Bieber, and Rio or Waterfalls. This Girl Can, The Archers and Luther were last set for 2026 exams, so past questions on them are practice only.
