𝒪𝒮𝒫: 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝒸𝓊𝓈 𝑅𝒶𝓈𝒽𝒻𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒞𝒮𝒫

Language

1) Make two lists - one of website conventions used on Marcus Rashford's official website and one of social media conventions found on Rashford's Twitter or Instagram pages. 

2) How does his website promote the Marcus Rashford brand?

3) What connotations can be be found in the homepage for Marcus Rashford's website (you can mention either the old or new homepage)?

4) How does Marcus Rashford use his social media profiles to promote his brand and campaigns? Give at least three examples of different posts / images / design from his social media. 

5) How does Marcus Rashford's online presence use the narrative of his childhood upbringing to create a positive brand identity?

Representations

1) How does Rashford use different aspects of mise-en-scene (e.g. clothes/costume) to create very different representations of himself on his own website?

2) What representations of football or footballers can you find in Marcus Rashford's online presence? Does it reinforce or subvert traditional stereotypes of footballers?

3) What examples can you find of website pages, social media posts or aspects of the brand that create a positive representation of Marcus Rashford? You may wish to comment on his discussion of family or his campaigns - his page on the FareShare campaign website may help with this question.

4) What representations of masculinity can you find in Marcus Rashford's online presence? Does this reinforce or challenge traditional gender stereotypes?

5) What representations of race/ethnicity can you find in his website or social media? Does this reinforce or challenge media stereotypes? 

Audience

1) Who are the potential target audiences for Marcus Rashford's online content? Try and cover both demographics and psychographics.

2) Marcus Rashford’s online presence is partly driven by his excellent use of social media. How does he use social media to engage with his fans and make them feel part of his brand?

3) What is Marcus Rashford's Instagram engagement rate and what does this tell us? 

4) Go to Marcus Rashford's Twitter or Instagram account. Find and screenshot/link three tweets/posts that show the different aspects of his brand e.g. Relatable person (normal, down to earth), Campaigner (interested in politics), Celebrity footballer (e.g. awards ceremony or fashion).

5) What audience pleasures are provided by Marcus Rashford's online presence? Try and apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory here.

6) Applying Stuart Hall's Reception theory, what would a preferred and oppositional reading of Marcus Rashford's online presence be?

• Preferred reading (people who support Marcus Rashford): 
• Oppositional reading (people who criticise Marcus Rashford): 

Industry

1) What is Marcus Rashford's net worth and how does his online presence help him to make money? 

2) What charities and companies/brands is Marcus Rashford associated with? Why might they want to be linked to the Rashford brand?

3) Research Twitter and Instagram. Who owns the companies, how do they make money and how much profit did they make last year?

4) What are the worries about Instagram’s negative effects?

5) How do social media platforms manage online abuse on their platforms and why has Marcus Rashford drawn attention to this? How might this change in the future?

6) What happened by law in 2022 that changed the way the internet is regulated? Write three changes that this new law may bring in and explain why it is difficult to regulate the internet.

Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Look at this Marcus Rashford tweet. How does this help Rashford create a positive representation of himself and also control the media narrative?

Read this Guardian feature on Marcus Rashford being a Hero of 2020. What representation of Rashford does this offer?

Read this Guardian Books interview with Marcus Rashford. How does Rashford's work on reading and literacy help his reputation? Can you find any other interesting representations here?

Read this news story on Rashford being named one of the top ten most powerful black Britons. What does this suggest about race and ethnicity in Britain and the British media?

How does Marcus Rashford's online presence reflect modern society and culture?

Read this Sky Sports interview with Marcus Rashford saying online abuse should be easier to stop. What does he think the companies should be doing to regulate it?

If you want to test yourself at A Level or even degree level, try reading this chapter from A Level Media theorist Clay Shirky called Publish, Then Filter. How does Shirky suggest the internet has changed the way we engage with the media?