The Hypodermic Needle Theory is a method used by the mass media to inject appropriate messages into a group of people, so to gain a desired response. It was a very powerful method during the 1940s and 50s, where the media became the Government’s most powerful weapon during a time where there was a World War and the split between the West and East (The Cold War). It is a very useful method for Propaganda.
An example would be the overwhelming violence in some of the key titles of video games that would make an effect on the viewer without thinking too much into the message. Whilst many could argue that it make some of the viewers more violent (though many reports debunk that claim many times), it has shown to make the viewers more desensitised to violence.
Manhunt, a video game developed by Rockstar Studio, is an Action/Stealth with Psychological Horror elements. It was once the highlights on the news because of a murder case.
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-316491/Teenager-gets-life-Manhunt-murder.html)
The media reaction to this incident used Hypodermic Needle Theory to spread the message that this specific title is the cause of a young man who turned to murder, armed with a knife and claw hammer, approaching the victim in a similar attempt that is shown in Manhunt. This is backed up by a politician named ‘Kieth Vaz’, who stated that ‘violent videogames’ should be banned as it is affecting children negatively. So the media got a desired response out of the public in reaction to the videogame and its violence elements in general.
Another game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, had one mission called ‘No Russians’. This is an airport mission where CIA Agent Allen, under an alias called Alexei Borodin, is undercover with Marakov in a massacre of civilians in an airport.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NMnnMRWJ-0
It supposedly had a point to the story with this scenario, but towards the end of the mission, Allen was killed by Marakov, his body left behind which sparked a war between America and Russia. And the controversial message, which shows the players the harsh reality of ‘War’ and ‘Organization’s own selfish needs’. It had a massive affect on the public, which was huge on the news for a while. For some, it shows the harsh reality of war and selfish needs. For others, mostly by the news media, it shows the negative effect of violence in video games.
It is how the message is represented, to gain the response you aim for.
