Theory

1. 12 Years a Slave
The target audience of 12 Years a Slave wasa range of minoritygroups,specificallyblackpeople
fromthe agesof 18-80. Theywere targetedinmanywaysbut mostnotable wasthe primarilyblack
cast, withthe onlywhite castmembers (withveryminimal exceptions) beingslave masters.This
somewhatalienatedthe whitedemographic,asmanyreportedfeelinguncomfortablewhenseeing
the filmintheatres.Italsodetacheditself fromthe youngdemographicandfocusedsolelyonthe
adult-elderlyage range byshowingverygruesome andharrowingscenes,earningitanR rating.
The filmwasprimarilydistributedinthe US,the UK and the Philippines.The reasonitwasscarcely
distributedelsewhere isbecause if itwasdistributedincertainareaswhere tensionsbetweenraces
are still high,itcouldhave causednational chaos.Eveninthe U.S,small-scale riotswere reportedin
the name of the movie. Itwasalso scarcelydistributedinsome partsof Europe,suchas Italy,
howeverthe advertisementswere lesscentralizedaroundthe blackcastand featuredBradPitt
instead,whowasinthe filmforbarely1 scene.Thisisdue to Italy’sverywhite populationandso,
they’dbe more likelytoidentifywithandrelate tothe famouswhite actor,Brad Pitt.
The researchdistributorscarriedoutforthismovie isevident.It’sbasedonthe bookbythe same
name and so italreadyhas a small fanbase,howeverasImentioned,if releasedinthe wrongareas,
large-scale carnage couldhave brokenoutandso the distributorshadtoensure theyresearched
whatareas wouldbe againsta movie withsuchthemes.
The budgetof the filmwas$20’000’000 and I do notbelieve thishadmucheffectonthe distribution
as it hadwhateverresourcesitneededforadvertisementsanddidn’tneedtobe verydaringor
differentwithitsmarketing.
Thisfilmdefinitelyfollowsthe Uses&Gratificationtheorymore sothan the HypodermicNeedle
theory,asit targetedquite aniche audience asfar as mediagoes,therefore theycouldn’thave
expectedthe entireaudience toreactthe same.Afterall it’sbasedonreal life historyandterrible
acts committedbypeople’scloseancestors.Of course the movie wouldspikesome tension,
especiallywithitpridingitselfonshowingthe seriousnessof slavery.It’sbasedonthe bookhand-
writtenbyDavidWilson,whowastoldSolomonNorthrup’sstoryfirst-handandso,dependingon
howcloselythismovie followedthe book,manyof the scenesinthismovie were real andactually
happened.Certainlythe keyeventswere.Anotherkeypointthatsellsthe movie’sfocusonthe Uses
& Gratificationtheoryisthatthe movie’smainsellingpointwastryingtoplayonthe emotionsof
theirtargetaudience.Focusingmore on‘whatpeople dowithmedia’ratherthan‘whatdoesmedia
do to people’.The creatorswere nottryingtomanipulate the audience,butrathertell themastory
and see howtheyreactto it. I thinkthisjustifiesthe movie’sover$56 milliongrossrevenueasithad
a prominentshockvalue toit,whichgot people talkingandsothe massespiledintosee it.