UNIT 25 TELEVISION & VIDEO STUDIES

INFLUENCE AND EFFECTS: EFFECTS THEORIES

JAI SUNNER

INTRODUCTION

• IN THIS ASSIGNMENT I WILL BE EXPLAIN EACH OF THE MEDIA AUDIENCE THEORIES I HAVE EXPLORED, I WILL ALSO BE APPLYING EXAMPLES TO THE THEORIES RELATING TO TELEVISION/FILM. I WILL ALSO DISCUSS PASSIVE AND ACTIVE AUDIENCE THEORIES AND EXPLAIN WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW THEY CAN BE APPLIED

PASSIVE AUDIENCE THEORY AND ACTIVE AUDIENCE

• ACTIVE AUDIENCE IS SEEN AS A DIRECT CONTRAST TO THE EFFECTS THEORY, THE THEORY ARGUES THAT MEDIA IS ACTIVELY INVOLVED. THIS SUGGESTS THAT IT RELIES ON WHAT THE AUDIENCE DOES WITH THE MEDIA RATHER THAN WHAT THE MEDIA DOES TO US. IT IS SAID THAT AS AN ACTIVE AUDIENCE, THEY WILL INVOLVE THEMSELVES MORE, THEY WILL QUESTION WHAT THEY SEE AND DEVELOP AN INTERPRETATION OF THEIR OWN UNDERSTANDING AND EXPERIENCES.

• PASSIVE AUDIENCE IS USUALLY NOT ACTIVELY ENGAGED, THIS TYPE OF AUDIENCE WILL NOT QUESTION ANY MESSAGE THAT IS SENT FROM THE MEDIA. THEY WILL SIMPLY ACCEPT THE MESSAGE IN WHICHEVER WAY THE MEDIA HAD PRESENTED IT TO THEM.

USES AND GRATIFICATION

• THE USES AND GRATIFICATION THEORY DEALS WITH WHAT AUDIENCE DO WITH THE MEDIA RATHER THAN WHAT THE MEDIA DOES WITH IT. THE THEORY FOCUSES MORE ON CONSUMERS AND AUDIENCE RATHER THAN THE ACTUAL MESSAGE ITSELF. FOR EXAMPLE ASKING PEOPLE ‘WHAT THEY THINK OF THE MEDIA RATHER THAN ‘WHAT MEDIA DOES TO PEOPLE (KATZ 1959). USES AND GRATIFICATION ARGUE THAT OTHER INDIVIDUALS NEEDS INFLUENCE HOW THEY USE AND RESPOND TO A MEDIUM(TYPE OF MEDIA FORMAT). THE THEORY TELL US THAT BOREDOM ENCOURAGES THE CHOICE OF EXCITING AND ENTERTAINING CONTENT AND STRESS ENCOURAGES A CHOICE OF RELAXING AND PEACEFUL CONTENT. THIS ALSO LINKS TO THE FACT THAT DIFFERENT TV PROGRAMMES GRATIFY DIFFERENT NEEDS TO CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS. NEEDS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE INDIVIDUALS PERSONALITY, BACKGROUND AND MIND-SET. BLUMLER, KATZ AND MCQUAIL MADE LINKS BETWEEN MASLOWS HIERARCHY OF NEEDS AND HOW PEOPLE USE THE MEDIA.

SURVEILLANCE

• SURVEILLANCE IS ONE OF THE 4 PRIMARILY NEEDS THAT IS SHOWN TO SATISFY THE MEDIA THROUGH THIS THEORY.

• USING THE MEDIA TO FIND OUT WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND US, POLITICALLY AND GLOBALLY, FOR EXAMPLE WATCHING THE NEWS OR READING THE NEWSPAPER WILL GIVE US INFORMATION ON OUR LOCAL SOCIETY OR NEWS ON THE TELEVISION LIKE BBC NEWS OR ITV NEWS TELLS US ALL THE INFORMATION WE NEED TO KNOW. THIS TYPE OF INFORMATION COULD BE IMPORTANT FOR SOME BUT MOST WILL NOT PAY ATTENTION TO IT. IT IS INFORMATION THAT YOU WILL WANT KNOW OUT OF CURIOSITY AND FOR YOUR OWN NEEDS.

PERSONAL IDENTITY

• PERSONAL IDENTITY IS ANOTHER PRIMARILY NEED THAT BLUMLER FEEL IS NEEDS TO BE PUT IN THIS THEORY AS IT IS A SATISFYING NEED.

• PERSONAL IDENTITY IS TEXTS THAT REINFORCE YOUR VALUES AND BELIEFS. FOR EXAMPLE SOME PEOPLE MAY CHOOSE TO WATCH CORONATION STREET (A TELEVISION PROGRAMME BASED ON REAL LIFE) BECAUSE THEY NEED REASSURANCE THAT THEY ARE LIVING THE CORRECT WAY.

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

• BLUMLER AND KATZ BELIEVE THAT THE AUDIENCE USES MEDIA TEXTS AS A TOOL TO BOND WITH OTHERS, THEY SAY IT IS A POWERFUL BOND PEOPLE CAN MAKE WITH FIGURES AND THE MEDIA. THIS THEORY ALSO NEIGHBOURS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR OWN/EACH OTHERS LIVES, THIS COULD BE BECAUSE THERE ARE EPISODES AND TV SHOWS PEOPLE WATCH JUST BECAUSE OTHERS ARE TALKING ABOUT IT OR FIND IT INTERESTING.

DIVERSION

BLUMLER AND KATZ SAY PEOPLE MAY USE THE MEDIA TEXTS AS A SOURCE OF ESCAPISM. THIS COULD BE TO GET AWAY FROM YOUR PROBLEMS OR JUST A STRESSFUL DAY AT WORK. USING VIDEO GAMES LIKE GTA OR LISTENING TO MUSIC BEFORE BED WOULD USUALLY SHOW A SIGN OF RELAXATION OR ‘ESCAPING’ PROBLEMS. DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEDIA WILL SUIT DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE AS AGAIN IT LINKS TO WHAT SUITS THE AUDIENCE BEST.

TWO STEP FLOW MODEL

• TWO STEP FLOW OF COMMUNICATION SAYS THAT MOST PEOPLE FORM THEIR OPINIONS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF OPINION LEADERS, WHO IN TURN ARE INFLUENCED BY THE MASS MEDIA. THE HYPODERMIC NEEDLE THEORY PROPOSES THAT THE MEDIA HAS A DIRECT AND POWERFUL INFLUENCE ON AUDIENCES. KATZ PUBLISHED A BOOK CALLED PERSONAL INFLUENCE TO BACK UP THIS THEORY.

• THIS THEORY SUGGESTS THAT THE AUDIENCES ARE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS.

• ACCORDING TO STUDIES NEWS FIND ITS WAY TO PEOPLE THROUGH A NUMBER OF INFLUENTIAL LEADERS.

HYPODERMIC NEEDLE MODEL

• THIS THEORY WAS DEVELOPED IN THE 1920’S AND 1930’S. IT IS PRESENTED AS A LINEAR COMMUNICATION THEORY WHICH SUGGESTS THAT MEDIA MESSAGES ARE SENT INTO THE BRAIN DIRECTLY OF A PASSIVE AUDIENCE.

• THE HYPODERMIC NEEDLE THEORY CONTINUES TO INFLUENCE THE AUDIENCE AND HOW THEY THINK ABOUT THE MEDIA. FOR EXAMPLE PARENTS WORRY ABOUT VIOLENCE ON TELEVISION AS THEY DO NOT WANT THEIR CHILDREN WATCHING THINGS INAPPROPRIATE TO THEIR POINT OF VIEW. EVEN THOUGH THEM TYPES OF PROGRAMMES ARE ONLY SHOWN AFTER THE WATERSHED.

RECEPTION THEORY

• THE CULTURAL THEORIST STUART HALL, HE SUGGEST THAT THE MEDIA TEXT IS ENCODED BY THE CREATORS AND DECODED BY THE AUDIENCE. THE RECEPTION THEORY SUGGESTS THAT THE AUDIENCE DECODE THE MESSAGE IN ONE OF 3 WAYS ‘DOMINANT, NEGOTIATED AND OPPOSITIONAL’.

• THE RECEPTION THEORY IS AN ACTIVE THEORY BECAUSE THEY ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE MESSAGE WITHIN THEIR SOCIAL CONTENT. EACH AND EVERY MESSAGE IS INTERPRETED IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

• THE ENCODING AND DECODING THEORY OF COMMUNICATION SUGGESTS THAT AUDIENCE ACTIVELY READ MEDIA TEXTS AND DO NOT ACCEPT THEM PASSIVELY.

• ENCODING IS WHEN A MESSAGE IS PRESENTED IN A FILM WITH A MEANING, THE AUDIENCE WILL THEN WATCH THE FILM AND DECODE THE MESSAGE.

DRIP DRIP EFFECT

• THE DRIP DRIP EFFECT IS WHEN THE MEDIA TRIES TO CHANGE YOUR MIND OR OPINION ON SOMETHING OR A CERTAIN ASPECT IN LIFE. THEY WILL CONTINUOUSLY DROP INFORMATION AND PUT IMAGES INTO THE AUDIENCES MIND FOR THEM TO ACT IN THE SAME WAY, FOR EXAMPLE THE DISNEY FILMS ALL PRINCESSES LOOK FOR ‘A PERFECT MAN’ NOW THIS WILL PLAY UP IN A YOUNG TEENAGE GIRLS MIND EACH TIME SHE WATCHES IT WHICH THEN WILL MAKE HER WANT THE SAME THING IN THE FUTURE. ALSO DIFFERENT TYPES OF ADVERTS WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON AUDIENCES FOR EXAMPLE, ADVERTS LIKE MCDONALDS AND ALL TAKEAWAY FOODS WILL MAKE THE AUDIENCE WANT TO GO EAT AN UNHEALTHY DIET WHICH THEN AGAIN IS MAKING THE AUDIENCE WANT TO DO SOMETHING BECAUSE OF THE MEDIA’S PERSUASIVE SKILLS.

CONCLUSION

• IN MY OPINION I FEEL THAT THE THEORIES I HAVE EXPLORED SHOW THAT THE MEDIA HAS A HUGE EFFECT ON THE AUDIENCE. THE USES AND GRATIFICATIONS THEORY EXPLAINS THIS BECAUSE IT HAS FOCUSES ON MEETING THE AUDIENCES NEEDS, IT SHOWS HOW THE MEDIA AIMS TO GIVE THE AUDIENCE THE TYPE OF ENTERTAINMENT THEY LOOK FOR.

• THEORIES LIKE THE DRIP DRIP EFFECT EXPLAINS HOW THE MEDIA TRIES TO CHANGE YOUR MIND OR OPINION ON SOMETHING. THEY WILL SLOWLY MAKE THE AUDIENCE ACT IN THE SAME WAY, THIS SHOWS HOW THE MEDIA HAS A HUGE EFFECT ON THE AUDIENCE AND EVERYTHING THEY DO WILL LEAD ON TO PUZZLING THE AUDIENCE IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.