Cops Subliminal Messages

1078 Words3 Pages

Viewers of the show Cops are victims of the shows ideas, their perception of what happens in the show vs reality becomes altered and molded into what the show wants one to see. Ideas that one pick up from the show are things like cops always being the winners and the majority of criminal’s being uneducated drug addicts, which, majority of them happen to be African American. Although viewers may not realize the ideas that the show is planting in their heads, the viewers unknowingly receive the message. By using Gerber’s Cultivation theory, the process of how the show Cops reshapes conceptions of criminals and cops in reality to its viewers illustrates the effects that the show has on heavy and light users, how they become affected by the mean world syndrome, and the long term affects that the show has on its viewers. Heavy users of the show Cops becomes an easy target to the shows messages. Heavy users are constantly being exposed to the shows portrayal of a heroic cop who stops at nothing to keep those dimwitted criminals off the streets. Whereas a light viewer who does not get much exposure would not be as affected as those who are heavy users but still they are able to absorb some of the messages that the show gives off. In the article Cultivation theory, it emphasized on how excesses exposure of a TV show will increase its viewers chances of becoming a victim to the shows ideas, “People who watch a lot of television is likely to be more influenced by the ways in which the world is framed by television programs than are individuals who watch less, especially regarding topics of which the viewer has little first-hand experience”. (“Cultivation Theory”). The more exposure that one have of something, majority of the time, they ... ... middle of paper ... ... on the show. The more exposure that they receive the more they become trapped into the ideals of the show. Viewers may not be able to pin point or even tell how they’re able to come up with the perspectives that they have on crime is because the ideas that was implanted in them gradually grew on them as they tuned into the show daily. After watching Cops, viewers are left with a whole new perspective and outlook on life, they fall victim to the shows ideas that were instilled into their minds. Works Cited “Cultivation Theory”University of Twente. 23 Jan 2005. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Daniel Chandler “Cultivation Theory” n.d Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Davie, G. “Cultivation Theory: How Violence Might Affect Us” Weblog entry. Mass Comm Theory. 12 Mar. 2010. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Sabrina Ricci “Communication Theories: Cultivation Theory”yahoo. 1 Nov. 2009. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.

More about Cops Subliminal Messages

Open Document