Audience Theory Essay

Audience theory There are two views on the audience theory: Mass Audience, which is passive. This is considered dangerous as it has the power to influence the masses. Then the other view is the Active audience theory, which is interpreted differently compared to the Mass Audience. Active audiences are open to interpretation. I will be applying the audience theory to my summer trailer. Looking at the effects model and comparing it to my trailer.

Reception theory, Cultivation Theory, Uses & Gratification Theory, Copycat Theory, Desensitization Theory, Catharsis & Suspension of Disbelief. These are the theories that are apart of the Audience Theory.

First theory I will be talking about is the Copycat theory.
This theory refers to how the audience can be influenced and be affected by the media I think that this theory is more suited to other genres than horror because the protagonist is normally the victim in horror movies, such as the sub-genre Slasher, which includes a lot of props that are available to many people. Genres that involve action consists of protagonists that are seeking justice and are strong enough to do so. It's about how the audience watches a piece of media, and copying what they've seen. This is deemed dangerous, especially with kids and people with mental health issues. When the scene is something like stabbing a victim to death, things like that can be easily copied. Looking at my trailer, this theory may not be applicable as much. We do not include anything that the audience may copy.

Mary Cover Jones, discusses about the Desensitization theory. She believes that the more violence viewers are exposed to in the media over a period of time, the less sensitive we become to it. The violence no longer seems to bother them or bothers them less than it did before. As for my trailer, we included zombies, and at a first glance the audience may consider them scary, but the more they see the zombies, they will get 

desensitized and no longer scared of them. This also relates to other violent things also, once you are exposed to something for a long time, you will get used to the fact of the violence being extreme and so on. 

The next theory I will be talking about is the Uses & Gratification theory. This theory suggests that people use the media and it;s many texts, to their advantages and in order to meet their individual needs. This was said by Denis McQuail in 1972. This theory explains why the audience use the media for their own use. For example people watch horror movies for the violence, which is considered as a cognitive need. Sometimes people may do something to relieve stress, like watch TV or play games. Relating this theory to my trailer, people may watch it to get that feeling of suspense, as their is a lot of action in my trailer. One would be Tension Free needs which allows the audience to escape from reality. This is useful for our summer trailer because in that short time span, the audience is able to feel like they are there even if it isn’t to best that we could make it to be.

Catharsis is an emotional effect experienced by people who use the media to purge or cleanse negative emotions such as fear or anger. For instance, one may watch a horror movie just for the thrill of getting rid of the fear of horror. It doesn't necessary make the audience more violent, it is a way to relieve emotional experiences that we go through.