Unit 1 - Media Products and Audiences

Summary: Question: 'The current regulatory framework for media products is ineffective.' Using your knowledge about regulatory bodies and media products, discuss the accuracy of this statement. Use examples to support your answer. [20 Marks] Plan: If regulation is effective enough, then all media should not be harmful. But is it? Dark Knight 2008 12 - people concerned with the Joker and his blunt graphicness. If it's a 12A people might just take their younger children in regardless which could 'mentally scar' them. Packard and the idea that the media 'injects' the audience with ideas. Gauntlett and the idea that audiences can interpret media products. COD MW 2 No Russian, PEGI 18 but that's harder to regulate because of parents buying children games without really thinking. So even if the regulation is fine in this regard it's often still not effective. As for violence, people are given the option to choose violence or not, so if they choose v...

Context: The film was initially shown in France in early 2020 and was featured at the Sundance Film Festival where all seemed well until Netflix bought the worldwide streaming rights and made a questionable poster. As a result, the internet got very angry for a while, accusing it of sexualising young girls. You know the drill, the BBFC gave it a 15. Controversy: People got mad and tried to cancel the film, then Netflix, then the director. There is a lasting debate between those who are certain the film is sexualising minors and those who are equally certain it's just a case of poor marketing choices. Brought about by Netflix’s poster, controversy was stirred by the film’s seeming blatant sexualisation of young girls. Many were outraged that what they saw as borderline child pornography was being hosted on and promoted by one of the world’s biggest streaming services. Many hadn’t actually seen the film before judging based purely on the marketing. Many who have seen the film argue t...

Information and education - the viewer wants to acquire information, knowledge and understanding by watching programmes like The News or documentaries. Entertainment - Viewers watch programmes for enjoyment. Personal identity - Viewers can recognise a person or product, role models that reflect similar values to themselves and mimic or copy some of their characteristics. Social interaction - The ability for media products to produce a topic of conversation between people. For example who the best contestant is on The X-Factor or which the best goal was out of those shown on Match of the Day. Escapism - Games and action films are common examples of products which let viewers escape their real lives and imagine themselves in those situations.

An active audience theory, this talks about how an audience deal with the messages they are given by the media. Production - Encoding (construction) of a message begins. The creator(s) of the message is feeding off of society's beliefs and values. They are hoping to put across a certain message. Circulation - How individuals perceive things: visual vs written. How things are circulated influences how audience members will receive the messages and put it to use. Use (distribution or consumption) - The message has to be adopted as a meaningful discourse and it has to be meaningfully decoded. However, the decoding/interpreting of a message requires active recipients. Reproduction - This stage is directly after audience members have interpreted a message in their own way based on their experiences and beliefs. The decoded meanings are the ones with 'an effect. At this point, you will see whether individuals take action after they have been exposed to a specific message.

Ofcom - Office of Communications Regulates TV, radio and other broadcast media. ipso - Independent Press Standards Organisation Regulates the newspaper and magazine industries. W3C - World Wide Web Consortium International community of member organisations working to develop web standards. PEGI - Pan-European Game Information Classifies video games according to content, providing age restriction recommendations. bbfc - British Board of Film Classification UK's independent regulator for film and other audio-visual content. Classifies according to content, providing age ratings. ASA/CAP - Advertising Standards Authority/Committee of Advertising Practice ASA - UK's independent advertising regulator ensuring that advertisers stick to the advertising codes of conduct. CAP - Writes the advertising codes PRS - Performing Right Society Ensures musicians are paid royalties when their music is performed, and fights music piracy not very well.

Context: Joker was released in 2019 and was given a 15 rating (and an R rating in America) for 'strong bloody violence and language' and follows the failed clown and comedian Arthur Fleck as he descends into insanity and nihilism, resulting in a violent counter-cultural revolution against the wealthy. Controversy: Prior to the film's release, the US Army warned service members of potential violence at theaters screening the film while Texas law enforcement distributed 'credible' information "regarding the targeting of an unknown movie theater during the release". This didn't actually amount to anything, however. People were concerned that the violence in the film could influence and inspire people to commit mass shootings, especially due to the online incel community's feeling of relatability to the character. Bloody virgins. There was also a lot to be said for the 10 or so years of the post-crash economy and consequent resentment for the top 1%. ...

Context, Bob: Right so first things first this is a 2012 sequel to The Dark Knight and the third in the trilogy, which follows Batman as he's quote 'forced from his exile to save Gotham City from the brutal guerrilla terrorist Bane.' Our old friends at the BBFC gave this a 12A. The Incident: July 20th, 2012 was the knight of a midnight showing of the film in Aurora, Colorado. 24-year-old James Eagan Holmes entered wearing a gas mask ('tactical clothing') and opened fire in the theatre with multiple firearms, killing 12 and injuring 58. James supposedly identified himself as 'the Joker' (despite the fact he wasn't even in this film but I suppose that's besides the point) but apparently he didn't actually say this anyway. He apparently exploded 2 gas canisters and silently walked up the isle while shooting. Some people thought this was a special effects installation as it was the international premiere and the film had just reached an action sequen...

According to big Stanley, there are 5 key stages in the construction of a moral panic: 1. Someone, something or a group are defined as a threat to social norms or community interests. 2. The threat is then depicted in a simple and recognisable symbol/form by the media. 3. The portrayal of of this symbol rouses public concern. 4. There is a response from authorities and policy makers. 5. The moral panic over the issue results in social changes within the community. Wikipedia also gives us some examples of moral panic: Belief in widespread abduction of children by predatory paedophiles. Belief in ritual abuse of women and children by Satanic cults. Concerns over the effects of music lyrics. I really feel that one of these is not like the others. This isn't the same as mass hysteria, which is apparently closer to a psychological illness than to a sociological phenomenon.

Hypodermic Needle Theory (1920s-1940s): A term for the impact media products have on their audience. It's built upon ideas from the 1930s' 'Hypodermic Syringe' model, where Vance Packard discussed the negative impact of mass media products with reference to persuasive advertising across print and broadcast media. Cultivation Theory (1978): Gerbner and Gross' cultivation theory suggests that over time, repetition of viewing violent acts allows certain ideas and values to become normalised. By repetitive viewing of violent images in TV, film or video games the audience may become desensitised to them. Passive Audience Theory: Passive audience theory builds upon Packard's idea of being able to inject ideas into people's heads like a 'hypodermic syringe' and reinforces the idea that audiences have limited resistance to media message. Main concerns were about the idea of 'copycat' effects and assumes the audience will copy whatever they see. ...

Wikipedia is my friend. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a 2009 first-person shooter developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. The 'no Russian' level is one in which you, the player, can participate in a mass shooting at a Russian airport in order to gain the trust of Russian terrorist Vladimir Makarov. The level was somewhat inspired by air travel safety concerns following the 9/11 attacks. Activision decided to remove the mission from the game in its Russian release, leading to some Media outlets incorrectly reporting on it being banned or recalled. Japanese and German releases saw the player punished with a 'game over' screen if they were to shoot any civilians. The uncensored version of the game received an 18 rating from PEGI specifically due to the mission. Some game testers were initially angry at the level before growing more comfortable as it went on. Before the release, video footage of the level was leaked online, causing game reviewers to be d...

The film was sent to the BBFC with a request for a 12A rating, in line with the previous film in the series, Batman Begins . The film had already been given a PG-13 rating by the MPAA in America 'for intense sequences of violence and some menace.' Prior to this, there was significant media attention around the film due to the recent and sudden death of Heath Ledger, The Joker's actor. The main factors in the film's rating was violence and threat, which was allowed in 12A films to an extent, and not be dwelled on in detail. The examiners agreed, but the public complained. The film's violence is quickly edited, a bit crunchy at times but lacking in any blood or injury details. The impacts are mostly masked by actors and/or camera angles but with the impression and implication of violence being very strong. For example in the 'pencil trick scene' where The Joker slams that man's head onto a pencil. Some people claimed that they saw the pencil go into the ma...

The BBFC is the British Board of Film Classification. They classify films using an age rating system that aims to stop people viewing film content that is inappropriate for their age. Cheers Jeff. 5 Violent Films: It transpires I don't watch many violent films.

'We're all just saying numbers'          - Travis Survey Period: Quarterly Population (000s): Population in the thousands Reach (000s): How many people the stations reach in thousands Reach Percent: The same but as a percent of the population? The others make sense. All this fun stuff is useful for advertisers because they can use it to get an idea of how big of a reach their advertising could have if they were to advertise on one of these stations (ignoring the BBC ones obviously).