Audience Theories

Hypodermic Needle Theory

The "hypodermic needle theory" implies mass media had a direct, immediate and
powerful effect on its audiences. It was developed in the 1920s and 1930s after
researchers observed the effect of propaganda during World War I and events like
Orson Welles War of the Worlds broadcast.

This is a model of communications also referred to as the magic bullet theory. Basically,
this model holds that an intended message is directly received and accepted by the
audience. The theory suggests that the mass media could influence a large group of
people directly and uniformly by injecting them with appropriate messages designed to
trigger a desired emotional response. The wording "hypodermic needle" is meant to
give a mental image of a needle (the Media) injecting a serum (a message) into an
individual (audience). This view entails a fatal flaw in that it ignores matters such as
interpretation which is a vital aspect of the communicative process.

In 1938, Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre, broadcast a dramatization of HG Wells
War of the Worlds. The program, which was presented in the format of a news bulletin,
caused some listeners to believe that Earth really was being invaded by aliens. On the
surface, events like these seem to suggest that the media can have a powerful influence
on audiences. Nevertheless, The Hypodermic Needle Theory is kind of inadequate to
describe communication and media influence. It just doesnt work.

A recent example of the Hypodermic Needle effect with regards to the video game Grand
Theft Auto would be the following news article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/2497978/Grand-Theft-
Auto-blamed-over-Thai-taxi-driver-murder.html

There are many similar news stories in which a murder has been committed and the
media have stated that the cause of the violence are video games such as Grand Theft
Auto. This is an example of the Hypodermic Needle effect because the people who are
playing these violent video games absorb the information that they are seeing and apply
it to everyday life. The theory also applies to those who read these news articles and
immediately believe that violent video games are the cause of all violence in the world.







Uses and Gratification theory

Uses and Gratifications Theory is a popular approach to understanding mass
communication. Unlike the Hypodermic Needle Theory, the Uses and Gratifications
theory places more focus on the audience instead of the actual message itself by asking
what people do with media rather than what media does to people. It assumes that
members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and
integrating media into their own lives. The theory also holds that audiences are
responsible for choosing media to meet their personal needs and wants. The approach
suggests that people use the media to fulfil specific pleasures. This theory would then
imply that the media compete against other information sources for viewers'
gratification.

The uses and gratifications theory suggests that when we consume media it is because
of one of the following.

Identification- being able to recognise the product or person in front of you, role models
that reflect similar values to yours, aspiration to be someone else.

Education - being able to acquire information, knowledge and understanding

To Entertain What you are consuming should give you enjoyment and also some form
of escapism enabling us to forget our worries temporarily.

Social Interaction the ability for media products to produce a topic of conversation
between other people and spark debates.

The use of reflective 'self-reports' has several limitations. The audience may not know
why they chose to watch what they did, or may not be able to explain fully. The reasons
which can be spoken may be the least important. People may simply offer reasons which
they have heard others mention. More promising theory might be the study of people's
engagement with media as it happens.

An example of this theory applied to the use of video games would be for people to
entertain themselves. For example, a person would play Grand Theft Auto because it is a
form of escapism. This enables the person to forget about their worries temporarily. The
typical audience for Call of Duty or GTA may also play these video games, and games
similar to these, because subconsciously they are craving a release of inner emotion
which they might otherwise find difficult to express.




Passive and Active Consumption

Passive Consumption
The Hypodermic Needle theory assumes that the mass audience is passive and inactive.
Passive consumption means the audience is seen as couch potatoes just sitting in front
of the television consuming the media and believing it without question
predominantly commercial television programmes and advertisements. The idea that
the audience accepts and believes all messages in any media text that they receive is the
passive audience model. The following is a list of the characteristics in a passive
audience.
1. Easily manipulated
2. Compliant
3. Weak willed
4. Controllable
5. Easily Dominated
Active Consumption
Active consumption is when the audience will engage and discuss media messages that
come across them and sometimes question the media messages through life
experiences. Different audiences may interpenetrate the message in a dissimilar way or
question it; by doing this the audience isnt as susceptible to The Hypodermic Needle
effect. They dont just sit there and consume the information but use it to their
advantage and interact with it. Audiences engage with what they consume and are
actively making their own meaning for it. The following is a list of characteristics for an
active audience:
1. Engaged
2. In control
3. Responsive
4. Involved
5. Free Willed
A real life example of active consumption of a violent video game such as Grand Theft
Auto would be the audience playing the game and understanding that the lack of
morality within the game and that applying the actions depicted in the game to real life
scenarios would be wrong and idiotic. The viewer would also question whether violent
video games like the one that they are playing should include a censorship option to
turn of the blood effects.




Reception Theory

The reception theory provides a means of understanding media by looking at how these
texts are read by the audience. An important concept of reception theory is that the
media textthe individual movie or television programhas no inherent meaning in
and of itself. Instead, meaning is created as the viewer watches and processes the film.
In short, the reception theory places the viewer in context, taking into account all of the
various factors that might influence they will read and create meaning from the text.

Use of the Reception Theory would be when producers or directors construct a text
encoded with hidden message or meaning that the producers or directors want to
convey across to the audience. If done correctly the audience will be able to pick up the
meaning or message straight away, but the audience will need to be reminded of the
message throughout the film this could be done through character dialogue or actions
within the film.

There are three types of audiences reading messages.

1) Dominant

2) Negotiated

3) Oppositional

Dominant is about what the audience wants to hear from people and agreeing, but with
limited knowledge on the subject. One example is political speeches where politicians
say what the public want to hear, like improvements to the NHS and improving public
transport.

Negotiated is when the audience agrees, disagrees or questions a political speech or
news broadcast due to previously heard news.

Oppositional is when the audience recognises the Dominant message but rejects it due
to culture or political opinion, as people actively rejects any political speech from a party
on any subject and acts as the opposition. When the audience is in this state you cant
get any message across to them, as they have already made up their mind on a person or
subject.

http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Independent-Film-Road-
Movies/Reception-Theory.html#ixzz34vTWBD79
An example of the reception theory with regards to video games such a Grand Theft
Auto and Call of Duty would be if there was a hidden message within the game or if the
audience believed that there was. For the purpose of this example, lets say that GTAs
hidden message was that violence is acceptable. The audience would take three different
stances on this message. The dominant stance, which is where the audience believe that
the message is correct, the negotiated stance, where the audience questions the message
due to previous experiences, and the oppositional stance, where the audience recognises
the message but chooses to disagree with it anyway.

Personally, I believe that the only plausible theories are the uses and gratifications
theory, the reception theory and the passive and active consumption theory. However, if
I was to analyse an audience, I would use a mix of these three theories in order to get the
best results possible. The hypodermic needle theory treats the audience as if they are
like a sponge and just absorb all the information that they come into contact with
instantly believing it. This is obviously not true as the audience has free will and also
intelligence. This is why I believe it is the worst of the 4 theories as it is not an accurate
representation of an audience.