Entry 8: The power of advertising (2– Cultivation theory)

In my previous post, I concluded that 3 points of what I think that powerful to shape our life and mind. The third magic power is cultivation theory.

Cultivation effect appeared when stereotype and repetition treatment is heavily indoctrinated which caused the information will tend to be believe, accepted and remembered without questioning, even response it without thinking.

This cultivation theory is developed by G. Gerbner in 1977 and later expended upon by Gerbner & Grosss. Garbner, a prominent communication theorist, and co-authors brought together information and supporting evidence form his Cultural Indicators research to write an article in the Journal of Communication, titled “The Mainstreaming of America: Violence Profile No. 11.”

In this article, he states that television as the main source of information in American society which has the power to influence our reality and it is “primarily responsible for our perceptions of day-to-day norms and reality.” Television becomes one of the key member of the family which illustrates most of the stories most of the time. Due to this reason, Garbner is concerning and clearer grasping of the development and further researches on this cultivation theory which injected in mass media, mainly television.

So, from Gerbner’s researches, it shows us that the more people watch television, the more it shapes and controls our perception of our social life which can confused us with the “reality” television and real life. From this cultivation theory, Garbner is further elaborate onto the concepts of “mainstreaming” and “resonance.”

Mainstreaming is defined as creating uniform and regular fashion to appeal to wide range audiences. According  to Cohen and Weimann (2000), mainstreaming is a process where the television viewers learn facts and information about the real world from observing the world of television.

Resonance is the comparison between the mainstream constructs and the viewer’s real-life experiences with can be reinforcing ideas that the viewer already holds. This resonance can create a double dose effect to the message and further strengthen audiences’ perceptions.

Thus, this cultivation theory is quite a powerful tool to inject in the advertising to promote the nuclear family which cultivated in previous. Besides, the ideology of nuclear family is also cultivated by our education which a family is consisted by daddy, mummy and kid(s) and the traditional and conservative mindset.

References

Gulisano, L. (2008) Cultivation Theory: Creating Perceptions of Life from Reality Television. [Online] Available at: http://www.colorado.edu/communications/meta-discourses/Papers/App_Papers/Gulisano.htm [Accessed at: 6th February, 2014]

OU (N.D.) Literature Review. [Online] Available at: http://www.ou.edu/deptcomm/dodjcc/groups/02B2/Literature_Review.html [Accessed at: 4th February, 2014]