Chapter 8

Question 1

Mass Media

Answer 1

a major social institution with increasing power and importance

• shapes what society defines as social problems
• acts as a gatekeeper: chooses what issues to amplify or ignore

Question 2

Moral Entrepreneurs

Answer 2

are advocates who organize to focus public attention on certain issues

• They engage in the process of “claim making”
• Moral Entrepreneurs may use the mass media to circulate and legitimate their claims
• They also include “local opinion” leaders and interest group leaders

Question 3

Moral Panic

Answer 3

occurs when fear about a social problem is disproportionate to the danger

• Media may promote the panic or serve as a catalyst for stones that fuel the panic
• Media exaggeration contributes to moral plans when:
  
  • journalist pay more attention to
    events that are uncommon or
    statistically unusual
  • journalist overstate the extent/
    size of a social problem

Question 4

Product Placement

Answer 4

occurs when manufactures pay for their products to be used or mentioned by film or television characters

• can subtly influence behavior (e.g. smoking normalization)

Question 5

Magic Bullet Theory/ Hypodermic Needle Theory

Answer 5

media directly “injects” ideas; audiences are passive

If a commercial tells you to go buy a product, you will go buy that product

This theory is rather simple and doesn’t give consumers much human agency

TV Zombie: people sitting in front of the television, believing everything they say

Question 6

Active Audience Theory:

Answer 6

says that people don’t just passively absorb media. Instead, they actively interpret, respond to, and even resist what they consume based on their own background, beliefs, culture, mood, or experiences

Question 7

Uses and Gratification Paradigm

Answer 7

people use media on purpose to satisfy specific needs or desires. Instead of being controlled by media, people choose what to watch, listen to, or scroll through based on what they’re looking to get out of it.

Question 8

Two-Step Flow Theory

Answer 8

from media to local opinion leaders, then to public audiences

Question 9

Media Conglomeration

Answer 9

when a few large companies own a bunch of smaller media outlets, like TV stations, movie studios, streaming services, newspapers, and radio channels, all under one big corporate. It’s one giant company owning many types of media

Example: Disney owns ABC, ESPN, Marvel, Pixar, Hulu, and more

Question 10

Mergers

Answer 10

the legal combination of two companies, usually in order to maximize efficiency and profits by eliminating redundant infrastructure and personnel

Question 11

Gender Advertisement (Erving Goffman)

Answer 11

Erving, a symbolic Interactionist, researched the use of the media’s advertising + created categories in how women + men are depicted

Question 12

Women often shown as

Answer 12

Fragile, submissive, childlike
- Using the female touch (light, delicate, hand gestures)

Question 13

Men typically show up as

Answer 13

• men are typically not touching or caressing anything
• serious expressions
• stand tall, direct gaze

Question 14

The Realization of Subordination

Answer 14

bent knees, titled heads, lower in frame; lying down female or male is considered subordinate

Question 15

Licensed Withdrawal

Answer 15

describes how women are often portrayed in media (like ads, movies, or magazines) as being psychologically or physically removed from a situation - even when they’re present.

Simpler terms: It’s when a woman is shown as disengaged, lost in thought, passive, or needing protection - unlike men, who are usually shown as alert, in control, and focused