AUDIENCE THEORY

In this post, I will be breaking down the audience theories I have studied and how I intend to apply them to my products. 

RECEPTION THEORY (HALL):

Reception theory is an active audience theory, meaning that meaning is found in the text and then interpreted by the audience, compared to passive audience theories such as the hypodermic needle, assuming meaning is conveyed directly from a media text. Stuart Hall developed this theory in his 1973 essay "Encoding and Decoding in the Television Discourse", where he explained the theory along with his concept of encoding (creating meaning) and decoding (understanding the meaning). 

There are three types of readings, or meanings created by the audience:

- preferred reading: the way in which the original author intended the text to be recieved based on the meaning they had created

- negotiated/contested reading: only certain aspects of the preferred reading are accepted and the rest are not recognised or rejected

- oppositional reading: the conscious or subconscious rejection of the authors preferred reading

 

For example: Miley Cyrus' video for "Wrecking Ball" is an intertextual (Kristeva) reference to Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U" with the close-up crying shot, however, depending on the age of the viewer and their knowledge they can have a preferred reading (understanding the reference), contested reading (recognising the reference), or an oppositional reading (not understanding the reference).

Possible influences: 

When considering the primary and secondary target audiences for my video, I would ask for audience feedback in order to have an idea of the possible readings that could be applied.

WEB 2.0 (O'REILLY):

Web 2.0 explains how the internet is driven by users through digitisation and technological accessibility, disrupting industries and converging (Jenkins) the lines between producer and consumer (prosumer).

Web 2.0 moves from a top-down model like the hypodermic needle and creates a two-way flow. User Generated Content (UGC) is an example of this, as consumers produce content that they feel is not gratifying (UGT) their needs. 

Digitisation: "The process of changing from analog to digital form, also known as digital enablement." (Gartner Glossary). For example, the process of changing from VHS to DVD is a form of digitisation.

Disruption: "The act or process of disrupting something. A break or interruption in the normal course or continuation of some activity, process, etc." (Marriam-Webster dictionary). This refers to the disruption caused by streaming platforms like Spotify, and platforms such as Youtube where you can self-distribute, means that content is released directly to consumers. 

Convergence: Convergence (Jenkins) refers to the line between producer and consumer blurring (prosumers) through digitisation. Instead of a top down model like the hypodermic needle theory, it becomes a two way flow.

How is Web 2.0 seen in the industry?:

Through digitisation, recording songs on software such as GarageBand is accessible to everyone. Disruptors such as Spotify or SoundCloud allow for users to upload their content onto the platform (convergence). 

INTERTEXTUALITY (KRISTEVA):

The French-Bulgarian philosopher Julia Kristeva believed that no text existed by itself but were all referencing another, saying:

“Any text is the absorbtion and transformation of another”

Therefore, depending on the preferred reading of a text (reception theory, S. Hall) , different interpretations or symbolisms can be picked up on depending on whether the viewer is aware of what is being referenced. Otherwise they can have a contested or oppositional reading.

Intertextuality is also post-modern, as it originally begins by referencing a certain text, but can continue being reinterpreted and re-referenced intertextually, making it also a product of the simulacrum (Baudrillard).

Example: In Miley Cyrus’ music video for “Wrecking Ball”, certain close-ups of her face reference Sinead O’Connors music video for “Nothing Compares 2 U”. While this is culturally common knowledge, someone unaware of this text might lose some of the preferred reading and symbolism in the song.

GENRE (ALTMAN):

The term appeared in Rick Altman's 1999 book "Film/Genre". In short, genre is categorised through "similarities and differences". While consuming a media text, and audience has a repertoire of elements, or expectations of the film depending on its genre. If a film is too similar to others they have seen they will be dissatisfied, but they cannot be too different and stray from audience expectation. 

Altman lays out 4 criteria a film pattern needs in order to be categorised as a genre; blueprint, label, contract, and structure. 

Blueprint: With the blueprint, genre is used to minimise risk of production, through analysing popular trends of the time. This is known as the blueprint for a production. 

Label: To communicate what is being sold, the label uses genre codes and conventions within the marketing of a song/digipack and social media to easily communicate about the product with the audience.

Contract: The audience signs an unseen contract, using their understanding and conventions/codes of the genre to set their expectations for a music product. This is used to understand the text, but if it subverts expectations, the contract is broken and audiences are left ungratified (UGT).

Structure: The student compares various media texts in order to identify and study a genre. Using the repertoire of elements, texts are grouped and defined as a genre. 

Repertoire of Elements: The repertoire of elements is a structure allowing for genre to be identified. In music video and digipack/social media content this is seen through; iconography, camera, editing, sound, narrative, values, performance, colour/lighting, fonts, wording, and representations. 

CULTURAL CAPITAL (BOURDIEU):

Cultural capital is defined as: "The distinctions that develop between individuals and groups due to differences in access to education, family background, occupation, and wealth, giving them advantages and serving as a signifier of an individual's status with a group or society."

Bordieu, along with Jean-Claude Passeron, coined this term in their 1977 essay "Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction".  There are three types of capital; embodied, objectified, and institutionalised. 

To simplify, cultural capital means that the more knowledge one has in a certain area, the better regarded they are in society. There are elements of "high culture" like opera, classical music, and philosophy, that are more highly regarded in society, and elements of "pop culture" like soaps, pop music, and celebrity gossip, that are often dismissed. However, one can be seen as having high cultural capital in a certain field, and be well regarded. For example; the celebrity gossip journalist Perez Hilton is seen negatively in wider society, but is considered as knowledgable and having a high cultural capital within those interested in celebrity gossip. 

Possible influences for my film: 

Using intertextual references, and mixing both high culture and pop culture to appeal to wider audiences.

USES AND GRATIFICATIONS (KATZ AND BLUMLER):

It develops from passive media theories such as the hypodermic needle model from the 1940s, which places the power in the media and removes agency (Paglia) from the consumer. Theorists Katz and Blumler developed a new idea basing their findings on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, making it an active audience theory, similarly to Hall's reception theory. 

The Uses and Gratifications theory (UGT) is an active audience media consumption theory. The theory is based off of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and explains how users consume media for their personal use and gratification. This explanation means that users can consume the same media product for different needs, for example; a group of teenagers may listen to a song from a band they like for the first time, and a group of adults can listen to it because it's their favourite. 

The theory begins with the audience. If an individual has a certain need, they will search for a media product to fulfil it. If this product gratifies their need, they will continue consuming the product. However, if it doesn't, they will search for another product until their need is gratified. This is best seen in the example of a TV show; if the audience feels gratified the show will be renewed, but if they don't it will be cancelled.

The 5 key elements: 

    1. Media use is goal-directed. The audience knows what they need and where to find it. 

    2. The responsibility lies in the audience. The individual needs to link the media product to their needs,     rather than the product finding the audience. 

    3. The media product is competing with other sources in order to satisfy the individual's needs, but there are multiple ways for them to be satisfied. 

    4. Modern media and traditional media are in competition with one another. 

    5. Audiences are self aware of their needs making them active users. 

What does the audience need?: 

There are 5 needs an individual seeks fulfilment for:

- Cognitive needs: attainment of knowledge (information)

- Effective needs: attainment of emotional fulfilment (emotions)

- Personal Integrative needs: attainment of self-identification and representation (personal identification)

- Social Integrative needs: attainment of socialisation with others (social interaction)

- Tension Free needs: attainment of release or distraction (escapism)

Possible influences: 

Asking for audience feedback to see what needs are met for each individual. Applying the different needs for the target audience into the music video to fullfill as many as possible and have a larger reach. 

RETROMANIA (REYNOLDS):

To understand the concept of retromania, I have read Simon Reynolds' book "Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction to its Own Past", and compiled my own explanation of the concept below. 

Reynolds says "We live in a pop-era gone loco for retro and crazy for commemoration". Throughout the book he analyses a trend in UK and US culture surrounding clothes, films, and most importantly music. He suggests that due to Web 2.0 (O'Reilly) and it's effects such as convergence (Jenkins), digitisation, and disruption, there is a cultural over-saturation stunting new developments and instead focusing on revivals. He focuses this example onto YouTube, the most prominent example of a Web 2.0 platform. Through the mass documentation and archiving of the past that is now accessible, this fuels a cultural perspective of looking towards the past rather than the future and creates a lack of distinction of time in the modern era and a limit of creativity. 

Nostalgia and its origins are discussed through the theorist Svetlana Boyd. He explores the easily accessible emotional ties to music, iconography, and films, which serves as a powerful marketing tool in entertainment industries. 

Possible influences: 

I am planning on shooting a diner scene in my music video, which is visually very eye-catching, but also easily marketable through the nostalgia evoked within the viewer. This also allows for me to have possible intertextual references such as the 1994 film "Pulp Fiction" or people such as Elvis Presley, James Dean, and Marilyn Monroe. 

FOUR QUADRANT:

A four quadrant film refers to a media product that appeals to all four major demographics or “quadrants”, these are; male, female, young (under 25), and old (over 25). 

Larger budget films often appeal to a four quadrant audience as they aim to be as commercially successful as possible. Interscope Records, the subsidiary of the vertically integrated conglomerate Universal Music, uses this as they aim for commercial success. This is contrasted by the indie label Dirty Hit, which has a niche target audience for alternative music. 

Example of a four quadrant music video: 

This Micheal Jackson music video, "Black or White", appeals to a four quadrant audience.

PROPAGANDA MODEL (CHOMSKY):

Noam Chomsky is a Marxist theorist, who developed the concept of the propaganda model. The idea is that democracy is based off having free press but he argues that there is no thing as free press in Western countries as it should speak for the people. Instead, it protects the powerful and wealthy or the dominant/hegonomic economic elite in society. 

The model is based around 5 filters:

        - Anti-communism/anti-left wing 

        - Flak consistent and frequent attack to a threat.

        - Source Strategy prominence to figures supporting hegemony (Gramsci) and ignoring/giving low providence to counter-hegemonic figures.
        - Advertiser Power media reliant on advertisements, publications shut if no support.
        - Ownership concentration Majority of ownership concentrated into several companies in an industry, e.g., Big 3.