Violence in Mass Media

Question 1

cultivation theory

Answer 1

• George Gerbner’s interpretation
• the more time people spend “living” in the television world, the more likely they are to believe the social reality portrayed on television.
• 比如我看脑残偶像剧看多了就在现实社会中找不到男朋友因为现实和剧里不一样
• seems to fall into, ‘stalagmite theories 钟乳石’. which suggest that media effects occur similarly to the slow buildup of formations on cave floors and take on a variety of forms after years of steady dripping of limewater石灰水 from the cave洞穴 ceilings.
• humorous violence is an effective way to convey lessons of power.

Question 2

mean world syndrome

Answer 2

• George Gerbner’s interpretation
  － to express his belief that the more people were exposed to violence-related content, the more they were likely to believe that the world they live in is a dangerous place.
  看多暴力血腥的内容人们会觉得社会危险
  － fall into the “hypodermic needle model” or “magic bullet theory”
• suggesting that the media “shoots” its message directly into the viewer’s head, thereby directly impacting him/her.

Question 3

stalagmite theories 钟乳石

Answer 3

－ media effects occur similarly to the slow buildup of formations on cave floors and take on a variety of forms after years of steady dripping of limewater石灰水 from the cave洞穴 ceilings.

Question 4

“hypodermic needle model” or “magic bullet theory”

Answer 4

－suggesting that the media “shoots” its message directly into the viewer’s head, thereby directly impacting him/her.
－ 举个例子：the broadcast of The War of the Worlds in 1938

Question 5

George Gerbner

Answer 5

1. cultivation theory培养理论 （脑残偶像剧看多脱离现实）

2. mean world syndrome 看多暴力血腥的内容人们会觉得社会就是危险的地方

Question 6

symbolic system

Answer 6

• Gerbner
• “totally invented to serve human purposes.”
• a story has 2 elements of invention : fictive虚构 and selective 选择.

Question 7

selective invention

Answer 7

• in the symbolic system
• factual事实的 narrative such as the news.
• presumably大概 true events(facts) are selected from an endless stream of events.
• a narrative is invented to convey some meaning about the selected facts as interpreted in a previously learned framework of knowledge.

Question 8

fictive invention

Answer 8

• in the symbolic system
• fiction and drams. “facts” are invented as well as the narrative.
• illuminate the invisible structure and dynamics of the significant connections of human life.

Question 9

social learning theory

Answer 9

• by Albert Bandura
• suggests that people not only learn by getting rewarded or punished themselves(behaviourism), but also by watching somebody else being rewarded or punished(observational learning).
• 人们不仅会因为自己能得到什么好处或惩罚而去学习， 看到别人得到好处或者惩罚也会想学习。

Question 10

Albert Bandura

Answer 10

－ social learning theory : behaviourism, observational learning

• bobo doll experiment : showing how children learn behaviour by observing
• suggests that children can learn and reproduce violent behaviour upon being exposed to cartoon/humorist behaviour.
• cartoon violence.

Question 11

Nancy Signorielli

Answer 11

• distinguishes various kinds of violence:
  1. Immoral Violence: clearly intended, within the story, to be destructive, negative or evil.
  2. Justified Violence: clearly seen, within the story, to be just or a means to an end.
  3. Graphic Violence: descriptive vivid and gory in nature.
  4. Gratuitous/excessive Violence: beyond that which is essential to the plot.