BY JA M E S RAW L I N S O N

AUDIENCE THEORIES

AUDIENCE THEORIES

• Audience theories can be, Cultural theories, uses and gratifications, encoding/decoding and the hypodermic needle.

HYPODERMIC NEEDLE • The hypodermic needle theory was roughly made in 1920 and is

the theory that media is like a needle and the ideas and beliefs of monopolies can be pumped into the minds of the audiences.

• ‘Moral panic’ is caused by the hypodermic. Films that use violence cause moral panic through young kids or teenagers causing trouble or being violent. Also Saving private Ryan can make people want to join the army.

USES AND GRATIFICATIONS • This is the idea that different people will process

the information they get from the media in different ways, this means media is consumed differently by independent people and not a wide audience believing the same things.

- It was formed by Blumer and katz in 1974 and staed these four things: Diversion

- Personal Relationships- Personal Identity- Surveillance

CONTINUED…

• In the film industry, all 4 are used. Diversion, personal relationships and personal identity and surveillance. • Diversion: films can be used to escape from every day

life and relax.• Personal relationships: This can be used in films for

people to relate to a character or need to get a feel of real life interaction, such as people who don’t have siblings or live alone.• Personal Identity: This is when the audience use the

actors in films to define their social behavior. • Surveillance: documentary films can inform the

audience of news.

ENCODING AND DECODING

• Made by Stuart Hall in 1983. This is when the audience determines the meaning, their gender, age and sex can determine the different meanings.• Preferred reading: When the audience accept the

meaning of a film.• Negotiated reading: when the audience has a

neutral opinion of a film.• Oppositional reading: When they don’t accept the

meaning such as The hurt locker, which can make people join the army and people don’t agree with this.