Media Audiences and Effects

  • Earlier in the semester, we looked at media texts, their function, and communication, including production cultures, ideology, and political economy.

  • Now focusing on what media audiences do with texts, linking to discussions from other areas.

Media Effects on Audiences

  • Initial thoughts often include:

    • People relating to characters.

    • Using characters to communicate self-identity.

  • Discussions are typically dominated by negative effects of media.

The Media Effects Model

  • The media effects model suggests media content has power over audiences, who are seen as passive.

  • The hypodermic model suggests the media is all-powerful and has a uniform effect on the audience, which is incorrect.

  • Problems with the model:

    • If media made people violent, censors and media studies lecturers would be the most dangerous people.

Albert Bandura Experiment

  • The experiment involved a kid watching an adult smacking a Bobo doll and then imitating that behavior.

  • Critiques:

    • The doll is meant to be hit; it's a toy.

    • The effects model conflates representational violence with actual violence.

Context and Ethics in Research

  • Ethical issues prevent researchers from conducting unsafe experiments on children.

  • Researchers often study symbolic violence due to ethical constraints, leading to skewed conclusions.

  • There are issues with research into video games in the context of violence.

Observational Learning

  • The effects model is based on observational learning.

  • People learn how to behave by observing role models.

  • Imitation of scripts occurs when encountering similar situations.

  • This is relevant to ideology; repeated messaging across texts can build power.

  • Example: Advertising relies on the idea that buying things improves life.

Permission and Advertising

  • The premise of advertising is rarely questioned.

  • Consumers don't give permission to be advertised to.

  • Billboards exemplify this, taking up space and sight lines without consent.

The Uses and Gratifications Model

  • This model opposes the effects theory; texts do not use this model to understand them.

  • Audiences approach texts with a desire to satisfy personal and social needs.

  • The audience is powerful and takes what it needs from the media.

  • Critiques:

    • People often watch shows they hate, which isn't accounted for.

    • Audiences can be both passive and active.

Ways People Engage with Media

  • Entertainment and diversion (because it's fun)

  • Information and surveillance (understanding the world through media)

  • Personal identity (communicating in memes, jokes, etc.)

  • Personal relationships and social interaction (connecting with others through shared media interests)

Synthesis: Encoding and Decoding

  • Hall's Encoding/Decoding Model:

    • Media is encoded with ideological meaning through production.

    • Audiences decode media in various ways.

Types of Readings

  • Preferred Reading:

    • Audiences understand and accept the dominant reading.

  • Negotiated Reading:

    • Audiences accept some of what is presented.

  • Oppositional Reading:

    • Audiences interpret a text against the intended meaning.

  • Aberrant Reading:

    • Audiences lack cultural tools and create a garbled version.

Examples of Readings

  • A Nike ad was interpreted as a Halloween ad (negotiated reading).

  • Climate change being positive for investors is an oppositional reading for most.

  • A University of Adelaide ad featuring a man explaining something to women was seen as mansplaining (negotiated reading).

  • A property management ad was humorously misunderstood.

  • A car ad featuring a middle-aged Asian woman was misinterpreted due to cultural context (an example of an aberrant reading).

Influences on Audience Readings

  • Social identities (class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, age) shape readings.

  • Online wars and extreme applications of media studies ideas.

  • Anzac Day, monarchy, and New Zealand social identity.

Questions to Consider

  • How has the media influenced your thinking and behavior?

  • How do you use the media for entertainment, information, identity, and social interaction?

  • When have you rejected media messages and why?

  • Which media audience models do you find most useful?

Course Information

  • Media audiences topic valid for the second assignment.

  • Email for extensions if needed due to time or disruptions.