Audience: Effects Theories
1) Complete the questions in the first activity box (beginning with 'Do you play violent games? Are you violent in real life?')
2) What are the four categories for different effects theories?
3) What are the examples provided for the hypodermic needle theory - where media texts have been blamed for certain events?
4) What was the 1999 Columbine massacre? You may need to research this online in addition to the information on the factsheet.
5) What are the reasons listed on the factsheet to possibly explain the Columbine High School massacre?
6) What does Gerbner's Cultivation theory suggest?
1) 1. Do you play violent video games and/or watch violent films? Are you violent in ‘real life’?
I do not play violent video games often but do watch violent films. This has not led me to be violent.
2. Do you ever see a product advertised on TV or on the internet and decide you want to buy it?
Yes.
3. Have you ever seen a documentary which has drawn your attention to an issue which you now feel strongly about?
Yes.
2) The four categories for different effects theories are:
• Direct Effect Theories
• Diffusion Theories
• Indirect Effect Theories
• The Pluralist Approach
3) The examples provided for the hypodermic needle theory where some texts havej been blamed for certain events is the movie Child’s Play where because of this there was a murder of a child names Jamie Bulger. Also, Marilyn Manson which lead to a shooting at the Columbine High School. The film Natural Born Killers lead to numerous murders committed by romantically linked couples.
4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre
The Columbine High School massacre was a school shooting that occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an incorporated area of Jefferson County in the American state of Colorado. In addition to the shootings, the complex and highly planned attack involved a fire bomb to divert firefighters, propane tanks converted to bombs placed in the cafeteria, 99 explosive devices, and car bombs. The perpetrators, senior students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher. They injured 21 additional people, and three more were injured while attempting to escape the school. The pair subsequently committed suicide.
5) The reasons listed on the Columbine High School is:
6) Gerbner's Cultivation theory suggests that the media impacts attitudes rather than behaviour. The media is considered part of our socialisation process, communicating ‘appropriate’ attitudes and the norms and values of the culture. His theory also suggests that while any one media text does not have too much effect, repeated exposure to certain ideas and values may make the audience less critical of the ideas presented as they appear ‘normal’. The key ideas here are that:
• Through repetition attitudes, ideas and values may become normalised or naturalised; they are accepted rather than considered
• Through repetition the audience may become desensitised towards negative and/or violent representations
7) How does this front page of the Daily Mail (Wednesday 16 November) link to Cultivation theory?
This front page links to Cultivation theory as under 5s are "glued" to screens for 4 hours each day which suggests that this had become part of their socialisation process and in effect has probably changed their attitude towards certain things. This has now become their norms and values in their society.
8) What does the factsheet suggest about action films and the values and ideologies that are reinforced with regards to violence?
9) What criticisms of direct effect theories are suggested in the factsheet?
10) Why might the 1970s sitcom Love Thy Neighbour be considered so controversial today? What does this tell us about Reception theory and how audiences create meanings?
11) What examples are provided for Hall's theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings?
12) Which audience theory do you think is most convincing? Why? It is important that you develop critical autonomy in judging the arguments for and against different theories and form your own opinion on these issues.
8) The factsheet suggests that action films and the values and ideologies that are reinforced with regards to violence is that violence for a good reason is acceptable whereas violence for a bad reason is not acceptable and should be punished.
9) The criticism of direct effect theories suggested in the factsheet is that this theory assumes and makes simplified judgements about the audience. Meaning that it judges the audience as a whole instead of focusing on individuals and how media can effect different types of people and therefore is a generalisation.
10) This sitcom may be considered controversial today as this may appear as racist and offensive and there have been changes in norms and values in society which means that the theory portrayed in this sitcom is not longer accepted. This tells us that the Reception theory is portrayed through this as the audience have created meanings from individual factors and one being race as this is viewed as racist.
11) The examples provided for Hall's theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings are that someone people who are familiar with violent behaviour may find that violent images evokes that side of them and someone who has a weakness for chocolate might be tempted to buy some after watching an advert.
12) The audience theory that is most convincing in my opinion is the Cultivation Theory. This is because this offers a range of reasons for why society accept or not through the repeated exposure that they get to a certain media text. For example, when the Ebola crisis had arised, this was an issue that faced the world many years ago but there was not as much uproaral as a cause of the media for it. As a result of modern and ongoing exposure to the news that Ebola is facing people, this caused the audience to panic and caused this information to be extendibly scare everyone. Now that this issue is not in the media anymore people are less concerned about it. However, this theory may have a critic as it suggests that if something in the media is portrayed for a repeated number of times, this is what causes a reaction or acceptance by the audience. This may not always be true as sometimes news or matters in the media may have only appeared in there for the first time and has got an instant reaction from the audience. Also, audience may not always be desensitised to certain subjects when it is repeated in the media for example, issues that are arising with cancer or health issues. Alot of the time, audiences are not desensitised by this, they become more knowledgable and engage more with this.
5) The reasons listed on the Columbine High School is:
- The easy of access to firearms and the social acceptance of gun ownership.
- The alienation felt by teenagers who felt as though they did not fit in.
- The hopelessness caused by living in an area where unemployment was high and was economically disadvantaged.
- The general desensitisation caused by access to a range of violent images: film, TV, the news, the internet.
6) Gerbner's Cultivation theory suggests that the media impacts attitudes rather than behaviour. The media is considered part of our socialisation process, communicating ‘appropriate’ attitudes and the norms and values of the culture. His theory also suggests that while any one media text does not have too much effect, repeated exposure to certain ideas and values may make the audience less critical of the ideas presented as they appear ‘normal’. The key ideas here are that:
• Through repetition attitudes, ideas and values may become normalised or naturalised; they are accepted rather than considered
• Through repetition the audience may become desensitised towards negative and/or violent representations
7) How does this front page of the Daily Mail (Wednesday 16 November) link to Cultivation theory?
This front page links to Cultivation theory as under 5s are "glued" to screens for 4 hours each day which suggests that this had become part of their socialisation process and in effect has probably changed their attitude towards certain things. This has now become their norms and values in their society.
8) What does the factsheet suggest about action films and the values and ideologies that are reinforced with regards to violence?
9) What criticisms of direct effect theories are suggested in the factsheet?
10) Why might the 1970s sitcom Love Thy Neighbour be considered so controversial today? What does this tell us about Reception theory and how audiences create meanings?
11) What examples are provided for Hall's theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings?
12) Which audience theory do you think is most convincing? Why? It is important that you develop critical autonomy in judging the arguments for and against different theories and form your own opinion on these issues.
8) The factsheet suggests that action films and the values and ideologies that are reinforced with regards to violence is that violence for a good reason is acceptable whereas violence for a bad reason is not acceptable and should be punished.
9) The criticism of direct effect theories suggested in the factsheet is that this theory assumes and makes simplified judgements about the audience. Meaning that it judges the audience as a whole instead of focusing on individuals and how media can effect different types of people and therefore is a generalisation.
10) This sitcom may be considered controversial today as this may appear as racist and offensive and there have been changes in norms and values in society which means that the theory portrayed in this sitcom is not longer accepted. This tells us that the Reception theory is portrayed through this as the audience have created meanings from individual factors and one being race as this is viewed as racist.
11) The examples provided for Hall's theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings are that someone people who are familiar with violent behaviour may find that violent images evokes that side of them and someone who has a weakness for chocolate might be tempted to buy some after watching an advert.
12) The audience theory that is most convincing in my opinion is the Cultivation Theory. This is because this offers a range of reasons for why society accept or not through the repeated exposure that they get to a certain media text. For example, when the Ebola crisis had arised, this was an issue that faced the world many years ago but there was not as much uproaral as a cause of the media for it. As a result of modern and ongoing exposure to the news that Ebola is facing people, this caused the audience to panic and caused this information to be extendibly scare everyone. Now that this issue is not in the media anymore people are less concerned about it. However, this theory may have a critic as it suggests that if something in the media is portrayed for a repeated number of times, this is what causes a reaction or acceptance by the audience. This may not always be true as sometimes news or matters in the media may have only appeared in there for the first time and has got an instant reaction from the audience. Also, audience may not always be desensitised to certain subjects when it is repeated in the media for example, issues that are arising with cancer or health issues. Alot of the time, audiences are not desensitised by this, they become more knowledgable and engage more with this.
