mitchellvernon

[mitchellvernon]

Audience Studies (3P18) Blog Post #2 Mitchell Vernon

Week Six

During week six we looked at uses and gratifications, this material allowed our class to take a deep dive into the minds of the consumers and provided context regarding the quantification of media consumption. The major question asked this week was “how and why individuals use the media” (Sullivan, 108). This main question forced some self-reflection as I decided to look within myself to further understand the motivation behind my own media consumption. I found the example at the beginning of the textbook chapter incredibly useful in looking into my personal habits. I too have participated in fantasy sports and have found myself more dedicated to my fantasy team then my local team.

 This is a very new form of gratification as only technological advancements have made way for this new form of consumption. This thought drew to mind many more uses and gratifications that I would not have initially thought of from a traditional point of view. In general, this week was very informative in regards to the multitude of possible uses and gratifications. There is a long history of academics looking into uses and gratifications so this week we took a deep dive into the early studies and tries to uncover the evolution of the topic. It is not only sports audiences that are affected by this phenomenon the world of theatre and cinema are often driven by personal responses to the content they are being subjected to. 

I would like to dive deeply into my own personal experiences regarding uses and gratifications. I believe it is incredibly important to apply this theory to real-world situations to better understand all of the different consumption methods and gratifications that are available. The textbook states that: “the audience members actively choose media channels and content to suit their own needs at a particular moment” (Sullivan, 113). This explanation is valid in describing my own relationship with media as often times I will only consume particular types of media depending on my mood and what I’m doing. For example, if I am at work or doing something me to be active and involved I will often listen to podcasts and radio this way I am free to move about and concentrate on other things.

 On the other hand, if I am completely free I will often find myself watching television or movies, in this situation I can fully concentrate on this content without being restricted by outside influences. This thought has forced me to analyze the amount of content that is created in our world today and how much of it is made for very specific consumption methods. As far as gratifications are concerned it is obvious that each form of media provides a differing gratification. For example, radio is used as a form of information gathering and mind occupation while movies and other forms of visual content require more attention and are often used to distract the consumer and draw them into whatever content is being expressed. In our seminar, we discussed the individual differences between each person and how this affects our consumption and gratification, we spoke about the idea of music being used as a study tool for some and for others (like myself) a complete distraction. This proves that individuals can consume the same content for completely different reasons and the gratifications that one receives can be completely independent of that of another. In my personal experience, I find that the consumption of media is increasingly dependant between individuals especially these days as there is simply so much content in the world that everyone can find their niche. I live in a house with 4 other guys and on the surface level we are very much the same, we all have a similar sense of humor and get along well. That being said we all consume very different forms of media and even the things that we watch together we get completely different gratifications from them. The best representation of this is sports, we are all massive Toronto Maple Leafs fans and sports fans in general but a couple of my roommates are avid gamblers, in this case, the gamblers are receiving a completely different experience than the common sports fan as they are not simply watching for the love of the game. 

I would now like to look into the history of uses and gratifications theory as presented in the lecture and the textbook to draw comparisons between then and now. The article in the textbook regarding female radio listeners in the 1940s was incredibly informative in the changes that the media landscape has undergone. A few sentiments have held true though, for example, the woman would use the radio to acquire information, this form of information gathering has not changed as today millions of people receive their daily news on their way to work through their radio. The woman also used the radio to distract them from their own lives and give them a form of entertainment. As mentioned earlier I often find myself using audio content in the same way as I tend to isolate myself from the world around me by simply tossing in my headphones and forgetting the world. In general, the ways that we consume media has completely changed over the years as technological advancements such as the internet and television have allowed us to expand upon the previously narrow world of entertainment. That being said the world of sports consumption has remained quite similar to earlier years and I find myself consuming sports in much the same way that my ancestors did. 

In general, the study of uses and gratifications has been massive in expanding my knowledge of the world of media. I now know that there is something for everyone and everyone is free to experience the media however they choose. With the development of the internet, the possibilities only expand and we will see new media develop at a much faster rate than ever before. 

Week Seven 

The idea of decoding mass media texts has been something that I have been personally interested in over recent years as I start to understand underlying messages within the media. This week’s lesson asked questions about what we had learned in the week before “were media audiences truly as autonomous as the uses and gratifications perspective imagined?” (Sullivan, 135). Academics wonder whether the media plays a major factor in creating ideology within our society. This question has become ever more prevalent today with all of the division in the world within the opinion based society that we live in. It is clear to uncover bias within the media depending on what you are consuming. Many media companies have certain agendas that they follow to intentionally shift public opinion about key issues. A topical example of this would be the American news landscape and the battle between CNN and Fox News.

 It is clear to anyone who watches either of these channels that the news is being reported from an incredibly biased standpoint in an attempt to convince the viewer that the network’s beliefs are the correct ones. In my opinion, this is both dangerous and important in shaping the public dialogue within our society. I consider it dangerous because it tends to divide even more creating an evil narrative for the opposition and it seems as though this has created a “you’re either with us or against us” mentality from both sides. On the other hand, I do believe that it is important that both arguments are heard for people to develop their own rational opinions, this format allows for debate. The world of social media also plays an important role in this theory as Twitter can be one of the most polarizing places in the world. Social media allows any individual the opportunity to voice their opinion no matter how offensive it may be to some. 

I would Like to begin right there in the world of social media. I have been forced to re-write this section of the blog this week because of recent events on social media that I believe cannot go unmentioned. This past week’s legendary hockey personality Don Cherry was removed from his infamous role as the host of “Coach’s Corner” on Hockey Night in Canada. Cherry had made controversial comments before but this time he crossed the line, the analyst went on a rant (as he often does) about the Canadian remembrance day tradition that is the poppy. 

Cherry used the phrase “you people” during this rant while discussing the lack of poppies he has seen on the streets of Toronto. This comment was considered by many as a direct attack on immigrants and Cherry was removed from his position two days later. In previous times this is where the story would stop but not today. Because of the impact of the media and this particular program, a war began on Twitter regarding Cherry’s comments as everyone and their mother had an opinion and a stance. This led to another television personality named Jess Allen to talk about the situation in her program called “The Social”. In her response, she offended many people within the hockey community calling them “bullies”, “white boys” and even generalizing the community as out of touch and privileges based on the price of playing the sport. As you may expect this ignited another Twitter was leaving many people within the hockey community (which I consider myself a part of)  up in arms for the hypocrisy of her comments. This is a very new media situation that proves the impact that mass media has on the people that are subjected to it. This situation forced me to look in the mirror as a Canadian and take a moment to realize how much I had been consumed with this debate. In this case, the messages within mass media brought the country to a halt, and in all honesty, made us all reflect on the way that we generalize every day and how the media helps us to form their generalizations.    

Now I’d like to take a look at traditional media and how interpreting and decoding mass media can be applied to specific forms of media today. After a fairly negative example of the social media issue, I’d like to be more positive in this section of my weekly blog. I think an excellent case study for this would be the recent Marvel film “Captain Marvel”. I have seen this movie multiple times now and it seems as though each time I watch it I uncover more hidden messages within the dialogue. The film itself is an incredibly powerful feminist message, the main character is a woman, a superhero and the most powerful person in the galaxy. Some of the messages within the film were incredibly obvious and simple to decode, others were not so simple. My personal favorite message was simply the raw power and independence that the character had throughout the film. Captain Marvel was fearlessly driven and I believe that this was a welcome theme within the typically male-dominated superhero genre. 

Another piece of media with a prevalent message would be the recently released “Joker” film which was an incredibly dark take on the world of mental illness. Throughout the film, the character battles manic depression and an uncommon disease that makes him laugh uncontrollably. In this case, it was not so much the dialogue that displayed the message but the plot and the cinematography. Our seminar discussed this film this week and most agreed that although the film was chilling and dark it provided an important lens into the world of mental illness and a window into the mind of someone with severe mental problems. One of the most important lines in the film was the main character stating in a therapy session “all I have are negative thought” (Joker, 2019). As someone who knows multiple people who have been through the worst of depression, I believe that this statement is incredibly truthful in representing the daily life of someone with this debilitating disease. 

I’m gonna say it… This was the most important week of class that we have had all year up until this point. I found the course material incredibly topical and helpful going forward. I will not forget the lessons that I have learned regarding the practice of decoding mass media and I will always be mindful of how the media is interacting with my thoughts. 

Week Eight 

Media rituals are an essential study, especially in today’s modern media world. At the beginning of the chapter text, there is a case study of a family and how they use media daily and how they have used this media to essentially change the way they live. In the seminar, we discussed similar examples as we individually attempted to recall all of the ways we consume mass media daily. For this blog, I thought it would be an interesting experiment to ask the same of my roommates as I know they are consuming immense amounts of media somewhat unknowingly, we will get to those results later in the blog. It is important to distinguish between traditional media and new media when looking into this topic because the two forms have had opposite trajectories in recent years as much of the youth culture has shifted away from their tv sets for their laptops. My personal media rituals are fairly unique compared to the average person as I am a student without cable television therefore I rely only on new media for entertainment while I am at school. It is interesting to think about how this has changed in my life, I remember a time when I only watched television. I would rush home at the end of every school day to watch Spongebob Squarepants and other kids programs and then finish my day watching sports with my dad until I fell asleep.

 Now with advancements such as Netflix, I can have all of my favorite programs at the touch of a button. It is also essential to look at the media rituals surrounding other demographics of people. For example, the textbook addresses the media ritual of housewives who also have incredibly unique habits. Most of the general public is out of the house during the day at either work or school so mid-day television programming is geared towards the woman who is still at the house. This phenomenon birthed the incredibly popular tradition that is day time soap operas. Much like the serial radio listeners from the 1940s the soap opera consuming women use this day time programming to kill time and distract themselves from their daily lives.  

As I mentioned earlier in the blog, I decided this week to gather some information about my roommates regarding their media consumption. I decided to ask them three main questions regarding their media consumption, 1) How long do they spend consuming media during the day? 2) How long do they spend on new media? 3) What do they most consume within new media? It was incredibly interesting to me that all of my roommates mentioned a general lack of traditional media consumption, this likely has to do with the fact that we do not have cable at our student house but they also said that even at home they are more likely to entertain themselves with new media. The results of the questions were as follows:

Question 1) How long do you spend consuming media per day?

Roommate 1: 4 hours

Roommate 2: 6 hours

Roommate 3: 2 hours  

Question 2) How long do you spend on new media?

Roommate 1) 3.25 hours

Roommate 2) 4.5 hours

Roommate 3) 1 hour

3) What do they most consume within new media?

Roommate 1) Instagram

Roommate 2) Instagram

Roommate 3) Youtube 

I found the results of this extremely enlightening as my housemate’s consumption of new media is very indicative of the youth culture of today. In our seminar, we also discussed the evolution of media rituals and discussed the fact that news media rituals have also changed amazingly. Formerly there were three main ways to receive news media the first of which was the traditional newspaper, the second of which was the radio and finally the classic television broadcast. Today, on the other hand, you can receive your news anywhere and anytime on your phone through social media, now we can get our information the second that it happens. In my opinion, our media rituals have become far less predictable as we are now able to consume media and be apart of an audience at the drop of a hat. It is clear to see that new media has taken over the way we go about our day. Our media consumption rituals have completely shifted based on the sheer eas of access available today. 

To summarize it is clear that the media consumption rituals completely depend on the demographics of the consumer. It is also evident that with technological advancement and the wave of new media out consumption habits have completely changed due to the new capabilities brought about by new media platforms and the internet. 

Week Nine

Audiences as producers and subcultures are the topics of this week’s course material and we discuss media fandom and audience subcultures. The world of fandom is an extreme one and a strange one at the same time. The dedication shared between the fans to the media that they love can consume them and create massive armies of people all in love with the same thing. A solid example of this is the fandom surrounding the film series  “Star Wars”. 

The fans of this series often watch the movies and television programs regularly and even dress up as the characters to go see the films. The most interesting aspect of this study to me is the mind frame of the fans and what their fandom represents. Personally, I would consider myself a superfan of the Toronto Maple Leafs and I find it fairly easy to draw comparisons between fans of film and fans of sports. Much like the Star Wars fans I also dress in my favorite player’s jersey whenever I go to watch the game, I believe that this allows me to feel as if I am apart of a community. The idea of community is what truly drives people to this level of fandom in my opinion as people enjoy sharing experiences with like-minded people. Initially, when this topic came to light this week I could not picture myself as a “super fan” of anything but I was simply not looking at the entire picture. We discussed our favorite content as a class and I found it baffling that everyone in the class came to the conclusion that they are a part of a fandom of one type or another. The widespread of this term is what is truly incredible to me, there were people in the class that were part of video game fandoms and there were people who loved specific movies so much that they made it their wallpaper on their laptop. This brought about the idea of subcultures and how they are formed. Subcultures consist of groups of people committed to their fandom so much that they find themselves within a community of similarly obsessed people. 

In my case, I would consider myself a part of “leafs nation” which is the self-given name to those of us who love our Maple Leafs so much that we would remain loyal through 52 seasons without a Stanley Cup.

 This is not limited to sports and film though. For Example, Lady Gaga has amassed such a large following that she has created her own subculture of fans who she calls her “little monsters”, these are the people that would go to war for their queen without hesitation. The textbook states that fans exist “more on the fringe of mainstream culture” (Sullivan, 195). Subcultures are exactly that, subsets of the larger society with specific interests and shared beliefs. The mainstream is always consumed by an immense amount of people but I would argue that the more passionate consumers reside within subcultures. Subcultures of super fans can exist for any form of media or really anything within the public sphere. This brought to mind an interesting case study based around the film “The Room” which is well known as possibly the worst film ever made and it is for that reason that it has remained a staple within a strange subculture devoted to terrible cinema. The film is still shown in theatres around North America regularly and is referenced in popular culture quite often. James Franco even made an entirely new movie based on the filming process of the film and the insanity surrounding it. This example goes to show that anything can develop a devoted following as long as people can find gratifications within it. 

In the textbook, there are plenty of examples of films developing large fandoms and subcultures but I believe that social media has allowed for subcultures to develop around individuals. The idea of fan pages is one brought about by the internet based on the previous practice of fan clubs. Today there are accounts on all social media platforms with the sole purpose of fostering a community for superfans of individuals to come together and share their love. For example, a celebrity such as Justin Beiber has countless active fan pages on social media run by people with no ulterior motive other than sharing the love. Many of these accounts have 10s of thousands of followers all just as dedicated to their favorite pop star as the account owner. Social media has created a completely new way for subcultures to interact as you can literally find a fan count for essentially anything you could possibly imagine within the popular culture landscape. 

I think it would be fair to say that almost everyone belongs to some sort of subculture. Fandom is something that does not require anything other than passion and the mindset of a super fan is one of pure love and unconditional support. 

Week Ten 

The term viral is one that used to mean infectious ailment but since the dawn of the internet it has taken on a completely new meaning. The internet is the home for new media and has become an absolute necessity for much of the developed world. With this new form of content creation comes to a whole new world of opportunities for people looking to capitalize on their 15 minutes of fame or maybe even turn into a full-blown celebrity. I feel that it is often forgotten today that Justin Beiber who is arguably the most influential pop star of our generation began his career on Youtube.

 The internet offers something that traditional media cannot and that is billions of eyes to whomever it sees fit. The internet does not discriminate based on fame or fortune but it allows anyone to pick up a camera and become a celebrity. This has created an incredible shift in the world of fame as it seems that fame has almost become its own social status within the rankings of human success. Personally, I have tried to make many viral videos with my friends (unsuccessfully) but it is the access that the internet provides that allows for regular people to believe that one day it will be them Think to yourself what you would do if a crazy argument broke out in public today, your first reaction would likely not be to call the police it would probably to whip out your phone to create viral content. In the lecture, we talked about the idea that the audience has become the creators and this could not be truer. The internet has also created entirely new forms of media such as video game streaming and laugh compilations. Although the internet does create incredible opportunities it can also be a very cruel place as many times users will be bullied off a site for creating content that is seen as poor. This content creation is not restricted to video creation as many people have gained large followings on platforms such as Twitter which allow users to speak their minds and tell jokes all in the hopes of garnering attention and developing a large following. It seems as though anyone can be a celebrity these days and it makes for an incredibly interesting media landscape. 

The idea of internet celebrity is something that has developed over time as the content has changed and improved. Youtube’s largest independent creator PewDiePie recently hit 100 million subscribers on the site which proves the immense platforms that some of these creators have been given. Internet entertainment has become such a staple within youth culture that advertisers have stumbled upon a new gold rush. In some cases, a simple video can attract more eyes than the SuperBowl making internet advertising quite expensive depending on the creator. YouTube creators at the highest level have become incredibly wealthy which has drawn the eye of mainstream celebrities like Will Smith who has decided to hop on board and attempt to shift their career towards the new media. The attractiveness of internet celebrity comes from the simple nature of the content needed to go viral and the accessibility to incredibly large audiences. For Example, popular vlogger David Dobrik has amassed such a large audience in recent years that he is receiving six-figure brand endorsement checks for simply mentioning a company like Seat Geek at the beginning of a four-minute and 20-second video. Internet celebrities have become mainstream celebrities within the blink of an eye and they have nobody to answer to but their fans. 

Participatory culture as mentioned in the textbook is another reason for the massive popularity of sites like YouTube. Users are encouraged to post comments on the videos they watch to increase engagement with the video and promote it to a higher level on the page. The participation makes the user feel that they are part of the video and a popular comment of a popular video can receive 10s of thousands of likes and allows the user to promote their own channel. This form of participation is also encouraged on Twitter as users often reply to tweets that they consider thought-provoking of funny, the allows the tweet to be seen by more people and yet again allows for promotion of an account.   

The internet has given birth to an entirely new form of celebrity and the idea of virality has only served to promote the potential for the average Joe. Participatory culture has allowed for a strong self-reliant community to develop online forcing mainstream celebrities to pay attention. Advertisers did not take long to see the value within the internet as they have discovered platforms that provide millions of young eyes. 

Week Eleven 

This course has been incredibly interesting to me as it has provided me with the knowledge that I would have never thought of before. These blogs have also helped me to gather my thoughts about course material and put it into my own world. I remember back to the first week of the course when we were told to think about our own personal audience experiences and all I could think about was sports games that I have attended. Now after going through this entire course, it is easy to see that we are always part of an audience and that my previous definition of the term was simply too narrow-minded. I found the week regarding the internet and audiences to be incredibly enlightening as it was something that I had talked about in previous blogs but did not fully grasp the full scope of what the internet has created. This class has also forced me to look into the mirror and address how I have been influenced by the media and how my mind has been controlled. I believe this is incredibly important as it is always essential to be mindful of where your thoughts are coming from. 

The uses and gratifications lesson was also essential in my understanding of my own relationship with the media that I consume as I had never looked into why I get pleasure out of my media. I have also realized that everyone is different when it comes to audience studies and each person has different gratifications related to their personal media consumption. 

The idea of fandom and subcultures has always been something that I have found incredibly interesting as I am drawn to passion and I love to see what every individual is passionate about. As I previously mentioned this for me would be the Toronto Maple Leafs but I had never considered myself to be a part of a subculture until we dove into the true meaning of the term. Overall this course was incredibly informative and truly interesting, I look forward to taking more audience studies courses in the future and learning more about this topic. 

P.S. I apologize to my loyal readers for the short final blog but I think I have said it all and I need to go to bed and prepare for my final audience studies class tomorrow!

[mitchellvernon]

Blog #1 (Weeks 1-5)

Week One

In week one of audience studies, we looked at defining the term “audience” and were asked to think about some of our personal audience experiences over the course of our lives. Audiences have been important to me personally being a massive sports fan so I was immediately racking my brain to think of some of the audience experiences that have shaped me as a person. When I was sitting in class I came to the realization that audiences have helped to shape the culture around all of us and have personally given me some of the most lasting experiences of my life. In the seminar we were asked as a class to think of the most memorable audience experiences we have ever had, this questioned opened my eyes to the various forms of audience interactions that there are. Initially, when I heard this question all I could think about was sports, to my surprise my classmates all had varying ideas of the term audience and they all had incredibly different memories than what I had thought of. It was soon clear that audience participation had more than one simple definition, my classmates presented memories of seeing their favorite films, attending political rallies, live theater and even simple things such as street performances. These ideas changed the way I thought about audiences as a whole and forced me to broaden my personal definition of the term. 

When we look at audiences it is important to identify the different behavioral characteristics between different events. My immediate instinct of sports audiences behaves far different from that of a movie theatre audience. My example in the seminar was my experience at the 2014 Winter Classic in Michigan where my beloved Maple Leafs took on the Detroit Red Wings. I distinctly remember this audience being incredibly rowdy and energized throughout the entire course of the game, it seemed like a rabid mob of people who cared about nothing but the outcome of that game. On the other hand, I think about some of my movie-going experiences and it is not hard to contrast between the two forms of audience. In a movie theatre, you are expected to be quite so that everyone sharing the theatre can hear and enjoy every detail of the film. This goes to show that not all audience experiences are the same and oftentimes your experience depends on the event you are attending. 

In week one we were also asked to think about how audiences have changed over the course of generations. Initially, this question stumped me in lecture, I simply could not understand why audiences would act differently based on the period of time they are living in. It was not until our seminar where I started to understand the differences in generations more clearly. The first point made by a classmate was the difference in dress wear, In previous generations, it was the custom to dress up for events like sports or even movie outings. It would be incredibly unlikely to see a person wearing the jersey of their favorite Maple Leaf at a hockey game in 1940. Events like these were a chance to be seen and it was expected that if you were in attendance you would be dressed formally.

 I found this incredibly interesting as I think about my own movie theatre attire, these days most people would likely wear something comfortable like sweatpants and a warm sweater unless they were on a date, even then most times the dress wear could be described as far from formal. This point made me think of the behavior of audiences from these generations, some of these events took place during economic hardship therefore only the wealthy could attend something like a sporting event. The overflow of wealth at these events would create a sort of social dynamic where the event becomes less about the game and more about being seen and socializing with the people around you. Today a sporting event is about the game and nothing else, the people in attendance are there because they have an active interest in the outcome of the game in most cases and would like to experience it with like-minded individuals all devoted to cheering their hearts out for the team that they love. It is clear to see that no matter what generation you come from audiences have an important place in culture, although the behavioral norms may change the importance of gathering has never wavered. 

Another mind-blowing factor of the week one lesson is that we are always part of an audience. This idea truly made me think about how often I am a part of an audience over the course of a day. Social media and technology have only served to enhance this point as now there are literally billions of people behaving as a virtual audience that is present 24/7. Twitter immediately came to my mind when I thought about this as this online community, specifically the account of United States President Donald Trump. For the first time in history, we are watching the most powerful man in the world argue with his own critics using a public forum on a daily basis. It is incredible to think how large the audience is in this specific case, people who both agree with him, disagree or are generally indifferent are all witness to the most soberingly horrifying reality show that there has ever been. These online audiences also provide the common person with the ability to have an audience of millions at a moment's notice. This newfound voice gives everyone the opportunity to have the eyes of the world upon them, in the past audiences were reserved for people in the public eye or in the public in general, now I can stay in my room all day and if I produce interesting enough content I can have an audience of millions. 

Week one of audience studies opened my eyes to the true weight of audiences and their evolution over time. This lesson also provided me with key knowledge about my own personal audience experiences and allowed me the opportunity to compare and contrast with the experiences of my classmates. 

Week Two

With the introduction of week two content, we take a trip through the history of audiences and their behavior to uncover the similarities and differences between audience participation over the years. I found it incredibly interesting when as a class we talked about Greek audiences and how the Greeks “institutionalized” audience participation through drama. One of the most interesting aspects of Greek theatre was the audience itself, the intimate setting allowed for the audience to intervene with the play itself and be apart of the story. It is difficult to think of a comparable to this today if one were to attempt to participate with a theatrical production without being asked they would immediately be removed from the theatre. The closest comparable I can think of would be stand up comedy where the phenomenon of “hecklers” has been a large part of the art form from the beginning. It is mentioned in the lecture that Greek theatre was often political and drew into question the status quo throughout the play. This could be comparable to the audiences of today, recently for example at the play Hamilton the cast was aware that Vice President Mike Pence was in attendance, the cast decided to use this platform as a chance to comment on the current government and create commentary about the republican’s behavior. Audiences have always been a platform where the performers have had the chance to express their beliefs depending on the performance and is often used to incite social commentary. 

In the seminar, we discussed the “rowdy” nature of the Greek theatre crowds and were asked to draw comparables to today's audience participation. It is difficult to see a comparable within the art world as theatre and film are seen as places of respect and attentive listening in modern times. The only real comparison would be sports where the audience can interact with the players, chant names, yell profanity or do essentially whatever they wish while they are caught up in the heat of the match. As we spoke about in the lecture, after the development of Greek theatre and the culture of “rowdyism” there was a shift towards a more mediated audience in the 20th century. As hypothesized in the first week's blog this was partly because of financial standing. This is a common theme in the hockey world when referring to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team is notorious for selling corporate seats to wealthy business people which often means the entire lower bowl of the audience is fairly reserved in their cheering while the upper bowl is typically where the common fan would find themselves and is where “rowdyism” is alive and well. In theatre, on the other hand, it is difficult to think of a theatrical production in today's day and age where it would be acceptable to be rowdy. As a class, we struggled to think of a solid example but we came to realize that there are some performances that were quite attentive listening is not the norm. For example a cirque du Soleil performance is incredibly dependant on crowd reactions, this type of performance would not be the same without an engaged and active audience. Over the course of the “rowdyism” discussion, I came to realize that crowd participation is completely dependant on what they are bearing witness to, that being said there is always a cultural norm of how one is to behave at each possible type of event. 

In week two we also looked into the idea of the three models of media which are mass, outcome, and agent. The first of which is outcome and it focuses on the idea that the public is being acted upon by the media, this theory hypothesizes that the media can control individuals with the content they display. A solid example of this would be the body-shaming notion that females have been fighting against for years now. For generations, the media has broadcast what they believe to be the “ideal woman” which is often skinny with beautiful face and appealing features. This representation happens to be very damaging to the female community as 99.9% of people do not look that way, this leads to women feeling worthless and forces them to compare themselves to the .01% who do look that way. The second model we learned is the “audience as mass” which sees audiences as indefinable large amounts of people subjecting themselves to varying types of media. This model comes with more questions than it does answers as it leaves us to wonder which types of people subject themselves to different types of media. I find it difficult to understand how one would determine the type of people involved with different forms and channels of media, personally, I live with four other people and we all consume completely different forms of media even though we are of the same age and gender… This model is an enigma. The final model is “audience as agent” this is the model that I find myself most interested in. Agent focuses on the idea that everyone decides what media they will consume based upon their own interests and personality. I agree strongly with this media model. For example, when I decide to open up Twitter in order to inform myself my timeline is made up of accounts that I am interested in there are very few people in the world with identical interests to mine therefore the collection of media that I consume on a platform like Twitter is uniquely my own. 

Week two was a loaded week where we took a time machine through the history books to examine audiences through the ages. We also held up a mirror to examine our own audience habits to further understand how each individual consumes media and participates as an audience in 2019. This was an incredibly important week of study and I look forward to week three of the term. 

Week Three

Week three brought with it some serious discussions about the media and the impact that it can have on the minds of the audience. I found it extremely interesting that Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text opens with the story of a school shooting in 2007 and the implications on the national beliefs regarding violent video games. This week's lesson spoke to the fact that the media can change the minds of millions of people and even without concrete facts can develop a narrative that may not even be true. I believe that this belief has never been more important than it is today. As the state of international politics continues to become more heated it becomes more and more important than the truth be the primary motive for the media. Depending on your political leanings there is a television network and a newspaper directed right at you. For example, my father finds himself on the political right so he subscribes to the Toronto Sun, a local paper with right-leaning bias, these media forms only serve to reinforce previous beliefs and provide no countering arguments to make the reader think. In the case of the video game hypothesis by Dr. Phil, there was no real evidence provided at all and the claims that he and others made was simply opinion, still the statement he made shaped the minds of millions and to this day violent video games are always part of the discussion when it comes to violent crimes. This week's lecture was incredibly topical and I cannot wait to dive further into it with my readers. 

In the seminar, we discussed how media shapes us individually and we were asked to estimate how often do we consume media over the course of the day. The initial thought of everyone in our class was television and news media so a lot of the initial answers ranged from about one to two hours per day. We were then asked to think about social media and technology and how that has changed our media consumption. It seemed as though we all simultaneously realized that we each consume far more media than we first anticipated. Personally, I cannot go more than 10 minutes without checking my phone for new information, even sitting down to write this blog is extremely difficult and I have to force myself to put my phone in another room. So with these thoughts in mind, our seminar collectively agreed that we likely averaged about 3 hours of media consumption per day. The only logical conclusion that can be drawn from this information is that at the very least the media that we individually consume on a daily basis consumes a large portion of our constant thought. Cooley was far ahead of his time in this regard with his beliefs that the environment around an individual shaped their mind and generates their personal beliefs. This theory was created in the 20th century far before the birth of the internet and social media so one could only assume that these are truths that have only amplified in recent years with technological development. These days children are receiving smart devices at such a young age that the phone essentially acts as an extension of the person, whatever that person views on their phone are personal to them and have a direct stream to their mind. We spoke in a lecture about the effects of films on human consciousness and how these fake realities could play a part in the beliefs of a person. A solid example of this would be the 2012 Aurora Colorado shooting inspired by a character from the film “The Dark Knight”, in this case the gunman was so consumed and inspired by the beliefs and actions of “the Joker” that he decided to commit one of the most horrifying and violent crimes of the decade. In this case, the message from the film caused such a traumatic change within this man that he was willing to commit murder, this is a clear example of the “audience as objects” theory. This type of behavior is exactly what has been feared by media theorists and it played out on a horrifying scale. 

The object theory has been a political tool used for generations and is the reason for the birth of propaganda. In the lecture, we spoke about propaganda and how it has been used to control nations for generations by showing the home country as right and strong while the enemies are made to look satanic and evil. This tactic is also being used in our home country right now with the federal election coming up this month. Since the campaign has begun there have been vicious attack ads made by all parties in order to discredit the opposition and make their party look superior. These tactics have been used for generations as the people making them believe that if they can make the enemy look as bad as possible then the mass majority will be on their side. This idea goes back to Cooley’s theory regarding the individual’s consumption of media and the belief that if a person is surrounded by a certain form of media than they will be likely to believe and agree with it. As we spoke about in lecture and as Lazarsfeld mentioned, the effects of these attack ads in the world of politics are more directed towards reinforcing someone’s beliefs rather than creating them. Therefore, these ads are meant to take a pre-existing idea and expand it within the individual's mind until they essentially know it to be true. For example in the ads presented by the Conservative party they often address Prime Minister Trudeau's corruption scandal involving SNC Lavalin, this is to reinforce the idea within the minds of voters that Trudeau is corrupt and is not to be trusted. The world of media is an integral part of politics and propaganda was born from the theory of audience as objects. 

Week three reinforced the idea of the audience as objects and generated strong examples that oftentimes the media can control the beliefs of the individual. This control can be both intentional as it is used in politics, or unintentional like the tragic movie-themed mass shooting in Aurora Colorado. 

Week Four

In week four our audience studies class has taken a deeper look into the relationship between the audience and the news media. I have looked into this relationship briefly in my previous blogs but this week is directly targeted at the topic. Public opinion is something that is always shifting and is a factor within every major news story. As the textbook displays the idea of public opinion goes all the way back to the 5th century BC, where opinions were shared orally and were only discussed locally with the people surrounding. Since the 1930s the idea of polling has shifted the entire idea of public opinion and made it far easier to grasp the general feeling of the people. That being said the polling technique does not always work, the majority of people will not be polled therefore the poll consists of a very small group within the society meaning the results may be incorrect. The most popular example of this is the 2016 United States election in which all of the early polls from the media showed that Hilary Clinton was the heavy favorite to win the election, as we now know these polls were accurate and resulted in global shock. As we spoke of in lecture public opinion has been something that has shifted in delivery method time and time again over the course of history. I found it incredibly interesting that such important historical moments such as the french revolution could be created in a salon where like-minded individuals voiced their displeasure and shared ideas. As we discussed this in seminar I came to believe that this was the height public opinion as debates were still an important and useful tool in changing the minds of the public. As we discussed in lecture polling has taken away the need for debate and given the impression of a definitive right answer. In my opinion, social media has only hurt the practice of debating because the platforms make it so difficult to broadcast your opinions without being completely chastised by others and severely damaging your reputation. In today's day and age public opinion has become a matter of “you are either with us or against us”. 

One of the most important factors of the lesson from this week was the idea of data gathering and which ways are right and wrong. This is crucial for the presentation of data because the wrong collection method can present the information in a completely false and inaccurate way. In the Sullivan text, we learn that “survey methodologists today use probability sampling to select the individuals for the sample. This means that individuals are selected at random from the population” (Sullivan, 63). This method allows for the best chance of fully grasping the public opinion because it hopefully would include people from every possible walk in life in order to gather accurate results. The other major issue that we went over regarding polling was the non-responding candidates. This can endanger the credibility of the pole as it did in the 2016 election where many Trump supporters refused to participate in the poll which heavily skewed the results. Recently I have been receiving personal texts from polling agents regarding the upcoming federal election from all of the major parties, my friends have been receiving the same texts and I hate to admit it but none of us responded to them.

This is a common theme with this sort of polling in my personal experience because it is so impersonal I feel as though I have no need to respond, therefore I will not.  In our seminar we spoke about the idea of technological advancements and their impact on polling, this is an incredibly important topic because we now have the ability to make polls accessible to everyone. The simple fact is our media needs to find an appropriate incentive for polling. Telephone interviews have also been popular for generations and have been effective in acquiring an adequate amount of data from each participant, but the problem still remains: why would I waste my time on an interview? The text says the typical interview lasts about 20 minutes which is considerably longer than I am willing to spend on the phone with anyone let alone a complete stranger, at my household my father would often pick up the phone answer maybe one or two questions then realize he has more important things to do. The idea of polling has been a massive leap forward for the data collection of public opinion but in my opinion, we still must develop a more efficient way of conducting the polls in order to ensure that the citizen is heard and the information is accurate. 

The spiral of silence idea from the reading is something that I found to be incredibly truthful. This theory is based around the fact that our desire to be accepted outweighs our desire to express our opinions. Never has there been a time where that is more truthful than today. This is especially true in the United States where it seems as though social media has become a public shaming ground for people with right-wing ideals. People like Ben Shapiro and Canadian Steven Crowder have received serious death threats for simply expressing their opinions on social platforms. This forces people with these opinions to stay silence in fear that their reputation or even worse maybe at stake if they express themselves.  It seems through the research done that people are more willing to discuss their minority opinions offline as if it were to be online it would be searchable and public domain. In my opinion, in order to maintain a free society free speech is of the utmost importance, people should able to express their opinions no matter how controversial they may be. I found this research incredibly enlightening and it answered many questions that I had been asking for years. 

The idea of public opinion is something that has changed time and time again over the course of history, and as we learned this week so has the way that we have expressed it. Through all the change though there has remained one truth which is: in order for a society to continue to progress opinions must not be discouraged. We as a race must continue to express ourselves and learn from each other in order to make the necessary changes that we will always need. 

Week Five

As we move into week five we take examine closely the concepts of media ratings and target marketing. As discussed previously the media ratings are a form of majority rules decision making. The shows that draw the largest audience stay on the air and the ones that do not are canceled. The audience in this case completely determines the networks daily programing and the television shows are in a constant battle with possible cancellation. These rating systems are essential to large companies looking to advertise, these ratings provide a clear view of when the best time to purchase advertising space would be. Since television networks rely on advertising revenue they are inclined to listen to the desires of the major corporations. To further dive into this weeks lesson we must first define the term political economy, in the text it is described as: “at its core, political economy focuses broadly on social theory by connecting the systems of the economy-the organization of the corporations, the structures of the marketplace and the behavior of the market players” (Sullivan, 78). With this knowledge, it is easier to pick apart the relationship between television networks, large corporations, and audiences. When thinking of this theory I often think about the monetization of the internet in recent years and how it is trying to find its footing within the advertising world. There are enormous amounts of content on the internet for essentially whatever you're looking for and there are youtube channels and websites which draw millions of eyes every day, some of these locations happen to be controversial. This begs the question should a company put morals above profit or is the advertising landscape an impersonal profit machine. The system of ratings allows for corporations to grasp what is worth investing in and allows them to determine what is media draws the most eyes, these ratings are easy to understand and have been trusted for generations. 

Enter Dallas W. Smythe… This academic claimed that the media itself was less interested in the importance of their content that they are creating and more interested in the advertising revenue that comes with a large audience. By this notion, the more interesting the content the more interested the viewer and by extent more money from the advertisers. Karl Marx, on the other hand, had come out with differing opinions about the media years before stating that the media is used as a tool to support a capitalist society. In my opinion they are both partially right, there are lighthearted productions that look to do nothing more than entertain the audience, but on the other hand, there is a large amount of media content with a serious agenda. The simple fact is the media is far too broad to be covered by one simple umbrella definition, but it all boils down to the fact that if it’s interesting enough people will watch and money will be made. This theory by Smythe creates the notion of audience commodification which essentially means that the media is selling attention. Sut Jhally, on the other hand, took this idea even further arguing that the audience is the labor force within the media industry, without them watching the advertisement the media would have no source of revenue. If I'm being honest sometimes watching advertisements does feel like a job but now that I think about the importance of advertisements as a means to maintaining the media landscape as a whole it seems far more reasonable than I once thought.   

It is simple to see that after week five of my ideas regarding media viewership have been forever changed. I used to think the advertisement was a waste of time with no importance whatsoever. Now I realize that the entire landscape of media was built on the back of advertisements and the content that I enjoy would be non-existent without the companies that are willing to buy our attention.