This document discusses several audience theories and how they relate to the genre of romance. It describes the passive audience or "hypodermic needle" theory, which suggests that audiences passively accept media messages. For romance, this could mean audiences are happy accepting the love stories or become obsessed/depressed by them. The document also discusses active audiences and uses and gratifications theory, suggesting romance may appeal to or avoid audiences who want to escape drama in their own lives. Finally, it discusses audience pleasures theory and how romance could provide visceral pleasures or escapism but may not provide puzzle solving some audiences prefer.

1. Romance
AUDIENCE THEORIES

2. • This theory considers that society is made up of isolated individuals who
are easily susceptible to media messages. This means that this theory
believes that society is built up of people who are easily brainwashed and
therefore accept what the media tells them without question.
PASSIVE AUDIENCES:
HYPODERMIC SYRINGE THEORY 1923

3. • Following this theory, the genre of romance would appeal to this type of
audience, especially females as they will be happy and content with
accepting the love between to characters. This may also teach them that
they are able to become the characters and have their own love story.
• This genre may also not appeal to this type of audience as they may
become obsessed with the idea of love and become depressed due to the
struggle to find love. For example, the titanic is a very unlikely love story
which most people will not want to seek for their future due to one partner
passing away, leaving the women in distress.
PASSIVE AUDIENCES:
HYPODERMIC SYRINGE THEORY 1923

4. • This theory includes the idea of people using them for diversion away
from everyday life including personal relationships, personal identity and
surveillance. This means that people will use media in order to escape their
own life and feel happier about themselves and their lives.
ACTIVE AUDIENCES:
USES AND GRATIFICATIONS 1974

5. • Following the uses and gratifications theory, the genre of romance may
appeal to active audiences, especially females who want to be freed from
the drama in their life such as break ups or to fantasies about a relationship
that they want to have. For example, stereotypically, females will watch
romance films, such as the notebook, when going through a rough patch
or break up with a partner in order to try to feel better about themselves.
• However, romance may also be a genre to avoid by active audiences,
especially the females described above as it may cause them to feel worse
about their situation as they may feel angry at the characters for being so
happy at the ending.
ACTIVE AUDIENCES:
USES AND GRATIFICATIONS 1974

6. • Audience pleasures includes such things as the physical reaction (called
visceral), puzzle solving, disruption, vicariousness and the ideology of
beauty (aesthetic). This means that for romance, people will like the idea
of living through the characters and watching something that sounds and
looks beautiful.
AUDIENCE PLEASURES

7. • Following the theory of audience pleasures, the genre of romance would
appeal to people watching films in order to feel a sense of happiness and
freeness, females in particular as they may feel as though they can escape
the real world by living through characters. For example, females will
stereotypically watch romance films, like Pride and Prejudice, in order to
be able to escape reality, feel as though they are living through Elizabeth
Bennet and enjoy the beautiful landscapes such as the country villages and
how people used to live.
• However, the romance genre may be one to avoid when seeking audience
pleasures by females described above, as there is usually no puzzle solving
involved in romance films which these women may want to try to keep
there mind busy on something else rather than relationships.
AUDIENCE PLEASURES