The Effects Debate has 3 different kind of people involved...
1. When people who have no statistical evidence vent their thoughts about a form of media that they deem unsafe with no evidence to back up their claims, such as politicians or celebrities. They say they feel 'young kids will go and copy what they say.'
2. People that do actually have evidence to show positive and negative effects from media products.
3. The people that are subjected to these media products, such as more often than not, children and teenagers.
The effects debate is a overview of..
The Reception Theory
The hypodermic Needle Theory
The Blumler and Katz Theory
The Reception Theory
There are 3 views in terms of the Theory.
Preferred is the way the director wants to see the media product, and hoping that the audience shares the same views.
Oppositional is when the audience completely go against the codes and conventions set by the director/producer.
Negotiated is when the audience agrees with some of the codes and conventions set by the director/producer.
The Reception theory could relate to a song such as 'How to save a life' by The Fray as it could be interpreted in different ways by different people.
Not always when watching a media text will some people agree with how the producer wants the viewer to interpret the text. An example of this is when Archie Mitchell was killed on Eastenders, and was meant to portray sadness, yet most people where glad that he had finally been killed because of the crimes he had previously committed.
The Hypodermic Needle Theory
This is described as when a person is viewing TV, media is being pushed into our brain, such like a syringe injecting it into us. It is stated in the theory that we are passive viewers, and are not completely aware of what we are taking in when viewing. The Mass media play a huge role in embedding information into our brains throughout advertising and that is why it is so effective as we don't know that we are consuming this information, yet subconsciously we are paying attention to it. An example of this is seeing an advert for a film once, and not taking any interest, but then seeing it again and think that you would like to see it.
The full extent of the theory is shown when someone can become completely immersed in a product and believe that they are a part of it. An example of this is when James Holmes killed 12 people and wounded 70 others at a theatre viewing of 'Batman The Dark Knight'. He claimed that he was meant to perform this attack, proving just how immersed in the film he was.
This is not the only cased involved with the theory, as Marilyn Manson and his record company where blamed for many deaths around America for the music he has released. A Homicide in an American school was blamed on his music, yet he has had no prior connection to the killers at all, just that they where fans of his music.
Blumler and Katz
Blumler and Katz, also know as the Gratification theory, specifies that we as an audience seek more out of media for our own pleasures and desires than what the actual texts offer. We watch it for our own pleasure and it doesn't particularly matter what the text portrays. We as an audience are passive or active, and our roles in media depends on us personally.
Also the theory suggests that it is up to us which media we take notice of at a specific time. An example of this is after a Girl having an argument with her boyfriend, going to watch a sad 'chick flick' movie.