Audience QUESTION 1B – CHOOSE ONE PRODUCTION AND APPLY MEDIA CONCEPTS

AudienceWhy is it so important to understand our audience?

AudienceAudience Research: Looks at producing evidence of the relationship between audience and the mediaAudience Theory: considers the different ways of thinking about audiences

Key Theories Post Modern Media Audience – active, constructs their own meaning, will engage with the text, will not always accept the messages/ values/ meaning of the text Reception Theory Stuart Hall - audiences will interpret texts in very different ways and not always how the producers intend (an aspect of POMO that we have already cover….)Hypodermic Needle Theory – works on the theory that the audience just accept what the Media is telling them. Audience are passiveUses & Gratifications Theory – works on the theory that people watch Media for a variety of reasons and take what they want from it – they are an active audience

Reception Theory - Stuart Hall

What do you remember?

Reception theory Stuart Hall 1980

Reception theory states that media texts are encoded by the producer- they are loaded with values and messages.However, the text is then decoded by spectators. However, different spectators will decode the text in different ways, perhaps not in the way the producer intended.

Reception theory Stuart Hall

According to Hall, audience members adopt one of the following three positions when they decode the text:

Dominant, or Preferred, Reading - how the producer wants the audience to view the media text; Oppositional Reading - when the audience rejects the preferred reading, and creates their own meaning for the text; Negotiated Reading - a compromise between the dominant and oppositional readings, where the audience accepts parts of the producer's views, but has their own views on parts as well.

Reception TheoryLots of factors could affect whether we take the

dominant, oppositional or negotiated reading.

Life experienceMood at the time of viewingAgeCultureBeliefsGender

Why might an audience member…

… take the dominant position: clear messages in your video; audience member is same age/ culture; your video is relevant to modern society; your video has an easy to follow narrative; your video deals with themes that are relevant to your audience; audience member likes this style of music

… take an oppositional position: your video has difficult or controversial themes; audience member disagrees with the messages in your video; audience member dislikes this style of music; your video has a complex narrative structure; your video does not deal with themes in modern society; your video references a previous era; audience member has different beliefs; audience member is of a different age/ from a different culture.

… take a negotiated position: a combination of some of the above e.g. audience member likes this style of music, is of the same age as you and understands some of the messages, but the narrative is complex and this inhibits full understanding

Hypodermic Needle Theory

It's an outdated theory of communication that suggests that an audience is helpless to the effects and messages of a medium, such as television. The theory says that an audience will absorb all of the intended information; they will unknowingly believe anything they see. This theory was very popular in the 1930s, especially after H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" broadcast in 1938, but has since been disproven by more modern theories.

Due to the knowledge being very slim in the 1930’s compared to now you can comply with the fact the information was taken in so easily, however a weakness of the theory now is that people have built opinions before they have been given the information to take in, therefore this theory isn’t as strong as it used to be.

The Theory

Uses & GratificationsPersonal Relationships – talk to others about the programme (bonding/ shared experience), care about the characters within the text.Surveillance – seeing what other people/ events are likePersonal Identity – reflects your interest lifestyle e.g. a car enthusiast may watch Top Gear. Help you to feel ‘normal’Escapism – watching something to feel better either because it makes you laugh, captivates you or shows your if as being better than the person on the TV.

How could your work be analysed according to

these theories Post Modern Media Audience

Reception Theory Stuart Hall

Hypodermic Needle Theory

Uses & Gratifications Theory