Unit 6 lo3
- 1. Unit 6 LO3 As a whole, the media has a massive on the public every day of the year. Culture and society has been moulded around the way that the media industry decides to target and inject their products/videos in the audience’s brains. The media industry can be responsible for the effects on the public’s nutrition/health care, violence and crime, and even political views and opinions. Each of these can have an effect on an audience via the use of an advert, music video, documentary etc. In regards to the music industry, music videos used to accompany and promote an artist’s song can be hugely effective an influencing on the audience. Lots of different audiences will interpret the video in different ways, however, the audience that the music video is targeted at will be more influenced to copy or react in a similar way. For example, 50 cent named his debut studio album ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’’. To the younger members of society, probably male in the socio-economic group Middle or Working class, this album name would seem cool or ‘normal’. However, older audiences may see it as glorifying the want for money, and if money is hard to come by, then going to any measure to obtain money is acceptable. A film was later released with the same title starring 50 Cent, portraying some of the messages from his album songs through the medium of film. A lot of rap and hip-hop genre music videos are very controversial and regularly have to be edited to be suitable for audiences of all ages. However, via YouTube or Vimeo, it’s not hard for young people to find the unedited explicit versions. Even when these types of music videos are shown on ‘child friendly’ channels such as MTV or Viva, images and motifs such as guns, crime, vandalism, erotic portrayal of women etc. can all be interpreted differently by different audiences. A parent watching the video may view these themes and completely disagree with the content and not allow their children to watch it. A younger member of society, probably a teenage male, may be more inclined to imitate and copy the actions portrayed in the video. This would most likely be down to the fact that these elements and themes are almost the norm in modern day music videos. Lastly, a young child could easily watch the video and become scared. To an innocent mind these videos can really influence a child’s perception of the world. Obviously, these audiences will be different in terms geo- demographics as to how the audience will absorb the messages from music videos. The uses and gratifications theory is probably the most popular approach to understanding mass communication within media. The theory has a more direct focus on the consumer/audience instead of its actual message or intent. It does this by asking ‘what people do with media’ rather than ‘what media does to people’ (Katz, 1959). The theory assumes that audiences take an active role when it comes to interpreting and integrating media into their own lives, rather than taking a passive approach. This theory also believes that audiences are responsible for choosing different types of media to meet their specific needs and wants. This approach implies that that the audience will use the media to meet certain gratifications. This in mind, it would indicate that the media industry is very competitive when it comes to other sources for the audiences gratifications. It is implied that the uses and gratifications theory has to fulfil one of the following when the audience pick a form of media; identify, educate, entertain and social interaction. For example, topics such as ‘who will win big brother’, spark instant conversations and create social interaction.
- 2. The Hypodermic Needle theory (also know as the ‘Magic Bullet’), is a communications theory that rooted in the 1930s and is considered by many to be no longer existent. The term ‘Hypodermic Needle’ is used comes from the idea of direct effect to audiences through mass media. This diagram known as the two step flow, shows how audiences are injected with media messages. The two images (Hypodermic Needle and Bullet) are used to suggest a powerful and direct flow of messages or information from the sender to receiver. The Magic Bullet implies that a bullet of information is shot, by the ‘media gun’, into the head of the consumer. Whereas the Hypodermic needle suggests that the audience are passively injected with the information. Both of the imagery used is similar with the same effect, audiences being instantly being influenced by the messages. This is where the media is criticised for being dangerous as the consumer or audience is unable to resist the impact of the message. Audiences are very vulnerable when it comes to the media injecting them with information and it becomes hard for them to believe anything else when they are spoon fed information without exterior sources. However, as all audiences are different, everyone will react in a different manner when given the information, often without realising. This difference between passive and active consumption is that a passive audience will pay little attention the messages being broadcasted. It may affect the audience psychologically but most likely no manifest itself. On the contrary, active consumption is when audiences will go out of their way to consume text or messages broadcasted from the media. Eminem’s hit song, ‘The Real Slim Shady’, has a very controversial music video to accompany it, as do most of his songs. The song and video combined essentially explain how Eminem is the ‘badest’ and ‘hardest’, and even though others may try to imitate him, no one will ever be as good as him. This, in its self, is a message that may convince young audiences to try and accomplish his level anger and disagreement with society. Other elements in the video include him mocking other celebrities, recklessly driving in a car park, mild sexual content, disrespect to women and spitting in peoples food. All these elements can be viewed differently by different audiences, dependant on their demographics, geo-demographics and socio-economic grouping. However, as a whole it’s not hard to identify how a majority of audiences will think of the video. In regards to other Eminem music videos, this would be considered rather tame. However, a parent of young children would still be wary of their children viewing some of these scenes due to there explicit content (as well as the explicit lyrics). In this video, Eminem’s portrayal of an acceptable way to act in society may influence younger audiences to act in similar way; after all, he is a role model that many young people look up to. Unfortunately, many other music videos include much more explicit content than this particular one, and has been argued that these types of video have contributed to the number of crimes committed by young adults.