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Cultivation Theory Essay example

Decent Essays

George Curry

Introduction to Communications

Media Paper

Cultivation theory was created by George Gerbner, founder of the cultural environment movement and dean of communications at the University of Pennsylvania. Cultivation theory deals with the content of television and how it affects and shapes society for television viewers. The theory suggests that the violence embedded in television causes regular viewers to form exaggerated beliefs of society as a meaner and scary world. This is known as mean world syndrome. Although less than one percent of the population are victims of violent crimes in any one year period, heavy exposure to violent crimes through television can lead to the belief that no one can be trusted in what …show more content…

According to Gerbner’s studies

before the average TV viewer graduates from high school they will have observed thirteen thousand traumatic deaths on television.

The Third and final prong represents the concern for analyzing how television content affects viewers in particular, your typical couch potato who watches television all day. Television cultivates and shapes realities towards viewers; the more a person ingests messages of violence portrayed in television the more likely they are to view the real world as a mean and scary place.

Personally I do not watch television with the exception of sports, but even then you can’t avoid seeing violent acts whether it’s in a commercial for a movie or video game violence has become prominent in our society. Cultivation theory is something that affects everyone one way or another; if you personally are not affected by it chances are you know someone who is. It was something that was very obvious to me even at a young age. I grew up going to school in Windsor but living in Hartford. I noticed the mean world effect at a young age because most of my friends from school weren’t allowed

to come over my house because I lived in Hartford. Back then it wasn’t as clear to me as it is now, but even to this day it still happens. Not that my friends

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