Chapter 14

Recreation and Leisure

in Everyday Life

Overview Studying Leisure and Recreation

• In-Class Exercise

Media and Democracy• Regulation and Censorship

Media Effects • Passive/Active Audiences

Media Industries Recreation, Leisure and Relationships

Leisure and Recreation

Leisure• Freely chosen

activities Recreation

• Satisfying, amusing, stimulating, refreshing

• Body, mind or spirit Characterized by

consumption• Goods and services

for personal use

The serious study of “fun” • Important part of

everyday life• Time and money

• Related Developments:1. The decline of public life2. Formalizing recreation 3. Commercialization

In-Class Exercise• “Consumption Quiz”

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The Media and Democracy

Historical context• Limited freedoms

American Revolution A system of "checks

and balances" on power• Three branches of

government• Executive, legislative,

judiciary

• The media as the “Fourth Estate”

1st Amendment to U.S. Constitution:• “Congress shall make no

law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

High, Low and Popular Culture

High culture —associated with elites• Examples: opera,

museums

Popular culture —associated with the masses and consumer goods• Examples: hip hop

music, TV

6

Media Regulation and Censorship

Concerns about graphic content (sex, drugs, violence)

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

• Government regulations

• Obscene material is illegal

• Not protected under 1st Amendment

– Debates over definition

• Indecent material is legal but limited

• Restrict sales, decency standards

Threats of censorship industry self-regulation

Ratings and Warnings• Film

• The Production Code (1930-60s)

– Challenged by filmmakers

• Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) ratings (1968)

– Problem enforcing

• Music• Parents’ Music Resource

Center (PMRC) (1980s)– Senate hearings = “Parental Advisory” stickers

• Other Systems• Video games• TV

MPAA Ratings

Rating Symbol Text

G - General Audiences All ages admitted

PG - Parental Guidance Suggested Some material may not be suitable for children

PG-13 - Parents Strongly Cautioned Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

R - Restricted Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 - No One 17 And Under Admitted.

Level of rating

Violence (V)

Language (L)

Sexual situations

(S)Dialogue (D)

Fantasy violence

(FV)

TV-Y (unused) (unused) (unused) (unused) (unused)

TV-Y7 (mild) (mild) (unused) (unused) (Exclusive)

TV-G (unused) (unused) (unused) (unused) (unused)

TV-PG (moderate) (mild) (mild) (mild) (unused)

TV-14 (strong) (moderate) (moderate) (moderate) (unused)

TV-MA (Extreme) (Strong) (strong) (the D sub

rating is unused)

(unused)

Television Ratings

Video Games

Media Consumption

Theories on effects• Influences behavior and shapes society

• Passive Audiences• Magic Bullet (Hypodermic Needle)

– Contents enter directly

• Minimal Effects• Uses and Gratifications

– Escape, interaction, identity, inform/educate, entertainment

• Reinforcement Theory– Audience seeks media aligned with their own attitudes

• Active Audiences– Interpretive strategies used to “read” texts

• Encoding and Decoding– Ideology embedded in content

Video Presentation:

The Structure of Media Industries

Key segment of U.S. economy

• Major U.S. export

Conglomeration• Media companies

become part of larger corporations

• May have other diverse businesses

• Profitable for investors

• Conglomerates:• General Electric• Sony• Seagrams

Concentration• Fewer corporations own

more media• Deregulation mergers

and takeovers

• Small # dominate market

• Own vast portfolios • Various formats and delivery

systems

• Many subsidiaries under parent company

• Allows for “synergy”

Examples:

Fan-Celebrity Relations

Recreation, Leisure, and Relationships

Leisure and Community Collectors and Hobbyists Hangouts: The Third Place Travel and Tourism