1. Richard Dyer's Utopian Solutions Theory proposes that audiences will be drawn to media that offers compensation for inadequacies in their lives by allowing them to vicariously live out desires and fulfill needs. 2. Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory suggests that targeting the top five basic human needs - physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization - will increase the likelihood of a media production's success. 3. Uses and Gratifications Theory, developed by Blumler and Katz, posits that audiences actively choose certain media to fulfill needs like being informed, identifying with characters, entertainment, social interaction, and escape from reality.

1. AUDIENCE
THEORIES

2. RICHARD DYER’S
UTOPIAN SOLUTIONS
THEORY
Richard Dyer states that people will respond to a
media text if it offers them compensation for the
inadequacies in their own lives. Through the
media audiences can vicariously live their lives
and fulfill their wants and needs, leading them to
strive to a utopian life.
This is his ‘Utopian Solutions’ theory:

3. ABRAHAM MASLOW’S
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
THEORY
Abraham Maslow stated that we all have the same 8 basic
needs. Therefore if your production targets these, you will
have a greater chance of success. The top five needs are:

4. USES AND
GRATIFICATIONS
THEORY
Blumler and Katz suggested in the 1970s that the media audiences make active choices about
what to consume in order to meet certain needs. Their Uses and Gratifications Theory tries to
show the different reasons that audiences have for consuming certain media texts.
The Uses and Gratifications Theory
Media Consumers choose media texts that fulfill one or more of these needs:
The need to be INFORMED and EDUCATED about the world in which they live
The need to IDENTIFY personally with the characters and situations in order to learn more
about themselves
The need to be ENTERTAINED by a range and variety of well constructed texts
The need to use the media as a talking point for SOCIAL INTERACTION
The need to ESCAPE from their ‘daily grind’ into other worlds and situations