The effects debate
1) Complete the questions in the first activity box (beginning with 'Do you play violent games? Are you violent in real life?')
1) Yes I do play violent video games because I enjoy playing them and I also love watching violent video games because I get excited by the fast paced action and movement in the films.
2)Yes I do see advertisements where a product has been advertised and I would like to buy it such as games and clothing.
3)No I haven't seen a documentary where a issue has been brought up and I feel strongly about it now because I don't really like watching documentaries.
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?
This theory is largely discredited as it makes simplified judgements about the audience. However, it is still used politically as a criticism of certain media texts.
Some texts which have been blamed for specific 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 fact-sheet.
On April 20, 1999, two teens went on a shooting spree at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, killing 13 people and wounding more than 20 others before turning their guns on themselves and committing suicide. The crime was the worst high school shooting in U.S. history and prompted a national debate on gun control and school safety, as well as a major investigation to determine what motivated the gunmen, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17. There was speculation that the two committed the killings because they had been bullied, were members of a group of social outcasts that was fascinated by Goth culture, or had been influenced by violent video games and music; however none of these theories was ever proven.
5) What are the reasons listed on the factsheet to possibly explain the Columbine High School massacre?
The Columbine High School shootings occurred due to a complex relationship between:
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’.
The key ideas here are that:
• Through repetition attitudes, ideas and values may become normalised or naturalised; they are accepted rather than considered.
• Through repetition the audience may become desensitised towards negative and/or violent representations
Often more vulnerable groups are a main consideration.
7) How does this front page of the Daily Mail (from this week - Wednesday 16 November) link to Cultivation theory?
This front page links to the cultivation theory because the theory talks about TV viewing can have long-term, gradual but significant effects on the audience’s attitudes and beliefs (rather than behaviour). So the shows that the children watch will have a big influence on there set of beliefs and attitudes which could lead them to believing in it in the real world. I think that the longer the children watch these shows the more they are going to believe in them. For example, South park is a american, animated series which has references to politics and historic people which could then lead the audience to changing their believes and attitudes and agreeing with the show itself and then transferring these believes and attitudes in to the real life such as when voting for prime minister and who will be controlling our country.
Finally, children who watch violent movies and shows on a regular basis will make them believe that the real world is a dangerous place but it actually it really isn't.
8) What does the fact sheet suggest about action films and the values and ideologies that are reinforced with regards to violence?
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 and debate.
9) What criticisms of direct effect theories are suggested in the fact sheet?
Two-Step Theory (Katz and Lagerfield)
This theory acknowledges that we often access media texts with others or, if alone, we may well talk about our media experiences with our friends and family later. One argument is that these kinds of
conversations have more influence on potential behaviour than the media text itself.
A theory that springs from this idea is called the two-step theory which says that, whatever our experience of the media, we are likely to discuss it with others. If we respect their opinion (the theory calls these people opinion leaders), the chances are that we may be affected by the opinion leaders’ responses as well as by the text itself.
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?
Some texts from the past seem very strange to us. A very popular sitcom 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.
11) What examples are provided for Hall's theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings?
The same information can be presented (encoded) in different ways. The Sun and The Guardian may report the same ‘facts’ very differently.
Even when media producers try to ‘close down’ meaning all media texts contain more than one potential reading.
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.
The audience theory that is most convincing is the cultivation theory because the theory has more complexity to it compared to the other theories which are quite simple. Also, the social learning theory is quite simple and some people will think that the theory is only tested on children so it it only applies to children bu it actually doesn't. The moral panic is to simple in my opinion. The cultivation theory is the most convincing because things like the theory have come up in the news and papers and also you can see this when people are voting for things and some peoples decision has changed because a certain media source has convinced them to.
1) Yes I do play violent video games because I enjoy playing them and I also love watching violent video games because I get excited by the fast paced action and movement in the films.
2)Yes I do see advertisements where a product has been advertised and I would like to buy it such as games and clothing.
3)No I haven't seen a documentary where a issue has been brought up and I feel strongly about it now because I don't really like watching documentaries.
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?
This theory is largely discredited as it makes simplified judgements about the audience. However, it is still used politically as a criticism of certain media texts.
Some texts which have been blamed for specific 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 fact-sheet.
On April 20, 1999, two teens went on a shooting spree at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, killing 13 people and wounding more than 20 others before turning their guns on themselves and committing suicide. The crime was the worst high school shooting in U.S. history and prompted a national debate on gun control and school safety, as well as a major investigation to determine what motivated the gunmen, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17. There was speculation that the two committed the killings because they had been bullied, were members of a group of social outcasts that was fascinated by Goth culture, or had been influenced by violent video games and music; however none of these theories was ever proven.
5) What are the reasons listed on the factsheet to possibly explain the Columbine High School massacre?
The Columbine High School shootings occurred due to a complex relationship between:
- 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.
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’.
The key ideas here are that:
• Through repetition attitudes, ideas and values may become normalised or naturalised; they are accepted rather than considered.
• Through repetition the audience may become desensitised towards negative and/or violent representations
Often more vulnerable groups are a main consideration.
7) How does this front page of the Daily Mail (from this week - Wednesday 16 November) link to Cultivation theory?
This front page links to the cultivation theory because the theory talks about TV viewing can have long-term, gradual but significant effects on the audience’s attitudes and beliefs (rather than behaviour). So the shows that the children watch will have a big influence on there set of beliefs and attitudes which could lead them to believing in it in the real world. I think that the longer the children watch these shows the more they are going to believe in them. For example, South park is a american, animated series which has references to politics and historic people which could then lead the audience to changing their believes and attitudes and agreeing with the show itself and then transferring these believes and attitudes in to the real life such as when voting for prime minister and who will be controlling our country.
Finally, children who watch violent movies and shows on a regular basis will make them believe that the real world is a dangerous place but it actually it really isn't.
8) What does the fact sheet suggest about action films and the values and ideologies that are reinforced with regards to violence?
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 and debate.
9) What criticisms of direct effect theories are suggested in the fact sheet?
Two-Step Theory (Katz and Lagerfield)
This theory acknowledges that we often access media texts with others or, if alone, we may well talk about our media experiences with our friends and family later. One argument is that these kinds of
conversations have more influence on potential behaviour than the media text itself.
A theory that springs from this idea is called the two-step theory which says that, whatever our experience of the media, we are likely to discuss it with others. If we respect their opinion (the theory calls these people opinion leaders), the chances are that we may be affected by the opinion leaders’ responses as well as by the text itself.
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?
Some texts from the past seem very strange to us. A very popular sitcom 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.
11) What examples are provided for Hall's theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings?
The same information can be presented (encoded) in different ways. The Sun and The Guardian may report the same ‘facts’ very differently.
Even when media producers try to ‘close down’ meaning all media texts contain more than one potential reading.
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.
The audience theory that is most convincing is the cultivation theory because the theory has more complexity to it compared to the other theories which are quite simple. Also, the social learning theory is quite simple and some people will think that the theory is only tested on children so it it only applies to children bu it actually doesn't. The moral panic is to simple in my opinion. The cultivation theory is the most convincing because things like the theory have come up in the news and papers and also you can see this when people are voting for things and some peoples decision has changed because a certain media source has convinced them to.
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