Critical Media Effects

Introduction

The approach of CME offers insight into the bridge of communication and media effects through 4 bodies of concepts: power, intersectionality, context, and agency. It challenges the theories already in motion, it argues they are color-blind and should open the perspective broader to make it have substance.^[2] It advocates asking questions regarding representation, media ownership, and issues of power. It will go into detail about how critical media plays a factor in personality and gaps in the new generation of consumers. It shows how to think critically about the power and influence of media. It is looked at through the lens of Neomarxists while Jennings Bryant and Dolf Zillmann share the title of founders of CME. Some other scholars have studied CME and have offered their own theories/views which will be looked at later on. The framework is broken up into four tenets, power, intersectionality, context, and agency.

It advocates for self-awareness of cause and effect of the media, rigor, in order to respond to the emerging media concepts. It investigates the connection between the media and individual behaviors impacted by their attitude. Majority of the study is done in Western/Rich nations in return making the theory lack in some aspects like people of color. Thus, it could be skewed/biased because it is only studied within a certain group. Later on, these limitations will be mentioned and analyzed on how this could affect CME. This article will contain six components: History, Key Tenets, Limitations/ Criticism, strengths, Past applications, and future applications. Below will explain how each pillar is connected to CME.

History

The critical media effects theory can be traced back to the 1920s and 30s, to the Frankfurt School. This school of thought was mainly made up of neo-Marxists, who were best known for expanding the Marxist Theory to include other entities such as critical theory and existentialism. They developed the critical theory, which is "...any approach to social philosophy that focuses on society and culture to reveal, critique and challenge power structures." Overall, these groups of thinkers attempted to provide critiques of the mainstream mass communication that dominated these schools of thought. Around 60 years later, in the 1990s, Jennings Bryant and Dolf Zillmann came to be known as the 'founders of media effects research' after publishing Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research. This book portrayed studies focusing on the media and its effect on societal issues, such as the media's role in disordered eating and negative body image, as well as the relationship between media and the use of steroids, something that had not been done before.

Although these thinkers undoubtedly contributed a great amount to the trajectory of the critical media effects theory, as mass communication and media theories were studied over time, one thing became apparent: the perspectives of those in minority groups were not included. Many, if not all of the thinkers who contributed to the beginning ideals of this theory were white men. Most studies did not include people of color, women, or those of any other minoritized groups. It was not until the feminist movement in the late 1960s in which research regarding media and children conducted by women scholars was recognized. Later on, in the 1990s, gender and race in the media began to be studied and noticed. The critical media effects theory was then created in order to combine all of these missing elements and explore various perspectives throughout mass communication of those who are less often focused on in the media.

One scholar with whom we can attribute this theory's development to is Dr. Srividya “Srivi” Ramasubramanian of Syracuse University. In the textbook Communication Theory by Mark P. Orbe, she goes on to state that her colleagues and herself came to the realization that within most communication theories, people of color specifically were not mentioned, and there were very few theories stemming from the perspectives of these minoritized groups. She also stated that even in the areas where people of color are represented, they are hardly seen as leaders and/or scholars. Thus, Dr. Ramasubramanian and her colleagues decided to write their own theory, which came to be known as critical media effects. Seeing as though this theory was developed in the early days of 2020, it was created at the same time the COVID-19 pandemic, white supremacy, and other forms of hate were at an all-time high. This gave Dr. Ramasubramanian and her colleagues an even bigger reason to create such a strong framework that focuses directly on those who struggle for power in society, and the realization of these issues in our society by these scholars is exactly how not only the framework, but the key tenets and purpose came to be. While this is still an extremely young theory that is still being researched, its framework has posed much discussion and conversation amongst scholars, students, and researchers, and will continue to evolve as our society develops and changes.

Key tenets

The theory Critical Media Effects (CME) main goal is to advocate and explore the many perspectives of cross-roads through global media communication. The Critical Media Effects framework bridges critical cultural communication with media effects through four key tenets of power, intersectionality, context, and agency.  The first tenet power challenges the power contrast and inequalities within media effects research by bringing awareness to the imbalance of race representations in different networks. The second tenet intersectionality questions the one demographic within communication discipline and addresses the capacity of experiences such as discrimination and media representation that are informed by multiple identities. Intersectionality refers to the minority groups that have less representations. The third tenet context although context could mean social, cultural and political structures that shape media effects. Critical media effects context pertains to consider the social and cultural location with respect to power relation and influences. The final tenet of Critical Media effect is agency this is the approach that goes beyond the passive notion to emphasize media user's dominant nature of mainstream communications.

Power: Challenges the inequalities and power differences within media research.

Intersectionality: Addresses various dimensions of experiences in media such as stress, media access, discrimination, and media representation.

Context: The subjects of race, politics, and class shape media effects scholarship.

Agency: Addresses the mainstream media and emphasize the why, how and who in the trending media representation.

Limitations/criticisms

The Critical Media Effects framework was developed to spark discussions on media studies, theory, and practice. It's a conversation starter about recruiting better, retaining, and promoting scholars of color in media and communication studies. This problem highlights the importance of role models in leadership and community outreach to mitigate the negative effects of the media and the communication industry. However, the preeminent theories of how groups interact and how the media influences them failed to take a critical stance. For instance, power dynamics need to be given adequate attention in the social identity theory. Everything in the media is treated as "neutral" and the same(Orbe e al., 2021, p.237). Without considering a more ecological perspective, media effects were equated with psychological processes at the individual level. Critics have noted that media frequently showcases successful trans individuals in positions of authority, yet Li's research looks into how viewers' intergroup reactions are redirected due to media's disproportionate focus on the experiences of socially marginalized outgroup members. She claims that common trans individuals are only shown in catastrophic news stories. In contrast, high-profile trans persons are featured prominently in media coverage of trans policies and rights (e.g., hate crimes) (Orbe et al., 2021, p.241).According to Orbe et al. (2021) Aggression, dehumanization, and ignorance towards transgender people are all influenced by the viewers' gender. As social scientists, our theoretical work, especially quantitative research, has to consider power, inequality, access, and social justice concerns. It is essential to begin by including people of diverse backgrounds in our sampling to get a complete picture of how the media affects people. The critics argue that social scientist working in communications studies need to consider whether or not their studies and theories may be contributing to the maintenance of dominant ideologies and unspoken eurocentrism.

Strengths

Critical Media Effects has only been around since 2020 but has already been adapted by many social scientist. There are many strengths this theory which is why it has been so quickly adapted. Critical Media Effects was the first theory to address minorities within media research. Recent theories and experiments conducted for mainstream media did not feature different demographics and Critical Media Effects addressed that minorities were not being represented within the research. Adding the perspective of more underrepresented groups allows for more well rounded research. Critical Media Effects promotes a multi method and multi perspectival approach to examining media effects. The theory centers on issues of inclusion and social justice to address pressing global issues and advocates for a more nuanced multi perspectival approach to media effects. Much of the theorizing that was conducted before the introduction of Critical Media Effects was based on limited samples that were provided be predominantly white U.S-centric student populations. Critical Media Effects addresses this aspect of research and calls for a more nuanced approach to studying identity which is driven by the community as opposed to researchers. The theory brings to light that researchers should branch out past traditional Western and college-based samples. The framework analyzes institutional, structural, systematic, inequalities that play a vital role in the outcomes of research on media effects. Critical Media Effects argues taking a critical approach to the research process to provide more valuable and socially relevant research. The presence of media systems in our everyday lives is increasing and the effects of media research has the potential to equip people to use their voices and respond to global systematic issues through media platforms. As society responds to inequalities within race, Critical Media Effects explores how practitioners and researchers can use the media and the power it has in the world today for prejudice reduction, favorable intergroup relations, and inclusive communication. Critical Media Affects allows for more open communication across different demographics and helps increase the accuracy of research.

Past applications

When looking back at how the Critical Media Effects theory draws in on gender and race and how these play into media and mass media around the world we can see how far it has come and what it is doing in society. The theory advocates for a more cultural and more perspective way in the world of media, especially regarding issues of social justice and inclusion of all. The theory is fairly new and was created back in 2020. But, already we have seen its impact so far in the media. We also see how media in this sense can be mistaken and observed the wrong way and can create new prejudices and stereotypes. This theory in the past has been used and still is used for growing and empowering the world of communication through media and other online platforms. This theory also has helped strengthen media and different intersectional identities, by promoting a media that is inclusive and a safe place to show these parts and aspects of ones life. Its goal in the past and still today is to bridge that gap and make for a more equal platform for all. Also, this theory is continuing to grow and adapt to new ways of society. This theory can be used across many different social media platforms. This theory can be used for different identities to come together, and different sociopolitical issues and situations to be seen.

Some specific examples of past applications are studies of woman of color, or transgender men and woman and how they are portrayed in the media. Another big issue that we can see in the past using this theory and carried on today is how when we view the media or an online platform how much of what is covered is a white issue versus other minority groups. It is all about what we see and what is filtered out. Another thing we can see from using this theory in the past is who do we hire to be these news anchors? We need more people of color and different cultural back rounds reporting so that they can give a bigger and greater voice to people who are similar to them who are watching these reports. A very large example in the past where we can see this theory used was 9/11. We see how after this event news stations and almost all media outlets were making it look like all Muslims were terrorists and were very dangerous. One big example of how the Critical Media Effects theory has been used in the past was in Disney/ Pixar movies. We see how in the movie Lightyear we see the first same sex kiss on screen. This caused a lot of attention toward Disney and its creators of the film. Some people believe that more should be seen in movies regarding relationships of the same sex and others do not at all. But, the theory itself pushes for more movies to be more inclusive and show this. Not just inclusive of relationships but different religious affiliations, and different racial groups. In general, the Critical Media Effects theory focuses on bringing in a more culturally diverse atmosphere to the world of media and the social world around us that is continually growing.

Future applications

As we look forward to the future of Critical Media effects theory, it is clear that it has a wide number of uses across multiple platforms. The issues it deals with whether it be lack of media inclusion for all minorities or power struggles have always been apparent in society and will continue to be, therefore having the framework CME provides in order to approach and diagnose those issues is critical in changing them. Beyond research and theory-building, the Critical Media Effects framework also has potential for curriculum, hiring, promotion, mentoring, leadership, and community engagement around whose perspectives are privileged, how resources are allocated, and how priorities are set in our society. The main goal of CME is to bring attention to and discuss marginalized groups who haven't previously had the adequate media coverage or research, and there are many demographics this can be applied with. Looking forward, Critical Media Effects can be used to examine poverty, social class, racism, homelessness, colorism, and transphobia across a variety of different contexts. Overall, CME hopes to have a more nuanced, intersectional, and critical approach to theorizing the effects of media in order to have a more diversified media experience in our sociopolitical landscape.

References

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