There Are Many Types Of Audience...

Meaning is given to a text once the receiver of that text is able in interpret it. We would call the 'receiver' the audience. - Destinée Bishop

For you to understand this revolutionary quote that has inspired many to bring life to a range of audience theories (or for me to come up with the quote), a few keywords are needed. Please read on below.

·         Text – (1) From the 14th century French wording of anything written. (2) From Latin ‘textus’ style or texture – things woven. (3) From old German ‘tek’, to weave, fabricate, make. (4) We ‘read’ all texts, they’re all made.

·         Audience – The producers who encode a message to a targeted set of people for them to decode/consume the media product.

So, what is audience theory? 

The theories of the way in which a person is able to make sense of, and give meaning to cultural products. In total there are 5 different audience theories. 

The Hypodermic Needle Theory: 

This is the idea that the audience is a passive one, where the media has full control over how they think and behave. The audience themselves are not usually aware of the effect the media has over them, which can/has cause/d 'moral panic'.

The main genre whose audience follows the Hypodermic Needle Theory is violent media. Usually among videogames where, most commonly, adolescents would re-enact the what they had witnessed - for example theft. In this case, the violence they already had within them, shown because the media 'controlled' them.

The Reception Theory

This theory regards each member of the audience as an individual who have their own circumstances - their gender, age, ethnicity, ect. The audience would then extract the media in whatever way suits them according to their circumstances. They would interpret it, for it to then be handed back to the media who make additional changes. Its an on-going two way cycle (between audience and producer) where the text is continuously changing meaning as the audience give it meaning.

Once I heard this audience theory my first thought was of Hollyoaks (a TV Drama) - because the storylines always change and the helplines they would have after a traumatic episode that's melodramatic, but does have elements of real life. For example, the clip below sums up the three points I made.
 

 

The Hollyoaks couple, real names Nikki Sanderson and Jeremy Sheffield, appearing for a "This Is Abuse" advert.

 

 

The Two-Step Flow Theory

 

The text is transferred from opinion leaders, such as doctors appearing in a toothpaste advert, who then pass it on to the audience, those buying the toothpaste. I can infer that the reason behind this theory is that people tend to believe those who are authoritative. If the person standing before them and giving information has a qualification and/or a title the audience is more likely to trust and give-in to what they're saying. The text the audience does get does not get to them directly, it mediates along the way, making your perception altered.

 

Uses and Gratifications Theory

 

This theory proposes that the audience is an active one where each person is an individual consuming the media for their own devices. The audience use and choose the media/text for their own devices, Bulmer and Katz identified the uses as; escapism, advice, education, surveillance, information, identification and social interaction.

 

An example of this can be Channel 4 documentaries, such as Educating Essex. Some people may watch it for entertainment purposes where they may laugh at those in the documentary, others who are from Essex would identify with the text. Teacher's could watch it as information for tips on educating their children - what works, what doesn't - and some may be like those children and find it an escapism to know others are like them.

Cultivation Theory

"TV is not a window on or reflection of the world, but a world in itself" - George Gerbner.

This theory deals with the long term effects the media has over a person, similar to The Hypodermic Needle Theory where beliefs are cast upon the audience. However, this proposes that the primatal focus on media, would change the beliefs of the culture as a whole.

1984! This reminds me of 1984 where 'Big Brother' is watching over the citizens, where they would inevitably end up conforming to the beliefs and ideologies of those higher that them - the government in their case, the media for the cultivation theories. Which can be seen seasonally with the book-turned-TV Series Big Brother. A TV Reality-Show where 'Big Brother' controls what those under the eye of them can do, they, too end up conforming to their rules and regulations or just 'give up' and do nothing.

My Thoughts

After researching all the different audience theories I believe that our Thriller Opening would fit under The Hypodermic Needle Theory. I feel this because, there isn't a leverage for the audience to feel differently about the characters within the story and what may happen. This could be a good thing as the audience should be able to understand it more, so they would find it more enjoyable. However, I personally prefer if a text were to have meaning otherwise I find there to be no point in the text being there in the first place.

I like The Two-Step Flow Theory, as it doesn't seem as though the media is demonic and controlling where our behaviours, ideologies and beliefs are due to the text they've place on us. Where we are not in charge of what happens to us (this is also the Marxism Theory where conglomerate companies don't show what WE want, rather what they choose too, creating the illusion of choice, power and freedom ect..) and the media is. The Two-Step Flow allows a link between the media and the audience where it's as thought they are 'listening' to the audience, getting feedback and changing the text according so (semi-eradicating the Marxism Theory, or arguing against it).

My own ideology would be to create a film or piece of text where The Uses and Gratifications Theory is applied. I love this theory from them all as it supports my beliefs in media or text to make and impression over a person; to create a change (helping the old lady across the road), or influence them in a way (they may start to recycle or be more considerate). As it allows the audience to extract what they will from the text, it would have a bigger audience range where it can be seen or heard to may more.