GCSE Media Studies: How many set theorists do students need to know?

The named theorists at GCSE are Propp and Blumler and Katz.  

For Media Language, students should know theories of narrative, including those derived by Propp (e.g. character types).  

For Media Audiences, students should know Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory.  Further detail on uses and gratifications can be found in the Teacher Guide for Television available on Teach Cambridge (Version 1 – final assessment 2024; Version 2 – first assessment 2025).

In addition, students should be aware of the following theoretical perspectives:

For Media Language they should be aware of semiotic analysis and theoretical perspectives on genre.

For Media Representations, they should know theoretical perspectives including processes of selection, construction and mediation, and theoretical approaches to gender and representation, including feminist perspectives.

For Media Audiences students should be aware of theoretical perspectives including active and passive audiences, and audience response and interpretation.

At GCSE level students are not expected to have incredibly detailed knowledge of theoretical perspectives. They should be aware of the main concepts and perspectives of the above, and to be able to use them in an answer.