Explain in your own words what the effects theory is?
Effects theory looks at how media texts influence those who consume them particularly how negative messages for example sexual and violent content can affect the most vulnerable of audience groups.
Explain in your own words what the hypodermic needle model is going examples?
The mass media in the 1940s and 1950s were perceived as a powerful influence on behaviour change.
Several factors contributed to this strong effects theory of communication which are the fast rise and popularisation of radio and television he emergence of the persuasion industries, such as advertising and propaganda.Hitler's monopolisation of the mass media during WWII to unify the German public behind the Nazi party
Explain what the cultivation model is and what is meant by dissemination. give at least one example where desseniation to violent gamers has been mentioned in the media in relation to violent crime?Finish for homework.
Cultivation is a social theory which looks at long term effects of video games and how people spend more time in the video game world than in reality. Dissemination is communication which has a sender and a receiver. The sender sends information and the receiver collects it and then processes it and sends it back to the receiver. In Alabama a teenager called Devin Moore killed 3 people because he was playing Grand Theft Auto 4 and he had no criminal history but then snapped.
Which factors influence whether you buy a game or not.
Advertisement
Word of mouth- friends recommendation
Expert reviews- on gaming in magazines
Look at advertisement for that game and explain why they might want you to buy the game how are they influencing you?
Then discuss the game with your friends- how might this influence you what do your friends say? Is it positive or negative?
Read a selection of expert reviews of the game, what do these tell you. how do these influence you?
Finally which of the 3 factors has influenced you the most and why/
I have chosen to do Hitman Absolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzTHY3eiWVs
The trailer for Hitman Absolution shows Agent 47 sneaking around and stealth killing enemies and disguising him self to get passed guards. It really appleals to me because I like stealth games and I have been a big fan of the Hitman franchise and all so in the trailer it shows hitman's new skills which are like blending in with the environment and point shooting. These skills will make the game even better and the graphics are very realistic which all of this would appeal to Hitman franchise fans. It has all so taken the company 5 years to make the next Hitman game and now they show a trailer of the new Hitman game which will make all the Hitman franchise fans excited.
A few of my friends say it looks good and they would by it but some of my other friends do not like it because it is not their sort of game they would play.
http://uk.gamespot.com/search/?qs=hitman+absolution
On Gamespot they gave Hitman Absolution a 7.5 and said "The best missions are open-ended and allow you to be stealthy or shooty
On IGN they gave Hitman Absolution a 9 which is a really good rating and this is what they said about it. "For a game built upon the concept of slipping by unnoticed, Hitman: Absolution is certainly doing the opposite. It’s standing conspicuously amongst today’s fad-driven modern shooters and me-too multiplayer hopefuls, middle fingers extended. A slow-paced, single-player focused sneak ’em up, Absolution looms in stark opposition to many of the most pervading trends in gaming today". "Above everything, Absolution is a game that wants you to experiment with it. It refuses to be rushed through, rewarding brains over brawn. It wants you to spend time inside it, methodically picking your way around and discovering morbid new ways to snuff out your unfortunate marks. Like Blood Money before it, your targets here can be executed in a host of ever-so-slightly sickeningly different ways"
These reviews influence me a bit because of the rating the game got and goes on about how it compare stop other games out now and tells you a bit about the story of the game and tell you a bit about the leaked dlc which is coming out soon.
Of all 3 factors the advertisement has influenced me more because it is a visual and shows game play and tells you a bit about the story and it keeps the viewers anticipated and specially me.
Uses and gratifications
This is opposite range to the effects theory. which means they see the audience as a active consumer instead of a passive consumer.
During 1960s people started to make choices about how and why they consumed media text. Rather than being a passive mass. The audiences are made up of individuals who consume media text for different reasons.
Diversion- Escape from everyday problems and routines.
Personal relationship- Using media for emotional and other interactions.
Personal Identity- Constructing their own identity from characters in the media text and learning behaviour and values.
Surveillance- Information gathering e.g educational programmes, weather reports, financial news and holiday bargains.
Information
Finding out relevant events and conditions
Seeking advice
Satisfying curiosity and general interest
Learning
Self education
Confidence through gaining information
Personal identity
Finding reinforcements for personal values
Finding models of behaviour
Identifying with collaboratives
Gaining insight on oneself
Integrations and social interaction
Gaining insight into circumstances of others
Identify with others a sense of belonging
Finding a basis for conversation and social interaction
having a substitute for real life companionship
Helping to carry out social roles
Enabling one to connect with family, friends and society
Entertainment
Escaping or diverting from problems
Relaxing
Getting intrinsic cultural or aesthetic enjoyment
Filling time
Emotional release
Sexual arousal
Think of examples of instances where the following have applied to you when playing games.
Diversion- Escape from everyday problems and routines.
Personal relationship- Using media for emotional and other interactions.
Personal Identity- Constructing their own identity from characters in the media text and learning behaviour and values.
Surveillance- Information gathering e.g educational programmes, weather reports, financial news and holiday bargains.
Diversion has occur ed in my life when I'm at home and my mum is on the computer or watching T.V I would go on my PS3 then and escape from ever day things and just play on my PS3 for hours. When someone is watching T.V I would go on the computer for a bit and go on social networks or play games online. I play Hitman Absolution because it help me escape from everyday problems because it is a stealthy game which I like and I have all was been a big fan of the Hitman games.
Personal relationship- I play online with friends and meet new people in a game and I am interacting with them by playing the game. A game I mostly play online is Assassin's Creed 3. I interact with new people and friends by sending them messages or talking to them over a microphone.
Personal identity- When I was younger I all ways wanted to be Spiderman from the films and animated series.
Surveillance- I look for holiday bargains with my mates for a lads holiday.
Reception Theory
While uses and gratifications research is
concerned with why people use media, the approach often referred to as
‘reception theory’ focuses on what people see in the media, on the meanings
they produce when they interpret media texts.
The nationwide study
In 1980, David Morley conducted a very
detailed audience study, observing how many different social groups read the
same media text. He discovered that there are three main types of reading for
any media text:
Dominant (or hegemonic)
reading – the reader shares the
programmes code (it’s meaning system of values, attitudes, beliefs and
assumptions) and accepts the
preferred reading.
Negotiated reading – the reader partly shares the programmes
code but modifies it in a way which reflects their position and interests.
Oppositional (counter hegemonic)
reading – The reader does not share the
programmes code and rejects the preferred reading, bringing to bear an
alternative frame of interpretation (e.g. A feminist reading of a ‘lads’
magazine).
Think of at least one example where your reading of a game has been in line with the Dominant (or hegemonic) reading.
I agree with the video game The Saboteur because it based on a true story and nearly everything in it is what really happen.
Think of at least one example where your
reading of a game has been a Negotiated
reading .
I do agree with bits of the story for Medal of Honour Warfighter because you play as the good guys but it is a bit one sided because you don't get to see the side of the bad guys story which would be a good take for a game.
Think of at least one example where your
reading of a game has been an Oppositional
(counter hegemonic) reading .
A game I disagree with is Call of Duty Black Ops 2 because it is set in the future where all the soldiers have futuristic weapons and there are zombies in it which aren't real. The story is too far fetch and very unbelievable because there are bits in the game which just wouldn't happen.
Understanding genre
What kind of games are GTA games?
Free roam, sandbox, RPG, action and adventure. Games are developing into more than just one type of genre.
We classify things by comparing them to cultural norms.
We can classify people, objects or media text. We classify people by what they wear and what music they listen to. All so by what games they play.
The process of classification is never easy but we engage with it all the time. It is a way of helping us make sense, meaning and order out of what would otherwise be a world of chaos.
We apply the same logic to media texts, we classify them by thinking of their similarities, we label games as action/adventure or survival horror. We do the same when listing to music or watching films.
Objective - to develop your understanding of identification of generic types and to apply this to examples.
What to do -
Pick between 3 -5 games.
For each game think through the narrative
structure, how you control your avatar and how
the game ‘handles’.
Then work out how it fits into
different genre ‘boxes’ by thinking about the key reference
points of time, location, iconography and how you actually
play the game. Use your notes on classification and genre to
help you do this.
Far Cry 3 is a variety of genres like FPS, action, adventure, free roaming, stealth, co-op and multiplayer. The location is a tropical island in the Pacific and it is set in 2012. You can upgrade the main characters abilities by doing mission ans side quest and for hunting and killing enemies. The player can hunt a variety of animals on the island and then cut open the animal and take its lungs and skin which can be used for upgrading loot bags, weapon bags and ammunition bags. The player has to take back outpost which are been controlled by pirates. When the player liberates the outpost they are rewarded with xp which will help the player level up. Far Cry 3 is similar to the film Beach. Understanding genre
What kind of games are GTA games?
Free roam, sandbox, RPG, action and adventure. Games are developing into more than just one type of genre.
We classify things by comparing them to cultural norms.
We can classify people, objects or media text. We classify people by what they wear and what music they listen to. All so by what games they play.
The process of classification is never easy but we engage with it all the time. It is a way of helping us make sense, meaning and order out of what would otherwise be a world of chaos.
We apply the same logic to media texts, we classify them by thinking of their similarities, we label games as action/adventure or survival horror. We do the same when listing to music or watching films.
Objective - to develop your understanding of identification of generic types and to apply this to examples.
What to do -
Pick between 3 -5 games.
For each game think through the narrative
structure, how you control your avatar and how
the game ‘handles’.
Then work out how it fits into
different genre ‘boxes’ by thinking about the key reference
points of time, location, iconography and how you actually
play the game. Use your notes on classification and genre to
help you do this.
Games I have chosen are:
Far Cry 3
Darksiders 2
Hitman Absolution
Call of Duty Modern Warfare
The story of Far Cry 3 is Jason Brody is on vacation with a group of friends on a tropical island in the Pacific when they decide to take a skydiving trip. But they all land in different parts of a pirate-infested island, and are taken prisoner by a pirate lord named Vaas. Vaas plans to extort ransom money from their parents, then sell them into slavery. With the help of his older brother Grant, Jason breaks out of captivity, but Grant is killed in the escape. Jason is rescued by a man named Dennis, who is part of the Rakyat, the island natives who suffer under the boot of the pirates. 
Darksiders 2 is hack and slash, action/adventure, action role playing game.
Darksiders 2 II takes place parallel to the previous game. In the prologue, it is revealed that the Four Horsemen are the last of the Nephilim, fusions of angels and demons who waged a bloody war on the rest of creation. In order to preserve the balance of the Universe, the Four, who had grown tired of the conquest, received incredible powers from the Charred Council in exchange for slaughtering the rest of the Nephilim. The Horseman Death trapped the souls of his fallen brethren in an amulet, earning the title of Kinslayer among others.
While War is charged with his crimes, the horseman Death, sure that his brother is innocent, sets out on a personal mission to erase his brother's 'crime' and resurrect humanity. He first travels to the Icy Veila dimension between the three kingdoms of Heaven, Hell, and Earthto seek the Keeper of Secrets for proof of War's innocence and the way to restore Earth.
Hitman Absolution is a action/adventure and stealth game. In the aftermath of Hitman: Blood Money, Diana Burnwood, Agent 47's handler with the International Contract Agency, suddenly goes rogue, carrying out a catastrophic sabotage that includes publicly exposing the Agency. The Agency reforms under agent Benjamin Travis; Travis contracts a kill order on Diana, assigning 47 to make the hit and bring Victoria, a teenage girl in her care, to the Agency. Shooting and wounding Diana in her home, 47 hesitates before killing her, and she asks 47 to take a letter she wrote and keep Victoria from the Agency.
Call of Duty Moder warfare is a First Person Shooter (FPS). In 2011, a civil war has broken out in Russia between its government and ultranationalists who seek to restore Russia to its Soviet-era glamour. Meanwhile, a separatist group lead by Khaled Al-Asad seizes power in a "small but oil-rich" country in the Middle East through a coup d'état. Al-Asad is ruthless and has extreme anti-Western views. Afterwards, the United States invades the country. In the afternoon of the second day of invasion, a platoon of USMC 1st Force Recon is sent to capture Al-Asad. The platoon attacks a TV station in which Al-Asad was thought to be broadcasting live and then engages in urban combat in an unnamed city south of the capital. In the meantime, the British Special Air Service conducts two important operations, one on a ship in the Bering Strait and one in Russia. Intelligence gathered from the two missions indicates that Al-Asad may be in possession of a Russian nuclear device.
