questions

Media studies homework 18/10/14

Active and passive audience

2) The first theory associated with the effects debate is the inoculation model. This model is when people look at a text so much that it no longer has an effect on them, like immunity.

The second theory is the cultural effects model. This model is when we acquire certain ideologies that are influenced by what the media has portrayed.

b)  This model suggests that the audience are passive. However, an example is that people use to view murder and horrible events in the media and be truly shocked by it. Now no one even flinches at it because they’ve become immune. However, this is flawed because films such as ‘Marley and me’ continue to still make people cry and touch the hearts of thousand. This contradicts the idea of modern day immunity to the effects of media texts.

The second model suggests that  stereotypes are reinforced by the media until people believe they are correct, which is how they become ‘stereotypes’. however, an example is models in the media. Mostly, they are shown to have long hair, be very thin, hourglass figure and tall. This is displayed so much that it has become a stereotype of the perfect woman. This means that many people aspire to be like them, which further reinforces the idea of beauty being in association with the above.

3) an active audience is an audience that create their own ideologies and are not as easily influenced by what the media has to say. They may challenge what the media tell us and they are not very confirmative in comparison to a passive audience . They don’t always interpret the media how the producers and such want them too, they have freedom to explore and carry an opinion of a text for themselves. They control what effect the media has, the media doesn’t take over their ideologies . For example, if they seen chucky, the horror film, they wouldn’t go out and kill people after they’ve seen it. they’ll watch and develop their personal opinions, but wont let it effect their lives, ideas or beliefs.

However, a passive audience is the opposite. They are more likely to conform to the ideologies of the media text. They take in what the media says at a literal thing, and use it in their lives. An example of this is what I mentioned before about the stereotypes of women in the media. If they see the woman on the magazine who looks a certain way, they’ll believe that what they see is true to life, meaning that they are likely to follow it and aspire to be like the magazine models.  If the text presents messages to the audience, they will be gullible, believe and follow the messages portrayed.

4) violence on the television in my opinion doesn’t lead to bad behaviour. This is because the majority agree that most audiences are active, and disagree with models such as the hypodermic syringe because it tells us that the audience will do whatever a media texts presents. As most people agree that the audience on whole are active, this means that they are not influenced by the media in the way that they will conform to anything. Millions of people world wide play video games such as GTA, and only a miniature percentage of the people who play it act as passives. So I argue that it is possible for people to gain influence from a media text portraying bad behaviour (e.g.  the shootings of school children), however, I say that it is very unlikely as most consumers of this particular nature of media text don’t develop additional problems following the consumption.

5) active audience theories are more acceptable than passive audience theories. This is because as mentioned in the answer above, the majority of people who read a text do not gain influence from the text. However, this could be argued against. This is because of the stereotypes of body image in the media. Many media texts portray the ideologies that body image is important and people must look a certain way to be seen as stereotypically ‘attractive’. a large majority of people conform to these ideologies, and some people even develop personal preference because of the ideologies shown. For example, males may decide over time that they like the stereotypical magazine woman rather than a realistic one because of the messages given off by media consumption. Another example is a woman may want to loose weight to look like the models on television. I believe that the audience can be both active or passive, depending on the situation. The same person who plays violent games or watches horror films regularly may not be effected by the content consumed, however that very same person my be trying to beef up his muscles to appear like the males on the magazine covers the females are said to enjoy.

6) a text that I enjoy is the inbetweeners on channel E4. I believe that people could take personal identity from this text. This is because the 4 males are the main characters who get up to mischief and encounter the everyday problems of a teenage ‘lad’. the problems they encounter may not resemble one specific person, but collectively it is likely to be understood by the majority of young males. The programme is funny and very like real life society. This can create a form of escapism under the umbrella of entertainment. This is because when people watch this, they are diverted from their own life into experiencing the eventful lives of the 4 male characters. The use of humour helps create this escapism by stopping people from dwelling on the stressors occurring currently in their lives and leaving them with something else to think about. People are able to escape from their lives and be diverted to think about someone else’s instead. This is also common in soap operas. The crude humour used in the text and the sexualisation of woman could appeal to men because it attracts them through use of sex and the rude jokes made on a constant basis. This forms grounds for entertainment and entertains people in various ways.

7a) the L’Oreal Paris advert-

The preferred reading of the text is likely to be that the person agrees that by using the product(s), they will become beautiful like the person on the advert (e.g. Cheryl Cole). They accept that that’s how woman are meant to look and appreciate the ideologies of the text. They may like the person starring in it and agree with the messages that they are giving out to the audience.

b) someone who takes an oppositional reading to the text will not accept the ideologies portrayed. They are likely to believe that woman don’t look beautiful because the use the product, they may see it as materialistic and believe that beauty is from within, not the cosmetics. They may also reject the ideologies portrayed form the chosen model on the  advert. They may not like her, so it may have an effect on the persons opinion of the text.  The reject the advert and read it as the opposite to what was initially intended by people such as the producers.