Audience theory

 Adorno and Horkheimer- the hypodermic syringe model

They noted there were similarities between Nazi propaganda and what was called the culture industry in America. They theorised that pop culture in America was factory produced standardised content which was used to manipulate a mass audience. They argued that 'dumbed down' content made people passive and created psychological needs that could only be fulfilled by that content, feeding into the capitalist nature of the states.

Packard-

advertisers manipulate an audience to buy things they don't need. mass media were perceived as an extreme influence towards audiences adapted behaviour. 

gaming- People who frequently play violent video games like Call of Duty show neural desensitization to painful images, according to study (psypost.org)

film- How Terrifier 2 Used A Negative Horror Trope To Its Advantage (screenrant.com)

tv shows-10 Moronic Teens Who Were Killed Mimicking 'Jackass' - Listverse

bandura experiment (1963)- children shown violence, which was rewarded, were more likely to adopt those violent behaviours shown to them than kids who were shown that there were repercussions. this supports the hypodermic syringe model.

Cultivation theory, Larry Gross and George Gerbner- Tv and media affects the way people perceive situations and reality. they say exposure over time can cultivate viewers perceptions of reality. Mean world syndrome was invented by George Gerbner, which states that exposure to media with depictions of violence can lead people to believe the world is more dangerous than it actually is. 

life of Brian was rated- R in the 70s but is now a 12A.

The omen was changed from R to a 15

Anderson and Ferguson- Anderson agreed with the idea of desensitization of people to violence through media, his example of this was video games. Ferguson, however, believed that this was flawed as other factors such as mental health and family life were not taken into account.