active and passive audience questions Daniel eve

1)
a) uses and gratification model, encoding/decoding
b)
the uses and gratification model suggests that media users consume media to fill their needs. One example would be someone watching a program such as Match of the day for information and for entertainment.

encoding/decoding focuses on the messages and ideologies put in to the text by the producer versus the ideologies and messages taken by the consumer. for example, a fashion magazine such as vogue may encode the message that you should take pride in your appearance, while some consumers may decode a different message, that appearance is all that matters and that you must strive to look like that.

2)
passive audience reception is compliance with media consumption without striving to actively engage or challenge the media. shows such as 'The X factor' are prone to a passive audience reception because it doesn't challenge the viewer's expectations and is very predictable. an active audience reception in contrast is one where the audience actively engages and possibly challenges the media. examples of shows that often has an active audience reception are documentaries as they often provide evidence and/or information

3)i do not think violence on television contributes to real life violence whatsoever because that would not only imply that the audience is entirely passive but also that they carry out what they see in media and lack morals. those who have claimed to have been influenced to commit violent acts by different forms of media such as movies (matrix, saw ,etc.) or video games (Doom, Manhunt, etc) have often suffered from mental illness and/or extensive bullying. in the several cases were impressionable kids have been influenced by mature media I generally place blame on the child's parents/guardians for not supervising their children and what media they consume; it is generally self-explanatory why a child should not watch saw.

4)
active audience theories are more acceptable  than passive theories in my opinion because they consider the audience as individuals rather than mindless sheep; we have seen examples of people who want expectations challenged and are willing to leave their comfort zones and therefore at least parts of the general audience are active in their media consumption. The human mind is a very complex thing which makes the task of deciphering media consumption very difficult, but overall active audience theories such as the uses and gratifications model take more factors into account: specific needs, appeals, and morality (I.E. the idea that violent media isn't the primary reason for violence). One final point to consider is the nature of trends as while there are points in history where the general audience believe the mainstream media undoubtedly (Propaganda during WW2 and the cold war being key examples), there are also points in history where they have rejected it (such as the hippy movement during the Vietnam war)

5)
One text I quite enjoy is Overwatch, as it fulfills 2 key needs according to the uses and gratifications model. the primary reason I enjoy it is because it fulfills the need for entertainment due to it being an active form of engagement and being multiplayer, providing enjoyment through competition. In addition to that it also provides social interaction because you can interact and work together with other players as well as allowing you to group up with your friends to play together, which is what I spend most of my time in game doing. While I do not think personal identity is one of the main reasons I enjoy the game it could be a valid reason for others as the game offers a wide variety of characters with different backgrounds and personalities for players to relate to.

6)http://www.mirror.co.uk/usvsth3m/advert-asking-people-whether-beach-5519006

a) The ad linked above above is for beauty/fitness products and has garnered quite a bit of controversy surrounding the 'beach body' image it portrays.

preferred reading: The preferred reading of the text views these choice of words and image as encouragement, seeing the question of "are you beach body ready?" as a challenge to overcome rather than a judgement on body image. Some may even aspire to be as ideal of a figure/appearance as the model used in the ad. The woman is at the centre of the advertisement because the focus is on her and the implied message is that if you buy the products you can overcome the challenge set annd look as good as her. Another angle to consider is the advert boosting the ego of those who are satisfied with their body image and are confident of their attractiveness, who therefore may buy and believe in the product because it validates their viewpoint.

b)
One suggestion of an oppositional reading could be people distrusting the advert or despising it because they feel the question is attempting to guilt tripping them into improving their body image using the advertised product. Some may reject the message because they feel like it is 'fat shaming' those who are not 'beach body ready'. Another reason for ultimately rejecting the message is due to the use of sex appeal, because it only uses a female model who is portrayed as perfectly thin in a bikini as opposed to both men and women who are fit to a more reasonable/attainable standard.