During this week, we discussed media effects and theories. One of the most popular theories in this category is brought forth by George Gerbner. Who suggests that there is a correlation between media violence and the effect it has on one’s life. This theory is known as the Cultivation Theory. The idea suggests that the more time a person spends watching television, the more likely they are to believe the world is unsafe and full of violence. Gerbner referred to this belief as Mean World Syndrome. In his research, he found that this affected people regardless of a person’s class, creed, color, or age. 

In one of our screenings this week, the focus was on how obedience to authority is used in society. The screening focused on the iconic psychological experiments brought forth by Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo; and how these experiments predicted human behavior that would later take place. 

Milgram was interested in how humans complied with authority figures. His curiosity began during the Nuremberg Trials. He wondered how an army could go about wiping out an entire race of people simply based on the excuse that individuals were expected to follow orders from higher-ranking officers regardless of what they asked. Milgram set up an experiment where he hired three types of people. A teacher, a scientist, and a learner. The learner and the scientist were both actors hired to accumulate reactions out of the teacher. The scientist wore a lab coat and asked the teacher to give the learner electric shocks if they did not answer a question correctly. The learner was placed in a separate location so the teacher could not see him, the only communication they had was through an intercom. 

Zimbardo’s experiment took place in a makeshift prison setting. He hired an equal amount of men to act as prisoners, and as officers. The officers were given mirrored glasses and a khaki suit while the prisoners were only referred to by a number they were given, and wore a nightgown. 

Both experiments proved that people do not commit horrible acts solely based on the idea that they are a “bad apple”. Rather, they proved that obedience is a necessary factor for society to function. Ordinary people can commit horrible acts because they have been taught their whole lives that they must follow authority figures. On the other hand, people who are suddenly given a position of power over others can easily abuse their authority because their subordinates are expected to follow any order they command. These experiments practically predicted the events that occurred in Abu Garaib, Iraq 2003. Soldiers who had never been experienced in acting as prison guards began to humiliate and torture prisoners of war. They abused their power, and prisoners complied with their sick requests out of fear and intimidation.