Audience Theories And Impact Of Media Content (LO6)

Hypodermic Needle Theory

A term for the impact media products have on their audience, it’s built upon ideas from the 1930s ‘Hypodermic Syringe’ model, where Vance Packard discussed the negative impact of mass media products concerning persuasive advertising across print and broadcast media.

Passive Audience Theory

Passive audience theory builds upon Packard’s idea of mass media being able to inject ideas into people’s heads like a “hypodermic syringe” and reinforces the idea that audiences have limited resistance to media messages. The main concerns were about the idea of ‘copycat’ effects and assuming the audience will copy whatever they see.

Cultivation Theory

Gerbner and Gross's (1978) cultivation theory suggests that over time, repetition of viewing violent acts allows certain ideas and values to become normalised. By repetitively viewing violent images in TV, film or video games the audience may become desensitised to them.

Example

News propaganda for passive audience theory is negative. This may influence their opinions, actions and movements, if they see a protest about 'climate change and they are casting riots may make them join the movement as well.

Drill music is a new movement that promotes crime, drugs, knives etc. This has resulted in younger audiences being influenced and as a result of this, they have to join gangs or now carry knives and commit crimes.

Manuel Alvarado’s theory of representation (LO3)

Manuel Alvarado’s theory of representation of ethnicity in the media (1987) identifies four main categories: Dangerous – plays on the fear of otherness (e.g. terrorist, threatening immigrant, a gang member. Exotic – plays on the appeal of otherness (e.g. wealthy foreign royalty, attractive jungle/desert ‘native’ etc) Pitied, the victim – partly because often the only time many foreign countries appear in our media is when they are suffering some disaster. It may also give a sense of superiority to the ‘other’. Humorous - encouraging us to laugh at representations of ethnicity. Earlier examples of this were often racist humour; more recent ones tend to present and subvert stereotypical terms of race and encourage us to recognise and laugh at stereotypes. Family guy has them all, Dangerous, Exotic, Pitied, Humourous.

Laura Mulvey - Male Gaze (LO3)

I n feminist theory, the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world in the visual arts and in literature from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the heterosexual male viewer. Example of Male Gaze:

Blumler and Katz – Uses and Gratifications (LO6)

Adapted from Denis McQuail’s Audience Pleasures, this active audience theory states we consume media for the following uses and gratifications: •Information and Education – the viewer wants to acquire information, knowledge and understanding by watching programmes like The News or Documentaries. •Entertainment – Viewers watch programmes for enjoyment. •Personal Identity - Viewers can recognise a person or product, or role model that reflects similar values to themselves and mimic or copy some of their characteristics. •Integration and social interaction – the ability of media products to produce a topic of conversation between people. For example who is the best contestant on The X-factor who was the best goal shown on Match of the day. •Escapism – Computer games and action films let viewers escape their real lives and imagine themselves in those situations.

Unit 1 - Media Products and Audiences

Search This Blog