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Audience Theory
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- 2. There are threetheories that make up theAudienceTheory: • The Effects Model or Hypodermic Model • The Uses and Gratification Model • ReceptionTheory All of the above theories are applied for a better understanding about the relationship between media texts and the audience.
- 3. The Effects Model: ■The Effects Model is the way in which media consumption influences the audience and has an affect over them in a negative way. ■ Normally the audience will be powerless to prevent the influence and will remain passive. ■ The power of the text lies with the message being transmitted to the audience that they will feel to react to and be influenced by it. ■ A prime example of the effects model theory coming into action is where audiences watch programs designed to generate panic or fear over particular issues, and are actually being influenced by the information. Programmes about crime are being viewed by people in order to gain insight and make them feel they can do better. Instead of creating a sense of fear, it is building confidence for the audience in a negative way as per the effects theory.
- 4. The Hypodermic Model: ■The Hypodermic Model is another name for the Effects Model involving the transmission of messages through media texts.The theory states that messages are injected into the audience by the highly influential media.The audience are perceived as passive patients rather than an active consumer by the powerful, syringe-like media. ■ The media makes the decision on what the audience consumes instead of them doing it themselves.This is likened to a drug where the audience are powerless to resist and as a result become addicted to media consumption.This shows media consumption to have an extreme influence over the audience in a highly negative way. ■ An example of the Hypodermic Model coming into effect is where young girls read model magazines and develop a presumption that all women should look like them. As a result, they will try to emulate young girls inTV shows who obsess about their weight and begin smoking and not eat as much to acquire a certain look
- 5. The Effects Model(The Bobo Doll Experiment): ■ Albert Bandura conducted a controversial research that is argued to be evidence for the Effects Model, where it proves that children imitate violent behaviour.This experiment was called the Bobo Doll Experiment. ■ The experiment involved children watching a video of an adult violently attacking a clown doll called a Bobo Doll.The children where then led to a room full of Bobo Dolls where 88% of the children imitated the violent behaviour previously shown in the video. A few months later, 40% of the children reproduced the same violent behaviour. ■ This experiment remains the dominant theory used by the general audience as well as politicians and other organisations.This shows the Effects Model coming into effect as media consumption has a negative influence over audiences especially children.The common violence portrayed in media leads to audiences being influenced by it and reacting to it, and this calls for attention as there have been many controversial media texts banned to prevent the Effects Model. Some films have been banned and specific content on newspapers and magazines.The Effects Model or the Hypodermic Model contributes to moral responses in the public audience as they become concerned with negative responses to media texts.
- 6. The Uses andGratifications Model: ■ The Uses and Gratifications Model is the way the audience engages with media texts. Unlike the Effects Model, the audience are able to make their own choices in the way they use media texts. ■ This theory contradicts the idea that media consumption influences the audiences in a negative way especially involving violent texts where instead the audience are simply entertained by it.The audience are active in this theory and the audience is not used by the media text but remains the one using it.The control remains with the audience and dismisses the idea that they could be drugged as they are free to reject media texts if they want to. ■ This theory suggests that media consumption of violence effects the audience in a positive way as they express their own violent impulses through it.Therefore, the audience are less likely to commit violent acts as their urges are channelled and sublimated by the violent images.
- 7. The Uses andGratifications Model (Continued): ■ There are different ways the audience use media texts such as for pleasure or gratification.The main factor for the audience consuming media texts is for entertainment.This is due to the fact that entertaining media texts serve as a form of escapism. For instance, in action films where there are explosions and stunts on view is entertaining for the audience as it is not something we see everyday. ■ Another way the audience uses media texts is for social interaction where the media is the topic of conversation. For example, a controversial advert recently released would be discussed between social groups or a political movement released through the media. ■ The audience also choose to consume media texts for personal identity.The audience can sometimes identity and relate to characters.An example of this is where audiences watchTV programmes that focus on realism and is likely to relate to their own life. ■ Also, audiences can use media texts as a form of education where they obtain information from news channels such as BBC One.
- 8. The Uses andGratifications Model (Continued): ■ Audiences also use media texts to satisfy their needs for sexual stimulation. For example, when certain male audiences watch an action film, there is generally an attractive woman who is the victim.The male audience may be satisfied by the woman will generally appear as a model and will come out as their ‘dream’ girl. ■ Another aspect of the uses and gratifications model is that audiences like to compare relationships and lifestyles with their own while using media texts. An example of this is when audiences relate to realistic movies that mirror typical lifestyle. Also, some audiences will aspire to frantic lifestyles and perfect relationships such as in action movies. ■ Also, this theory suggests that audiences are able to deal with issues through media consumption such as issues including personal & social identity as well as help with aggression and violence.
- 9. ReceptionTheory: ■ Stuart Hallat Birmingham University developed a different approach to audiences in the 1970s.The ReceptionTheory considers how media texts are encoded with meaning by producers and then decoded by audiences once they understand it. ■ The ReceptionTheory suggests that a producer constructs a media text with a meaning or message encoded within the text, that the producer wishes to transmit to the audience. Different types of producers will try to convey different messages or meanings and not all the time will the audience correctly decode it and understand the message. Some audience may also reject the message conveyed but generally the audience are successful in decoding the message. ■ In this theory, there are three types of audience readings of the media text the first being dominant or preferred readings.This is where audiences decode the message as the producer wants them to do and agree with it. For example the audiences may agree that a particular product is the best of its kind or agreeing with a political speech.
- 10. ReceptionTheory (Continued): ■ Negotiatedreadings is where the audience remains neutral with the media text.They will accept and also reject elements of the text such as remaining undecided whether ‘Apple’ is the best phone product. Another example of this type of audience reading is where audiences neither agree or disagree with a political speech which presents the way the audience perceives the text in a negotiated reading. Audiences may also not be interested by the producers message and not attempt to decode the message. ■ The final audience reading in the ReceptionTheory is oppositional.This is where the dominant meaning is made clear and recognised however it is rejected for cultural, political or ideological reasons. For instance, a ‘Samsung’ customer who believes that they have the best phone product will totally reject other phone products. Oppositional audience readings will mean that the audience will also reject a political speech because of conflicting views.