Research and Planning - Audience Theory

What makes audiences choose to consume certain texts?
It may be because they can either relate to it or simply because it is something they like.

An example of this is Harry Potter;
Generally, fans of this film series will consume this text in the cinema with the primary target audience being children aged 8-18. These are often children of the working and middle class whom are quite educated and literate.
The secondary audience of the Harry Potter film franchise would be that of the children's parents. This is due to the fact that they will be the ones to take their children to the cinemas to initially view the film. These are often the parents with a decent income, as the cinemas are fairly expensive.

So far we have looked at three main theories -

The effects model/the hypodermic needle theory.
The effects model suggests media texts have influence and effect on the audience. It suggests that the audience is passive or powerless to the influence (often considered the negative parts) that the film gives  them.
Examples of this theory includes Frankfurt School during the 1920's and the Bobo Doll Experiment.

The hypodermic theory suggests that the message the media text gives is injected into the audience as though with a syringe. It says the audience is unable to resist the ideas being injected into them and states media 'works like a drug' and makes the audience become addicted.
An example of the hypodermic needle theory in work is the way one show can have everyone talking about it, or a news story that creates a moral panic.
Another example of the hypodermic needle theory is that of horror films, and the way they make the viewer feel more paranoid of things after viewing them, such as Final Destination injecting the idea of fear of sunbeds.


The uses and gratification model.
This theory is different as instead of asking what the media does to people, it instead asks what do people do with the media text they have consumed. This theory is seemingly more positive, as it suggests that the power lies with the audience rather than the producers and says that once the audience has consumed the text, they are able to use it, reject it and play with the meaning with their own free will. It states the different reasons audiences use texts, including information, pleasure, escapism and comparing them with oneself. It suggests that audiences can learn from texts, receive emotional satisfaction, relaxation, help with issues of personal identity and help with issues such as aggression and  violence.


The reception theory.
The reception theory shows the many different meanings the text could contain, and the many different interpretations the audience could receive, depending on the type of person. An example of this could be Skins, to grandparents this wold most likely be horrific and fairly offensive. This seems to be a much more positive theory, as it suggests that the audience are more able to think for themselves and there is not one definite meaning in the texts.