Audience Theory - Hypodermic Needle Thoery

The Hypodermic Needle Theory implies that mass media has a direct response and effect on an audience. Throughout the 40's and 50's, this effect was deemed to be very powerful and influential on the audience - due to the fact they didn't have as many media sources to compare news with. 

The theory states that the information is injected straight into the brain; the media then brainwashes us - hence, what we see is what we believe. Furthermore, it suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people directly and uniformly by 'shooting' or 'injecting' them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired response.

However, this theory has its disadvantages - its very out of date and invalid, not everyone watches the news and consumes media in the same way, audiences are not simply passive (Stuart Hall's theory proves this), technology has changed how we consume media and we are more aware of society and how institutions operate.

Image Essay: Beyonce - Pretty Hurts

The Hypodermic Needle Theory suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people directly and uniformly by ‘shooting’ or ‘injecting’ them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired response. This theory suggests a powerful and direct flow of information from the sender to the receiver. In the music video ‘Pretty Hurts’ by Beyoncé, through the narrative it portrays the view that the media is a dangerous means of communicating an idea –this being that society’s idea of ‘pretty’ is destructing and damaging to females.

Opening the video with behind the scenes footage of girls getting ready for a beauty pageant, reveals to the audience how not so ‘beautiful’ they really are. Via the use of simple cuts, it exposes how the girls competing are brainwashed into thinking they have to look a certain way to be deemed pretty in society’s eye – hence the ironic title of the song ‘Pretty Hurts’. 

Adding to the mundane feel to the opening of the video, non-diegetic minor chords are playing – creating a direct impact on the audience, as we start to feel sympathy towards the characters. The video conforms to the theory’s suggestion that through a media text, a powerful and direct flow of information is passed from the sender to the receiver.

The theory suggests that what we see is what we believe. Therefore, as we see Beyoncé along with many other girls putting themselves through suffering and pain, as an audience we start to believe that all girls in beauty pageants do just that. 

The video shows Beyoncé working out, making herself sick, getting Botox, over exercising and getting weighed – triggering a response within the audience. Furthermore, through the lyrics the song demonstrates a powerful message that the media promotes a certain image for women to idolize to and the effect it has – “we try to fix something but you cant fix what you cant see, it’s the soul that needs the surgery… blonder hair, flat chest, TV says ‘Bigger is better’. South Beach, sugar free, Vogue says ‘Thinner is better”. The fact that Beyoncé directly quotes media sources proves that as a society we promote a negative body image – affecting individuals in serious ways.

However, there are also cons to the Hypodermic Needle Theory. For example, as this was the first theory that was put together, it is very out of date and can be argued that it is invalid. Also, not everyone watches and consumes media in the same way – technology has changed and advanced and not everyone follows the changes. Furthermore, as an audience, we are now so used to consuming media texts that we understand conventions and know when to reject messages if we deem them insignificant – therefore, like Stuart Hall states there are 3 different ways of decoding a media text; dominant, negotiated and oppositional. Hence, it is down to the individual how they read into a text.