TASK 2

Task 2 a & b (P3,M3,D3) Individually

Understand how media audiences respond to media products

Audience theory: hypodermic needle model; uses and gratifications theory; reception study; passive or active consumption

Effects debates: eg effects of exposure to explicit sexual or violent content, effects of advertising, health concerns; censorship debates

Responses: negotiated; preferred; oppositional; participatory; cultural competence; fan culture

Task 2a

Write an article for a media education website MedEdUK, which helps GCSE students to understand the key concepts of media theory. This section of the website is entitled Understanding how media audiences respond to media products: Audience Theory the Key Concepts.

v  Explain with examples and names of relevant theorists the following key theories and ideas surrounding Audience Theory:

• Passive or active consumption;
• Hypodermic needle model;
• Cultivation model;
• Two step flow model and how these influence the Effects debates (sex/violence/censorship);
• Uses and gratifications theory;
• Reception study including Responses (negotiated, preferred, oppositional and participatory).

v  You also need to explain how these relate to and influence the Effects Debate (sex/violence/censorship).

Remember to include examples and where appropriate diagrams, together with your sources.

Also, use the peer teaching resources, the resources in the LRC (Media text books), and on moodle!

It is not sufficient to copy and paste from another website or book, or simply to copy the material used in the peer teaching exercise, you must use your own words and your own examples.

Deadline: Noon, Friday 20^th January 2017 A link to your blog needs to be pasted onto Moodle Unit 6 Task 2: here

Task 2b

This is the second part of your article for MedEdUK, which helps GCSE students to understand the key concepts of media theory. This section of the website is entitled Understanding how media audiences respond to media products: Audience Theory the Key Concepts. 

v  Apply Reception Theory to the documentary Bowling for Columbine (Moore:2002). Identify the director’s preferred reading (encoding), along with the possible audience responses (decoding) of dominant, negotiated, oppositional, and participatory. Give textual examples to support your findings.

v  Discuss how the Effects Debate (particularly Mean World Syndrome/Moral Panic) contributes to the Moore’s argument.

Deadline: Noon, Friday 20^th January 2017 A link to your blog needs to be pasted onto Moodle Unit 6 Task 2: here