Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
THE 14TH INTERNATIONAL IDEA CONFERENCE STUDIES IN ENGLISH, 6 - 08 Ekim 2021
This paper examines the perception-changing and controlling effects of the mass media on
society in Robin Soans’ Life after Scandal in the light of the media effects theories. Mass media
has an indispensable place in the life of society since it covers the most widespread and
accessible means of communication including newspaper, radio, television, and the internet as
the primary source of information and entertainment. Therefore, it is almost impossible not to
be exposed to and be somehow affected by the messages delivered through mass media. In this
regard, Life after Scandal is a cumulative work that consists of some of the most notorious
scandals of the last fifty years. Rendering problematic how media has treated these scandals,
the play lends itself to an examination of media effects. The variety of the questions tackled in
the play with regard to the scandals serves the purpose of this study which is to raise awareness
about the use of the manipulative functions of the media and its fabrication of truth in the
modern world. As a verbatim play based on interviews and composed by using the actual words
of interviewees without making any changes in them, the play’s connection with real-life people
and their experiences also provides a basis for a re-evaluation of the relation between theatre
and real life.