The Hypodermic Needle Theory:
Moral Panic & Folk Devils:
- Audiences absorbe information given to them
- Audiences are passive and unable to reject media messages as opposed to being active and able to take back individual views from media content.
- Audiences are commonly negatively impacted by violent horror content in the media (e.g. games and movies)
Decencisised means becoming numbed by the effects of certain exposure to content in the media. For example, audiences are becoming unfased by horror films and gory scenes.
Moral Panic & Folk Devils:
- Stanly Cohen developed the moral panic theory (1972)
- This encompassed the ideas of folk devils
- Moral panic "a codition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests"
- Cohen's research was based on mods and rockers in the '60s - has since been applied to the media
Stages of moral panic:
- Someone/something is presented as a threat
- The 'threat' is then symbolsed by the media
- The portrayal of the 'threat' raises public concern
- Policy makers and authorities respond
- The public are re-assured and the moral panic is gone
Regulatory Bodies (Office Of Communication):
- Ofcom have monitored tv since 2004
- Ofcom regulate television content throughout the UK
- The main duty is to ensure the public are protected from innapropriate, harful and offensive material
- Uncencored content (e.g nudity, swearing, etc.) is allowed to be aired past 9pm - This is called the 'watershed'
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