AUDIENCE THEORIES

LESSON 05: AUDIENCE THEORIES

Studying the relationship between the audience and media

MWE
02/10/13

In our lesson we looked at Philip J Hanes article "The Advantages and Limitations of a Focus on Audience in Media Studies". In this article he discuss different theories which attempts to explain the true nature between the audiences and media.

"So a text does not have a single meaning but rather a range of possibilities which are defined by both the text and by its audiences. The meaning is not in the text, but in the reading" (Hart 1991,60)

Andrew Hart was a writer, theorist and researchers who studies the relationship between the audience and media. He explains that media is solely for the audience for if it weren't for them, media would be non-existent.

Effects

"Effects" is an audience theory which claims that audiences are passive. The Frankfurt school saw media as a hypodermic syringe which injects the content of media texts into the audiences head, which they then retain without questioning. In the 1950's, researchers have raised their concerns about the media having a negative influence over the society. They worry that the increase of violent acts in the society is caused by the representation of violent behavior in media which is then absorbed by the audience. Controversy arose as tabloid papers caused a moral panic that violent films such as "Childs Play" can influence children's behavior.

However, other theorists have asserted that this theory is flawed for it assumes that media directly impacts individuals. This claim is weak for there are other influencing factors in a persons life which arguably can inflict more impact, for instance: personal beliefs, culture, religion and many more. It fails to consider peoples personal beliefs, opinions and attitudes.


Uses and Gratification

This theory focuses on how audience are using media, instead of exploring the effects media has on its audiences. This ideology sees audiences as active participants, it believes that viewers have options to use media according to their own means; to satisfy their needs.

Blumler and Katz (1974) expanded on this and suggested that there are four main needs of television audiences that is met by television:

• Diversion- an escape from day to day lives
• Personal Relationships- to gain peers whom shares the same interest perhaps in shows, characters or through conversation about other programs (fans and fandoms)
• Personal Identity- viewers are able to relate and compare themselves to characters and scenarios in shows which helps them re-evaluate themselves
• Surveillance- to gather knowledge about current affairs

Despite this theory's recognition of audiences participation, it still suggests that there are parceled information within the media text that is read identically by all audience. It doesn't explore if audiences interpret messages differently by each person, it doesn't explain how texts are received. 


Screen

During the 1970's the academic journal "Screen" introduced this idea of audience being positioned by media texts. Theorist had started considering semiotics and structuralism, how they are tools used to create meanings in texts. It is through camera shots does Hollywood films placed their audiences. Laura Mulvey argues that the point of view that is used in Hollywood film is a male gaze- masculine point of view which objectifies women.

The Screen theory expands further and asserts that all media texts have a "mode of address"- individualistic ways of communicating to their intended audience. Different audiences are better suited for different techniques and different mediums.

However, this theory oversees that point that audiences are able to choose what to internalized. Much like the Effect and Uses and Gratifications theory, Screen also sees audiences as idle beings whom just retain what is shown. When in fact, the audiences may see the producers opinion and meaning in their text but that doesn't mean they agree with it.


Decoding/Encoding

Several studies and opinions had been made regarding this ideology, it had been developed over time by other theorists.

• David Morely argued that audiences are actively decoding meanings in texts
• Stuart Hall developed Morely's theory and argued that: 
1. Preferred meaning are constructed, encoded by producers in texts
2. These ideological ideas of the producers are hidden by codes and conventions (symbolism is used to make subtle perhaps)
3. The audience then interpret the text, their reading relies on outside socio/economic factors- gender, class, culture, religious beliefs, experience etc.
• Abercrombie (1996) proceeds and introduces this idea of dominant text view and dominant audience view:
• Dominant text view: This is when the message in the text is so pronounced that it's difficult to find any other interpretations
• Dominant audience view: This is when the audiences dominates the text, they see that there is a preferred meaning. However they are free to interpret the text according to their will
• The Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies had also made their own model which shows different ways in which audiences decode texts
• Dominant Hegenomic: Where audience recognize that there is a strong enforced meaning in the text
• Oppositional Hegenomic: There is a preferred meaning in the text bu the audience doesn't agree with it due to their own sets of beliefs
• Negotiated Hegenomic: This is a position which audiences have to adapt to the preferred meaning
• Aberrant Decoding: In which the audience reads the text in a completely unexpected way