The Final Evaluative Question

 Media effects model - how media across any industry impact us

Hypodermic Needle Theory - says that audiences are essentially passive and will absorb messages relayed to them by the media. This means that after watching a violent horror film, or playing a violent pov shooter, audience members will be negatively influenced.

Moral panic theory - by Stanley Cohen - "moral panic happens when a condition, episode, person, or group of persons emerges to become as a defined threat to societal values and interests".

Stages of moral panic

1- Someone, something or a group are defined as a threat to social norms or community interests

2 - The threat is then depicted in a recognisable form by the media

3- The portrayal of this symbol rouses public concern

4 - There is a response from authorities and policy makers

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

Consequences of moral panic:

- Mary Whitehouse spearheads 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 films

An example of how moral panic has  influenced a group of people could be in romford where people cannot wear hoods anymore due to negative connatations.

Desensitisation theory - suggests that audience reactions are weaker towards their exposeure to extreme violence, sexual scenes and death. This decrease in fear and sensitivity links to the extreme rise of societal violence and behaviours.

This theory links to the media violence theory

Anderson media violence and youth theory - exposure to media violence increases the likelyhood of agressive, violent behaviour within young people

The study also said that the degree to which media affects aggression and violent people can depend on other things such as social environment

Laura Mulvey male gaze theory

Gaze - how an audience is able to view people that have been presented, in particular how women look at themselves and how men look at other women

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

CASE STUDIES:

in 2001, 24 year old Thierry Jaradin lured a teenage neighbour to his home , after declaring is love for her, she rejected his advances so he went to the bathroom and but on the haloween scream mask and stabbed her 30 times. He phoned his father to confess. the mask he worse had haunted moviegoers three years ago

He got life in prison , and told investigators his crime had been inspired by the movie

 

IN 2012 during a midnight screening of the dark knight rises, James Holmes set off tear gas grenades and shot the audience with multiple firearms. He claimed to be influenced by the film and killed 12 people, whilst injuring 70 others.

Hypodermic needle theory - passive audience that was affected negatively.

Also the violence of youth theory

1. dexter copycat andrew twitchell:

Andrew wanted to be like fictional killer Dexter Morgan. Man called Gilles Teteraullt came to edmonton where he thought he was meeting someone he met online. the "date" refused to send him the house but gave him a location, saying "the garage will be open for you". when he opened the door someone grabbed him from behind. masked man ordered him to the ground. He grabbed the attackers gun but realised it was made from plastic. He escaped and quickly drove away. He then got up and drove away

But one week later, the man found his next target, Johnny Altenger. in 2008 he vanisehd when receiving a similar dating message.His mates gave the police that Johnny had forwarded to them prior to the date, leading to that garage. His blood was found in Twitchell's car, leading to his arrest on haloween 2008. Police believe altinger was hit over the head with a pipe before being stabbed.

2. Slenderman stabbing 2014 - May 31st, in USA, 2 12 year old girls,Anissa Weller and Morgan Geyser, lured their friend Payton Leutner into a forest and stabbed her 19 times in attempt to appease the fictional character SlenderMan - this links to media violence

David Guantlett:

- He is a huge advocate for media studies and challanges the media effects model and its respective theories. 

- 'The effects model treats children as inadequate (it undermines their capabilities)'.

- Research hads been conducted which seeks to establish what children can do and understand from mass media. Outcomes have highlighted that children can talk intelligently and negatively about the mass media. The study included children as young as 7.

- This challanges the HNT, Anderson's theory and to an extent, children being passive audiences. 

- 'The effects model tackles social problems 'backwards''.

- Guantlett claims that 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 no need to genralise that all youths are violent. 

- '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 affected by medai content. 

- 'The effects model is selective in its criticisms 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 depictions of 'violence', which the effetcs model typically condemns are limited to fictional productions.