MDSA01H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 10: Hypodermic Needle, Reception Theory, Mass Media
Document Summary
Reception scholars: seek to understand the personal meanings that individuals make of mass media texts in relation to their lived social systems and experiences. Interview consumers: observe the environment where the consumers consume the media, unique perspective on the power of audiences in shaping the media landscape. Instead of looking at how media content of production practices influence helpless media consumers, reception analysis supports the notion of an active audience constantly reformulating the meanings of a media text. Traditional approaches to understanding the audience are largely social scientific and concentrate on measuring the effects of media messages on mass consumers. Messages do not mean the same thing for everyone. Audience does not passively absorb any and all media messages. Individuals who watch a lot of television are hyperconscious to issues of danger and violence in their everyday lives. Believed that violence is more prevalent in society than actual statistics report: widespread effect.
