Audience theory 2 - blog tasks

 Audience theory 2: blog tasks

Theory questions and your opinion

1) Social learning theory has been criticised for simplifying the causes of violence in society. Do you think the media is responsible for anti-social behaviour and violence?

No I don't because I think it is deterministic as it doesn't consider the free will that humans have and can use to make their own decisions which is the real cause to violence and when it comes to anti-social behaviour I think free will and also other factors can determine this behaviour such as low self-esteem.

2) How is social learning theory relevant in the digital age? Are young people now learning behaviour from social media and the internet? Give examples.

I think most young people are easily and heavily influenced by societal expectations portrayed in the media but also opinion leaders according to the two-step flow theory which emphasises how social media influencers that share their opinion across their highly followed platforms can impact others who consume their media content and influence their thoughts, opinions about certain things and their daily decisions. So yes the social learning theory is definitely relevant these days due to digital platforms that carry opinion leaders that audiences can observe and imitate as their role models who they may identify with.

3) Research three examples of moral panic from the last 50 years. To what extent was the media responsible for these moral panics? Was the concern in society justified? How have things changed as a result of these moral panics?

1.  violent video games:  Starting in the 1970s and intensifying in the 1980s and 1990s, this panic concerned the belief that video games were inspiring children to commit violent acts.
2. Satanic panic: This panic, which peaked in the 1980s, centred on the unfounded fear that secret Satanic cults were kidnapping and ritually abusing children.
3. Sex offender panic: This ongoing moral panic, which has existed since the 1970s, involves public and media fears about sex offenders and pedophiles and their perceived threat to children. 

4) Read this introduction to an academic paper on technopanics. What examples are given of technopanics that create fear in society? If the link is blocked in school, you can access the text here.

A good example is Artificial Intelligence and it's frequent use being a threat to society as it can act as a replacement of our jobs and human life just because robots are taking over everything including technology as it advances to create artificially intelligent machines that complete the daily tasks that humans may do.

5) Do you think the internet should be regulated? Should the government try and control what we can access online?

I think that some platforms such as social media and streaming services should definitely be regulated to have certain rules and regulations such as age restrictions for young people as some content may be restricted to older audiences due to certain aspects being inappropriate for youngsters.

6) Apply Gerbner's cultivation theory to new and digital media. Is the internet creating a fearful population? Are we becoming desensitised to online threats, trolling and abuse? Is heavy internet use something we should be worried about in society? Write a paragraph discussing these ideas.

I believe that Gerbner's cultivation theory is true to an extent because it emphasises the internet's effect on audiences and their decisions in life but doesn't determine the factor of free will. This theory can seem realistic due to the two step flow theory explaining how opinion leaders on social media and even on TV can influence an audience and their mindset. As a result of TV many audience members may definitely be impacted due to the social learning theory of learning behaviour through observation and imitation based on identification with role models causing them to copy their behaviour and learn from them. However, these theories supporting social influence on audiences are deterministic as they do not consider other factors that may lead to one's behaviour and opinions such as free will. This is because humans have free will to do and think how they please to. Some people are easily influenced and other are not and this is something the Gerbner's theory does not look at and rejects the idea of so I don't fully agree with it.

The effects debate: Media Fact sheet

Complete the following tasks using Media Factsheet 030 - The Effects Debate available on the Media Shared drive. You'll find it in our Media Factsheet archive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. You can also access it via your school Google login here.

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?')

1. Do you play violent video games and/or watch violent films? Are you violent in ‘real life’?

No I do not play video games and I am not a violent person in real life- I also don't like watching violent films.

2. Do you ever see a product advertised on TV or on the internet and decide you want to buy it?

Rarely unless it's from a known, well-established and popular brand that I like.

3. Have you ever seen a documentary which has drawn your attention to an issue which you now feel strongly about?

No I have not.

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

Audience theories regarding the effects of the media on audiences

can be divided into these categories:

• 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? 

• 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

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

The Columbine High School massacre was a school shooting and attempted bombing that occurred at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States, on April 20, 1999.[b] The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students[c] and one teacher; ten were killed in the school library, where Harris and Klebold subsequently died by suicide. Twenty additional people were injured by gunshots, and gunfire was exchanged several times with law enforcement with neither side being struck. Another three people were injured trying to escape. The Columbine massacre was the deadliest mass shooting at a K–12 school in U.S. history until December 2012.

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

Exposure to violent media content: The shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, consumed and were influenced by media with dark and violent themes.

Observational learning and modelling: Social learning theory posits that individuals learn behaviour by observing others (models). The media suggested Harris and Klebold modelled their actions on violent characters in movies or games.

6) How does the factsheet describe Gerbner's Cultivation theory?

This theory considers the way the media affects attitudes rather than behaviour. The media is seen as part of our socialisation process, communicating ‘appropriate’ attitudes and the norms and values of the culture. According to this theory, 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’.

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

Action films primarily reinforce the ideologies that violence is a legitimate, effective, and often necessary solution to conflict, particularly when perpetrated by heroes for a "just" cause like self-defense, protecting national security, or fighting crime. These narratives often glorify violence by associating it with heroism and power, while minimising or ignoring its realistic consequences. 

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

One argument is that these kinds of conversations have more influence on potential behaviour than the media text itself.

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?

The 1970s sitcom Love Thy Neighbour is considered highly controversial today primarily due to its extensive use of overt racial slurs and heavy reliance on racial stereotypes, which are now widely deemed unacceptable for mainstream television. The controversy surrounding Love Thy Neighbour provides a clear illustration of Reception Theory, specifically Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model, which posits that audiences actively interpret media texts based on their own cultural backgrounds and experiences. The meaning of a text is not inherent within the show itself, but is created in the relationship between the text and the reader/viewer. 

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

The creators "encoded" the show with an intended message (the "preferred reading")—that racism is absurd and bigots are foolish. Some viewers (and cast members like Rudolph Walker) understood the show as an anti-racist satire that highlighted the stupidity of prejudice. Other audience members (including some who experienced racism in their daily lives) found the show offensive, arguing it normalised and made racism acceptable by putting slurs into the mainstream and relying on harmful stereotypes.