Lesson notes

Lesson notes.

Audience Theory: 

"Uses and gratification"

"We are an active audience and only consume the media we want to consume, we are in control of the media not the other way around." This is a very bold statement as the media has huge control over us in comparison to the very little sway we have over it.

For example if a piece of media isnt consumed it is canceled. (Firefly we will remember) This is our way of controlling the media. Because of our different life experiences we all have different responses to different pieces of media. 

This theory represents a change of thinking, the motives of an audience to consume certain media. Why do we do it? Unlike the "Hypodermic Needle theory" this theory is based on the audience taking an active role in media consumption rather than forced consumption. 

This also links to how people ignore types of media so they don't think about it such a negative forms of media show as part of the news (wrapped in cotton wool).

The four needs. 

Following the bias that we consume media to fulfill certain needs:

- Surveillance 

- Personal identity

- Personal relationships

- Diversion

Surveillance:

Surveillance needs are based around wanting to know whats going on in the world around you e.g. The news. This media is based on awareness and gratifying the need for knowledge.

Personal Identity:

-By being a subject of media allows us to confirm our identity & position in society. Basing our identities to imitate our role models in a hope to be perceived as our role models are and therefore accepted by society.

Personal Relationships:

- Relationships with media- Using TV as a form of companionship sounds sad but we all become attached to character (except those in Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, we know better). Also known as Dating your Netflix account.

- Using media to build relationships- Produces common ground for social interactions to be based upon. A starting point when it seems difficult to broker new ground with a social group.

Diversion: 

- Escapism, watching something to forget about our own lives. Finding a way to escape from reality by showing different peoples experiences and forgetting our own. This is the main reason why we consume fiction and is almost the direct cause of the recent Superhero boom.