Violence and Sex in Mass Media According to Julia T. Wood and Denis McQuail

Violence

Violence Accidents

Violence Tragedy

Violence Political unrest

Violence Rivalry

Violence on TV

Sex

Sex Sensual

Sex Erotic

Sex Sultry

Sex Sensational

Violence & Sex

Violence & Sex

Violence is news! Violence in primetime shows and cartoons may be used to increase interest and stimulation People find it dull to watch shows in which there is little action Abnormal is more newsworthy than the normal

No violence = no news!

Cultivation Theory Refers to the cumulative process by which television alters belief about social reality Watching TV promotes a distorted view of life that heavy viewers are likely to assume represents reality

Two mechanisms of the cultivation process Mainstreaming The effect of TV in stabilizing and homogenizing within a society If programs watched from morning to night feature extensive violence then viewers may come to believe that violence is common Resonance The extent to which something is congruent with personal experience

Assumptions of cultivation theory

1. TV is unique It is pervasive Almost everyone owns a TV It is uniquely accessible It does not require particular skills It is virtually free No payments after initial cost of the appliance

2. TV forms the cultural mainstream It constructs and projects images that come to define the cultural mainstream or the general view of life in society. Blurs traditional distinctions in world views Blends diverse realities into a single, homogeneous mainstream view Bends the mainstream view to serve the institutional interests of TV sponsors

3. TV cultivates basic assumptions about life rather than specify attitudes and opinions It is less influential in fostering specific beliefs and opinions than in shaping viewers’ underlying assumptions about life and how it works Mean world syndrome The belief that the world is a dangerous place, full of selfish, mean people who cannot be trusted and who are likely to harm us

4. TV is a medium of conservative socialization TV is conservative in stabilizing existing social patterns and in promoting resistance to change TV is ritualistic, relying on generic formulas to tell stories in news, drama, and comedy programs, as well as in advertising

5. Observable effects of TV on culture are relatively small Ice-age metaphor (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, and Signorielli, 1980) “Just as an average temperature shift of a few degrees can lead to an ice age or the outcomes of elections can be determined by slight margins, so too can a relatively small but pervasive influence make a cultural difference.” The size of an effect is far less critical than the direction of its steady contribution

6. New technologies extend TV’s influence Addresses the emergence of new technologies Additional technologies will not diminish the impact of television as a medium, but will actually reinforce and magnify it Videos can be viewed from the home

Synthetic Reality of Television Violence TV often transmits particular and often unrealistic understanding of the world as being more violent and dangerous that statistics on actual violence indicate it is Sex Sex-role stereotypes are more apparent in children who watch more commercial (not educational) TV (Kimball, 1986)

Let’s talk about sex

Sex in mass media Gender There are relatively large differences according to gender in the manner of use of media and the meanings attached to the activity It relates to power roles within the family and the general nature of relationships between men and women Sexuality

strong emphasis on eroticism and sublime sex People will have expectations for sexual perfectionism in their own relationships (Shapiro & Kroeger, 1991) People who watch sexually violent MTV are more likely to regard sexual violence as normal in relationships (Dieter, 1989)

Sex sells!

Why is there sex and violence in mass media?

References Communication Theories In Action, An Introduction (1977) by Julia T. Wood Mass Communication Theory, An Introduction, 3rd edition (1994) by Denis McQuail