We talked about entertainment theory in my media effects class today. It isn't actually a theory, but it is an idea (many theories) about how entertainment media effects an audience. We talked about how we perceive and respond to media characters. I started to reflect on how I feel about Brennen and Booth. I really love them. "Why," you ask? We should all think about why we like and relate to media characters.
I like them because... they are predictable, they are fun, and they NEVER LET ME DOWN. I always know what they are going to do and I feel like I don't have to guess how to interact with them. I could probably tell you what they would each do in various situations. I know that I will laugh when I'm with them. I also know that they will succeed in their endeavors to catch the bad guys. Compared to real life where everything is unpredictable and you don't always win, Brennen and Booth always pull through for me.
We also talked about television and arousal which I semi posted about when I talked about crying during commercials and the Olympics. However, we also talked about mood management theory and I truly believe that media is strictly used to manage our moods. Why do you think we ask, "What do you feel like watching?" Even when I use media to check the weather it is usually because I want to anticipate what to wear so I'm not annoyed if I am too cold.
The last thing we talked about was empathy. Are women or men more vulnerable to media effects because of their ability to empathize? What are the effects of massive exposure to emotionally charged images? I don't really know the answer to the second question, but I'm going to be thinking about it and hopefully discovering how I feel about emotionally charged images. Please post links to any images that were emotionally charged for you (anything that evokes emotion for you, keep it appropriate) in your comments.
We also talked about television and arousal which I semi posted about when I talked about crying during commercials and the Olympics. However, we also talked about mood management theory and I truly believe that media is strictly used to manage our moods. Why do you think we ask, "What do you feel like watching?" Even when I use media to check the weather it is usually because I want to anticipate what to wear so I'm not annoyed if I am too cold.
The last thing we talked about was empathy. Are women or men more vulnerable to media effects because of their ability to empathize? What are the effects of massive exposure to emotionally charged images? I don't really know the answer to the second question, but I'm going to be thinking about it and hopefully discovering how I feel about emotionally charged images. Please post links to any images that were emotionally charged for you (anything that evokes emotion for you, keep it appropriate) in your comments.
1 comment:
Interesting thoughts and questions. I think that sometimes media can emotionally "saturate" people so that people are less available to interact emotionally with others. This isn't always the case, but sometimes I wonder if certain types of media dull some positive emotions. At the same time, I think media can evoke, at least temporarily, a greater degree of emotion--positive or negative.
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