Summary of audience theory...

Uses and Gratification Summary: This theory suggests that the audience is active and that they have a choice over the texts they choose. Also, the audience has several reasons for choosing the text they have chosen. Diversion Information, Personal Relationships, Learning Personal Identity, Surveillance Integration and Social Interaction and Entertainment.

Reception Theory Summary: Reception theory concentrates on how the audience reads a text, it focuses on the basis that a text does not have one single meaning.It also states that the audience decode meanings as a result of our background, eg, class, age and gender.David Morley carried out a study on how an audience reads a text and came up with 3 main ways a text can be read, Hegemonic, which is the preffered reading, the Negotiated where the reader shares some values and ideologies and the Oppositional whereby the reader does not share the values and rejects the preffered reading.

Effects Theory: This theory argues that the audience is passive and are manipulated and influenced by hegemonic values.

Frankfurt School is where a group of researchers came up with the theory that suggested media industries in society were beginning to rise and under capitalism culture is prossesed through mass media as something which can be bought and sold. The Hypodermic needle model is closely linked to this it says the hegemonic ideologies being injected into a passive audience. The theory was linked to techniques of propaganda.

Similarities and Differences: Uses and Gratification and Reception theory both state the audience is active whereas Effects theory argues the audience is passive. Uses and Gratification and Receptions theory both ssy the audience have a choice in the media texts they consume whereas the effects theory says the audience is are forced to consume texts.

Pluralism...

Pluralists view society as a system of competing groups and interests, none more predominant then others it is a theory that can be seen as opposition the Marxist theory. The theory implies that all audiences are capable of manipulating and have access to the plural values of society, which allows them to conform, accomodate or reject the values presented to them throughout different media textts. The pluralist theory challenges the idea of hegemony and the 'hyperdermic needle' theory that suggests that their is one dominant force in society and they pump their values and ideologies out to the masses through various types of media.

The pluralist theory also believe that the media takes on the role of the fourth estate. The three estates consist of the government, legal system and the church. Each has major power and influence in our society. The media is considered by puralists as the fourth estate and it has a role to keep the public informed about what is happening in relation to the three other estates i.e. BBC question time, gives the public the information they want and need to know about politics etc.

A few examples of some programmes that could be considered fourth estate media: BBC's Question Time, Panorama and Channel 5's The Wright Stuff.

Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory....

Laura mulvey is a feminist and also a media theorist. Mulvey's theory is called the male gaze and the concept of the theory suggests that women are sexually objectified in media texts for the pleasure of men, helping to maintain the patriarchal society. The theory explains that by objectifying the female in the media text, the female viewer alienates themselves from their female identity and identifies with the male viewer and is encouraged to experience the male's viewing pleasures. This transition during the viewing of a media text is called cross gender referencing or audience positioning, where the audience have been shown something to make them feel a particular way in this instance the female audience are positioned to see things from a male's perspective.

Some key words that are regularly associated with Mulvey's male gaze theory:

Patriarchy: Male dominated society.

Misogyny: The hatred of women.

Phallic symbolism: An object that represents or symbolizes the male penis.

Objectification: Denying a person of human qualities and seeing them only as an object that has one sole purpose.

Identification: Feeling what the character in the narrative is feeling, emphathising with them and putting yourself in their shoes.

Audience positioning: Being shown a text that allows you to identify with the certain perspective, the text wants you to see it from.

Castration: The emasculation or removing of the male reproductive organs.

Voyeurism: Sexual pleasure out of watching someone's business without their consent.

Erotic pleasure: Sexual arousal through images, videos, sounds or sexual activities.

Fetishizlation: The requirement of specific objects to endure sexual arousal.

Sadism: Pleasure from people experiencing pain.

Scophilia: The pleasure gained in looking.

I feel that Laura Mulvey's theory is very valid and although it was written in 1975, the theory is still relevant and if anything has been strengthed as time has gone on. I think that everywhere you look you see women as part of the male gaze and i disagree with those women that appear sexually objectified but claim they are the ones in control over the men and they know that men are fantisising about them but they feel that this is due to their power and control.

3 Adverts showing various representations of women....

Link:http://www.visit4info.com/details.cfm?adid=39130 (Iceland)

Iceland supermarket advert shows a conventional or traditional representation of women, by its slogan...'That's why mum's go to Iceland'. Strictly associating the woman with the stereotypical role of house wife as she takes on her 'shopping role'.


Link:http://www.visit4info.com/details.cfm?adid=14215 (Adidas)

This advert challenges the stereotypes of the passive female character and allows the female to take on an active role. The women is portrayed as a successful sports women, which is unusual as successful sports personalities in the media are mostly males. However this women is successful in what's considered a mans sport, boxing. The advert subverts strereotypes by giving the woman power.


Link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSwyncna1Qg (Lynx)

This advertisement shows the 'whore' female character, that could be classed as part of the male gaze. The women in this ad are sexually objectified for the viewing of men, and the whole message behind the product suggests that if you buy Lynx spray women will be all over you, which is reinforcing the whore stereotypes implying women need men.

MARXISM....

Marxism is a political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx.

Marx argues that capitalism is based on the profit motive and that under capitalism, profits are generated by exploiting workers. Examples are 'sweat shops', where workers have to work in slave like conditions and provide cheap labour for products that are then sold on for much more money.

Capitalist society is divided into two groups:

the working class (proletariat) who sell their labour and dont own the means of production.

the middle to higher classes: (bourgeosie) who own the means of production and employ the proletariat. However within the bourgeosie are two sub groups: the wealthy bourgeosie who do not also need to work themselves and the petty bourgeosie who employ others, but must also work themselves.

Adorno - 'Culture indistries'

Bigger audiences because of the profit motive, therefore the media institutions construct texts intended to generate mass audiences, by dumbing down thier output so it can appeal to all.

Mass media are seen as a way of entertaining the works whilst also drip feeding them ideologies and beliefs.

Althusser

Ideological state appuratuses (ISAs), which work alongside the Repressive State Appuratuses(military, police, etc) to maintain the bourgoesie ideologies.

Religion, Education, Family, Legal and political system, Political system and Cutural and communications system.

To a certain extent these all interpellate an audience (position the audience in such a way that they presume that these ideologies are correct).

Gramsci

Hegemony - the dominance of ideologies of the ruling class, with all the beliefs and values that they incorporate. The hegemeonies influcence is so powerful their values and ideologies become common sense within the majority of the population, allowing them to be overlooked and maintaining the ruling classes hegemonic control.

Eisenstein and montage

Comdemned narrative structure, as a soviet film maker in the 1920s and believed capitalist propoganda and ideologies were being portrayed through fim makers i.e. camera angles being used to give power to important characters etc. He elimated one single protagonist and constantly used montage to remove any emotional connection ebtween the audience and the film, ensuring the audience are never lulled into believing that they are watching something that is real.

Williams

Low culture - Suitable for workers i.e. cinema and tv shows, the more popular but less socially sophisticated forms of entertainment.

High culture - Theratre, Opera and Ballet, for the bourgeosie, the less popular but more sophisticated choice of entertainment.