Media Problems - Prof. Kurt Reymers

4/22/2015
SOCI 201
SOCIAL PROBLEMS
Professor Kurt Reymers, Ph.D.
I am gross and perverted
I’m obsessed and deranged
I have existed for years
But very little has changed
I am the tool of the government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you
I may be vile and pernicious
But you can’t look away
I make you think I’m delicious
With the stuff that I say
I am the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
Artist: Frank Zappa
Song: I’m The Slime
Album: Overnite Sensation
I am the slime oozin’ out
From your TV set
You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don’t need you
Don’t go for help...no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold
Artist: Rush
Song: The Spirit of Radio
Album: Permanent Waves (1979)
THEME: “Integrity in the Media”
 Invisible airwaves
Crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle
With the energy
Emotional feedback
On a timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift
 beyond price --Almost free...
All this machinery
Making modern music
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted
Its really just a question
Of your honesty
One likes to believe
In the freedom of music
But glittering prizes
And endless compromises
Shatter the illusion
Of integrity
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Media Problems
Readings and Assignments
Media Theory
Read: The Media and Social Problems, Douglas Kellner 2004
Media Practice
Read: Media Violence, American Academy of Pediatrics 2001
Read: Video Games and Violence, Crime Prevention research Digest 2011
Read: Gender and the Media, PTA.org 2010
The Internet
Read: The Meme Machine, Blackmore 1999
Watch: Digital Nation, PBS Frontline
Media and Society
1. Mass Media and Society
a. Features of the Traditional Mass Media
 Media: Message is encoded and delivered through
technology (a specific medium)
 Mass: One sender  (mass) audience
 Unidirectional: Messages flow one-way
 Standardized: Same messages for all members of
the audience
 Spatial-Temporal Disassociation: No
“co-presence” at all.
Media and Society
b. Types of Mass Media:
A
u
d
i
e
n
c
e
Synchronicity
max ………….……………..min
lots
Broadcast
(TV, Newspaper, Netflix)
vs.
Point-to-Point
(Telephone, IM chat, Email)
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c. History of the Mass Media:
i. First Amendment to the Bill of Rights –
“The Establishment Clause” (James Madison)
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/firstaminto.htm
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Media and Society
ii. Rapid Rise of Mass Media:
Adoption of Media Technology by US Households
Media Technology
Year medium
reached 1% of
US Households
Number of years to
reach 75% of US
Households
• Newspaper
1833
?
• Radio
1923
14 yrs (1937)
• Television
1948
7 yrs (1955)
1980
1970s
12 yrs (1992)
≈30 yrs (2000)
1992
12 yrs (2004)
–VCR
–Cable/satellite TV
• Internet
Source: Dr Christopher Kollmeyer, http://www.abdn.ac.uk/sociology/notes07/Level1/SO1506/Mass%20Media%20(1).ppt
iii. History: Rise of the Corporate Media
Corporate Ownership 2015:
The Big Six
The U.S. media landscape is dominated by
massive corporations that, through a history of
mergers and acquisitions, have concentrated
their control over what we see, hear and read. In
many cases, these giant companies are vertically
integrated, controlling everything from initial
production to final distribution. Here is more
information about the largest U.S. media firms.
Example: 2011 Comcast / NBC – 2015 Comcast / Time Warner
Source: The Free Press, http://www.freepress.net/ownership/chart/main?gclid=CKaZ7O2lnKUCFQIGbAodTyoBJQ
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Media and Society
2. Sociological Models of Media:
a. Social Structure vs. Audience Agency
S
O
C
I
E
T
Y
Media Message
Collective Response
I
n
t
e
r
p
r
e
t
a
t
i
o
n
S
E
L
F
“Hypodermic Needle”
“Active-Audience” Model
(Bullet) Model
Over-emphasizes structural control Over-emphasizes independence
of thought
of thought
How do media institutions facilitate structured order?
(Structural-Functional Perspective)
Source: Dr Christopher Kollmeyer,
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/sociology/notes07/Level1/
SO1506/Mass%20Media%20(1).ppt
Media and Society
2. Social Models of Media
b. Two-Flow and Encoding/Decoding Models
i. The Two-Flow model (Lazarsfeld and Katz)
- Not the media, but “opinion leaders”
primarily influence consumer and political choice;
Thus, media are not directly related to social problems; the media is not a
dominant institution from this perspective.
ii. Encoding/Decoding (Stuart Hall)
- There is a level of interpretation used by the media consumer;
media are not neutral, but the meaning of different media is
different for each consumer.
How are media institutions socially constructed ?
(Symbolic-Interaction perspective)
Media and Society
2. Social Models of Media
c. “Propaganda Theory”:
Is the media inherently political?
Chomsky and Herman's propaganda model is the thesis that corporate
media, as profit-driven institutions, tend to serve and further the agendas of
the interests of dominant, elite groups in the society. (Wiki)
Are the Media Too Liberal?
How are media institutions driven by power?
(Social Conflict perspective)
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Propaganda Model: Who Owns the Media?
Source: http://www.corporations.org/media/
Propaganda Model: Who Owns the Media?
Source: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/04/22/326320/-Is-it-time-for-the-Media-Ownership-Reform-Act-again
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Media and Society
3. Are The Media Too Violent?
A problem with definition exists:
What one person sees as violent may not be seen
the same way by others.
 UK - 2,078 programs analyzed, 4 week sample, under 30.1% contained
some violence, frequency of violence 1.7 acts per hour (Cumberbatch: 1987)
 NZ - 846 episodes of violence on one week, 9.5 acts per hour
 Sweden, Switzerland - low rates of violence, 2 acts per hour (NZ Foundation
for Peace Studies: 1986);
 Average Australian child - see 15,000 murders on TV during school
year;
 97% of crime shows, 74% adventure, 86% cartoons contain
violence (Chain Reaction: 1992)
Media and Society
b. ‘Television Violence Causes Aggression’ Reports support
findings:
1972 Surgeon General’s Report, 1982 National Institute of Mental Health, Royal
Commission on Violence in Communications Industry, American Pediatrics
Association (2001), etc.
 Feshback & Singer study (1973) found boys
viewing aggressive TV
showed increase in aggressive behavior;
 Belson study (1978) interviewed 1565 teenage boys in England between 1959 and
1971 - boys gave info on own level of violence, frequency. Belson found that
viewers who watched high amounts of violence reported
greater violence; (Williams: 1986);
 “Bidirectional model” - television violence influences aggression,
aggression influences preference for television violence (Huston & FriedrichCofer:1986)
Media and Society
c. ‘Television Violence Does NOT Cause Aggression’
 Research on violence is inconsistent and flawed; findings
generalized to real world;




Effect is too small to make much difference;
There is no clear definition of violence;
Violence on TV is just reflecting real life (Josephson, 1995)
False correlations in research: e.g., study of adolescent boys watching
nonviolent programs, more aggressive. Errors - required to watch disliked
programs, not in the home, boys not representative of population, disruption of
social setting; (Freedman, 1984)
(Source: Huston & Friedrich-Cofer - Television Violence and Aggression)
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Media and Society
d. Game Violence Debate
 Digital games were linked to two highly public acts of
violence: the Columbine High School shootings in 1999
and Erfurt, Germany school shootings in 2002.
 Violent games (as well as cinema, comics or rock music)
have been blamed for violence, but it has been hard to
demonstrate a clear, cause-and-effect relationship
between media violence and real violence.
 Debate around violent games continues and many
countries have introduced games-related legislation.
Media and Society
Increasing REALISM in games
Video Games: Towards 3-Dimensional Technology
 Most contemporary digital games require real-time
three-dimensional image synthesis.
 The increase of available memory and computing
power is reflected in how 8-bit gaming technology
was replaced first by 16-bit and then by 32, 64 and
128-bit systems.
 Home computing devices capable of real-time threedimensional graphics became widely available in the
1990s.
8-Bit Era
Magnavox Odyssey2 (1978)‫‏‬
Atari 2600 (1977)‫‏‬
Nintendo Game Boy (1989)‫‏‬
NES/
Famicom
(1983)‫‏‬
Commodore 64 (1982)‫‏‬
Image credits: Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org.
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16-Bit Era
PC Engine/
TurboGrafx-16 (1987)‫‏‬
Sega Mega Drive (1988)‫‏‬
SNES (1990)‫‏‬
Neo Geo (1990)‫‏‬
Image credits: Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org.
32-Bit / 64-Bit Era
Atari Jaguar (1993)‫‏‬
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
(1993)‫‏‬
Amiga CD-32 (1993)‫‏‬
Sony PlayStation (1994)‫‏‬
Nintendo 64 (1996)‫‏‬
Sega Saturn (1994)‫‏‬
Image credits: Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org.
128-Bit Era
Sony PlayStation 2 (2000)‫‏‬
Sega Dreamcast (1998)‫‏‬
Nintendo GameCube (2001)‫‏‬
Microsoft Xbox (2001)‫‏‬
Image credits: Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org.
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Current Era
Sony PlayStation Portable
(2004)‫‏‬
Nintendo DS (2004)‫‏‬
Microsoft Xbox 360
(2005)‫‏‬
Nintendo Wii (2006)‫‏‬
Sony
PlayStation 3 (2006)‫‏‬
Image credits: Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org.
Start of Three-Dimensional Action:
“DOOM”
 Doom (id Software, 1993) combined free movement
in a three-dimensional environment and fast,
shooter style action successfully.
 With its multiple followers (‘Doom clones’), it
started the First Person Shooter (FPS) genre.
 An important factor in the game’s success was its
atmosphere, derived from horror and science
fiction film conventions.
 Also, the shareware distribution model contributed
to Doom spreading quickly among the computer
gamer communities.
DOOM Game Art
Image credits: id Software.
 Download and play a Windows version of the free Doom shareware
episode: http://www.download.com/Doom-95-demo/3000-7453_4855497.html
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Gameplay Immersion: Point of View
 The first person view does not focus our attention as
much on the game character as the view used in ‘third
person shooters’ (see Tomb Raider style of games)‫‏‬.
 Doom has very transparent interface: the player focus is
strongly on the task and a feeling of immersion in virtual
space is created.
Image credits: Core Design, Crystal Dynamics; sources: www.tombraiderchronicles.com,
www.wikipedia.org.
Gameplay Experience Model
Image credits: Laura Ermi & Frans Mäyrä.
 Game – player interaction and the three components of immersion
in play (the SCI model, Ermi & Mäyrä, 2005).
Controversy Continues
 FPS action has become part of ‘family games’ too,
like those in the Harry Potter franchise.
 The Grand Theft Auto series has created
controversy with its violent and sexual content.
The violent, adult-oriented themes of FPS style
games continue to evoke debate.
Is violence just a tool of capitalism?
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Media and Society
4. Memetics and the Media
a. Language (code) allows for cultural evolution
Some scientists believe that culture and language
evolve using the same patterns and principles as
genetic evolution.
Principles of Natural Selection apply



Variation
Inheritance
Selection (survival of the fittest)
Media and Society
4. Memetics and the Media
DNA and memes succeed when they are present in the following
ways:
↑Amount of transmitted material - Fecundity
ii. ↑Accuracy of transmission - Fidelity
iii. ↑Age of replicator - Longevity
i.
Media and Society
4. Memetics and the Media
b. Whereas the “gene” is the unit of transmission
(replicator) in biological evolution, the “meme” is the
unit of transmission (replicator) in cultural
evolution.
“Meme” is a shortened version of the Greek word
“mimeme”, which means “imitation” or “mimicry”.
Gene : DNA
Meme : Media
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Media and Society
4. Memetics and the Media
c. What is a Meme?
“ a replicator that conveys the idea of a unit of
cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation”
--Richard Dawkins
- or “an information pattern, held in an individual's
memory, which is capable of being copied to
another individual's memory.”
-- F. Heylighen
Media and Society
4. Memetics and the Media
c. A meme unit is the smallest idea (or set of ideas) that get
copied completely.
Examples of memes or meme units:
(Beethoven’s 5th)




Advertising slogans and jingles
Viral Internet jokes
Religious beliefs
Scientific Knowledge
Media and Society
e. Meme “vehicles” or “machines” are ways in
which idea sets get copied from one brain to
another.
Meme machines always rely on human transportation
and communication technologies.
Examples of meme machines are:




Human signals
Human speech
Traditional Media: printing press, newspaper, radio
New media: TV, the Internet, email, etc.
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Media and Society
Gene in parent
Related or unrelated
previous generation
Peer brains
Gene
Transmission
Unrelated
next
generation
brains
Gene in progeny
Meme
Transmission
Offspring brain
Media and Society
f. “Meme machines” are getting more complex
and accurate over time (Blackmore 1999)
The new media are particularly engaging the transition
to digital media as a more effective means of
replication of ideas.
i. ANALOG  DIGITAL transition
ii. Computers copy instructions -software)
(vs copying the product -hardware)
iii. Ease of use of computer software has fostered
replication.
Media and Society
The burgeoning literature ...
A New Theory of How
We Think &
Communicate
Journal of Memetics online …
And finally … a great web site …
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Frontline: Digital Nation
PT II
2’30”
4’40”
5’10”
Multitasking study at Stanford
“Are we changing what it means to be human?”
Impact of the Internet on the brain
PT III
South Korean video game parlors; a problem of public health;
End: The Netiquette Song!
PT IV
Computers in the classroom (New Jersey); is it valuable or just
“instant gratification education”?
Frontline: Digital Nation
PT V
Schools in the Bronx have improved learning (test scores) with I.T.
1’45” BUT, when kids get older, reading suffer
Bubbe – grandma’s internet cooking show
5’00” World of Warcraft convention
Turkle:
7’45”
“The urge to connect toSherry
other
people” defines the reason for the
compulsion; an intensity of relationships exists; people are deeply
connected – technology offered a “new way to be intimate”
PT VI
Interview with Philip Rosedale of Second Life; Will technological
innovation solve technological alienation?
4’00” Second Life at IBM
Frontline: Digital Nation
PT VII
Virtual experiences can profoundly effect a person.
2’00” The “Swimming with Whales” experiment
3’00” Army use of VR to treat PTSD
4’50” Technology is driven by warfare
10’00” Ethics of drone aircraft
PT VIII
Army Experience Center
2’25” “Blurring the lines between the virtual and the real”
4’00” Kids have the ability to “naturally” jump between worlds
6’00” We have to PROTECT SCHOOLS from technology!
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Frontline: Digital Nation
7’00”
Sherry Turkle:
“Technology challenges us to assert our human values,
which means that first of all we have to figure out what they
are – and that’s not so easy”…
“Technology isn’t good or bad – it’s powerful… and it’s
complicated!”
The New Media have the power to transform the way we
collectively see the world, which will be important when we
need the world to change!
Frontline: Digital Nation
7’00”
Sherry Turkle:
“Technology challenges us to assert our human values,
which means that first of all we have to figure out what they
are – and that’s not so easy”…
“Technology isn’t good or bad – it’s powerful… and it’s
complicated!”
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