COMS 201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: George Gerbner, Cultivation Theory

• School: University of Calgary
• Department: Communications Studies
• Course: COMS 201
• Professor: Samantha Thrift

Document Summary

A theory of media effects: (cid:862)tele(cid:448)isio(cid:374) (cid:272)ulti(cid:448)ates, or pro(cid:373)otes, a (cid:448)ie(cid:449) of so(cid:272)ial realit(cid:455) that is i(cid:374)a(cid:272)(cid:272)urate (cid:271)ut that (cid:448)ie(cid:449)ers (cid:374)o(cid:374)etheless assu(cid:373)e refle(cid:272)ts real life(cid:863) (cid:894)(cid:449)ood, 2(cid:1008)(cid:1008)(cid:895) Tv shows & cartoons: violence makes progra(cid:373)s (cid:373)ore i(cid:374)teresti(cid:374)g violence = action. Draws audiences who might find other content dull and boring. News: abnormal news reports may be more newsworthy than the normal. News tends to highlight unusual stories like violence. Perceived to be more engaging and interesting when it reports on conflict. Key terms: cultivation: (cid:862)the (cid:272)u(cid:373)ulati(cid:448)e pro(cid:272)ess (cid:271)(cid:455) (cid:449)hi(cid:272)h tele(cid:448)isio(cid:374) fosters (cid:271)eliefs a(cid:271)out so(cid:272)ial realit(cid:455)(cid:863) (cid:894)wood, 2(cid:1008)(cid:1009)(cid:895) Note: cultivation theory posits that long term vie(cid:449)i(cid:374)g i(cid:373)pa(cid:272)ts (cid:448)ie(cid:449)ers" beliefs and world views, not a single program or a day of binge-watching. The wire: synthetic reality: refers to the inaccurate view of the world resulting from long term exposure to television. Mainstreaming and resonance: two mechanisms that explain how cultivation works: