AQA Media Studies for A Level: Revision Guide

105 7 Media audiences You need to feel con dent about the basic principles outlined in Chapter 3 to develop your understanding of the extended ideas in this chapter. Review the earlier activities where you feel less sure about the theoretical ideas. Cultivation theory (Gerbner) Cultivation theory ideas take a longer view of media effects and focus on the way the media can be part of the socialisation process, helping people to learn about the norms and values of society. The media tends to present mainstream values and standardised norms and values. The idea is that, over time, this helps to cultivate these mainstream values in the audience – the act of enculturation . Gerbner identi ed that the more a person engages with the media, the more they will experience this enculturation. The cultivation differential is the difference in enculturation between light and heavy users of the media. Gerbner put forward the idea that another outcome of heavy media use is that the messages offered by the media often paint a very negative image of the world. This can lead to people assuming that the world is more dangerous and threatening than it actually is – this is mean world syndrome . People with heavy media usage would score highly on what Gerbner called the mean world index . The media tells stories that communicate the fears, interests and concerns of the producing culture and this gives it a bardic function . The most effective stories are the ones that the audience can identify with and audiences tend to select the media products that re ect their values. This allows for the mainstreaming of certain ideas within these groups, as long as the ideas have a resonance for the audience that re ects their views and experiences. When discussing audience in the examination, try to avoid making broad generalised statements about it. Ask yourself if you can prove what you have just said. Proof can come from ideas from the theoretical framework or from the media language choices made in the production of the text. How is the target audience for the media product below identi ed? Provide evidence for your ideas by discussing the media language choices made in the production of the text and ideas from audience theory. 7.1