AUDIENCE THEORY

RECEPTION:

Reception Theory essentially views Audiences as individuals receiving and decoding messages on a personal level, choosing to either accept the message (Preferred reading), reiect the message (Oppositional reading) or select which bits they agree with (Negotiated reading). Audiences are active as the textual meaning/message is open to interpretation before Audiences participate in the process. Its argued that texts are encoded for this ‘preferred’ meaning, with signs and codes, but that ultimately they are decoded independently. This Postmodern idea of multiple meaning's and multiple message's encoded within one text has been criticised for its simplification of the Audience and Media relationship. Miller and Philo argue.

‘Beliefs can be influenced by new messages from the media and also by the flow of new experience which can... be used in the rejection or acceptance of new messages. In other words the reception model should be dynamic'

- The Active Audience and wrong turns in Media Studies

EFFECTS:

Effects Theory sees Audiences as a group experiencing media and its intended message. Gerbner argued that media has the impact of Cultivation that these changes are small and occur over a long period of time. The Effects of Media Violence has been studied extensively and can be used to consider the effects of all media in general. It is believed that violence can have direct effects (changes in behaviour), desensitisation (more tolerant of violence in others), Mean World Syndrome (belief that the world is a scary and mean place, causing anxiety) or Catharsis (a positive outlet by viewing behaviour of others. people do not feel the need to behave in that way themselves).

"A lot of people in the movie industry tend to run

and hide from I like ostriches. Movie industry people are definitely in denial right now, but you do become desensitised to violence. Let's face it, violence exists for one reason in movies, and thats to get an effect, create an emotion, sell tickets."

- Madeleine Stowe

"Violence is one of the most fun things to watch."

- Quentin Tarantino

‘How a society channels male aggression is one of the greatest questions as to whether that society wil survive. That's why I am not against violence in the media, I am against the glorification of immoral violence'

- Dennis Prager

 

Post By:
Josh Barrett