Active & Passive Audience Questions

1. -The sensitisation model and desensitisation model are both associated with he effects debate, as they are the complete opposite of each other. The desensitisation model, or the articulation model is the theory that if a person is exposed to a certain type of media multiple times, they will start to become immune to the things they are seeing. For example, if a person was shown repeated violence in different situations, they may not class violence in the media as a shocking thing, which could mean if a real life event were to happen they wouldn't have any type of reaction. On the other hand, the sensitisation model is the opposite in the way that this is the theory that if you are shown something, it may make you think more about what you are seeing and have a different opinion about it. The inoculation model is attempting to say if you want certain films such as 'Fight Club' or 'Kill Bill' you are less likely to have any kind of reaction to it as it is not a shock for you to see. The sensitisation model is trying to say that you will be more likely to stay away from violent films, or have more of a reaction if it is constant in the person's life.

2. -People perceive a member of the passive audience to have little to no opinion to what is happening around them, they are portrayed as people who will accept whatever is happening and are just followers of the text, they are seen to be easily manipulated and controlled by the different types of media. For example, if the viewer were to watch a very violent film, they may be more inclined to commit a violent act, due to the fact they are shown to follow what they see and have absolutely no choice in what they do. They do not intellectually engage with the media text, they are just a group of people that form the audience. The hypodermic syringe theory allows people to think this way, the audience are 'injected' with certain information/media and have a response from the media they have received, it forces the audience to be controlled by the media, and not for the audience to have control.

-Active audience members seem to be much more involved with the media text they are using, they show the opinions they have. This type of audience member is seen to have control over what the media does, they are the ones with the control, The active audience want to engage with the text which could mean they get gratification from the media, they are able to use it as a conversation topic as they are actually involved and not just watching. These types of people will have different interpretations of the media, whereas the passive will have whatever interpretation the media is forcing upon them.

3. - In my point of view, if you are able to watch a violent film or play a violent game and then believe that you should go out and repeat these actions then you are psychologically weak, if you can be persuaded by a game to go and kill people then you aren't mentally able to play the game. I can see to an extent if people see it constantly in games they could start to become immune to it, but I think that anything happening in a game/film is harder to relate with as there is no personal link, there would be a much different response if it were to happen directly to that one person.

4. - Active audience theories accept the fact that we are all individuals and have unique opinions about different topics. These theories allow people to have different desires, whereas the passive audience theories see everyone as a group and doesn't allow for the individual, it puts people into groups dependant on certain situations. 

5. -I particularly like watching shows such as X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent, as it allows me to use what happens on these shows as a way of interacting with people who also watch these shows, they are quite popular shows due to the timings they are on. both shows are strategically placed on a Saturday around night time to ensure that not many people are in work and all of the students will most likely be at home, this allows them to create a bigger audience. I could also see myself using this as a way of escapism, it allows people to completely forget about anything that has happened and focus on the show. 

6.

- This is an advert the NHS released as a way to inform smokers of what damage they are doing to their own bodies. The advert shows a grown man, seen to be a dad of two children who are at a park enjoying themselves. It shows the man making a cigarette for himself, but in place of what would normally be used for a cigarette, rotting muscle was in its place to support that they are telling people it will slowly kill you. The preferred reading of the advert may be that the audience can see that smoking does actually cause damage to your body, as a lot of people see this as a myth, people who have children may feel as though they need to stop smoking to ensure that they have the ability to watch their children grow up. People may watch this advert and realise that they shouldn't really put this in their body due to the fact that it isn't healthy.

-An oppositional reading of this advert could be that the man in the advert just flicks off the rotting muscle as if it were nothing to worry about, this could make people see the effects of smoking not as bad as they actually are. If the advert is showing this smoker not caring about the effects on his body why should they do any different. People may watch this advert and understand that it is showing them what smoking does but not really care about the effects smoking has on their body, or they could believe that of they don't feel the effects then they are not really there and that this advert is just another way to control them.