Audience

Effects theory

Read Media Factsheet 030 - Media and Audiences -The Effects Debate and answer the following questions:

1) Complete the questions in the first activity box (beginning with 'Do you play violent games? Are you violent in real life?')

• I have seen some violent films and played violent games but i don't watch/play it regularly. I like to think i am not violent to that extent because i know the limits. i wouldn't hurt anyone unintentionally but if i was angry i have been known to break things.
• Not all the time. Advertisements don't always affect what i decide to buy but it helps me decide if one product is better than another.
• Not that i can remember

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


• Direct Effect Theories
• Diffusion Theories
• Indirect Effect Theories
• The Pluralist Approach

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

• if someone watches violence, they will become violent or accept violence

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

• School shooting - 20 April
• 2 senior student 
• Murdered 12 students, 1 teacher
• Injured - 24 additional people

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

• Marilyn Manson
• Teenagers who felt like they didn't fit in and were left out
• hopelessness - high unemployment, economic disadvantage
• General desensitisation
• Ease of access to firearms and acceptance of gun ownership

6) What does Gerbner's Cultivation theory suggest?

• This theory suggest that its not about how the media effects our behaviour but how it effects our attitude to certain things. Its part of our socialisation and repeated exposure to certain things in the media makes it seem more normal to the audience.

7) How does this front page of the Daily Mail (from this week - Wednesday 16 November) link to Cultivation theory? The Mail Online version of the story is here.

This links to the theory because over time we as an audience have been socialised to think that the younger generation are always on some kind of technology. Also that women that are older want to look younger.


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

• Violence for a ‘good’ reason is acceptable.
• Violence for a ‘bad’ reason must be punished.

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

• The theory is too simplistic
• Doesn't consider the many other factors that can affect an audience's behaviour 
• Very little evidence to support the theory

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?

• People's thought process and mindset have changed a lot since then so what was funny back then may not be seen as funny now especially since things are more equal than it was back then and the types of things the show included were quite racist and offensive. Therefore may spark up tension.


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

• Preferred - an acceptance of the intended meaning
• Negotiated - a broad acceptance of the intended meaning but with
some personal modification
• Oppositional - an understanding of the intended meaning but a rejection
of it in favour of one created by the individual

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.

For me the audience theory that is most convincing to me is the indirect effect theories. This is because i believe that nowadays the audience have some control over what they are affected by. Certain topics may affect them more than another because of their personal experiences with it. For example their religious beliefs may effect their values and therefore interpret and accept certain information differently to someone of a different religion.