The document discusses the hypodermic needle theory, which suggests that media can directly influence people's beliefs and behaviors. It provides examples of how this theory applies to video games, radio broadcasts, and war propaganda. Specifically, it mentions how some news sources have blamed violent video games for real-world violence, how H.G. Wells' 1938 radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds caused panic among some listeners, and how World War I propaganda posters directly recruited soldiers by making people feel needed for the war effort. The theory contends that media can directly "inject" ideas and information into people's minds without their full awareness or understanding.

1. Personal Study
Project

2. Auteur Research
A brief summary of this theory is when a directors role in a
film is so huge that they are classed as the ‘author’ of the
motion picture.
An example of a director that is an auteur is Quentin
Tarantino, Tarantino makes incredible stand out
characters in most of his films which is one of his stand out
traits. The motif and style of these stand out characters
has been consistent throughout his work.
Another example is Christopher Nolan, Nolan’s stand out
feature is creating confused and emotionally detached
characters his themes are about fear and we can see this in
the character he creates in The Dark Knight- the Joker.
Barbosa, J. (2015). The Top 10 Modern Auteur Filmmakers.
Available: https://thescriptlab.com/features/the-lists/3183-
the-top-10-modern-auteur-filmmakers/. Last accessed 10th
Sept 2021.

3. Reception Research
Reception theory is all about how different people react
to things differently, it all depends on where people are
from, how they were raised, how they perceive the
world, etc etc.
Here are the three categories:
Dominant reader: these are the people who just take in
and accept what is given/shown to them and don’t add
any extra notes, example, a teacher asking a student
to hand in an assignment is a direct message.
Negotiated reader: these people think they know what
acts are right and wrong in a film, but they move on to
accept it as there is no reason behind it, so the accept
the authors message even if it goes against their views.
Oppositional reader: these people don’t accept the
authors take or concept of the film, it may against one
of their beliefs which will make this audience of people
reject idea altogether.
Anon. (N/A). Reception Theory. Available:
https://www.communicationtheory.org/reception-
theory/. Last accessed 10th Sept 2021.

4. Hypodermic Needle Research
The hypodermic needle theory is all about how people are
influenced by the media. It started in the 1920’s with the effect
that propaganda had on soldiers. One of the main examples use
to display this theory is the effect that violent video games have
on people. There have been multiple news sources that have
produced stories about how certain video games have driven
people to commit violent acts. With media becoming more and
more prevalent, a lot more people just keep eating up and
believing everything they see online. Another great example of
this is anti-vaxxers. When one person expresses there opinion on
what a vaccine or drug does, when certain people see this they
instantly believe it.
Lamb, B. (N/A). The Hypodermic Needle Theory. Available:
https://lessonbucket.com/media-in-minutes/the-hypodermic-
needle-theory/. Last accessed 17th September 2021.

5. Male Gaze Research
The male gaze theory is all about how women are
sexualised in the media for male pleasure. This theory
didn’t come around until 1975 when someone finally
decided to speak out about what had been considered as
normal for so long. This theory suggests the woman never
has the major role and the sole purpose of the woman being
there is for men to look at ‘like an object’. One example of
this is transformers franchise. The theorist talks about the
‘over sexualisation of Megan Fox as she is the main love
interest and the outfits, she has to wear that were made for
male entertainment’.
Sampson, R. (2015). The Male Gaze Theory. Available:
https://www.filminquiry.com/film-theory-basics-laura-
mulvey-male-gaze-theory/. Last accessed 17th September
2021.

6. Further research into chosen theory:
Hypodermic Needle
After being discovered in 1927 by Harold Laswell, the hypodermic has changed throughout the years
similar to how technology and media has. However, people are becoming a lot more educated on what to
believe and how reliable certain sources are, parents are a great example of this as they are becoming
more aware, they are then restricting children from certain things to stop them from being
brainwashed by things they see online, this is extremely important as children are the most
impressionable so by stopping them seeing certain things, they won't be as likely to be brainwashed.
The name of the theory suggests that your being injected by information that you might not
understand, this allows people to inject random, false facts into your brain. A popular example of this
was the War of the Worlds radio broadcast in 1938. The broadcast was a radio adaption of H.G.Wells
book which was about aliens from mars invading New Jersey, the broadcast was made so realistic that
the Americans became terrified believing this event was real. The effects this had on certain people as
riots and stampedes took place and in some extreme circumstances, people committed suicide. This was
not Wells intention at all and just shows the effect the hypodermic needle can have on certain,
impressionable people.

7. Hypodermic Needle Examples
Gaming
Gaming is one of the main places where the hypodermic needle is
used, as video games are predominantly played by the younger
generation it means they have a big influence over their lives as
they are the most impressionable people as they are still young.
Violent games tend to be the most popular types of games which the
media like to push the narrative of violent video games being a
negative impact on young children. A reason as to why video games
are one of the biggest shows of the hypodermic needle is because
they are very interactive, and the players can feel like they are in
the game then possibly want to re-create these actions in real life.
In the example shown, the media have said that the game ‘Call of
Duty’ drove this man to go and commit murder, however the article
misses out a lot of information about the gunman, they failed to
mention that he was a hardcore drinker and was seeing
psychiatrists about apparent voices he had heard in his head so
whereas ‘Call of Duty’ may have played a small role in this, his
head was affected with bigger issues, this is a way the media uses
the hypodermic needle to scare people into thinking video games
cause violence.

8. Hypodermic Needle Examples
Radio
The hypodermic needle can also be seen in an audio format of media via
radios, podcasts, music, etc. Radio was one of the first digital forms of
media we had seen so this was the start of the digital hypodermic needle.
One of the most famous examples of the hypodermic needle theory came
from a radio broadcast made by H.G.Wells, the broadcast was made after
the release of the book to promote this even further however it did not go
as intended. The broadcast started with no warning and precaution about
it being fake, so when the team started to tell people about aliens invading
America people panicked. US citizens had no way to check news sources
about what was happening as they didn’t have access to any of that, so
they ultimately had to believe what they heard on the radio, this had a
terrible impact as riots broke out, people panicking, fleeing the country
and in some extreme cases, people committed suicide in fear of the aliens.
This was clearly all a misunderstanding by H.G.Wells as his intention was
never to scare America but rather to show them how they could adapt a
book into a radio broadcast.

9. Hypodermic Needle Examples
War Propaganda
War propaganda is where the hypodermic needle theory all started. In 1927
Harold Lasswell produced the hypodermic needle theory and wrote a book
about it and it has now become a huge part of media. The reason it's called a
needle is because the theory suggests that the media is being injected into
you, this was very useful in world war one as people had never experienced
anything like this before, so they believed everything the government was
saying. They targeted the weak minded as they are the easiest to influence
and needed recruits to the army. People were still new to this concept of the
hypodermic needle theory, so they weren’t aware of the governments tactics
and fell for the propaganda most of the time. The poster shown here is one of
the most famous examples of world war one propaganda as it was one of the
most effective posters. The poster makes you feel special as they specify ‘you’,
singling you out and making you feel needed, a lot of citizens feel for this and
went to sign up for the army.