Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Media effects homework

Answer the question: How might the media affect audience behaviour?

Remember that the key word is 'might'. You need to engage with media effects and how different theorists view the media. You all have an article from the lesson and there will also be several things on the blog for you to look at and help you develop your answer.
You should include:
  • Hypodermic Syringe Theory
  • Cultivation Theory
  • Two-Step Flow Theory
  • Reception Analysis
  • Pluralism
  • Give examples from within the media
This should be written in essay style and it should be about 2 A4 pages.

Click the links below to view a few powerpoints:

 Powerpoint 1

Powerpoint 2

2 comments:

  1. How might the media affect audience behaviour?


    There are many ways to which the media may have an affect on audiences behaviour. Whether it’s a book, television series or a film. There are a number of theories that suggest that media products are in some cases responsible for how people behave. These include the Hypodermic syringe, Two Step Flow and Cultivation theories.

    The Hypodermic syringe theory suggests that media injects ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience. The only problem is that they are affected in different ways and people are also now more aware of the media trying to inject ideas into their heads. However in some cases this theory has proven to be of use. One example would be the Jamie Bulger case which the film Childs Play 3 is speculated to have been the inspiration behind the murder. This example proves that the Hypodermic Syringe theory explains that the murderers perhaps watched the movie and then wanted to conduct their own murderous acts on an unsuspecting and innocent victim.

    The Two Step Flow theory claims that audiences are more likely to be affected by the media if they discuss it with friends or family and their opinions are altered by so called opinion leaders. Opinion leaders are able to manipulate people in to discarding what they think about something and changing their opinion to what is deemed to be most popular. For example if a certain opinion leader takes an interest in a character for something like a television or book series and then says how much they like the character then the followers are more likely to adopt the opinion and think it for themselves.

    The Cultivation theory explains that the more an audience spends time living in a fictional world the more they are likely to believe it as a social reality. An excellent example for this, which could also be considered under the Hypodermic syringe theory, is the Aurora shootings. At a premiere of the then newly released film and final installment of the Dark Knight trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, a man who was said to have dressed allegedly by two federal authorities as The Joker walked into the midnight screening and open fired. Although the man is suspected to be mentally ill this is a direct comparison to the psycho villain from the previous movie of the same franchise. This could perhaps be proven that the shooter had watched the movies and his mental health side became obsessed with the universe.

    The Reception Analysis theory suggests that the audience relate and interpret the meanings of a text based on their own backgrounds and how we as an audience make different polysemic meanings from the same media.

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  2. http://susiebeckmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/how-might-media-affect-audience_3.html

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