Audience Responses &

Behaviour
Critical Approaches
Lilly Grant
Audience Theory- What is it?

Audience theory is an element of thinking that developed within academic literary theory and cultural studies. With a
specific focus on rhetoric, some, such as Walter Ong, have suggested that the audience is a construct made up by the
rhetoric and the rhetorical situation the text is addressing.

understanding various theories of how the audience may be affected and how producers may go about to get the
audience's responses using some of these theories is crucial as it can either work against them or with them.
Hypodermic Needle Model
This theory was used to influence the audience to buy media products and/or for political and
propaganda purposes during the 1920s-1930s e.g. Nazi propaganda.

The concept is that the audience are impacted by the messages of a media product, which states
that they will absorb the intended information as if being injected by a syringe as well as the ideas,
attitudes and belief into the audience.

This is done through the power of persuasion which is conducted in either a manipulated manner or
in a less influential and subtle way. However its completely up to the audience if they are affected by
it. This is because people are affected in various ways and even if the audience are more mindful of
the mass media and how they try to inject these messages, there have been some cases were films
for example have an impact on people, both positive & negative.
Uses & Gratifications Theory
In contrast to the hypodermic needle theory where the audience cannot avoid
the fixed influence by media product, making them a passive audience. Uses
and gratification theory suggests the audience takes on an active role and can
make decisions on their own as to what has an impact on them with no
conflict with other influential aspects.

The audience has authority over the media that affects them, also allowing
them to use the media to seek out specific media for their own gratification in
contrast to the media picking them, manipulating them for their own
advantage and financial gain which does not apply with the previous theory.
Reception Study
Understanding the audience and how they could respond to the media
product is important. Reception theory is a study of a model which is designed
to suggest that the audiences response to a media product is entirely on their
character traits and individuality.

This can also work the opposite way as in, the less views,cultural background
& life experiences you share with someone, the more the message is assorted.
Reception Study: Negotiated
Where the audience accepts, rejects or refines elements of the text in light of
previously held views.

For example: Neither disagreeing or agreeing with a political speech or being

disinterested.
Reception Study: Preferred
Where the dominant meaning is recognised but rejected for cultural,religious,
political or ideological reasons.

For example; total rejection of political speech and active opposition.

Reception Study: Oppositional
Where the audience decodes the message as the producer wants them to do
and broadly agrees with it.

For example: Watching a political speech and agreeing with it.

Passive or Active Consumption
These theories suggests that the audience subconsciously consume mediums (television, film and newspapers) mindlessly,
and accept it to be true whereas active audiences debates the truthfulness about the media source and takes on an active
role, critically evaluating the source before dismissing or accepting the message.

Theories such as the uses and gratification theory, encoding/ decoding theory and reception theory suggests that
audiences consciously consume mediums knowingly, coming to their own interpretation of it. An example where the
audience takes on an active role is shows like Question Time, where they interact and discuss national and international
issues with politicians whereas passive audience will not engage in these matters at all. Producers uses these elements of
passive and active consumptions when they make films so that the audience accept the intended message without question
while others are consciously aware of this and questions it.
Effect Debates- What is it?
There tends to be three voices in this debate:
Those who articulate their concerns about the effects of the media without any actual evidence (politicians, the media
itself, campaigning groups etc);
Those who have conducted research into media effects, whether the outcomes are positive of negative (academics in
various fields).
And those who are the subject of the debate, usually children or teenagers consuming new forms of media which the
adult culture are worrying about (slasher movies or videogames etc).
 Effects of Exposure: Sexual Content & Violent
Content
The media is said to have the power to change people's behaviour, attitudes and promote values and ideologies?

Sex and violence are at an all-time high in the movies people watch, the music they hear, and the games they play.
Is there really a problem with younger audiences seeing sex and violence? Does it really affect them?

Some adults will claim that theyve watched violent movies all of their lives, played violent games, and never killed
someone. In fact theyve never even acted aggressively. Whilst others believe its desensitizing, the violence and sex
we see is glamorized, and often consequence-free, also that empathy is reduced and objectification is increased so
that morality erodes if exposed at a younger age especially.
Sexual Content & Violent Content Case Study
The Columbine High School massacre was a school shooting which occurred on April 20, 1999. The perpetrators, two
senior students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered a total of 12 students and one teacher. They injured 21
additional people, with three others being injured while attempting to escape the school. The pair then committed
suicide. The British media thought the boys were imitating the climax to "Child's Play 3" and the film got partly the blame
from the media in the UK for this crime.
Effects of Advertising
Do you ever see a product advertised on TV or on the internet and decide you want to buy it? Advertisers spend
millions of pounds promoting their products.

Positive Effects- Advertising is the life of trade and also advertising increases the demand.

Beneficial Effects-

Give information to the customer.

improves the sale of product.
An effectual advertisement results in a swift change in the attitudes and habits of the people.

Negative Effects-

Advertising makes people being shopaholic.

People can feel be excluded as long as they have not enough money to pay for the product.
Censorship Debates
The use of power by authority figures to control what individuals, groups or
society can or cannot see, hear or read in media products.
The censorship debate is a big topic that cant be neatly placed into categories of Right or Wrong. Films can inspire people, change
attitudes and ignite something inside deep within. This is something that was recognised a long time ago and it has been controlled to
some degree ever since.

In a perfect world, censorship would not be necessary. Children wouldnt be exposed to films inappropriate for their age and every
person would have the mental stability to clearly recognise the boundary between film and reality. But we dont live in a perfect world -
so while we cant always monitor what our children watch, or predict what could inspire violent behaviour, we can take steps to protect
the vulnerable in society through classification and censorship.
Censorship Debates: Regulation
The monitoring of and intervention in media production and consumption. The media industries are subject to
regulators of various types. Some are government-appointed (state regulation or statutory regulation). This means
that the media can be controlled by laws set out in parliament.

In film, one of the most important pieces of statutory regulation was the Video Recording Act 1984.There is also
self-regulation, voluntary controls over a sector of the media industries, usually adopted out of fear that statutory
control would be more severe. The PEGI age ratings on most video games are a good example.
Censorship Debates: Classification
Restricting access to media material on the grounds of age.

The BBFC is the body responsible for the classification of all films released in the cinema or in other formats,
including DVD, as well as some video games.
Participatory
This is where the audience is encouraged to interact with thing such as TV series, books, magazines and Films. They
give their view on what they thought happened during the show/film/story and what they think will happen next. This
shows that their audience is an active audience. This is huge on social networking sites such as: Twitter Facebook
The preferred reaction is that there will be direct interaction from the audience for example, at the end of
Emmerdale they usually hashtag (#) a certain event the fans pick up on it and use that same hashtag on twitter.
Cultural Competence
This is understanding the signs, symbols and language in a magazine. Readers recognise these and interpret them
they create meanings. For example: Every time a triangle crops up in media on a magazine cover, on the cover of
an album etc. people automatically assume it's to do with this new cult: Illuminate. Language is the hardest symbol to
understand unless you're fluent in more than one language in which case, its not so hard. For example: Looking
at Korean, it's hard for an English person to interpret what the symbol means. This is because its in a series of
shapes that we, as English people, don't understand making it pretty much impossible to read.

Producers aim for this reaction at all times (Consumers react by interacting with the media) This is a preferred
reaction This can come from any TV show such as: Coronation Street or Hollyoaks Or from any movie such as:
Fantastic 4 or Nightmare on Elm Street.
Fan Culture
This is where the audience itself actively takes part in the creation of media. Fans take it upon themselves to write stories, fan
fics or fan fictions. These are stories based on the ends of movies, TV shows and love. This is created through the art of
shipping two celebrities in a franchise are brought together in fan fictions for the benefit of the fandom. This idea is HUGE!
Fan culture existed a very long time before the recent ones but with the invention of social networking the idea of fandoms
has become huge and extremely productive!

An example of a place where much fan fiction is written and millions of fandoms go to express their feelings, opinions, theories
and ideas is Tumblr. http://www.tumblr.com/about

Another example for websites where fans submit fan fictions is: Wattpad. Wattpad is a website where aspiring authors go to
submit stories about certain TV shows, Films or their own, original ideas.

1. Fandom Examples: Sherlockians (Sherlock TV Show) Whovians (Doctor Who TV Show) SPN/Hunters (Supernatural TV Show) Fannibals (Hannibal TV Show)
Potterheads (Harry Potter Films) Gleeks (Glee TV Show) Teen Wolf (TV Show) Avengers (Film) Ringers (The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings Films) Trekkies (Star Trek TV
show and Film) Cumberbabes (Benedict Cumberbatch fandom) Nerdfighters or D.F.T.B.A. (YouTubers fandom) Merlin (TV Series) Directioners (1Direction fandom)
Tributes (The Hunger Games Film) Game of Thrones (TV Show) The Walking Dead (TV Show) Avatards (Avatar: Last Airbender Film/TV show)

2. Ships When two characters are brought together by love to create fan fictions: Sherlock and John Johnlock (TV Series) Dean Winchester and Castiel Destiel
(Supernatural) The Doctor and Sherlock DoctorWhoLock (Combined fandom) The Doctor, Sherlock, Sam and Dean Winchester SuperWhoLock (Combined Fandom)
Bibliography
Audience theory - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audience_theory
https://prezi.com/qzrhleajomeo/understand-how-media-audiences-respond-to-media-products/
https://www.slideshare.net/TheJellehKed/audience-responses-29391122
https://www.slideshare.net/snortontaylor/media-effects-debates?next_slideshow=1