Media theories

By Jack O’Hara
Hypodermic needle

The hypodermic needle theory is the media

theory that suggests mass media has an
influence on the way the general public/the
audience perceives reality. It is done by
injecting thoughts, values and beliefs into the
audiences’ mind subconsciously. In the end,
this results in a change of opinion.
Propaganda during each of the World Wars
are examples of this because the general
public saw these opinions so much that it
resulted in their own opinion changing.
Uses and gratifications
theory
The uses and gratifications theory is used
whenever an active audience reacts to the
mass media and the different kinds of media
they choose to consume for different reasons.
These reasons usually consist of educated
themselves, keeping themselves informed,
entertainment for themselves, to enhance
their personal identity, to get social
interaction or to use for social interaction and
finally, escapism.
An example of the uses and gratifications
theory is that a lot of people watch films,
television shows and play video games to
escape their own reality and find solace in
another.
Reception study
The reception study theory is a theory that media producers encode their products
with texts that have meanings. This theory is relatively simple but very effective
because it’s the most common one that we see in everyday life.
An example of this would be lighting a character with sharper and more harsh
lighting to show that they are a tough or rough person. Another example would be
lighting a character with softer lighting techniques to show that they are a kind and
gentle person.
However, it’s not that simple. Different people in different situations will decode
meanings differently. This means that a wealthy person is more likely to decode a
text in a different way than a poor person would.
It is said that texts can be decoded in three different ways:
• Dominant – this is when the text is decoded exactly as the producer intended
• Negotiated – this is when the person understands the meaning behind the text
but needs to be adapted to fit to the person’s own beliefs
• Oppositional – this is when the person rejects the meaning behind the text
despite understanding the connotations behind it.
Passive or active
consumption
The passive or active consumption theory is the theory
that audiences can be passive and they can also be
passive.
A passive consumer is somebody who consumes the
product they are watching and agree with everything they
are seeing in the product.
An active consumer is a person who consumes the
product they are watching and will actively challenge the
viewpoints of the product. An active consumer is a person
who will come up with their own viewpoints after
consuming a piece of media.
A good example of this would be a crime documentary.
Passive consumers will take everything at face value and
agree that all criminals are bad. However, an active
consumer will watch the same product and challenge the
viewpoints made in the product.
Media panic around films, television
shows and video games

Media panic, otherwise known as moral panic, is

emotional criticism against a new medium or media
technology such as the Internet, the World Wide Web,
computer games or social media. Itis a feeling of fear
spread among many people that some evil threatens the
well-being of society.
Things like video games and films have always been
criticized for making people feel this way. Violent video
games and violent films are two of the biggest reasons for
this as they make people feel that the general public are
becoming less sensitive to these issues.

A film and a game that have been blamed for this are:
• Joker
• Grand Theft Auto
Joker (2019)

Joker (2019) is a film about the DC and Batman villain,

The Joker. It is an origin story of the villain’s life and
how they became the Clown prince.
Due to it being a story about the Joker, it was always
going to be violent.
People have blamed the film for glorifying violence
and also blamed the movie for attempting to make us
feel sympathetic towards a serial killer. However,
people have mainly blamed the Joker for awakening
violent personalities.
Here is one of those reports:
https://time.com/5688305/joker-todd-phillips-review/
Personally, I think that the film has a right to exist. Yet,
I can’t help but agree with the fact that the film does
glorify and almost promote violence.
Grand Theft Auto

Another media product that gets this sort of reaction is the Grand
Theft Auto series. Grand Theft Auto is a is a series of action-
adventure games that show a side of America that isn’t usually
shown in every day life. They are games about criminals that do
things criminals would normally do.
Grand Theft Auto games have been repeatedly been blamed for
different things, such as glorifying violence, teaching younger
people to be okay with violence and other things, too. The main
thing that the series has been blamed for is inciting younger
people to commit crimes such as a ‘school shooting’.
Here is an example of one of these reports:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/25/sandy-hook-s
hooter-adam-lanza-report

Personally, while I think that the Grand Theft Auto games are
quite violent and can be taken in that way, I also think the
problem is that parents allow their children to see these kinds of
entertainment when they don’t meet the age requirement set by
the authorities.