Audience Theories:

1. Two step flow theory the theory suggests that there are opinion
leaders within society who can influence opinions and attitudes of the
public which allows fans and followers to do/say same thing as artist.
2. Hypodermic Syringe theory the theory that proposes that messages
can be injected into the audience and influence people to act or think
in a particular way e.g. subconsciously understanding messages (passive
audiences).
3. Uses and Gratifications theory the theory that audiences use media
texts in order to fulfil pleasures and basic needs such as:
Escapism
Surveillance
Personal Identification
Personal Relationship
4. What media needs to have to attracts audiences and be successful.
5. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs the theory that there are five layers of
basic needs that all humans possess to find comfort:
Physiological (food, shelter, sleep)
Safety
Belonging
Esteem
Self-actualisation
6. Desensitization Theory The theory that implies OVEREXPOSURE TO
certain messages and values can influence the audience to accept them.
For example, an airbrushed image of a celebrity on the front cover of a
magazine can influence women into believing that this is the definition
of beauty and this is how women everywhere should look. The audience
get bombarded with ideologies and do not question them.
7. Richard Dyers Star Theory the star manufactured stars are
manufactured to make money for their record labels by appealing to
target audiences. Stars are presented as real human beings and that
they are representations of reinforced ideas seen in the celebrity
industry. Seeing a stars lifestyle through the internet, magazines and
newspapers will make audiences feel closer to them and they can
interact with them via social media.
The star commodity stars are made to appeal to audiences, which will
in turn generate revenue for record companies.
The star as an ideology artists becomes trendsetters in the sense that
audience members will imitate hairstyles and artists clothing styles.
Consumers or audience members will be able to obtain all this
information and keep up with the latest gossip via magazine articles,
websites and blogs.
8. Reception Theory (Stuart Hall) there are three ways which an
audience can engage with and interpret a piece of media through
encoding (the message) and decoding (the way it is interpreted).
Preferred the way the creator intended.
Negotiated somewhere in-between Preferred and Oppositional.
Oppositional against the intended interpretation.
9. Laura Mulveys MALE GAZE (1975) The default position in the Media is
to see/present things from the position of a heterosexual male. Male
dominated society and everything is created for a straight male.