Audience Theory
Knowing my audience is a key part of a successful project so having some theory base behind it is always good.
Media Audiences can be defined in terms of:
- Location - the domestic (home) consumption of media output raises questions about regulation and control.
- Consumption - audiences are defined by what they consume e.g. genre
- Size - there is no need to distinguish between mass audience and niche audiences.
- Subjectivity - the impact that membership of pre- existing prou[s will have on audience members e.g. gender, nationality, race, religion.
There are three types of audiences that can apply to help us come to a better understanding about the relationship between texts and audience.
1. The Effects Model (or the Hypodermic model)
The consumption of the media texts has an effect or influence upon its audience and it is normally considered that this effect is negative, because audiences are passive and powerless to prevent the influence, so the power lies in the message.
Here, the messages in media texts are injected into the audience by the powerful syringe-like media. Therefore, the media works like a drug and the audience are drugged or addicted.
Example: The Frankfurt School theorised in the 1920s/30s that the mass media acted to restrict and control audiences to the benefit of corporate capitalism. They came up with "The Bobo Doll Experiment" which was to research if kids copied violent behaviour. So the Children watched a video of an adult violently attacking a clown doll. Then they were taken to a room with toys that they weren't allowed to touch. Furthermore, they were taken to a room with clown dolls and 88% of the children were violent. Then 8 months later 40% still produced the same behaviour.
Flaws: There were movies about like A Clockwork Orange and Manhunt, that featured violence, rape and messed up games.
However, Stuart Hall (1973) suggested texts were encoded by the producers of texts to contain meanings related to social and cultural background of the creator of the text. But, once the viewer of the text 'decodes' the text then the meaning intended may change. He suggests three main perspectives involved in the way an audience responds to a particular text. This involves how the audience is positioned by the text and its subsequent response.
Halls three main perspectives:
- Preferred or Dominant Readings - this is where the audience interprets the text as closely to the way in which the producer of the text intended.
- Negotiated Readings - This is the audience goes through some sort of argument with themselves to allow them to accept the way the text in presented.
- Oppositional or Resistant Readings - This is where the user of the text finds themselves in conflict with the text itself due to their beliefs or experiences.
2. The Uses and Gratifications Model
The audience is active and uses the text and is not used by it. The audience uses the text for its own gratification or pleasure. The power lies with the audience and not the producers. This theory emphasises what audiences do with media texts. The audience is free to reject, use or play with media meanings as they see fit.
Audiences use the media to gratify needs for:
- Diversion
- Escapism
- Information
- Pleasure
- Relationships and Lifestyles
- Sexual Stimulation
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1943)
The audience is in control and consumption of the media helps people with issues as:
- Learning
- Emotional satisfaction
- Relaxation
- Help with personal identity
- Help with social identity
- Aggression and Violence
Flaws: Controversially the theory suggests the consumption of violent images can be helpful rather than harmful. Then the theory suggests that the audience act out their violent impulses through consumption of media violence. So the audience's inclination towards violence is therefore sublimated, and they are less likely to commit violent acts.
3. Reception Theory
When a producer constructs a text it is encoded with a meaning or message that the producer wishes to convey to the audience. Sometimes the audience with correctly decode and understand but sometimes the audience will fail or reject to correctly understand the message.
Stuart Hall identified three types of decoding:
Dominant/ Preferred - broadly agrees e.g. political speech and agreeing with it
Negotiated - argues to come to an answer e.g. neither agreeing or disagreeing with a political speech.
Oppositional - Total rejection e.g. disagrees with speech
Media Audiences can be defined in terms of:
- Location - the domestic (home) consumption of media output raises questions about regulation and control.
- Consumption - audiences are defined by what they consume e.g. genre
- Size - there is no need to distinguish between mass audience and niche audiences.
- Subjectivity - the impact that membership of pre- existing prou[s will have on audience members e.g. gender, nationality, race, religion.
There are three types of audiences that can apply to help us come to a better understanding about the relationship between texts and audience.
1. The Effects Model (or the Hypodermic model)
The consumption of the media texts has an effect or influence upon its audience and it is normally considered that this effect is negative, because audiences are passive and powerless to prevent the influence, so the power lies in the message.
Here, the messages in media texts are injected into the audience by the powerful syringe-like media. Therefore, the media works like a drug and the audience are drugged or addicted.
Example: The Frankfurt School theorised in the 1920s/30s that the mass media acted to restrict and control audiences to the benefit of corporate capitalism. They came up with "The Bobo Doll Experiment" which was to research if kids copied violent behaviour. So the Children watched a video of an adult violently attacking a clown doll. Then they were taken to a room with toys that they weren't allowed to touch. Furthermore, they were taken to a room with clown dolls and 88% of the children were violent. Then 8 months later 40% still produced the same behaviour.
Flaws: There were movies about like A Clockwork Orange and Manhunt, that featured violence, rape and messed up games.
However, Stuart Hall (1973) suggested texts were encoded by the producers of texts to contain meanings related to social and cultural background of the creator of the text. But, once the viewer of the text 'decodes' the text then the meaning intended may change. He suggests three main perspectives involved in the way an audience responds to a particular text. This involves how the audience is positioned by the text and its subsequent response.
Halls three main perspectives:
- Preferred or Dominant Readings - this is where the audience interprets the text as closely to the way in which the producer of the text intended.
- Negotiated Readings - This is the audience goes through some sort of argument with themselves to allow them to accept the way the text in presented.
- Oppositional or Resistant Readings - This is where the user of the text finds themselves in conflict with the text itself due to their beliefs or experiences.
2. The Uses and Gratifications Model
The audience is active and uses the text and is not used by it. The audience uses the text for its own gratification or pleasure. The power lies with the audience and not the producers. This theory emphasises what audiences do with media texts. The audience is free to reject, use or play with media meanings as they see fit.
Audiences use the media to gratify needs for:
- Diversion
- Escapism
- Information
- Pleasure
- Relationships and Lifestyles
- Sexual Stimulation
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1943)
- Learning
- Emotional satisfaction
- Relaxation
- Help with personal identity
- Help with social identity
- Aggression and Violence
Flaws: Controversially the theory suggests the consumption of violent images can be helpful rather than harmful. Then the theory suggests that the audience act out their violent impulses through consumption of media violence. So the audience's inclination towards violence is therefore sublimated, and they are less likely to commit violent acts.
3. Reception Theory
When a producer constructs a text it is encoded with a meaning or message that the producer wishes to convey to the audience. Sometimes the audience with correctly decode and understand but sometimes the audience will fail or reject to correctly understand the message.
Stuart Hall identified three types of decoding:
Dominant/ Preferred - broadly agrees e.g. political speech and agreeing with it
Negotiated - argues to come to an answer e.g. neither agreeing or disagreeing with a political speech.
Oppositional - Total rejection e.g. disagrees with speech
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