Bad Publicity of Show Enemies

Bad Publicity of Show Enemies

Our show Enemies has recently received bad publicity. Viewers have

been complaining about increased sexual innuendo on the show, and

stockholders and advertisers are getting nervous. In addition to the

advertisers threatening to pull out their ads from Enemies, the actors

threaten to strike if we censor their show. However, based on what we

know about mass media theories and their affects on people's behavior,

I propose that we keep the show.

======================================================================

People get nervous about television shows because they think the shows

will affect them, their kids, possibly their culture and their country

negatively. However, studies on mass media affects on the general

population have shown that this is not necessarily the case.

People should not fear a 'controversial show' because most television

shows do not have the intent to alter a person's behavior or in any

way affect them negatively. Since intent is a necessary part of any

persuasive activity, lack of it simply means that fearing the activity

is unwarranted. Likewise, Enemies does not seek to change its audience

to behave more like its characters; but rather, its main purposes are

profit and entertainment. Therefore, the show is not seeking to

persuade the audience in any behavioral way; other than to possibly

make them interested in the show itself.

Audiences should also not fear their behavior being altered by the

show because Enemies does not call its viewers to participate in the

activities or behavior of its characters. As we know, participation in

any persuasive communication is important to its success. Therefore,

lack of participation by the audience indicates that they are very

unlikely to be influenced by the actions of the show's characters.

Another reason that the show Enemies should not frighten audiences is

because people have been inoculated against violence and sex after

watching hundreds of hours of television and many movies throughout

their lives. People have been 'de-sensitized,' so to speak, to Enemies'

sexual innuendo long before the show aired.

Persuasion also works better at smaller magnitudes.