How the Media Affect us

This extract of Pretty Woman reminded me of the affect art, just like other forms of media, can have on people. I could not find the extract in English, but the key is when Richard Gere says:

"People's reactions to opera the first time they see it is very dramatic.

                They either love it or they hate it.

                If they love it, they will always love it.

                If they don't, they may learn to appreciate it,

                but it will never become part of their soul."

I find this to be quite relevant to how we are affected by media. Adding on to that, Richard Grusin's idea of "premediation", or how the media knows how it will affect us, plays a great role. Although an advertising can have multiple affects on different people, the designers behind an ad can have a good idea of how it will generally be received. To take the Pretty Woman example, people would be affected in either ways: love it or learn to appreciate it. We can add Anna Gibbs's concept of "affect contagion". Here, Julia Roberts's emotions also affect Richard Gere.