I don’t know how many of you watched the series of “high school soap operas” like two-a-days and Laguna Beach, but still love reruns of both. Media effects theory states that media can induce important effects on its audiences, and these two shows are perfect examples. On Laguna Beach there is an episode where the guys ask the girls to homecoming but it’s almost like a marriage proposal; I had never seen anything quite like this before. They would make huge banners and have a limo pick them up from school and take them to where the banner was asking them to homecoming or they would act like a secret admirer and leave them notes then at the end of the clues they would be waiting to ask them to homecoming. Everyone at my high school was completely obsessed with this show, to the point that some of the girls were determine to live life like they did on the show. They decided to ask the boys to homecoming like they did on the show. Another example come from a friend who went to another high school that I didn’t meet until college. On one of the Laguna episodes they have a Black and White Affair and rent out a hotel room and have a party. If you aren’t wearing all black or white then you can’t get in. My friend said they used to try and have these parties after they saw this show. This is a perfect, and even extreme example of how media can have an effect on its audience.

Sarah Beth Mounts