Unit 25
Lo2b Influence and effect theory
In this assignment I am going to be explaining the media effect
theories, the media theories have two different opinions on audiences,
some media theories suggest media audiences are passive and others suggest they are active.
Audiences
In this assignment I will cover approaches or models from active audience theories and passive audience theories these are the Drip-Drip effect, Reception theory, Uses and Gratifications, Hypodermic Needle Theory and the Two Step-Flow Model, these theories help us understand how media audiences take in
information and consume media as well as how they react and respond to media.
Some media analysts believe that the public can easily be
manipulated and are passive, meaning the public only observe and don’t respond
so any information that comes from the television people instantly believe anything the television
says is true and are just being spoon fed information. Some media analysts believe it has a major effect on people’s
behaviors, for example the Jamie Bulger case, this was a tragic event when the
toddler was lured away from his parents by 10 & 11 year old children who beat Jamie to death and put him on a train track, it was intentionally reported that the two
boys where influenced by the film Child's Play 3 (Jack bender, 1993) which features an evil possessed doll named “Chucky” who commits brutal
murders.A social experiment which backs up this idea is the Bobo Doll experiment when children watched violence and aggressive behaviors and then the children would then pick up various house objects and would beat up the Bobo Doll re enacting what they saw as they think its right. (I speak about this in more detail later)
The media can be subtle in the way in which ideas and messages are communicated to audiences and it isn't always obvious but it influences people sentences and structures of how they should view the world and society, for
example the Drip-Drip theory is when you see more and more of the same thing
you will think it’s the right way to act. An example of the drip-drip theory is could be Disney princess films, in the majority of the Disney princess films the princesses
always find their handsome princes and they have a happy ending once they are together,
this means young girls watching these films will automatically assume they will
need to go and find their own prince.
Effect models
Effect models presents the idea that the media has an effect and
influence on people in negative ways in which cannot be prevented the media is frequently seen to cause a moral panic.
Effect models says that the public is a homogeneous which means the same and how everyone wants the same thing.
Effect models says that the public is a homogeneous which means the same and how everyone wants the same thing.
Hypodermic - Passive audience theory
The hypodermic needle models suggest that people believe the media
head on so whatever the media tells them they will instantly believe it. The Bobo Doll experiment is a great example of the hypodermic needle theory as
it features children who have been exposed to violent behaviors and were put in
a room with daily objects along with the Bobo Doll, the children started acting
aggressive against the bobo doll and started using dangerous objects such as a
hammer and a gun. This experiment created by Bandura can be used to support the idea that what people see
from the media has an effect their behaviour. However we don't know how long the children were left alone in the room and being alone in a room could cause them to be aggressive of wanting to get out, and the media could of just shown us a short clip of what they want us to see. The Hypodermic needle theory
says the media is like a gun shooting the bullet straight into the brain, the
hypodermic needle is the best theory for propaganda, and for example Hitler
used the hypodermic theory to brain wash people into thinking Jews were evil
people. When it comes to advertising on television the hypodermic needle theory
inside the advert tricks our minds into thinking we need the product they are
advertising.
Uses and Gratification model – active Audience
The Uses and Gratification model states the audience are
active in choosing media for their own entertainment and pleasure. This theory suggested by Blumber and Katz links to the Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, the hierarchy starts with self-actualization at the top then esteem,
love/belonging, safety and physiology at the bottom, this hierarchy shows what
the viewer will be attracted to the media that most satisfies their needs. The Uses
of Gratification argues back that passive just looks at the content but active
looks at what we choose to watch and also how we the audience interact with media. The Uses Gratification theory created by
Blumber and Katz says we have different uses and have the power to choose what we want to watch. People often use media as a diversion to escape from
problems in the real world and go into a dimension where they have no worries,
they also use the media for personal relationships to make them feel emotional. The media is also used for personal identity to help find
yourself reflected in media, and finally we use the media for surveillance this
is where we use the media to find bargains, weather reports and financial news.
The U&G break down
Information and Surveillance is when we use media such as Google to locate and gain knowledge
to satisfy our curiosity, to educate our self, to find out about our
surroundings in the world and to seek out help on problems from other people’s
opinion. Other examples of this include the News, weather reports and watch dogs where we rely on them programs to give us detailed information and surveillance knowledge.
Personal Identity is when we use the media to find role models and personal behavior as well as identifying
reinforcement for personal values. For example a soap opera such as Correnation street and Eastenders.
Entertainment is when we use the media for escaping and
diverting away from problems as well as wasting time and for personal relaxing,
enjoyment and sexual arousing. For example YouTube is used for entertainment purposes to help people escape from reality.
Interrogation and social interacting/ personal relationships
is when we use the media for social interaction with people including family
members, to gain a sense of belonging, used to have a basic conversation,
helping social roles, gaining insight knowledge of others as well as gaining
and insight of circumstances. For example Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are all social media sites where people can meet from around the world to interact with others and have personal relationships.
Drip-Drip effect
The Drip-Drip effect is when the media slowly drips
information in your head until your mind has been completely turned into making
you believe something is true, the Drip-Drip effect also continuously drips
more and more information inside when you watch more and more of a video or
listen to a radio more. For example Disney princesses are a great idea of the
Drip-Drip effect as all the princesses find a price and have a happy ending and
this would encourage young girls to think they need to find a boyfriend in
order to live happily. Another example is adverts, adverts on television can be tempting and when you keep viewing and watching the same advert over and over again this slowly drips into your mind that you will need the product, a particular advert that keeps on playing is the Nerf gun adverts on Cartoon networks, this could slowly drip into the kids mind on genre stereo types as they advertise girls Nerf gun with the colour pink and the boys Nerf gun with the colour blue.
Two-Step Flow Model
The Two-Step Flow model is when the mass media has an effect
on people giving them two different opinions and the people with the two
different options are known as the opinion leaders, the opinion leaders then
share their information with other people causing a debate between the two
different opinions, for example the way the news reported on Brexit had created two different opinion leaders one being David Cameron who was against
Brexit and the other being Nigel Farage who was for Brexit and both opinion leaders had an effect on the public, they then
influenced the public on the two different opinions and then came down to a
vote for a final conclusion.
Reception theory – Active Audience
Uses and Gratification has it's problems and limitations
that’s where Stuart Hall comes in. The Reception theory was created by Stuart
Hall in the 1970’s.
Encoding/Decoding
Encoding is a message which is present in a film and when
the audience watch the film they decode the message by the symbolic events
which happen in the film and take in the information from the creator of the
film who made the message.
The audience receive three different opinions after watching a show or film, they might choose to agree to the message of the story, for example the news, they might decide to kinda agree but kinda don't agree which means their minds are undecided weather to believe the message of the show/film, or they might choose to disagree fully which means the encoded message doesn't relate to the person or change their opinions.
The audience receive three different opinions after watching a show or film, they might choose to agree to the message of the story, for example the news, they might decide to kinda agree but kinda don't agree which means their minds are undecided weather to believe the message of the show/film, or they might choose to disagree fully which means the encoded message doesn't relate to the person or change their opinions.
From all the research I’ve gathered I have successfully come
down to a conclusion that the effect theories do have a massive effect on the
audience, I personally believe the hypodermic needle theory used to be one of
the most strongest and effective theory in the past as the hypodermic needle theory was
used in Germany by the Nazi party to gain power in Germany and brainwashed
people into believing Jews were evil. However in today's world more people own their own TV and are an active audience, however some theories are not that
effective for example the drip-drip effect that would have to take time for the
audience to digest before believing something is true. Finally In my opinion I
believe the public are an active audience since we have the power to choose
what we want but at the same time I also think the audience are passive since
society rely too much on the media, but the Uses and Gratification theory put
my opinion in favour for the audience being active as we do choose what we want
to watch in order to feel our needs.
By Charlie Bunn
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