1. The Hypodermic Needle Model
The Hypodermic needle model is a theory which suggests that movies are
implied to influence and change the behaviour of the people who watch the
movies. There have been many incidents which came back and proved to be
caused by the hypodermic model, people who have murdered and used the
excuse of watching films which convinced them to do so. The BBFC is there to
look over a film beforepublished and removeor exceed any scenes during
films which could so far influence underage people. That’s how age rating
comes into perspectivebecause the BBFC haveto consider consequences
when publicly showing upcoming movies to people within these age range. The
hypodermic needle theory implied that mass media had a direct, immediate
and powerfuleffect on their audiences. The mass media in the 1940s and
1950s wereperceived as a powerfulinfluence on behaviour change. Several
factors contributed to this "strong effects" theory of communication, including:
the fastrise and popularization of radio and television, the emergence of the
persuasion industries, such as advertising and propaganda, the PayneFund
studies of the 1930s, which focused on theimpact of motion pictures on
children, and Hitler's monopolization of the mass media during WWII to unify
the German public behind the Nazi party.
