Thursday, 22 October 2009

The Reception Theory

- Given that the Effects Model and the Uses and Graification have their problems and limitations a defferent approach to audience was developed by the audience was developed by the academic Stuart Hall at Birmingham University in the 1970's.

- This considered ho texts were encoded with meaning by producers ad then decoded (understand) by audience.

- The theory suggests that:

- When a producer contructs a text it is encoded ith a meaning or message that the producer wishesto convey t the audience.

- In some instances audience ill correctly decode the message or meaning and understand what the producers was trying to say.

- In som instances the audience will either reject or fail to correctly understand the message.

- Stuart Hall identify three types of audiences reading (or decoding) of the text:

1. Dominant
2. Ngotiated
3. Opposite

Dominant

- Where the audience descodes the message as the producer wants them to do and broadly agrees with it.

e.g. Watching political speech and agreeing with it.

Negotiated

- Where the audience accepts, rejects or refines elements of the text in light previously help views.

e.g. Niether agreeing or desagreeing with politicl speech or being disinterested.

Oppostional

- Where the dominant meanings is recognised but rejected for cultural, political or ideological reasons.

e.g. Total rejection of the political speech and active the opposition.


Producers Encodes Meanings-------Negotiated--------Dominant----------Oppositional

e.g. Born in the USA

The Uses and Gratifications Model Overall

- It is still unclear hat there is any link between the consumption of violent media texts and violent imitative behaviour.

- It is also clar the theory is flawed in that many people do watch violnt texts and ppear not o be influenced.

- Therfore a new theory is necessary.

-This is called the Uses and Gratification model is the opposite of the Effects Model.

-Here the audience is active.

- The audience uses the text and is not used by it.

- The audienc also uses the text for its own gratification or pleasure.

-Here, poer lies with the audience not the producers.

- This theory emphasises what udience do ith media txts- how and why they use them.

- Far from being duped by the media, the audinc is free to reject, use or play with media meaning as they see it.

- Audiencs therefore use media texts to gratify needs for:

> Diversion
> Escapism
> Information
> Pleasure
> Comparing relationships and lifestyles with one's own
> Sexual Stimulation

- The audience is in control and consumption if the media helps people with issue such as:

> Learning
> Emotional Satisfication
> Relaxation
> Help with issues of personal identity
> Help with issues with social identity
> Help with issues of aggression and violence

- Controversially the theory suggests the consumption of violent images can be helpful rather than harmful.

- The theory suggest that audiences act out their violent impluses through the consumtion of media violence.

- The audience's inclination towards violence is therefore sublimated, and they are less likely to commit violnt acts.

The Effects Model Overall

-In each case there was a media and political outcry for the texts to be banned.

- In some cases law were changed,films banned and newspapers demanded the burning films.

- Subsequently, in each case it was foun that NO case could be proven to demonstrate a link between the text and the violent acts.

-The Effects Model contributes to moral panics whereby, the media produce inactivit,makes us into students who won't pass their exams or 'couch potatoe' who make no effort to get a job.

-The media producers violent 'copycats' behaviour of mindless shopping in response to advertisements.

Research

Key examples sited as causing or ebing contributing factors are:

- The film Child Play 3 in the murder of James Bulger in 1993.


-The game Manhunt in the murder of Stefan Pakeerh in 2004 by his friends.



- The film A Clockwork Orange (1971) in a number of rapes an violent attacks



- The film Severance (2006) in the murder if Simon Evritt






Research

The effects model (backed up by the bobo doll experiement) is still the dominant theory used by politicians, some parts of the media and soe religious organisaion in attributing violence to the consumptio of media text.

e.g Cilit Bang!

Sunday, 18 October 2009

Research

Hypodermic Model also known as the Effects Model.

Here the message in Media texts are injected into the audience by the powerful syrine -like techniques. The audience is powerless to resist.
Therefore, the media works like a drug and the audience is drugged, addicted, doped and duped.

Evidence for the Effexts Model

1. The Frankfurt School theorised in the 1920's and 30's that the mass media acted to restrict and control audience to the benefit to corporate capitalism and governments

2. The bob doll experiement

This is a very contraversial piece of research that apparently proved that children copy violent behaviour. The conclusion reached was that children will imitat violent behavior. There are many problems with the experiment.

Research- Theorys

Feminist Film Theory and Audiences

Laura Mulvey

Visual Pleasure and Narrative

Cinema(1975)Cinema reflects societyTherefore cinema reflects a patriachy society. How does a patriarchal society manifest itself in cinema?An example: Patriarchy and phallocentrism are linked. The phallus is the symbol of power. Note how guns are used in films.

GUNS= PHALLUS=POWERThe Gaze:

The gaze of the camera is the male 'gaze'.

The male gaze is active, the female is passive. Within the narrative male characters direct their gaze towards female characters.The spectators(audience) is made to identify with the male look, becuase the cmarea films from the optical, as well as libidinal, point of view of the male character.Thus three levels of the cinematic gaze- camera, character and spectator, that objectify the female character (the triple gaze).

Therefore the audeince is constructed as though everyone was male. Women are foreced to look as though they were male audience member.

Agency

In the classical Hollywood cinema the male protagonist has agency he is active and powerful. He is the agent around whom the dramatic action unfolds.The female character is passive and powerless and she is the object of desire for protagonist and audience.

Erotic Desire

Mulvey argues that women have two roles in films.
As an object of erotic desire for the characters
As an object of erotic desire for the audience.

Thursday, 8 October 2009

Research

Today in lesson we was looking at other students music videos in the past. From the many music videos we watched, there was some really good techniques. These were:
One had a storyline of a girl who rejects a boy. The editing is very quick and this relates to the song as the song was called "I live for speed".
We see two different music videos to the same song which is 'Movies of myself' , one had good lip-synching but the voice was a man with a girl singing it, It was along a coast which suited the song. Another music video was a scrapbook with pictures of a day out between three best friends. It then zooms into different pictures and you see what happened on the day.

Both videos looked good and suited the song.

Other techniques we see which was god was talking into the camera and throws there self into it this makes it look more real. Also there was reverse camera movement which is very effective and an effect of black and white but with a white ribbon.

All these techniques are very effective and make the music videos look very good.

The Effects Model

The Effects Model

This theory suggests that the consumption of media texts affects the audience. The audience is influenced, sometimes to replicate what they have consumer.

Also known as The Hypodermic Syringe Model. Here the audience is PASSIVE. The images of test are 'injected' directly into the brain and the audience is powerless to resist.

Research

There have been two main cases that do questions whether media texts do effect the audience watching them.

The first case study is:- Murder of Stefan Pakeerah- Game : Manhunt- Game linked to murdered by friendNew Zeland game banned and in Great Britain it was given an 18 certificateThe game was dramatically effected and was witheld from being sold.

The second case study is James Bulger:- His killers were Venebals and Thompson, however there is research to suggest they were neglected.- However the film Child Play 3 was blamed for the actions of these two boys, although there was no evidence that even suggests they had even seen the film.- Politicians banned the film

Also... Bandora made a study involving a BoBo Doll.
He tried to prove children copied the behaviour that they see and the children did act violently towards the doll after watching the adults hit the BoBo doll.However, there were parts of the study which contributed to why the children were violent to the BoBo doll. It turns out that the children weren't allowed to play with any of the other toys. This is retention process occurred. This would have made children angry. They were then lead to another room with toys in. This is the motivation stage.

From this is stated 88% children imitated the behaviour they had seen, then 8 months later 40% of the same children repeated behaviour.

However in all these cases it has never been clear whether it is due to media or if it was down to people wanting to put the blame somewhere. Also, in the BoBo doll experiment the children would have felt very angry that there was toys they couldn't play with.

Artist

We never heard back from Cincere so in the end we decided to E-mail another artist. We e-mailed 4flava and the song was called 4 the camera.


They then emailed back and we are now going to plan filming in tomorrow lesson. I have added what we emailed to the artist and the email we got back as evidence we were allowed to use the song.