3. Audience Theories
The audience is who consumes the media.
The use and gratifications theories highlight 4 ways in which we consume media:
-Identity: in which we recognize the product in front of and it reflects similar values to our own or
someone we wish to inspire to be like.
-Educate: what knowledge and information we gain from watching the media.
-Entertain: when media provides and for of escapism and is consumed for enjoument.
Social Interaction: People consume media for part of their social life, as to provide them with a topic
of conversation or debate.
Fandom theory by Henry Jenkins:
The idea that people borrow things from the mass media in order to make up part of there identity. It
also highlight the way in which audiences participate in the construction of the medias meaning, by
interpretation it in a way that wasn’t intended by the producer.
4. Representation
Representation is how the media represents a certain group of people.
Theories of representation by Stuart Hall;
The idea that stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or
traits. The ideas that stereotyping tends to occur where there are inequalities of power, as it construct a
certain group as different. The idea that the relationship between concepts and signs is governed by codes.
Theories of identity by David Gauntlett:
The idea that media provides us with tools or resources that we use to make up our identity. The idea that
historically that there was a straightforward message about how men and women are represented, but now
we have a more diverse range of representation.
5. Link to my coursework
For my coursework I am doing a music video for the indie song Direction Home By Jamie T. The area of
the uses and gratification theory that I feel my media will fulfill is providing the audience with identity.
The way in which my music video will provide this is through the clothing that the artist involved will
wear; as I am asking those involved to wear casual clothing whilst performing. This will help with
identity as it will provide a relatable feel to the audience about the artist, something he (Jamie T)
already does through clothing by performing in casual clothing when playing live. This breaks Stuart
Hall’s theory on stereotypes, as stereotypically indie artists are presented to be wearing leather jackets
and clothing such as that, which the people involved in my music video won’t be wearing. This libk
more David Gauntlett’s view on sterotypes, in which there were historically only a few ways in which
people in media are presented, but in the modern day there are many ways in which people are
represented.
