Hypodermic Needle Model

This method was first used in 1940 and became a very effective way of
influencing large groups of people by using different forms of media to
help get a view or point across
and make people think about a
certain thing. This became a
very important weapon for the
government as they could use
this method of using the media
to influence the public as they
used it during World War 2, the
way they got members of the
public to believe certain things was by making the media coverage very
one sided view of a certain situation, by doing this you can make a large
number of people think a certain way and you can control their views on
different situations. An example of this would be showing members really
negative things about a certain game or situation and not the positive so
that members of the public only have a negative opinion or view, when
politician Kieth Vaz put forward the motion to ban violent video games
because of their content this created a big debate that brought up a lot of
both positive and negative points. Mr Vazs main point was that he
believed violent games could turn young children violent as they are
easily influenced and although there has been some cases of this there
are many arguments and facts that go against this opinion.
A game that I designed called Divergent in an earlier unit and assessment
is a action FPS on an open world designed map and would include some
violent content bus still offers a free roam and adventure style of game
and as it is based on a very popular film I believe that fans of the film
would like the game and the concept of the film created a great basis for a
game and because it was a film first I researched the film to help get ideas
for the game in terms of the storyline and the content of the game and
how it plays.
When promoting this game to the public it would be wise to use the
hypodermic needle theory to try and gain more publicity for the game
which hopefully will get the game more well known and will help to sell
more copies, it may also help to show members of the public what the
game is all about and what it is based on as well as the type of content
the game will include.
There are many scenes within the film that are really heard hitting as the
film is based on different communities that are always competing and
fighting and shows that during war and conflict many people become
selfish and it outlines the effect that war can have on people as they are
only out for themselves. It is also quite ironic as within the film the main
character joins a community that are all trained for fighting and war but
they only except people they can brainwash and control because they
dont want their fighters to have feelings or a conscience as that may stop
them from following
orders, it turns out that
this is all just a test and
all the different
communities were all
separated to see if they
could rebuild the
separation and all
become one again but all it
did was make them all fight between themselves.
Uses and Gratifications Theory
The uses of gratifications is sort of like the hypodermic needle theory as
they both use the media to influence the general public but this way
members of the public actually go out and look for messages within the
media and either excepts or declines the message being sent to them,
this was done during world war 1 and 2 in form of proper gander to try
and convince more young men to apply
and sign up to be in the military. In korea which is still
ran by a dictator that makes all the rules a lot
of the rules and massages the
government want to get to the
public are sent out through all forms
of the media which everyone has to
follow and do otherwise there will be serious
consequences for them and because of this
the country has basically be cut off from the rest of the world as the
internet is band within korea which means koreas public population just
believes what they are told and the government have done this so they
have more control over the public and the people of korea. The way
propaganda worked was by making the arm look glamorous and exciting
and never disclosed the horrors and bloodshed that came with war by if
you signed up it was already to late and you learnt all this the hard way.
The way in which people perceive the information and messages they
receive from the media can vary and depends on the person and their up
brining as some people will agree and some will disagree with these
messages and this can determine the way in which they act and respond
to this style and type of media coverage. As many people have different
upbringings their views on certain decisions can situations can vary and
this can cause them to interpret information differently to other people so
when something comes out in the media there is a good chance that not
everyone will act the same as people have different educations and
morels that define them as an adult and their thought and decisions.
The Cultivation theory relates to Keith Vazs theory as it relates to how
video games, films and TV programmes can affect a person and their view
of the outside world and could cause some major problems if they every
try to recreate anything they have seen, this is why many companies put
a warning screen on the front of their products to make it clear to their
viewers no to attempt anything they see. The reason this can be a
problem is because some people use games to escape reality and
sometimes they cant tell the difference between reality and fiction
anymore, this is likely to affect young children more as they are easily
influenced by what they see and this can lead to many issues and
situations.
As the game I have designed is based on a 18 rated film the game will
more than likely be 18 rated as the content will be the same as in the film
as I want them both to link together and because the game will include
graphic content I dont want it influencing a young child so I will market
the game as a 18+.
Reception Study
Reception is a way in which a message is spread and aired to the public in
the form of media but the message isnt obvious and is sort of hidden and
has to be understood to be found and they are usually so subtle that most
people dont even notice them but this message will be repeated many
time and this can cause a person to think a certain thing or a certain way
subconsciously as although they
dont realise they have seen these
messages they actually have so
when they think that way they think
it is by choice even though they
have been influenced by these
subtle hidden messages.
There are many occasions within the
media where dominant tactics are
used to gain the support from the
general public and the reason for
this is because the public get told what they want to hear and because of
that they will just listen and support what is being said without knowing
any other information about a certain situation, this is a technique used by
politicians to help gain the publics vote and support.
Negotiated is when the public either disagree or agree and in some cases
even question the information they are being told, usually because of
other information they have heard that contradicts what they are being
told, people opinions can also be effected by the reputation someone has
because if they are known for not being a good source of information or
biased information then a lot of people will question what they hear from
the person or company.
Many people stick to their own opinions as it is something the firmly
believe in so oppositional is when members of the public reject the
message or information they are being told as it isnt something the agree
with or think is right as it isnt the same as their own opinions, this is done
a lot with politics when a politician tries to gain the publics vote by
promising different policies but some people may not agree with them.
The Effects of Exposure to Explicit or Violent Content

Before a game goes on

sale to members of the
public they are put
through testing and their content is assessed to see what age rating it
would get, this age rating shows what age the content of the game is
suitable for and this is then clearly shown on the front of the game case
with a certain colour that corresponds with a certain age for example if
the game is suitable for 3-7 year olds are usually found in a green box
then from8-17 is in an orange box and then 18+ is in red as it contents
will be graphics and not suitable for a child of a young age, this may be
such things as sexual acts or nudity, bad language and also scenes of
violence and weapons. These ratings are known as PEGI age ratings and
every game has to go through tests and has to have one of these age
ratings before it is sold to the public, the more realistic and graphic the
content of the game the higher the age rating
GTA V or Grand Theft Auto is a game created by the company Rockstar
and included a lot of violent content meaning that the age rating in the
game must be 18+ by law as it content isnt deemed suitable for a young
child. There are also other symbols and signs that will be added to the
game case that will also show
someone the nature of the
content within the game as
these logos show a customer
that the game will include bad
language and graphics content etc. These symbols have to be put on my
game case and product by law to show the customer that the content is of
a graphic nature and isnt suitable for younger ages and this is why the
age is put in a brightly coloured box. The words Grand Theft Auto is
associated with crime as it is used to day in the police force as it means
someone has stolen a car with a weapon, just because of this you can
already tell the game will include weapons and will have graphic content
as a play can go around shooting weapons and stealing cars just at the
name suggests.
Effects of Advertising
Advertising a game is very important as it can include many facts about
the game and its content which has to be knows to the public and
companies try and make this clearly
known to parents so that they know what
their children might be playing as some
content isnt suitable for a child of a
young age, this is important for
parents to know as young children are
easily influenced by what they see
and play and by playing a violent
game it could teach children that this
sort of violence is okay and acceptable
which it isnt so by making the games content clear it helps to reduce the
risk of this happening as most parents wouldnt let a child play such a
graphic game. There are many way to show this during advertisement as
it can be done by showing clips of in game content also on the posters you
can put the PEGI age rating this would also be on the game case and you
could also add a small line of text that states that the content of the game
will be graphic and not suitable for a young viewer.
Although there has been some cases where children have recreated
something they have done in a game that can be quite violent people are
very fast to jump to the conclusion that all violent video games have a
negative effect on children as it is a easy thing to blame it on but usually
there are other reasons to why a child might turn
violent and in a lot of these cases it is because
the child has metal health issues and you could
also blame the parents for letting the child play the
game but as of the age of around ten or so you know
the different from right and wrong and can also tell
the difference between fiction and reality. So by
making sure parents are aware of the games content
helps to reduce this risk and it can also help to stop
people from blaming video games for making a child violent as their
parents know what the game includes and they will have had to be the
one to purchase the game for them if they are under the PEGI age rating
that the game has been given.
Rockstar made the contents of their game and the PEGI age very clear to
fans and parents during their advertisement by including clips from in
game and by starting each trailer off with the PEGI 18 age rating to make
it clear that the content will be graphics.
Health concerns
Although playing video games are very fun with some people even turning
it in to a living there have always been health concerns that closely follow,
the main health concern is with you vision as watching a screen for long
periods of time can make your eye sight worse if a person doesnt take
regular breaks which is always advised. The other health concern is that a
violent video game can turn a child violent as they are easily influenced
by what they see and play and could cause them to try and create a
certain part of a game, although there has been cases of a child being
violent and also owning a violent game it is easy to pin all the blame on a
the video games they play but when you look further in to these cases
you can quickly learn that there are many different reason a child could
become violent with a lot of the being cause by mental health issues or
because of their upbringing and surrounding. You could also blame the
parent for buying the game and letting their child play is as they know
that the game rating is 18 and that the content my not be suitable for a
young child but although yes a lot of young children play violent video
games is it is a very small number of children that actually turn violent as
from the age of around 10 most children the what is right and what is
wrong and also can tell the difference between fiction and reality. Games
addiction can become quite damaging to your health as it can damage
your eyes and it can also deprive someones body of sleep if they stay
awake for a long period of time to play a video game, as many children do
play video games that can become very addictive it can effect their school
life and education as it can make them tired and they might not do
homework which will affect their grades in school, the other effect on your
health can be because of the food and drink gamers eat as a lot of them
will eat fast food and snack whilst they game as well as drink many
energy drinks to help keep them awake so they can game for longer and
because of this they dont move therefore not getting any exercise which
would then have a very negative impact on their body, there has been
some serious cases where blood clots have formed in a persons body
because of the lack of movement and that as resulted in surgery and in
some cases death. When someone becomes addicted to a video game it
can start to have very negative effects on them mentally with some
people developing withdrawal like symptoms a lot like the ones an
alcoholic and drug addicts get, this can leave the person with shakes and
mental health issues which lead to anxiety and can cause them to go to
vast lengths to play a game this is why it is advised to take regular breaks
and only play for a certain amount of time. Some children have also
complained oh wrist, hand, neck and backache as well as headaches from
playing games from long periods of time with regular breaks.
advised to take regular breaks and only play for a certain amount of time.
Some children have also complained oh wrist, hand, neck and backache
as well as headaches from playing
games from long periods of time
with regular breaks.
As GTA V took 5 years to make

many fans waited in anticipation

for the games release which lead
to a lot of people becoming
addicted to the game when it first
came out as fans had waited so long for the game to be made, this would
of lead to some people to become addicted to the game but this isnt
something Rockstar ( the games creates) can really control; but they
made sure to add all the necessary warning labels on the game to make
sure people knew about the dangers of game addiction.
Censorship Debates
As game graphics and gaming in general has got bigger so has the
different types of game and content that get created with some of the
most famous and popular game including violent and graphic content
which are most popular with children under the age of 18 even when the
game developers say that the content may not be suitable for a younger
audience or consumer. There has always been people against violent
video games saying it has a negative effect on children and can cause
them to grow up to be violent. Although in some cases where a child has
been violent in such a way that simulates a video game there hasnt ever
really been any directs links between violent video games and children
being violent as when you dig deeper there is usually other reasons a
child may be violent and usually involved their mental state and health. A
lot of blame does get passed on to the creates of video games as it is a
easy thing to blame violent on as many parents say this but surly it is also
their fault for letting their child play thing game when they have been
warned that that the games content is violent and graphic, there is very
few cases where a child has been violent because of a video game as
most children that play games know the difference between right and
wrong and function and reality and some children even say video games
help them as they use the game to escape reality and all their worries
which some people cant understand. There has been many debates to try
 and get violent games censored but none of
them have yet to be successful has there is
too many people that are passionate about
games to try and get them censored.
There were some people that werent happy
with the content that GTA had in the game but
their fans say otherwise and have shown that
many children know the difference between
right and wrong and they know not to recreate
anything they do in the game.
In conclusion I dont think that games are the sole cause to making a child
violent as I think there are many different reasons for a child to become
violent and I think its wrong that they blame it on games just because its
easy to pass the blame away from the parent or away from other reasons
like the mental health of the child, there has only been a few cases where
a child become violent that plays a violent game as most children know
what is right and wrong.