Theories

 

Theories : 

Uses + Gratification= Blumler & Katz

The Uses and Gratifications Theory assumes audiences actively seek out media to satisfy individual needs.  

The Uses and Gratifications Theory looks to answer three questions:  

1. What do people do with the media?
   
2. What are their underlying motives for using said media?
   
3. What are the pros and cons of this individual media use?

We consume media for:

- Information

    - Finding to about relevant events in society and the world

    - Seeking advice

    - Satisfying curiosity and general interest

    - Learning; self-education

    - Gaining a sense of security through knowledge

- Personal Identity

    - Finding reinforcement for personal values

    - Finding models of behaviour

    - Identifying with values others

    - Gaining insight into others

- Integration and Social Interaction

    - Gaining insight into circumstances of others

    - Identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging

    - Finding a basis for conversation and social interaction

    - Having a substitute for real-life companionship

 - Entertainment

    - Escapism 

    - Relaxing

    - Filling time

    - Emotional release

    - Sexual gratification

- Education

- Escapism

Information- news (listened to via radio in the car in the morning), sky news app on my smartphone 

Personal identity - watching youtubers going on holiday enjoying there lives inspires me 

Entertainment- doing workouts to relax and fill time 

Integration-  watching love island every summer then speakng to my friends about it 

Education- watching revision videos online 

Escapism- watching netflix films and series's lets me escape into the world of the film/series 

Characters= Propp Theory 

-He analyses the plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their basic narrative elements 

- He looked at one hundred folk tales and came to conclusion that they were all made up of 31 plot elements which are called function 

- developed 8 character types (Hero, Villain, Helper, Princess/Price, Her father, Donor, False hero, dispatcher) 

HERO= goes on a quest and usually ends up with the princess

VILLAIN= always against the villain 

DISPATCHER= sets the hero off on their quest 

DONER= helps hero and sometimes has magical power/objectg to help 

PRINCESS= usually the prize for the hero, the hero deserves her throughout the story and must overcome a task/defeat the villain to get her

HER FATHER= rewards the hero/identifies false hero 

FALSE HERO= takes credit for the hero's action and tries to end up with princess

THE HELPER= someone who helps the hero on their mission 

Narrative Atructure= Todorov 

- Proposed a basic structure for all narratives

-Begins with equilibrium (calm period)

- Agents of disruption (cause disequilibrium) - period of unsettlement and disquiet 

- Recognition 

- Attempt to repair

- Followed by a renewed state of peace and harmony for protagonists and new equilibrium brings chaos to the end 

Binary Opposition= Strauss

- Levi theorised that since all cultures are products of the human brain, there must be, beneath the surface, features that are common to all 

- Structuralism attempted to de- romanticise  the film maker 

- He analysed traditional myths and legends in an attempt to uncover the essential ingredients, or universal laws, of story structure. 

- Lévi-Strauss concluded that all stories need some level of conflict in order to produce meaning. ... Strauss called these conflicts 'binary oppositions'.

- Narrative tension is based on opposition and conflict (two characters fighting, but more often functions at an ideological level)

E.G GOOD VS EVIL, BLACK VS WHITE, BOY VS GIRL, PEACE VS WAR, YOUNG VS OLD

Pleasures Theory= Altman 

Emotional Pleasures - how does the text make you feel? happy, sad, nostalgic?

Visceral Pleasures - gut responses, excitement, fear, laughter

Intellectual Pleasures - does it make the audience think? 

Enigma Codes= Barthes

Action Code- what will happen next.... she falls over - will he catch her?

Enigma Code- The audience question why....

Reception Theory- Decoding Papers 

Stuart Hall - preferred/negotiated and oppositional reading 

1) Preferred reading- when audiences respond to the product the way media producers want/ expect them to 

2) Oppositional reading- when the audience are in disagreement with the product's message or setting 

3) Negotiated reading- when a member of the audience partly agrees with part of the product 

Video Games 

Moral Panic- media creates fear in the population over an issue that appears to threaten or harm social order (S.Cohen) } BBC creating moral panic through deadline 'video games cause 

Hypodermic needle- media messages are injected directly into the brains of passive audiences. In this theory the media is seen as powerful and able to 'inject' ideas into an audience who are seen as weak and passive and could be influenced by a message. 

Desensitisation- the idea that exposure to violent images numbs the effect of them. The more you watch something, the less likely they are to have an impact on audience