Audience theory 2

 Audience theory 2 

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?

In my opinion, I think the media is responsible for anti-social behaviour and violence because people would sometimes view gruesome or violent acts online thinking it's okay to do to others in real life, and would be influenced by this behaviour. Research also shows that the increased number of hours on social media correlates with aggressive behaviour.

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.

Social learning theory is definitely still relevant in the digital age and young people are learning behaviour from social media. Many young people nowadays are being easily influenced by the media by viewing things from media sources. Examples include the Bobo Doll study, where children were influenced to hit the bobo doll after seeing a video of the adults hitting it. The children doesn't even know what a bobo doll is, but they were easily influenced to do it because of watching the video. This tells us that the media makes us do things unknowingly.

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?

Disappearing Childhood: In 1983, Neil Postman wrote a book titled The Disappearance of Childhood (Postman, 1983). In this book, Postman argued that children are becoming adults too fast. Primarily, he put blame on visual media such as television which give children access to adult knowledge before they could even read.

Immigration: Immigrants are a group who are the topic of recurring moral panics. Media are quick to jump on issues of migrants diluting national identities, committing crimes, and putting a burden on welfare systems. Examples include: 

• In the 2018 midterm elections in the US, widespread fear of migrant caravans heading north from Central America. The fear conveniently faded shortly after the midterms.
• The Australian ‘boat people’ crisis reached its peak in the early 2010s.
• The European Union fear of migrants coming from Africa.
• Fear of Polish immigrants in the UK (Pijpers¸2006)

This is a topic that perhaps deserves some nuance, given the fact open borders would likely have negative impacts on some countries. Therefore, there will always be debate over which concerns are exaggerated moral panics and which are genuine concerns.

The Red Scare: Fear of socialists and communists has been another recurring moral panic throughout the West. Perhaps most evident during the Cold War, this moral panic led to Hollywood blacklists in the era from 1945 – 1960, and Mccarthyism in the 1950s. According to Pontikes, Negro and Rao (2010), the Red Scare even led to fear of people who worked or associated with known left-wing activists in Hollywood. People were disproportionately stigmatised, excluded from employment, and shunned for rewards due to their friendships with left-leaning actors and directors.Again, we can see here that moral panic often occurs as conservative backlash to liberal topics of the day. Conservatives see liberals as undermining national values, the media exaggerates the issue, and liberals downplay the potentially valid concerns.

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.

Online child safety, digital privacy, and cyber security.

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

I believe that there should be enough regulation on the internet to allow people to share their own thoughts with others without being exposed to or encouraged to distribute incorrect information or engage in discriminatory behaviour. People should be subject to some kind of online limitation rather than the government dictating what we can and cannot access.

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.

Gerbner's cultivation theory is still relevant. The internet is creating a fearful population as everyone is now addicted and trapped in their gadgets, that make them anxious to socialise with one another as they are so used to being on their phones. We might be becoming desensitised to negative things online. People might view violent things online, and this could lead to lack of empathy. This links to the cultivation theory as our behaviour may or may not be violent but our beliefs change- in this case we lack empathy and the audience's attitude towards violent acts may be normal, which is very negative. Research suggests that heavy social media use can also be a risk factor for anxiety and depression in teenagers. At the same time, it's important to remember that a lot of what kids do online is age-appropriate and healthy.

The effects debate: Media Factsheet

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?')

Do you play violent games? 

-No, I don't play violent video games.

Are you violent in real life? 

-No, I am not violent in real life.

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

- Yes, if I see a product that I think will benefit me, then yes I would probably decide to buy it.

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

-I have watched documentaries about death penalties and that grew my attention towards that topic. 

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

• Different 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, often known as Columbine, was an attempted bombing and school shooting that took place at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, on April 20, 1999. Twelve students and one instructor were killed by the murderers, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, who were in the twelfth grade. Harris and Klebold later murdered themselves in the school library, where ten of the twelve students who were killed were present. There were twenty-one more gunshot wounds, and there was shooting with the police as well. Three more persons were hurt while attempting to flee. Before the Parkland high school shooting in February 2018, the Columbine massacre stood as the bloodiest mass shooting at a high school in American history.In the state of Colorado, Columbine continues to stand as the deadliest school shooting in American history.

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

• 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.

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?

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

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

Although cultivation theory goes beyond a simple ‘cause and effect’ approach to audience effects, 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. This theory identifies the media as being a negative influence but does not consider forms of ‘high art’ in the same way. Some of Shakespeare’s plays are extremely violent but are not seen to be a problem whereas games and television programmes are open to criticism.

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?

Some texts from the past seem very strange to us. A very popular sit-com in the 1970s called Love Thy Neighbour appears to many modern viewers, racist and offensive. Times have changed and so have people’s attitudes and values. What was acceptable as the topic for

comedy some decades ago, no longer is.

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

Potential readings can, therefore, be:

• the dominant reading

o an acceptance of the intended meaning

• a negotiated reading

o a broad acceptance of the intended meaning but with some personal modification

• an oppositional reading

o an understanding of the intended meaning but a rejection of it in favour of one created by the individual