Dissertation

Whats the topic?

Whats the point youre making about the topic?
Topic: Representations of women at work in TV
Your point: How representations of women at work have/havent
changed in TV
Refine it: An exploration of changing representations of women in TV
alters from the 1970s to the 1990s
Working question: How did representations of women in TV alter
from 1970s to 1990s?
Hypothesis: Representations of women at work in TV developed
closely alongside womens changing role within the workplace.
Your method? What method would you choose? E.g. An examination
of three TV programs one from each decade: close examination of
the women of one director; consider strengths and limitations of
approaches.
Relationship to theory and other contexts: Feminism, Gaze theory,
social.

My Ideas
How the camera mediates an ideology within television
(documentaries or news)
- Semiotics: how they reinforce the way the camera is purposely
trying to create a side for the audience
- Depicts connotations to make the audience turn against and be
mediated to follow the programs perspective
- Can fuel a moral panic: programs may mediate to help to fuel a
controversial situation
- Argue against with programs such as Life on Death Row: Much
more biased: almost creates a sympathetic side for the
audience despite what theyve done wrong
- Argue about passive and active audiences: Reception theory
- Focusing on the documentary genre itself
Topic: The way we film to set up a specific view
Your Point: How television films in a certain way to purposely set
up a fixed view of the topic/person
Refine It: An exploration as to how the media purposely portrays a
fixed ideology in the last 20 years
Working Question: To what extent do documentaries mediate
dominant ideologies in the last 10 years?
Hypothesis: Mediation is used to intentionally create biased views
for some of the audience through the use of camera

Your Method? What would you choose?: 2 examples each from

documentaries and news reports. One of each in the current decade,
and the other at least 10 years ago.
Relationship to Theories: Hypodermic needle, mediation,
reception theory, moral panic, globalization in politics. Dominant
ideology, documentaries, semiotics (intervenes with ideologies),
hegemony.
Examples: Benefit Street (2014), Life and Death Row(2014), Black
Fish(2012), Religious(2006)