How does the historical moment of production shape media products, and how does comparing products from different periods reveal change in form, technology and attitudes?
Media contexts: historical contexts. How the historical period, the state of media technology and the conventions of the time shape products, and how comparing an older and a newer product reveals change in media language, representation and industry.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to historical contexts. Covers how the historical period, the state of media technology and the conventions of the time shape products, and how comparing older and newer products reveals change in media language, representation and industry, with the application skills the exam rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
The third strand of OCR's contexts is the historical one. Historical context is the period of production, including the state of media technology and the conventions of the time. Because several set-product areas pair an older and a newer product, you need to use historical context to reveal change (and continuity) in media language, representation and industry.
The answer
What historical context means
OCR builds historical context into the course by pairing older and newer set products (for example two Disney films, or older and newer advertising and magazine texts), so comparison across periods is a core skill.
How the period shapes a product
The historical moment shapes a product in three ways:
- Technology: the cameras, printing, sound and distribution available at the time set the limits. An older product is shaped by the technology of its day; a newer one uses digital tools, online platforms and convergence.
- Conventions: the genres, styles and norms of the time shape its media language. What counts as normal or acceptable changes over decades.
- Attitudes: the prevailing social attitudes (gender norms, racial attitudes, social assumptions) shape its representation, which can look dated or offensive to a later audience.
Comparison reveals change (and continuity)
The most powerful use of historical context is comparison. Setting an older product against a newer one reveals change in:
- Media language: new technology and shifted conventions.
- Representation: changed attitudes to gender, ethnicity and class.
- Industry: changed production, distribution and circulation (linking to convergence).
A strong analysis also notes continuities: some codes, genres and even stereotypes persist, so comparison shows both change and continuity, not change alone.
Examples in context
A strong answer uses historical context comparatively, ties named historical detail to specific features, and judges what the comparison reveals about both change and continuity.
Try this
Q1. Explain how the state of media technology at the time can shape a product. [5 marks]
- What the marker wants. Older products limited by the technology of their day, newer ones using digital tools, online platforms and convergence (AO1), with a brief example.
Q2. Explain what comparing an older and a newer set product reveals about media change. [10 marks]
- Cue. Compare media language, representation and industry across the two periods, and note continuities as well as change (AO2).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H409/02 202110 marksExplain how the historical context shaped one set product you have studied. [10]Show worked answer →
An Explain question (AO1 and AO2). The marker rewards linking the historical period to the product.
Method. Identify the period of production and its conditions: the state of media technology, the conventions of the time, and the prevailing attitudes.
Develop. Show how these shaped the product's media language, representation or industry context. The top band ties named historical detail (the technology or attitudes available at the time) to specific features of the product.
OCR H409/02 202320 marksDiscuss what a comparison of an older and a more recent set product reveals about media change. Refer to set products you have studied. [20]Show worked answer →
An extended essay (AO1 and AO2), shown at the 20-mark cap, marked by levels of response.
For. Comparing products from different periods reveals change in media language (technology and conventions), representation (shifting attitudes) and industry (production and distribution). Apply to a paired older and newer set product (for example two Disney films, or older and newer adverts).
Against. Continuities also persist (universal codes, recurring genres, enduring stereotypes), so comparison shows both change and continuity, not change alone.
Judgement. Comparison across periods reveals significant change in technology, attitudes and industry, but also striking continuities. A judgement grounded in set products reaches the top band.
Related dot points
- Media contexts: social and cultural contexts. How the values, attitudes, social groups and cultural moment of a product's time of production and reception shape its media language, representations and meaning.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to social and cultural contexts. Covers how the values, attitudes, social groups and cultural moment of a product's time shape its media language, representations and meaning, and how products are read differently across contexts, with the application skills the exam rewards.
- Media contexts: economic and political contexts. How funding models, ownership and the wider economy shape products, and how political ideologies, regulation and the press's political alignment shape representation and meaning.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to economic and political contexts. Covers how funding models, ownership and the economy shape products, and how political ideologies, regulation and the press's political alignment shape representation and meaning, with the application skills the exam rewards.
- Media industries: production, distribution and circulation. Vertical and horizontal integration, conglomerates and synergy, convergence and technological change, and the difference between commercial and public service funding models.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to production, distribution and circulation. Covers vertical and horizontal integration, conglomerates and synergy, convergence and technological change, and commercial versus public service funding models, with the application skills the media industries questions reward.
- Set products: film (a Disney pairing, studied for media industry only) and long form television drama (one English-language and one non-English-language drama). Industry comparison of Disney across eras, and the full-framework comparative study of two dramas.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to the film and long form television drama set products. Covers the Disney film pairing studied for media industry, and the comparative study of one English-language and one non-English-language long form TV drama across the whole framework, with the exam skills Component 02 rewards.
- Set products: advertising and marketing (including Score hair cream, Maybelline, Kiss of the Vampire, Galaxy and This Girl Can). Media language and representation across older and newer campaigns, including gender representation and the use of context.
An OCR A-Level Media Studies guide to the advertising and marketing set products, including Score, Maybelline, Kiss of the Vampire, Galaxy and This Girl Can. Covers media language and representation across older and newer campaigns, gender representation, and the use of social and historical context, with the exam skills Component 01 Section B rewards.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level Media Studies (H409) specification — OCR (2023)