Audience Theories

Hypodermic Needle Theory

This theory began with people analysing the government propaganda of the First World War and was developed during the 1920s and 1930s. The theory supposes that the audience is passive and that their thoughts, values and beliefs are easily shaped by the media. Messages from the media are directly injected into people’s minds hence the name hypodermic needle theory.

The 1935 film Triumph of the Will is an excellent example of wartime propaganda. It contains a number of Hitler’s speeches as well as reactions from the crowds and other images.  However film critic Roger Ebert wrote that it is “a terrible film... and not even 'manipulative,' because it is too clumsy to manipulate anyone but a true believer." This opinion would suggest that cultivation theory would be better applied to this film.

Reception Theory or Audience Positioning

Birmingham University academic Stuart Hall helped develop this theory in 1973. He supposed that media producers encoded texts to contain certain messages but once an audience decodes those messages the meaning may have changed rather like a game of Chinese whispers. This theory sees the audience as active and divides them into three categories.

• Dominant: There is little change in the intended message and the way it is viewed.    
• Negotiated: The audience may agree with some elements but disagree with others   
• Oppositional: The audience is in conflict with the text and disagrees with it.

This theory could be applied to the film Hunger about Bobby Sands. Looking at reviews online I can see that some people viewed the film as unbiased and simply about the human aspect of hunger strikes. Others argued that it portrayed the IRA in too positive a light and others agreed with the film but felt it didn’t portray the characters positively enough. These different reactions seem to depend on the political beliefs and opinions held by the individual before watching the film.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

Blumler and Katz developed this theory in 1974. It suggests that the audience is active and uses the media product but is not in turn used by the media producers. They believed that audience chooses the mass media it wants due to a variety of reasons. Criticism of this theory includes the fact that it gives no insight into how we decode messages embedded in the media and does not account for other influences.

1. Information/Education
2. Entertainment
3. Identification (The audience sees the characters as role models)
4. Integration/Social interaction (The audience discusses the media product with others and uses the media product to bond with people.)
5. Escapism
6. Sexual Stimulation

This theory could be applied to the film Sex in the City. Some people enjoyed the film for it’s entertainment value, some identified with the lead characters, some watched it because it was a talking point between them and their friends, some enjoyed the fashion and glamour and others liked the sex and nudity.

Two Step Flow Theory

Lazarsfeld and Katz developed this theory in 1940. It suggests that the media communicates messages to an audience of opinion leaders who decipher those messages and in turn communicate them to others.  The audience is viewed as semi-passive. An example of these opinion leaders includes critics and reviewers who view a media product and then rate it and recommend it. Another example is social media where people often share information and media products with their network of followers often with their views attached.

This theory could be applied to Blade Runner. When the film was first released in 1982 it was not financially successful in America but was popular abroad and gained a cult following.  Fans of the film created magazines and fan clubs. In 1990 and 91 the work print version of the film was shown in theatres and became an unexpected hit. This led to the creation of a director’s cut, which had a theatrical release and led to the film being re-evaluated by critics. The influence of those early fans kept the film alive.

Cultivation or Reinforcement Theory

George Gerbner developed this theory. He suggested that the media has long term effects that are small but build up over time. He believed that although the audience is passive the media can only reinforce opinions that they already hold. Critics of this theory say that it does not take into account the audience’s culture or background.

This theory could be applied to Horror films. There are often reports in newspapers that there is a connection between violent films and actual violence. In the film Scream the killers are horror movie fans. One of the characters defends the genre by saying “Movies don’t create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative.” This suggests that a person has to already have a propensity for violence to be influenced by onscreen depictions of it.