Notes on Cultural Effects Model

The media is very powerful and can influence the ways that people interpret media texts. However audiences are very diverse and initially all interpret information very differently because of past experiences and different backgrounds, and this is based on factors such as their class, gender and ethnicity.

In this theory, the media does not see the audience as passive. When people watch media products, they consume the information in very different ways. However, the producers of the media products expect people to interpret the information in a certain way.

The cultural effects model is a long term process, meaning that audiences don't feel the effects straight away, instead it is over time as they consume more. It can be seen as mesmerising the audience to believe something.

How is it used in Music Videos?

In music videos the media can portray there view on things, making the audience feel this is how they should be. A good example of this would be that in order to be happy and confident, woman must have a body like a model. This would then be backed up in a music video by seeing lots of woman being shown in this same way, making them look good and making others wants to be like them. 

This is why music videos are so powerful, because they can influence the way people behave and the way people want to be. They can sway the way the audience see certain things and therefore play a big role in society and he way the world is today.

This post is beneficial to me because it allows me to understand how the Cultural Effects model is used within the media, and the roles it plays on the audience. Therefore, it is important that if you are trying to connote something either within the narrative of the music video or just at certain times in the music video, that this is very clearly planned out and carried out, and that it is either going with or against the general stereotypes or conventions of this type of music video. If it isn't clear, it can cause the audience to not understand the music video, or not be able to relate to the music video.