Visual Essay Audience

In order to examine how audience theory can be applied to music videos, I am going to analyse “The Nights” by Avicii. I will look at a range of theorists in order to do this.

Stuart Hall’s reception theory suggest that media texts are encoded by the producer meaning that whoever produces the text fills the product with values and messages. The text is then decoded by spectators. Depending on who the spectator is depends on how they will decode the text as different people decode in different ways and not always the way in which the producer intended. There are three different ways that the audience could decode the text. The dominant or preferred reading where the viewer accepts the messages or values that are being portrayed, they view the message in the way the producer wanted them to, the ideal consumption has been met and the institution is happy. A negotiated reading where they may agree with some parts however they also disagree. It is a compromise between the dominant or oppositional reading; they see the point being made however they still have their own opinion. Then the oppositional readings were the viewer completely rejects the messages and values therefore they are more likely to stop watching. They create their own reading of the text as they may be offended, upset or fail to see the intended message from the institution.  An audience is more likely to have a dominant understanding if the message is clear, the audience is the same age so it relates to the product, from the same culture or relevant to society. A person may have a negotiated reading if they have not had the same life experiences, may not understand the narrative therefore they cannot relate and the dominant message may be unclear. Finally the audience may have an oppositional reading if the product has controversial themes, no understanding or is not reflective of society. Different cultures have different understandings. 

In the video the nights by Avicii the dominant message of this video is to live life to the fullest no matter what the consequences and enjoying life. You’re only young once so make the most of it because it is not going to last forever. However the negotiated reading may be that although the message is to enjoy yourself and have fun it doesn’t mean that you have to put yourself in danger like the person in the video by jumping off cliffs and destroying the environment by grafting all over the place. As it makes it look tacky and can ruin the landscape due to a symbol being spray painted everywhere as people may not understand the meaning behind this symbol it may offend them. The oppositional reading may be that we shouldn’t waste our time messing around and putting yourself in danger, you should stick to society’s norms and go and get a job and work your way through life not messing around asking for a death sentence. 

The uses and gratification model by Blumler and Katz looks at the motives of people who use the media, researchers began to describe the effects of the media from the point of view of audiences. The theory makes the audience active as they choose what they want to consume. An audience is not forced to watch a particular media text. You are in control of your own choices; the media simply creates the media product. The theory argues that audiences needs have social and psychological needs which generate certain expectations about mass media. There are four needs, surveillance, personal identity, personal relationships and diversion. The surveillance need is based around the idea that people feel better having the feeling that they know what is going on around them in the world. For example the news tells us what is going on and we watch in order to gain information. It is all about awareness; we use the mass media in order to make us more aware of the world, gratifying a desire for knowledge and security. Social media can influence how this concept works as fake stories are created giving a false sense of security. Personal identity explains how being a subject of the media allows us to confirm the identity and positioning of ourselves within society. For example pop stars are huge role models especially among young children and teenagers. Different genres allow people to identify in different ways to different elements. Allows us to associate and relate to the product directly making us feel gratified. Different media texts are aimed at different audiences influencing their choices. Personal relationships with the media, we form a relationship with the media and use the media to form a relationship with others. Many people use television as a form of companionship, by watching a show or media text quite often we can create an intimate experience and relate to the characters. Another aspect of personal relationships is how we use the media as a springboard to form and build upon relationships with other people. For example have a common interest in the same program can help start a conversation. The last need is diversion, the diversion describes what’s commonly termed as escapism.  We watch media texts in order to take our mind off our everyday lives and distract ourselves from the problems that we are having. We sometimes watch a media text which relates to our mood for example if you are sad you may watch a sad movie to take the focus off your own sadness and focus on someone else’s. 

The "hypodermic needle theory" implied mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences. The mass media in the 1940s and 1950s were perceived as a powerful influence on behavior change. Several factors contributed to this "strong effects" theory of communication, including: The fast rise and popularization of radio and television and the emergence of the persuasion industries, such as advertising. The theory suggests that the mass media could influence a very large group of people directly and uniformly by shooting or injecting them with appropriate messages designed to trigger a desired response. This theory suggests a powerful and direct flow of information from the sender to the receiver. The hypodermic needle model suggests that media messages are injected straight into a passive audience which is immediately influenced by the message. It expresses the view that the media is a dangerous means of communicating an idea because the receiver of audience is powerless to resist the impact of the message. People are seen as passive and are seen as having a lot media material shot at them. People end up thinking what they are told because there is no other source of information. The theory assumes what we see or hear we believe or consume. The theory assumes we are brainwashed into believing the media messages. The cons of the theory are that it is very out of date and invalid, not everyone watches the news/ consumes media in the same way. Audiences are not simply passive more up to date theories have proved tis. Technology has changed how we consume media and the sources where it originates from. We are more aware of society and how institutions operate. We are now used to consuming media texts that we understand the conventions and know when to reject messages if we deem them insignificant.