Uses and gratifications theory
The uses and gratification (UGT) theory seeks to understand why people seek out the media that they do and what they initially use it for. It assumes that individual people have a certain power over their media usage instead of positioning individuals to be passive like other media effects theories would generally do. UGT also explores how the media can fulfill audience members needs within aspects of the general entertainment, relaxation or social aspects they gain from it. The theory was built off a history ther history of communication theory and research. It started off in researchers studies conducted in 1940's all about the radio listeners. At that same time, others looked into children's comics and the absence of newspapers during a strike. It had a couple of stages it followed:
Stage 1:
Herta Hertzog interviewed people who enjoyed to listen to soap operas om 1944. From this, she determine that they seeked three types of gratifications through this form of entertainment which were emotional, wishful thinking and learning. A couple years later in 1954, Wilbur Schramm developed a formula which helped to determine which media an individual may select to contribute to the foundation for modern developments of this theory. Through this developed formula, he took into account how much an individual would expect from a specific media and the amount of effort they are willing to put for it. 16 years later in 1970, Abraham Maslow said that the Uses and Gratification theory was the remaining extension of the needs he has organised into his Hierarchy of Needs.
Stage 2:
In 1969, Denis McQuail and Jay Blumler studied elections which took place in the United Kingdom in 1964. From this, they categorized people's motives for watching these political programs on television. Later on during 1972, these audiences formed the foundation of their research which led to the USG in the future. After this during the same year, Jay Blumler, Denis McQuail and Joseph Brown all proposed four uses of media which was diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and surveillance. A year later, colleagues Michael Gurevitch, Elihu Katz and Hadassah Haas joined the team and the six of them ended up conducting collaborative research on the way people viewed mass media.
Stage 3:
Researchers on this theory today explore the predictive and explanatory possibilities of the theory by connecting media usage with individual factors. The main link between them would be why media is used and the gratification which is research as such a result. In conclusion, the Uses and Gratification theory has been crucial to a shift which focuses on the media user and their agency in the field of mass media studies.
As a result, the users and gratifications theory can be summarised into five different categories:
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rELATING THIS TO 13 REASONS WHY
- Informed and educated:
- Entertainment
- Personal Identity
- Integration and social interactions
- Escapism
STUART halls' reception theory
Some audience members use specific texts that they relate to and understand in order to gratify their needs as presented by this theory. Some specific types of Mise-en-Scene could be used within a scene so that it appeals to a certain audience or demographic. This automatically creates a primary target audience for that media text. This however leads to separate audiences consuming the same media differently. The reception theory which was developed by Stuart Hall makes sure than media texts are encoded and decoded. When it comes to TV shows, it ensures that the producer encodes different types of messages and values into their media which is later on decoded by audience members. Depending on the audience, they will decode this message in different ways and it may not always be the way the producer originally intended for it to come out as. There are three positions when they decode the text:
Dominant or Preferred Reading - how the producer wants the audience to view the media text. Audience members will take this position if the messages are clear.
Negotiated Reading - a compromise between the dominant and oppositional readings, where the audience accepts part of the producer's views, but has their own vies on parts as well.
Oppositional Reading - when the audience rejects the preferred reading and creates their own meaning for the text. Oppositional reading can also occur if the audience member has different beliefs or is of a different age or a different culture.
Negotiated Reading - a compromise between the dominant and oppositional readings, where the audience accepts part of the producer's views, but has their own vies on parts as well.
Oppositional Reading - when the audience rejects the preferred reading and creates their own meaning for the text. Oppositional reading can also occur if the audience member has different beliefs or is of a different age or a different culture.
RELATING THIS TO 13 REASONS WHY
Dominant reading - the primary target audience that focus to 13 reasons why would have a dominant or preferred reading towards this show. In short, this means that audience members would correctly decode any codes which were put forward by the director themselves in the show. These would be the fans of the show which have chosen to watch the show or even to pass on this show to any friends and/or family members who they think may be interested in watching this show due to the message behind it. After they have watched any episode of the show, usually they would agree with the main point which is exactly why they pass on this show to other people they know.
Negotiated reading - viewers who have a negotiated reading could generally be a part of any secondary targeted audience members. This is because they would partially agree with any meanings behind the show. An example of this would be that they wouldn't watch the show by themselves, but rather wait for any friends or family members who want to watch the show to first insist that they should watch it.
Oppositional reading - Anyone who has an oppositional reading either watches the show to give back critical feedback on how much they dislike the show, or they wouldn't be watching the show in the first place. The reason for these types of reasons would either be the fact that audiences are able to decode messages in a negative view point or they cant decode it which means they are missing any form of understandings towards the show. This would lead to them losing interest since the show becomes boring.
hypodermic needle theory
This theory was created right after the First World War as the media was becoming a means of influence and power for the government when it came to influencing the population. This theory is a metaphorical needle which is used to inject information from the media into the audience's mind through the use of manipulation. This makes audience member's have certain thoughts and ideas until that becomes the only thought they are capable of having. Usually, this is used as a reference towards passive audience members as active audience members would look past the influence of the media, searching for a deeper meaning as they would like an individual and personal opinion of the topic.
relating this to 13 reasons why
- There might be some type of influence related from the show directly to the audiences.
- An example of this would be the suicide hotlines created by 13 Reasons Why as a way of assisting anyone who would be in a crisis of any sort. This would be as some of the context in this show may be too hard for viewers to handle.
effects theory
The effects theory is a model which was prevalent in 1920's and 1930's. This would assume that the audiences would accept media messages passively and would also exhibit predictable reactions in response to those messages. This however led to the government conducting different types of effects towards audience members. The most popular one would be the 'Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior' which was conducted in order to assess the effect of violence on the attitude and behaviors of the audience, specifically, the children. The results were:
- Children may become more fearful of their surround environment.
- They may also become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others.
- Children may also behave in a more harmful or aggressive behavior towards others.
https://www.learning-theories.com/uses-and-gratification-theory.html#targetText=Uses%20and%20gratification%20theory%20seeks,as%20passive%20consumers%20of%20media.
https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_understanding-media-and-culture-an-introduction-to-mass-communication/s05-02-media-effects-theories.html
https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_understanding-media-and-culture-an-introduction-to-mass-communication/s05-02-media-effects-theories.html