Passive and Active Audiences: Homework Questions

1. The Hypodermic Injection theory is associated with the effects debate. The theory states that if a constant message is being shown through the media, e.g refugees fleeing their home countries seeking asylum, the audience's behaviour will be infulenced and will stimulate them to do something. The audience receives an "injection", either good or bad, from the media and they will act on it. So with the recent news on refugees people are protesting saying refugees are welcome to the countries they're fleeing to, others are saying they should stay in their home countries. Furthermore another theory associated with the effects debate is the Innoculation/Desensitisation theory. This theory's says that if a constant message of violence is shown to the audience through long term exposure, they will become immune to this sort of behaviour. When violence is presented through films such as Kick-Ass and drug abuse is shown through The Wolf of Wall Street, the audience will not be shocked by this behaviour as they will show no emotion towards it.

2. An active audience member needs guidance when choosing an opinion on a media text. They seek help and opinions when making a decision on their opinions. They seek the help of other audience members who are called Opinion Leaders. These Opinion Leaders could be an audience members parents or reviews on a media text. They look for other opinions however they aren't always going to be same as their Opinion Leaders. 

A passive audience member will go to their Opinion Leaders seeking what they think of a certain media text and agreeing with them to fit in. They will happily use somebody else's opinion instead of their own to deconstruct a media text instead of giving their own response. 

3. Personally for me I don't think violence shown through television does make a person violent because I've been exposed to violence through many media texts from an early ages yet now at the age of 16 I've never committed a violent act once. When the London riots were documented it never made me want to go out and riot and cause chaos on the streets. A person has their own free will to do what they want, a media text presenting violence doesn't tell their audience to go out and cause havock, a human. makes that decision all on their own.

4. Yes I do think active theories are more acceptable than passive because as the Cultervation Model shows that the audience have a choice to do what they want with their media choice. It presents humans as individuals and can do what they want with media texts and their consumptions of them. However people only watch shows they like otherwise they wouldn't be consumed at all. Peoples likes and dislikes can be individual however people will be sharing some of the same likes/dislikes. So this then places people's likes and dislikes into categories so it doesn't represent people as individuals but as being part of a group.

5. Keeping up with the Kardashians is a show a enjoy a lot. I use this as a form of escapism as when watching this show I escape reality and watch this glamorous lifestyle unfold in front of me. I immerse myself into the drama that is presented on the reality show. For personal identity, I stupidly see myself as this person who wears amazing clothes and loves all things superficial that is shown on the show, I have everything I need right now in life just like these women do. Social Interaction is used as the show is constantly tweeted about on Twitter and I interact with other fans and the stars themselves on the Internet. Also with my peer group as we all enjoy the show and we discuss out favourite episodes and favourite people on the show,

6. The advert I watched was H&M - Close the Loop (https://youtu.be/s4xnyr2mCuI). The preferred reading of the advert would be that fashion is important has the whole advert has been created by a fashion company. Also be yourself in the clothes you wear and be an individual as the advert goes into to list and present many style types and all different people being shown in the clothes they were. Furthermore that recycling clothes should be done as at the end the advert that is the message shown, this also has an implied meaning that saving the planet is also important.
A opposite reading of this advert could possibly be that why care about what you're wearing, clothes are just clothes. Also that why try and save the environment/planet because it's already damaged and will continue to get damaged so what's the point in trying to rescue it. A cynical opposite reading could be that we are only on this planet for a few years don't waste your time saving it and focus on yourself, it won't die out In your lifetime so don't worry about it.