Post 5- Audience theory

1. The Effects model tackles social problems backwards- E.G. How can you consider the effect on audience without looking at their background info.




Desensitisation- when an audience has got used to seeing something. For example, if someone has had a bad life, and are used to seeing violence, doesn't mean that they will be a violent person themselves.







2. The Effects Model treat children as inadequate.



the issue raised in this discussion was that half of the class are still 17, and the other are already 18. Technically, a child is someone under the age of 18. Yet we all equally have our own opinions and voices when it comes to discussing media. Therefore classing anyone under the age of 18 as inadequate is a huge loss in a range of audience view points.







3. Assumptions within the effects model are charactorised by barely concealed conservative ideology.


Civilised messages and meanings we associate with. Appropriate messages.


For example, assuming that everyone agree's that some things shouldn't be shown before 9pm.



The problem with this theory is that some may argue that their kids stay up past 9pm, and therefore can watch if they like the programmes after the watershed. Another theory is that most kids have televisions in their rooms. This means that they can put their television on whenever they like and watch whatever they like.
Therefore, the audience are in charge, we get to decide what to watch, not what the 'rules' say we can watch.


4. The Effects Model inadequatley defines it's own objects of study.
- for example, this means that they get to choose what to study, and from what they choose (which would probably be something that has a lot of negatives to it) they only focus on the bad things about the topic of study, not the good thing.
Therefore it is all completely biased, and we wouldn't get to hear the other side of the argument in the study is.


5. The Effects Model is often based on artificial elements and assumptions within studies.

With evidence from the last point, this means that the effects model is based on opinions, there are no facts within their theory. They are fake assesments.
The problem with this one is obvious, we aren't given actual facts, just theories and opinions made up from the Effects Model. Therefore how can we believe what is true, and what is just an opinion?

6. The Effects Model is often based on studies with misapplied methodology.
Similar to the last point, this means that this is just the way they do the research. It shows that the ways they choose to do the research is just, once again, opinions.

7. The Effects Model is selective in it's critisisms of media depictions of violence.
For example, the news.
10 years ago, the news wasn't allowed to show any pictures of the dead or violent crime.
But now, for example, a few days ago in the news, there was a video shown of the Taliban shooting down innocent passer by's. These shocking images are all over the news now, so this shows how the news has changed dramatically in the past decade.
This point means that the effects model works like the news did 10 years ago, it isn't realistic in what they depict in terms of violence or crime.

8. The Effects Model assumes superiority to the masses.
This suggests that people are affected by what they see in the media, and this leads to the violence in the community that is depicted in films or the news.
The truth is that almost no one says they are affected by the media in those terms. In actual fact, everybody has a sense of violence from different things, whether it be from a violent background, or violent friends or bullying. But people don't admit this.
This is why the effects model assumes that people are affected by the media, as people don't admit to their violent lives.

9. The Effects Model makes no attempt to understand meanings of the media.
This just shows that the Effects Model doesn't look deep enough into a situation. They don't attempt to try and understand the audiences, and the impact of the media on them. The whole idea is that they assume, amd that their theories are just based on those assumptions, and opinions, as they don't try to understand anything to do with the media.

10. The Effects Model isn't grounded in theory.
This means that the effects model has NO theoretical meanings. It only looks at the outcome, not all the theories and facts in between. The glamourise the situations.

In conclusion, The Effects Model does not explain media consumer's thoughts. It is all based on interpretations and opinions. NO FACTS.