Active Audiences (LO6)

The ‘effects debate’ has long been criticised for being outdated. Commentators such as David Gauntlett (2004) suggest that there are major problems with how the effects model treats not only audience members, such as children, as inadequate but also sees the media texts as the root cause of the problem without taking sociological or psychological factors into account. Such ideas can be placed with active audience theory.

Active audience theories see audiences as responding actively to the media they consume. They may question the messages that a media product presents, disagree with it, or even interact with it (e.g. by reviewing it, commenting on it online etc). Active audience theories see audiences as consciously aware of how they interpret media products and the difference between media representations and reality.

Manuel Alvarado’s theory of representation (LO3)

Manuel Alvarado’s theory of representation of ethnicity in the media (1987) identifies four main categories: Dangerous – plays on the fear of otherness (e.g. terrorist, threatening immigrant, a gang member. Exotic – plays on the appeal of otherness (e.g. wealthy foreign royalty, attractive jungle/desert ‘native’ etc) Pitied, the victim – partly because often the only time many foreign countries appear in our media is when they are suffering some disaster. It may also give a sense of superiority to the ‘other’. Humorous - encouraging us to laugh at representations of ethnicity. Earlier examples of this were often racist humour; more recent ones tend to present and subvert stereotypical terms of race and encourage us to recognise and laugh at stereotypes. Family guy has them all, Dangerous, Exotic, Pitied, Humourous.

Laura Mulvey - Male Gaze (LO3)

I n feminist theory, the male gaze is the act of depicting women and the world in the visual arts and in literature from a masculine, heterosexual perspective that presents and represents women as sexual objects for the pleasure of the heterosexual male viewer. Example of Male Gaze:

Blumler and Katz – Uses and Gratifications (LO6)

Adapted from Denis McQuail’s Audience Pleasures, this active audience theory states we consume media for the following uses and gratifications: •Information and Education – the viewer wants to acquire information, knowledge and understanding by watching programmes like The News or Documentaries. •Entertainment – Viewers watch programmes for enjoyment. •Personal Identity - Viewers can recognise a person or product, or role model that reflects similar values to themselves and mimic or copy some of their characteristics. •Integration and social interaction – the ability of media products to produce a topic of conversation between people. For example who is the best contestant on The X-factor who was the best goal shown on Match of the day. •Escapism – Computer games and action films let viewers escape their real lives and imagine themselves in those situations.

Unit 1 - Media Products and Audiences

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