Audiences Part 1

How does the media impact our behaviour and attitudes

• changes to voting patterns

• Increased levels of racism

• Fashion/consumption

• More violent

What is pester power

The idea that adverts for things like toys will be shown on children’s tv and they will then pester their parents for it which increases consumption

What does Marcuse think about the media

Media transmits mass culture which is injected into the hearts of the population through ruling class propaganda

How does Norris say that the media can influence voting behaviour

For example if you consume a lot of right wing media it could begin to change your opinion in politics until it changes who you vote for

Give three examples of how women are presented in the media

• Disney princesses

• Beauty ideal

• Sexualised women

How do Disney princess change our attitudes towards women

In most Disney films women are saved by a man in order to live or they are stuck at home being a housewife while the male has a job

How does the beauty ideal affect our opinions towards women

Women are objectified and expected to look a certain way and if they don’t meet these standards it could lead to things like plastic surgery

How does sexualising women effect our opinions on women

It feeds the patriarchal idea that women are objects

How are these opinions of women changing

From 2007-2018 the % of women in leading roles has doubled from 20-40 e.g. Wonder Woman

What does gerbner eat al say

Violence in the media leads to violent and anti social behaviour

What perspective is dworkin

Feminist

What does dworkin say

Excessive consumption of pornography can lead to an increase in violence against women

What does orbach say

The media often portrays and unrealistic and narrow standard of female beauty e.g. slimness = health which can lead to problems such as body dysmorphia

What are some things that are shown in Disney films

• women should never speak up

• Beauty is their number 1 priority

• Being domesticated it’s important

• Women are supposed to stay home

• Girls don’t need intelligence they need to be pretty

What is the hypodermic syringe model (magic bullet theory)

• suggests the media acts as a syringe and injects media into the veins of the audience

• The audience is seen to be passive and unthinking so are unable to resist

• Fills audience with dominant ideology

Evaluate the hypodermic syringe theory

• many people disagree with the media publicly which shows they aren’t a passive audience e.g. they post on social media about it

• Many would argue it isn’t an immediate change as people need to hear a message multiple times before it changes their opinion

How does the hypodermic syringe model work

• media sends out a message

• The audience receives a daily dose of it

• This affects the way the audience thinks and feels e.g. like a drug

Give a real life example of how the hypodermic syringe model works

• media says benefit scroungers are to blame

• Audience see this in the news on tv every day

• Audience begins to believe its true

Feminists and the hypodermic syringe model

• Morgan

• Dworkin

What does Morgan say

“Porn is the theory and rape is the practice”

What does dworkin say about porn

Porn trivialises rape as it encourages men to abuse and inflict pain on women

Which sociologists criticise Morgan and dworkin

• Hald

• - malmuth

What does hald say

Men and women say that porn improves their sex lives and attitudes towards the oppressed gender

What does malmuth say

Porn will only worsen a person behaviour if they were already aggressive, for the majority it has no effect

What are criticisms of the hypodermic syringe model

• it assumes that the audience is passive - e.g. if it’s said that the young gen are criminals only the older gen will accept it

• It assumes the audience is easily manipulated- more people are aware of the effects of the media now

• It assumes the media overrides all other types of socialisation

• There is little evidence that it has an immediate effect as everyone is different

What is an important criticism for the hypodermic syringe model

Buckingham says that children are much more media literate and so know the difference between real and fictional violence