Question 8

 Theories 

- male gaze (Mulvey)

- Hypodermic needle (passive media effects)

- Moral panic (cohen)

- Desensitisation 

- Anderson - male violence on youth 

Counter arguments:

- Gauntlett (media effects is outdated)

- uses and gratification (Blumler and Katz)

Media effects model 

- The model (sometimes referred to as a theory) concerns on how media can effect society/individuals and vice versa 

- There are very negative implications of this model, but you will also learn some counter arguments 

Rambo: First blood 

Moral panic: Guns were being glorified and so to violence E.g. Hungerford massacre 

Desensitisation: Desensitised to violence 

Anderson: This can cause violence in youth 

The torture and killing of two year old Jamie Bulger by two 10 year old boys, said to have been influenced by Childs play 3 

The columbine massacre in 1999 - a high school shooting influenced by POV shooter games such as Doom and 3D Wolfenstein 

The 2012 shooting of people in a cinema queue in aurora, Colorado, by a gunman  influenced by the Dark knight rises 

All linkes to - Hypodermic - Moral panic - desensitisation - Anderson 

Video game history:

1976: death race 

1994: game certification 

2005: banned violent game sales to minors 

Uses and grats: interaction - entertainment - Escapism (fantasy)

There is no concrete evidence linking violence in video games to real world violence  

There is evidence linking violent video games to aggressive behaviour/ thoughts 

Violence Vs Aggression 

Anders Breivic claimed to have used call of duty as a training tool for the massacre he perpetrated 

'Norway's alleged mass killer testified on Thursday that he played video games as a way to train for a shooting spree that killed 77 people last summer. In particular, Anders breivic said in the trail he played "call of duty modern warfare 2" as a means of shooting practise'

Sandy hook massacre (2012)

Hypodermic needle theory 

Theorises that audiences are essentially passive, and will readily absorb messages relayed to them by the media 

this means that, after watching a violent horror film, or playing a violent game POV shooter, audience members will be negatively influenced 

This presupposes that audiences are passive rather than active 

Texas chainsaw massacare (1974)

banned in the UK from 1975 until 1999, as part of the video nasties campaign, in part spearheaded by Mary Whitehouse 

During this era and through the 1980s with the boom of VHS - films were banned sometimes this would be due to their title 

Texas chainsaw massacre (2003) 

- Some people argue that, as a result of increasingly violent media, audiences are becoming desensitised - that is, numbed by the effects of this exposure 

- the remake featured an array of hewn body parts, graphic bloodshed and horrific gore - but neither the censor nor audiances batted an eyelid 

Moral panic - 1972 Cohen developed the moral panic theory.  this encompassed the ideas of fold devils

Moral panic happens when a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests

his research was based on Mods and rockers 

The stages of moral panic 

- someone, something or a group are defined as a threat to society norms or community interests 

- the threat is depicted by the media 

- The portrayal of this symbol rouse public concerns 

-   there is a response from authorities and policy makers 

- The moral panic over the issue results in social changes within the community 

Consequences of moral panic 

- The Jamie Bulger case in Uk focused public attention on screen violence 

- Mary Whitehouse spearheaded a campaign against screen violence; she gains wide support 

- BBFC starts to censor films or ban them outright; certification becomes stricter 

- Fewer people are able to consume violent films 

Film/video game: GTA 

Theory 1) 

Male gaze: the video game uses over sexualised women showing women semi naked attracting the audience

Theory 2) 

Desensitisation: it normalises violence and killing meaning people playing the game will lack empathy as it is normal to them 

Theory 3)

Hypodermic needle: The audience will take on board the normalisation of violence and see that as normal as they can do it in game they may try and recreate this in real life as they take what they see in game on board 

Music video: WAP 

Theory 1) 

male gaze: The music video uses the male gaze to gain attention a there are lots of women wearing revealing clothing being shown this will make people watch the video for this reason alone 

Theory 2) 

Desensitisation: it over sexualised woman desensitising the audience to nudity and the over secualisation of women 

Theory 2) 

Hypodermic needle: What representations of women are being shown are going to be take on board by the audience  

Newspaper articles: Christchurch terror attack 

Theory 1)

Anderson: He is 

Theory 2) 

Theory 3) 

Desensitisation: this theory suggests that audiences reactions are weaker towards their exposure to extreme violence, sex and death  

This decrease in fear and sensitivity links to the extreme rise of societal violence and behaviour 

Male gaze 

gaze = how an audiance views people that have been presented 

How men look at women, how women look at themselves, how women look at other women 

Mulvey believes that audiences have to view characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male and that the camera is always of that viewpoint camera lingers on female curves and the female body 

Anderson: study says exposure to media violence increases the likelihood of agressive violent behaviour in young people 

The study was based on research carried out on the effects of media violence in TV, Film, music and video games 

It says two main ways agressive or violent behaviour seen in young people 

- Desensatisation 

- imitation 

The study says that the degree to which media effects aggression and violence in young people can depend on other factors such as their social environment

no one is immune to the effects of media violence  

David Gauntlett: 

he is a huge advocate for media studies and challenges the media effects model and its respective theories 

The Effects model tackles social problems 'backwards' 

- There is a mistake of looking at individuals, rather than society, in relation to the mass media - just because a group of individuals are violent, there is not need to generalise that all youths are violent 

The effects model treats children as inadequate

- Research has been conducted which seeks to establish what children understand from mass media. Outcomes have highlighted that children can talk negatively about mass media. The study includes children as young as 7 

The effects model assumes superiority to the masses 

- People think that media is influential on others and that it could never influence themselves. Further, it is wrong to believe that uneducated, lower class individuals are more heavily effected by media content 

the effects model is selective in its criticism of media depictions of violence 

- The acts of violence which appear on a daily basis on the news and in serious factual programmes are seen as somehow exempt. Instead, media depicts violence which the effects model typically condemns are limited to fictional productions   

Discuss the possible positive and negative media effects a product you have studied might have on its audience (20)