Audience Theory

Uses and gratifications - Blumler and Katz
The 'Uses and Gratifications' model represented a change in thinking, as researchers began to describe the effects of the media from the point of view of audiences. The theory looks at the motives of the consumers of media, questioning why we choose to watch the things we do, why we bother to read newspapers and why we find ourselves so compelled to keep up to date with our favourite soap, or consume films. The audience is made active as they choose what they want to consume, they are not forced into consumption. The theory argued that audience needs have social and psychological needs which generate certain expectations about the mass media and what they are exposed to. This emphasises the idea of the active audience who make choices in relation to what they consume making one’s self in control of what they consume.

The model is broken down down into four different needs:

1. Surveillance
2. Personal Identity
3. Personal Reltionships
4. Diversion

Surveillance

The Surveillance need is based around the idea that people feel secure and better when they know what is happening in the world around them. The surveillance model is all about awareness. We use the mass media to be more aware of the world, gratifying a desire for knowledge and security. As an audience we feel more protected when our need for knowledge is fulfilled, for example we watch the news as we feel this is a reliable source of information .

Personal Identity

The personal identity need explains how being a subject of the media allows us to confirm the identity and positioning of ourselves within society. Messages, values and pop stars or certain people within the media can be relatable for an audience, also pop stars can become role models inspiring young people and helping them define themselves.

Personal Reltionships

The audience can form a relationship with the media itself and use it to form relationships with others. For example many use the television as a form of companionship, as when presenters or characters in a soap die, who have watched that person a lot often grieve for the character, as if they have lost a friend.  Furthermore people sometimes use the media as springboard to form and build relationships with real people, for example having the same favourite TV programme can often lead to the start of a conversation. Some studies suggest that some families use sitting around watching the television as a stimulus for conversation, talking to each other about the programme or related anecdotes while it is on.

Diversion

The diversion need refers to escapism, by using the media as a way to stop thinking about everyday life and problems. By watching television, music videos and films the audience can forget about their own lives for a while and focus on something else.

Reception Theory - Stuart Hall

The reception theory states that media texts are encoded by the producer meaning that whoever produces the text fills the product with values and messages. The text is then decoded by spectators. Different spectators will decode the text in different ways, not always in the way the producer intended.

The spectators can have one of these three readings of a media text:

1. Dominant or Preferred
2. Negotiated
3. Oppositional

Dominant reading

The dominant reading of a text is that the audience view the media text in the way the producer intended. Also the audience agree with the ideology and message behind the text. The audience will view the message in the way the producer wanted them to. For example in a perfume advert a man sees a perfume that implies he will irresistible to women if he purchases the perfume.  So the man agrees with this message and purchases the perfume.

Negotiated reading   

This is a compromise between the dominant and oppositional readings, the audience accepts the views of the producer but also has their own input and understanding in relation to the text. They do not agree or disagree; they however can see the point being made in relation to the reading yet still have their own opinion. For e.g. they see a hand bag being advertised, they like the bag as it is beautiful and luxurious but could not justify spending x amount of money on a bag making the bag less appealing.

Oppositional reading

The audience completely rejects the preferred reading of the text and creates their own instead; they reject the meaning fully because they do not agree with the message created. For example a woman sees an advert for a bag, they feel that women are being stereotyped in relation to the ad and reject its meaning fully as they feel women are categorised by appearance.

Hypodermic Needle

The hypodermic needle theory was developed in the 1920’s and 30’s, the theory implied that mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. The theory states that the media injects messages/values and information into its audience and it could influence a large group of people directly and uniformly, designed to trigger a desired response. This theory (a needle) suggests a powerful and direct flow of information from the sender to the receiver. The hypodermic needle model suggests that media messages are injected straight into a passive audience which is immediately influenced by the message. It expresses the fact that the media is a powerful and dangerous means of communicating an idea because the audience or receiver is powerless to resist the impact of the message. People are seen as passive and are seen as having a lot media material "shot" at them. People end up thinking what they are told because there is no other source of information. The theory assumes what we see or hear we believe and consume. The theory assumes we are brainwashed in to believing the media messages.

Cons of the theory

• very out of date and invalid
• not all people consume media texts in the same way
• not every one watches the news/ consumes media in the same way
• audiences are not simply passive more up to date theories have proved this.

Theory in practice

I have related the theory to different forms of media texts below.

Example of uses and gratifications:

Eastenders - Bradley dies part 2 - BBC

Personal Reltionships - In this episode of eastenders one of the well known characters (Bradley) unfortunatley dies, however the audience are exposed to feel greif as though they have just lost a friend. As Bradley dies the characters around him are shown to be in turmoil and despair, even though the soap has the purpose of entertainment the audience still feel emotion towards the character as though they personally know them.

The Black Eyed Peas - Where Is The Love?

 

Surveillance- This video meets the surveillance need as they reveal uprising issues within society to the audience, for example they mention certain issues such as terrorism, racism and equality. The purpose of the video is to reveal issues that are happening across the world that have devistating effects on indviduals within society, and persuade viewers to release this issues and do what they can to help prevent them, it sill however fulfils the need for the audience to understand what is going on in the world.

Avatar - James Cameron

Diversion - Both TV and film can be used as forms of escapism. I have used 'Avatar' as an example of diversion, because people may want to escape to a world unfamiliar to their own, which is more dramatic and thrilling therefore they choose to watch a sci-fi film or TV programme such as Dr. Who.

P!NK - Perfect

Personal Identity - Videos like the one I have used as an example above, help individuals define themselves within socitey, they especially build self-esteem and self-confidence. From watching these videos people may realise they are not alone and other individuals share the same issues, therefore it meets the personal identity need.

Examples of Reception Theory