Audience Theory 3

Factsheet 30

Activity
1)Sometimes as i watch tv shows and movies that have violent scenes but i dont usually play video games and i am not violent in real life.

2)Occasionally, as it depends what the product is and whether its something i actually like and would use.

3)

Blog questions

1) What are the four categories for different effects theories?

-Direct effect theories
-Diffusion theories
-Indirect effect theories
-The pluralist approach

2)What are the examples provided for the hypodermic needle theory - where media texts have been blamed for certain events? 

- Child’s Play – The murder of Jamie Bulger
- Marilyn Manson – The Columbine High School shootings
- Natural Born Killers – a number of murders committed by romantically linked couples. In one case, the director was sued for inciting violence although the court case was later dismissed

3)What was the 1999 Columbine massacre? You may need to research this online in addition to the information on the factsheet.

On April 20, 1999, two teens went on a shooting spree at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, killing 13 people and wounding more than 20 others before turning their guns on themselves and committing suicide. The crime was the worst high school shooting in U.S. history and prompted a national debate on gun control and school safety, as well as a major investigation to determine what motivated the gunmen. Some people realised that the students were fans of Marylin Manson - a rock singer who made references to anti-religious topics and references to sex, violence and drugs - leading some audiences to believe that this was what lead to the students' motive.

4)What are the reasons listed on the factsheet to possibly explain the Columbine High School massacre?

-Listening to Marilyn Manson caused teenagers to open fire in a high school killing students and teachers.
-The Columbine High School shootings occurred due to a complex relationship between:
     *The ease 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.

5)What does Gerbner's Cultivation theory suggest?

Gerbner researched whether watching tv influences the audiences ideas and perception of everyday life. His theory suggests that tv viewing can have a long term, gradual but significant effects on the audiences attitudes and beliefs. 

Cultivation theory states that high frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the belief that they are real and valid.

Heavy viewers are exposed to more violence and therefore are affected by the Mean World Syndrome, the belief that the world is a far worse and dangerous place than it actually is; heavy viewing of tv is creating a homogeneous and fearful populace.

6)How does this front page of the Daily Mail (from this week - Wednesday 16 November) link to Cultivation theory?

This article addresses the fact that children are becoming addicted to digital technology in the article. This idea is also planted in the consumers mind as soon as they see the cover as the heading states 'under 5's glued to screens 4 hours each day'. This links to the cultivation theory as the article also explains that  screen time is substituting for vital developmental necessities like all-round physical motor skills and social and communication skills, supporting the idea that the more time people spend 'living' in the world of technology has an effect on they way they think and perceive things in the real world, as the article also states that it is having a 'negative physiological effect on the brain' and headteachers have also reported that 'children seem less empathetic and have shorter attention spans than before.'

7)What does the factsheet suggest about action films and the values and ideologies that are reinforced with regards to violence?

The facstsheet suggests that there are two types of violence - good and bad. Good violence would be when violence is used for reasons such as: protecting a family member or stopping a criminal. Bad violence would be when it is used for things such as: financial gain or fun, threatening weaker people and threatening the state/government.

8)What criticisms of direct effect theories are suggested in the factsheet?

Critics see both these direct theories as having an elitist element suggesting a judgement is being made about the mass audience as they are assumed to be easily led and not perceptive or self-aware. The individual nature of the members of the audience is not taken into account.

9)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?

Love Thy Neighbour appears to many modern viewers, racist and offensive. Times have changed and so have people’s attitudes and values as we are surrounded by different races and religions in society so racism is no longer accepted (by some people). This proves that Stuart Hall's theory that media texts are polysemic is true as the example shows how what used to be seen as comedy (the preferred reading) is now seen a racist and unacceptable (a counter-hegemonic reading).

10) What examples are provided for Hall's theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings?

The Sun and The Guardian as they often report the same ‘facts’ very differently.

11)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.

I think that Hall's reception theory and the 'Uses and Gratifications' theory are the most convincing audience theories, as i agree that audiences are free to interpret the media in different ways as there is a lot of evidence that can prove this. It is one of the most logical theories as every ones minds work differently and not everyone will think the same thing or agree with each other, which leads to different audiences perceiving the media in different ways. I also believe that audiences make a conscious decision as to what they view online as people use technology for different things such as personal identity or surveillance.