Audience theory (uses and gratification)

section A: 1b

Key theorists:
-Hall- audience theory/preferred, negotiated and oppositional reading
-Katz & Bulmer
-Morley
-Ang
-Katz and lazarsfield

Haloran quote "we must get away from the habit of thinking in terms of what the media do to people and substitute for it what people do in the media."

audience affect
magazine sales- manipulative content (women's magazines show women's bodies that are unrealistic for other women to follow because this is conceived as beautiful)

the effect on audience from the media: negative
-unrealistic images/representations
-negative portrayal of low working class- Jeremy Kyle show (quick to judge)
-Gate keeping (allow story to got through even though it might not be true)
-Dangerous/censorship
-video games- violence/addictive
-Horor films- people killing/ warping minds

effect on audience- positive:
-informed
-educates you
-entertainment (escapism)
-creative and inspiring


Passive audience-
Don't question what you are watching/ reading/ listening to
The hypodermic syringe model:
example 1930's war of the worlds/ nazis (info 'syringed' into them)


Active audience- choses media (which film, game, show) and questions it
Cultivation analysis: video games and horror- not shocked anymore/ desensitised/ become more violent

Two step flow model:
1st step- opinion leaders (gives info/ story)
2nd step- audience (we just accept it)

Situated culture: terminology:
- Friends (influence an opinion) could persuade you to think in a certain negative way
- Family (influence behaviour) politics, religion
- Routines (reflects lifestyle)

cultural apparatus- dominant institution such as government uses culture to impose vales, definitions and opinions.


Primary media - we pay close attention to the media involved
(cinema) you can only watch the film
(book or magazine) can only read the pages

Secondary- Media is in the background
(TV) when not watching
(Music) in the background

Tertiary-  something we are not aware of
(Billboard, subliminal messages)
(ads on buses or buildings)


Uses and gratification theory- 4 needs and motivation to fulfil
*diversion- this is entertainment, relaxation and something to do
*personal relationships and social interactions- audience involved in social lives, observe a range of relationships, audiences learn responsibility
*personal identity- people can identify with characters, audiences can make comparisons between themselves and characters to see similarities
*surveillance- media provides education and information to help the audience know whats happening in the world.

*OWN RESEARCH*

*Reception theory- Stuart Hall  (theorist)
This theory is about how media texts are encoded with meanings and decoded by audiences.
Sometimes the meaning is decoded correctly or incorrectly. If they are not correctly decoded (the way the media wants them to think) it could be because the text was not understood, misinterpreted or can have more than one meaning.

Copycat theory- individuals may act out what they see 'modelled' on screen.
Ang- media isn't about audiences

*Internet society-p112 quote

recap through theories-
Audience theory
Butler Theorist and Barthes (representation)
Copycat theory (audience theory)
Decode (audience theory, language)
Equilibrium (structuralism)
Feminist
Gauntlett (representation)
Homophobia (representation)
Interpretation
Jeremy Kyle (representation of working class)
Katz
Lippman and Laura Mulvey
Masculinity (Representation)
New equilibrium (structure)
Opposites theory
Propp (8 character type)
Queer theory (representation)
Reception theory (Hall)
Scopophilia (wider audience gaze)
Todorov (Narrative structure)
Utopian solution (audience)
Villains
Walter Lippman (stereotypes, shortcut)
Xenophobia (fear of foreigners, representation)
Youtube (social media)
Zebras (binary opposition, black and white)