Hypodermic needle theory Task 6.3

Hypodermic Needle Theory  

The summary of the hypodermic needle theory, is a piece of information that is display to the audience or focus groups that gets the same reaction. Established back in the 1930’s, it was seen originally seen as propaganda for troops to fight in wars. It symbolises itself as a message that intern people will follow and have the exact same reaction to.

The old-style propaganda would cover the use of subliminal messaging as way of inferring the audience what to think. The use of the image here would be to show the female part of the audience profile hat they should be doing whilst the men are of fighting in the war. This is seen using planes flying over the women whilst she is standing hands raised. The reason for this propaganda is to make women come work. It has pros and cons that relate to the propaganda. Some of the pros is that the poster is simplistic in a way that it can be made several times over and be seen by quite a few people.

Whereas with this type of document and other propaganda, there is a lot of cons that come into play. The use of this type of propaganda show how the female population back then, having an empty mind that they can fill with the thoughts of working in a factory. Another con would also be how the approach to the propaganda, would lead them to believe that what the message entails is the correct way they should approach the subject. The posters themselves suggest that the female viewers are passive and easily swayed into doing what the posters bluntly say. The posters are presented clearly and easy to understand so the information is direct and concise.

Another example of the theory would be during a radio broadcast of the Halloween special of H.G wells play ‘War of the Worlds’. The ply itself was presented as news bulletins that convinced the audience that there was actual alien invasion happening. This is a prime example of the theory as it shows how thing can become misunderstood and people believe what is being said on the radio. This is shows how much the theory could affect people back in 1938.

This example helps to present the cons behind the theory itself, it only places the message inside the person’s mind and doesn’t do anything to make sure that they do it. It receives the same reaction back then but as the theory is looked upon now there are several references that we can use to check the idea and make sure that it is genuine. Today with have several news websites to cross check the accusation. Whereas back then they would be more inclined to believe what they have been told. It used the ignored the audience free will and concluded that no matter what they will do what the message asks. Due to the mass reaction of the broadcast, it shows how there is not individual response to what is happening.