Theories

Theories 

Negative Theories:

Hypodermic Needle Theory:

This theory implies that the mass media has a direct, immediate and powerful effect on it's audiences. The theory suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people directly and consistently by 'injecting' them with suitable messages designed to trigger a craved response. The images used to convey this theory (a bullet and a needle) propose a powerful and direct flow of information from the sender (mass media) to the reciever (society). The bullet theory graphically implies that a message is the bullet, fired from the "media gun" into the viewers "head". Likewise, emotive imagery within the Hypodermic Needle theory suggests that media messages are injected straight into a passive (accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without resistence) audience which is immediately influenced by the message. It reiterates the view that the media is a dangerous means of communicating an idea because the audience is unable to resist the impact of the message. People are seen as being 'helpless' because so much media material is 'shot' at them, they end up believing and thinking what they are told because there is no other source of information provided for them. An example of the Hypodermic Needle theory in practise, is when Hitler monopolised the mass media during World War Two to gain the support from the German public for the Nazi Party.

Inoculation Theory

This theory states that by giving an individual a small amount of information over a long period of time, it will protect them from being resistant to full exposure. By giving your audience small bursts of violent or antisocial behaviour in film, it will desensitise their reaction and thus make them immune to graphic violence and obscene behaviour. This could eventually cause the audience to believe that witnessing violence on an extreme level is not bad or unusual and in turn make them more likely to act violently or antisocially themselves. The theory was developed by social psychologist William. J. McGuire in 1961 to demonstrate the changes of attitudes and beliefs over time. One of his motivators for the making of this theory was the aftermath of the Korean war. When nine prisoners of war were asked if they wanted to leave their previous captors, they decided to stay. Many assumed that this answer was a result of the prisoners being brainwashed, so McGuire and his collegues turned to solutions of 'confering resistence to persuasion'. Gass and Seiter stated in 2003 that this was a change in remaining persuasion research, which was exclusively worried with how to make messages more persausive, and not the other way around.

Moral Panics 

 

A moral panic is an intense feeling of fear that is spread among a large group of people that a particular thing is threatening society. The media are mainly responsible for the spreading of moral resentment, even when it is clear that they are not aware they are engaging in aggressively defending or advancing an idea or exposition. Just reporting the facts around a story can generate concern, panic and anxiety from the public. The media has been accountable for the widespread belief that children are prone to abduction from paedophiles, the practise of Satanic cults, the fear of AIDS and the 'War on Drugs.' In the 1950's, 'Teddy Boys' were portrayed by the media as young men who strived to turn society upside down. Like the 21st century reaction to the emergence of 'hoodies' and antisocial behaviour from young adults, 'Teddy Boys' were depicted as delinquents who disrespected their elders and rejected social norms. This continued into the '1960's', with the clash between Mods and Rockers. The media wanted to convince the general public that these two groups were operating outside of social norms and conducting criminal and society threatening acts.

Positive Theories:

Uses and Gratifications:

 

Blumler and Katz is a theory that works to understand the reasons for why audiences seek out and consume the media. This juxtaposes the Hypodermic Needle Theory view that audiences are all passive contributors when consuming the media, by arguing that they audiences actually have an active and controlled approach in choosing what they want to watch and why. The following reasons have been suggested for why audiences would seek to watch a film:

1. Education 
2. Entertainment 
3. Socialisation 
4. Identity 

Education: Viewers might watch a film with the intention of finding out more about the world that they live in, poltically and socially, so that they can understand their surroundings better and the relevance of some of our cultural choices. They might further beome invested in the film because they want to listen to and take into account the different views and opinions of society in order to strengthen their own individualistic opinion. Finally, viewers, especially children, could find watching a film or a television programme, as a way to inform themselves about a subject that they have a general interest in such as Ancient Eygpt or Rome. 

Entertainment: Watching a film or television programme is a blatent way of participating in escapism and stepping out of the stress of our everyday lives by following the life of a fictional character. It can also encourage us as people to relax and take a break from chores and work that consume our everyday lives by investing in the emotial journey of someone else. It can give us intrinsic cultural and aestheitc enjoyment by exmperimenting with the mise-en-scene of a film and allowing us to be engrossed in something that is visually stimulating. Finally, it could be a form of sexual or emotional release, as if someone feels frustrated, by watching an action packed film, they could release some tension. 

Socialisation: Being actively involved with the media, can lead us into discussions with colleagues, family and friends. It can also be a way of meeting new people, as you discover that you have similar interests to another individual and can begin to form a friendship with them because of this. Environmentally, it gives us the opportunity to share an experience with the people around us, which as humans, can bring us closer together. It could be argued that the media, can help teach us on how to socialise with others, by influencing our decision making and problem solving. It is possible that we could be inspired by something we've watched amd it can thus impact how we act around others. 

Identity: Audiences could possibly find that they relate to certain characters and thus form a bond with them that can transfer to caring whether I certain character lives or dies. It can impact the way in which an individual chooses to behave and reinforce in them their own personal morals and values as well as look to others for models of behaviour.

Richard Dyer's Theory of Entertainment and Utopia:

Richard Dyer (1945) is a British Theorist who is known for specialising in cinematic representations of race, sexuality and gender. His theory suggests that entertainment could be considered 'utopian' due to it's idealistic representation of how human life should be lived and organised as well as it's 'escapist' nature. He believes that 'the most widespread assumption about entertainment is that it provides 'escape'. Entertainment offers the image of 'something better' to set against the realities of day-to-day existence.' Dyer theorised that audiences choose to consume media on the basis of three principles:

1. Social Tension

2. Inadequacy 

3. Absence 

Dyer then came up with a Utopian Solution chart to show the difference between the reality, which is full of negatives and unfulfilled opportunities and the utopia, which allows people to escape from their everyday lives. For instance, the social tension for one individual could be that they are exhausted from a result of hard labor and the pressures of urban life. The utopian solution for this would be that the individual is using their energy positively by acting vigorously and demonstrating power and activity.