Passive & Active Audiences: Homework Questions

Audience Questions

1.

The inoculation model also know as the desensitisation model and the The Hypodermic Syringe model are examples of the Media Effects debate. The inoculation model, is a long term theory and supports the idea that the constant exposure to a certain thing makes viewers less shocked by them and therefore we become immune to it and view it as a normality. For example, in the past, the over sexualisation of people was a shocking and uncommon occurrence which commonly cause distaste from the audience. However, as promiscuity and nudity are included in the majority of media texts in modern day, it has become expected and people tend to not become annoyed as it is perceived as a social norm. So, in theory, people who are commonly exposed to fashion magazines, adverts for beauty products or even some movies and tv shows like American Pie or Game of Thrones will become un-phased by the nudity and exposure demonstrated. As nudity and sexualisation- especially of females- is normalised, people may be inclined to dress in more revealing ways or become more sexualised as these topics are no loner extraordinary but expected. 

The The Hypodermic Syringe model, is a short term effect and suggests that by being exposed to certain aspects of life in media, can alter and influence peoples behaviour in the real world. For example, a common belief is that by playing a violent or gory video game such as Grand Theft Auto, the player is more likely to become violent and imitate the character they embodied on on their screen. An example of this model is the murder of James Bulger, the horror movie Child's Play 3 was blamed as the murderers influence as it is assumed both boys had seen this film shortly before murdering the young child.

2. 

Passive audience members are people who are easily manipulated by what they see in the media. This type of viewer are simply puppets for media creators and producers to do what they want with, meaning that this audience member only sees what the creators want them to. Passive viewers are controlled by what they see in the media and are unable to perceive any alternative reading, this idea suggests that passive audience members cannot control the message they take from a text. The Hypodermic Syringe model supports this theory as it portrays the audience as compliant robots who, if exposed to a violent act, will be inclined to mirror the fictional actions in their own life. This also works with a positive action, if a famous celebrity, that an audience member looks up to, supports a charity the passive audience theory says that they will without question be more inclined to participate in said charity. This theory has complete disregard for a persons personal ideologies, goals or history, it simply states that audience members are followers who are easily dominated by media producers.

Alternatively, Active audience members purposely become engaged and involved in the media texts they consume. Despite, what the preferred reading of a text may be, active audience members are in control of the opinion they form and the messages they take away from any text. A theory that supports this idea is the Uses and Gratifications model created by Bulmer and Katz in 1975. This theory suggests that audience members make active use of the media in order to fulfil their needs. The uses and gratifications includes Entertainment, Information, Person Identity and Social interaction which reinforces that depending on the needs of an audience member they will chose a text to fit their needs. For example, If an audience member is looking information on a certain political happening in the world, they will most likely turn to a new paper or the news on the television and take their own opinions from what they are told. 

3.

I believe that the idea of violence portrayed in certain media text making people act violently in real life is completely absurd and unjustified. This theory completely disregard the idea of peoples free will and personal opinions, the idea supports the Hypodermic Syringe model and by agreeing with it, shows audience members as blind followers who will simply copy anything that is displayed to them, with no personal input at all. While there are several real life cases to back up this idea, my opinion is that the people who committed these acts where destined to act out one way or another in the near future. Some people have either been raised in a certain way that promotes violence, or are by nature an angry or violent human with a short fuse. Could a media text trigger a feeling of anger for them? maybe. But, personally I feel that a person who was not already corrupted or unstable, would not be forced by a piece of media to act violently. 

4. 

I believe that an Active audience theory is more more acceptable that a passive audience theory for several reasons. Firstly, active audience member theories acknowledge the individuality of audience members, and understand that different humans have different needs, interest and life experiences so no one media experience can be identical. Whereas, passive audience member theories disregard any free will of the audience and believe that everyone can be categorised into easy organisable section. I completely disagree with the passive audience theory as my personal life experience does not reflect this theory at all. Despite me having a similar personality to many of my friends, we for the most part have very diverse media tastes and looks for different needs to be fulfilled with what we consume. A person who likes a tv show I like, will no necessarily enjoy every show I enjoy and vice versa. When people are classed into the same category in the 4C’s, this does not mean they are the same person or everyone in the said category has the same interests or life goals. In my opinion the Passive Audience theories are extremely flawed. 

5.

A media text that I enjoy personally is ‘The Vampire Diaries’ television show. I am going to use the Uses and Gratification model to identify why I take pleasure in watching it. First and foremost, I use this show as a form of entertainment and escapism. The witty characters, action packed plots and supernatural aspects truly allows me to step back from day to day life and be fully submerged in a new world.  The way in which the characters interact and the relationships formed give the show a real heart and make me always want to come back and watch more to see whats happening to my favourite characters. As well as entertainment, I also find personal identification in the show as many of the characters are teenagers so they are going through many of the same things I go through on a daily basis; including school, relationships and friendships. Many of my friends also watch and enjoy The Vampire Diaries, so in school it allows for an element of social interaction as we can discuss and theories about what happened on the most resent episode. 

6.

a)    This is an advertisement addressing the issue of guns being legal in America. The advert presents two young girls, one holding a children's book ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and the other is holding a very large gun, it then addresses the fact that the books has been banned in schools but guns are still legal. The preferred reader of this advertisement would understand the message that is being presented and would agree that guns should not be legal in the united states. They would see that a central message in this advert is the fact that schools have become unsafe due to guns being legal and therefore the number of school shootings is constantly rising. The fact that this thing that can kill is allowed to makes its way into the school system but a fairy tale that simply shows an image of a bottle of wine is banned would cause the preferred reader to question the law in the united states and maybe lead them to try and get involved with the ‘Moms Demand Action’ cause. 

b)          Examining the same print advertisement, an audience member who views this advert with an oppositional reading would firstly see the image as distasteful. By placing a gun in a little girls hand, they may be inclined to see that the child is being exploited as having guns legal in America does not mean anyone can use them. They would believe that guns are a unique and purposeful asset in the U.S.A that allows people to really be in charge of their own safety and by placing it in a child’s hand, the advert is lying about gun regulations in American. The fact the advert implies that guns should be banned to ‘protect’ children, may cause the oppositional reader to further dislike the advert as they believe guns are keeping families safer and the only reasons school shootings happen is because of poor school security. The oppositional reader my also see that there is reasoning behind the children’s book being banned, they would see that alcohol being shown to younger children in any way could cause poor influence if they see a literary character they enjoy, in relation to wine.