Unit 1: Effects Model

'The media effects debate is an outdated concept'. Discuss this statement in relation to a media product you have studied. Use examples to support your answer. [20]

The effects model suggests that the consumption of media products have an impact on audience members that are often considered to be negative. In this model the audience is deemed to be passive and powerless in preventing this influence which comes from the message the lies in the text. Another take on this model is called The Hypodermic Model which further suggests that the message is injected into the audiences' mind by the powerful, syringe like, media and can't be rejected.

This model is especially relevant for younger audience members, especially children, as they have no concept of differentiating real life from the world of media and can therefore be susceptible to violence and swearing and may even begin to use it in their everyday life. This was proven in 1961 by Albert Bandura who conducted an experiment called The Bobo Doll Experiment where a group of children were shown a video of an adult violently attacked a clown Bobo Doll. From here, the children were brought into a room with a Bobo doll one at a time and 88% of them began to attack the doll. Some may argue that, because the children were in the room for 20 minutes, they were just bored and trying to occupy their time. However, 8 months later when the children returned, 40% still continued violently attacking the Bobo Doll, suggesting this behaviour was an act of following their role models which meant the experience concluded that children will imitate violent behaviour. This theory is still used by some politicians and parts of media and is often pointed to as the blame for many crimes. For example, in 1993, the murder of James Bulger was placed on idea that the two 10 year olds watched Child's Play 3 and treated the murder as a copy cat crime. However, in cases like this and many others after the outcry which usually was followed by the ban of texts, known as moral panics, it was subsequently found that there were no proven links to demonstrate that the media caused the violent outburst.

Due to the sensitivity of children, BBFC is very beneficial as it helps to project children from potentially harmful and unsuitable media and also is used to advice parents, allowing them to make an informed viewing decision for their children. The BBFC is an organisation funded by the film industry which is responsible for the national age rating classification and censorship for films and is rated based on the specific classifications such as the use of language, discrimination, drugs, sex and violence.
Attack The Block is rated a 15 due to language which exceeds the maximum capacity for it be rated a 12...