Scenario: You have started working in the marketing team at a local magazine company. Before you can begin to look at how best to market your product to an audience, you need to demonstrate an understanding of how media audiences may respond to specific products. This will help inform your decisions regarding future advertising campaigns.
TASKS
The assignment will take the form of written report, separated into two sections. Each section should clearly and comprehensively explain the sub headed areas, supporting a full exploration of how media audiences respond to products. Clear examples should be provided to support/illustrate material, and subject terminology should be used consistently and accurately.
SECTION 1: AUDIENCE THEORY
Explain the following (and provide examples of each to show how they work)
1.) HYPODERMIC NEEDLE THEORY
2.) USES AND GRATIFICATIONS THEORY (BULMER & KATZ)
3.) PASSIVE OR ACTIVE CONSUMPTION
4.) RESPONSES (PREFERRED, NEGOTIATED, OPPOSITIONAL, ABERRANT)
SECTION 2: EFFECTS DEBATES
Consider how the media may impact negatively on an audience. Explain the following (and provide examples to support points made).
1.) NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF THE MEDIA
a. NEGATIVE COPYCAT BEHAVIOUR
b. DESENSITISATION
c. MORAL PANIC
d. OBJECTIFICATION
2.) POSITIVE IMPACTS OF THE MEDIA
a. Find a case study example of how the media may have a positive impact on the lives of others – provide some clear examples and explain the ways in which this can occur (e.g. Government health campaign, charity campaigns, celebrity endorsements to support good causes etc). Try to tie this in/justify your analysis based on some of the theories you have already discussed above.
Include some visual material when appropriate (e.g. images that highlight points made, referenced within the body of the text).
SECTION 1: AUDIENCE THEORY
Audience theory is the study of an audience’s role in media products, and composes of various ideas of how the audience react to any mediated communication.
Hypodermic Needle Theory
The idea of the Hypodermic Needle theory is that the messages in the media text are injected into the audience by the powerful, syringe-like, media. The audience is powerless to resist. Therefore, the media works like a drug and the audience is drugged, addicted, doped or duped. Though an extreme example, Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf is an example of a media text being used in order to further a political agenda. In addition, Nazi Germany utilized various propaganda films in order to promote their standards. This was all done to fulfill the ends of the Nazi party’s own agenda and effectively indoctrinate the German people into their way of thinking, which led to such events as the Holocaust.
Above: The Boston Daily Globe newspaper with the headline “Radio Play Terrifies Nation”, an article concerning the infamous ‘War of the Worlds’ radio play drama.
A less extreme example would be the now infamous dramatisation of H.G. Wells ’War of the Worlds’, with was played as a contemporary piece on radio stations to heighten the realism and dramatic effect of the piece. It was so effective that as more and more people tuned in to listen to it, people actually believed an extraterrestrial attack from Mars was occuring, causing widespread panic across the United States. This response by audiences is a clear example of the theory put to work.
Uses and Gratification Theory
Bulmer & Katz’s ‘Uses and Gratification’ theory suggests that media users play an active role in choosing and using media. They say that a media user seeks out a source that best fulfills their needs. The users needs are defined as followed:
- Diversion - need to escape from everyday life. This can apply to any media text or outlet, such as watching Marvel Studios superhero movies about Thor, Iron Man or Captain America saving the day and making everything right in the world.
- Relationships - use of media to fulfill their need of relationships and companionship; to be part of a social group or fandom. Star Wars has a large fandom that sees people come together to either discuss what love or hate about the franchise, as well as dress up as their favorite characters and go to events relating to their fandom such as Comic-Con.
- Identity - use media to find out about themselves and perhaps challenge themselves. This could mean taking away or interpreting meaning from a media text or product, such as the lessons taught in the movies in the likes of The Shawshank Redemption, which tries to convey the message that hope, while dangerous, can set one free.
- Surveillance - use the media to find out what goes on in the world around us. This can be as simple as a newspaper article or magazine discussing latest celebrity gossip.
Above: magazines can be applied to this theory and the users four needs. This magazine can be used as a diversion tool, to relate with other people through gossip, identify with the stories being told within, or even get to know what is going on in celebrities lives by reading about them.
The Uses and Gratification theory is in complete opposite to that of the Hypodermic Needle theory, in that it testifies that the audiences are free from the media’s influence, and take what they will from any media, be it text based or otherwise. The audience is meant to be active and use the text for itself, not the text using the audience in order to influence them. The audience uses the media texts for personal pleasure and gratification, as well as personal preference. Here the power lies with the audience not the producers. This theory emphasizes what audiences do with media texts - how and why the use them. The audience is free to reject, use or play with the media meanings as they see fit. There is no clear cut example of this theory, as an audience member could take say, 50 Shades of Grey, be it the movie or book, and either say it is complete garbage or enjoy it. The product/text has no further influence over them.
Passive or Active Consumption
Passive consumption of a media product by an audience is when said audience does not necessarily engage in or question the media’s message, they simply accept it as it is and move on. This contrasts active consumption, where the audience takes in the media’s message but engage and discuss it, debate whether they agree or disagree. This can create some healthy debate or high tensions between opposing ideas or people. The former theory however can be just as, if not, more dangerous, as the audience takes what is given to them. Examples can vary, but at the heart of it all a passive consumption can have an effect on a audience without knowing it, with the meaning not being challenged. Meanwhile, an active consumption can mean that the meaning can be challenged or interpreted in whatever way the audience wants or wishes.
Examples of audiences being active in their consumption of a media product would be if they actively took part in social activities concerning such events like cinema, talking to fellow fans, joining a group on social media etc. They may even create their own content or products in relation to the product, such as a blog writing about the product. In contrast, passive audiences simply do nothing.
Responses
The Encoding/decoding model of communication was first developed by cultural studies scholar Stuart Hall in 1973. Titled 'Encoding and Decoding in the Television Discourse', Hall's essay offers a theoretical approach of how media messages are produced, disseminated, and interpreted. His model of mass communication suggested that there are a number of ways an audience will read (or decode) a message/meaning found within a text:
- Preferred - the audience prefer what the media message is and takes it in without criticism, almost like the passive audience theory consumption previously discussed. This could be watching a political speech and agreeing with it.
- Negotiated - the audience take in the media message and agree to disagree, offering their own version of truth to it or meaning while agreeing with some aspects of it. This could be neither agreeing or disagreeing with a political speech, or being disinterested or decisive.
- Oppositional - the audience reject the media message and do not accept it e.g. total rejection of the political speech made by a politician.
- Aberrant - the audience take the media message and create their own entirely different interpretation, different to the one originally intended. This could be an interpretation of the stuff said in the political speech and assumptions or debate is made off of that.
SECTION 2: EFFECTS DEBATES
In this section, we will look at the types of impact the media can have on an audience.
Negative Impacts of the Media
The media plays a major role in everyday life, and can more often or not be attributed to having a negative impact on society as a whole, for a multitude of reasons:
- Negative Copycat Behavior - a copycat often denotes an action, typically a crime, carried out in imitation of another or in similar fashion to that of something portrayed in the media. For example, the film Child's Play 3 was said to have had an influence on the murder of James Bulger in 1993. Indirectly linked to the movie, the killers, who were 10 years old at the time, were said to have imitated a scene in which one of Chucky's victims is splashed with blue paint. Although these allegations against the film have never been proven, the case has led to some new legislation for video films.
- Desensitisation - defined as making someone less likely to feel shock or distress at scenes of cruelty or suffering by overexposure to such images. With a wide abundance of violence found everyday across different media platforms, it can often be attributed negatively that the media in our lives make us see violence as an everyday occurrence, thus making it so that it comes to no surprise when we see it or read about it, making us less sympathetic to the plight of others.
- Moral Panic - defined as an instance of public anxiety or alarm in response to a problem regarded as threatening the moral standards of society. In terms of the media, they can often cause public panic through the misinformation or exaggeration of content or material. For example, the ‘Satanic Panic’ in the 1980s was a complete nonsense story used to infuse ratings for hungry networks, and caused many parents to fear their children were being indoctrinated when in fact the story was untrue. The story was that in the 80s, parents around the country were gripped by an overpowering fear that their local preschool was actually a haven for vicious sexual abuse, driven by a Satanist agenda and brought to light only when children's memories were "recovered." The major focal point of the Satanic Ritual Abuse panic was the McMartin Preschool in California, where a years-long trial spent millions of dollars to obtain no convictions. The McMartin trial is generally regarded as a farce driven by moral panic and the allegations of one mentally unstable parent.
- Objectification - not to be confused as being object. When media products or content objectify something, say a person, they make them out to be not human or immoral. This can be found throughout history, such as the Nazis’ attempts at dehumanizing the Jews and other undesirables, or the simple sexual objectification of a person, basing their personality entirely around their sex appeal. An example of this would be in Skyfall, where Berenice Marlohe’s character her character is portrayed as only being used for sex. Marlohe’s character has a conversation with Bond, and it is indicated that she is a victim of sexual assault and a former sex slave. In the next scene he takes a shower with her in a controversial move that sparked criticism. There were complaints of Bond’s behavior, as he completely objectified the woman, as is the case with most Bond girls.
Positive Impacts of Media
In one way or the other, media can make a positive impact on individual’s and people’s lives. For example, they can learn something new, or encourage to be more social and eat healthy. It can expose us to new experiences we may never have even heard of before. In terms of media news, they can do right by reporting objectively on the world around us, remaining impartial and help us understand the world around us. This can range from using facts, to challenging preconceived ideas encouraged by the establishment, or even weed out corruption, as seen with the case of the Pentagon files of Watergate scandal of the late 60s to early 70s.
Apart from news media, other forms of media can also offer a positive impact for audiences. A most recent example would be the movie of Black Panther. Created by Marvel Studios, it stars a mostly black cast and is rooted in the African continent’s deep history, making use of its rich culture as part of the aesthetic of the movie. Its success and critical acclaim has made it a cultural phenomenon, and an inspiration for the black communities found throughout the world. It also made history by being the first movie being shown in cinemas in Saudi Arabia. New York resident Frederick joseph, who ran a GoFundMe campaign in Harlem to raise money for children of colour so they could see Black Panther, remarked that, “rare opportunity for young students (primarily of color) to see a black major cinematic and comic book character come to life. This representation is truly fundamental for young people, especially those who are often underserved, unprivileged, and marginalized both nationally and globally.” Already, a positive change is being made. A man raised money for children to see a movie he hopes inspires them.
In addition, Obi Umunna, a Jacksonville, Florida-based attorney born to Nigerian immigrants said the following: "I just want for kids in my community to have the same opportunity and to see this movie... I think this is an awesome opportunity for them to see themselves represented in a very positive light... compared to some of the negative images that you see on a daily basis." Jamil Smith of Time said the following: "In the midst of a regressive cultural and political moment fueled in part by the white-nativist movement, the very existence of Black Panther feels like resistance. Its themes challenge institutional bias, its characters take unsubtle digs at oppressors, and its narrative includes prismatic perspectives on black life and tradition."
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