Important audience and narrative theories

Audience theories

Socio-Demographic Model

Audiences can be categorised in socio-economic classes, which of course categorises them in their profession and earnings. The people within these groups tend to have the same lifestyle and psychological thinking and all want the same or similar things and are therefore usually watching similar channels and consuming similar types of media.

A - These are the high ranking professionals, most likely people who earn a lot, very skilled and educated. E.g. Lawyers and Doctors etc.

B - These are the middle ranking professionals; middle managers in businesses, teachers etc.

C1 - The "White-collar" (office) workers; Junior managers, office clerks, bank clerks, nurses etc.

C2 - Skilled manual workers; carpenters, electricians, plumbers etc.

D - Semi and unskilled manual workers; drivers, post sorters, labourers etc.

E - People subsiding on state benefits; the unemployed, students, pensioners etc.

Psychographics

Mainstreamers: They want to go with the flow and don't want to stand out.

Aspirers: They want to have more money or status and will often buy 'flashy' products to try and send out messages about status.

Succeeders: They have more money to spend than aspirers but won't feel the need to show it as much

Individualists: They want to show the world they are different.

Carers: They want to save the world.

Geo-demographics

This is uncommon to use but is helpful when describing an audience of a Tv show or film.

The classification of geo-demographics is by postcode, residential area and housing e.g. agricultural areas, urban areas, rural area, modern family housing, older housing of intermediate status, poor quality and older terrace housing etc.

Dyer's Entertainment and Utopia

Another uncommon to use theory by students but again is helpful.

Dyer's theory was that entertainment can be a utopian sensibility. (utopian meaning idealistic/perfect).

Dyer states ”The notion of entertainment as in some sense utopian — expressing ideals about how human life could be organised and lived –is implicit in what the most widespread assumption about entertainment, namely, that it provides ‘escape.’ Entertainment offers the image of ‘something better’ to set against the realities of day-to-day existence.” 

3 reasons why audiences chose to consume media are:

1) Social tension

2) Inadequacy

3) Absence

We the audience feel:

Scarcity

Exhaustion

Dreariness

Manipulation

Fragmentation

But from the media we consume we gain the opposites:

Abundance

Energy

Intensity

Transparency

Community.

We can link the Utopian theory to another theory called "Uses and Gratification" because an audience consume media for a clear set of pleases which they wish to draw from that experience. From the media we have gratification that allows us to escape from reality which is usually full of negatives. The mediated world represents a better place, a place to escape. (click photo below to enlarge it)

Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications

This is a simple theory which is easy to use. This theory is just reasons to why audiences may engage with the media. Audiences may engage with media because of:

1) Escapism - Some audiences may be having a rough day or tough time. They need to get their minds off their current situation and want to relax their minds and want to escape from their life into a better world which is usually portrayed in the media (mainly in films).

2) Identification - Some audiences might watch a TV show or a film because they are able to relate to the characters and identify with them or/and the setting, either through their personalities, attitudes, accents, clothing, age, gender, ethnicity, life problems, location. This is usually shown in TV shows, most likely soap operas and sometimes in films.

3) Entertainment - Some audiences may wish to be entertained, relax and just enjoy a piece of media, this is usual in comedy and dramas.

4) Informed and educated - Some audiences may consume media to learn about what's going on in the world and different parts of the country. This is typical in news and documentaries. 

5) Socialise with others - Some audiences, mainly teenagers, consume media due to it being promoted and seen as popular amongst friends or (linking to psychographics) want to follow the big 'hype' on something and want to be involved, they may have heard about a new TV show which is amazing from their friends and they would therefore engage in the media.

Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs.

Audiences may use media texts to satisfy certain needs based on Maslow's Hierarchy of needs

Young & Rubicam's 4Cs - Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation

This is a way of putting audiences into groups so that you can measure the kind of  values they get from media texts.

As you watch a text, think about the way that the contents of that text connects with an audience.

E.g: A car advert starts off with a wide establishing shot of land and large mountainous areas and is followed by multiple angles which helps reinforce a sense of freedom. The advert is saying that the consumer will get this sense of freedom when buying the car. Due to the fact the car is on its own and stands out, it has no other person or object alongside it and the mountain range could connote individuality.

Freedom and individuality are two values which appear in Y&Rs 4Cs. The rest of the values that audiences may enjoy or get from media texts are:

• Security
• Status
• Survival
• Control
• Escape
• Freedom
• Individuality

Narrative Theories

Propp's Character roles theory

Propp believes that every narrative have these stock character(s) roles.

Hero - Usually the protagonist, the one who goes on a quest

Villain - Usually the antagonist, the character who plots against the hero

Princess - Usually a female or a damsel in distress hoping to be rescued by the hero and usually is the reward for the hero

Donor - Helps prepare the hero or gives the hero some magical object

Helper - Simply helps the hero in his quest

Father - The father of the princess (common for him to die during the film/book) he is usually the one seeking for the help of the hero and rewards him

Dispatcher - Sends the hero off on his quest

False hero - takes credit for the hero's actions or tries to marry the princess

Levi's binary opposites theory

Levi's theory of binary opposites is that two contrasting objects or subjects in a narrative help push a narrative or attract an audience e.g. good vs evil, law vs rebels, males vs females etc.

Todorovs' 5 stages

Todorov believed that every narrative had 5 stages with the three main ones being Equilibrium -> Disequilibrium -> New Equilibrium. (a.k.a beginning, middle and end) but in-between these three are:

1) A state of equilibrium. Everything is normal and nothing is unusual

2) A disruption of equilibrium. Someone or something causes trouble to the equilibrium

3) Recognition. Disruption has been recognised by characters and audience

4) Attempt to repair the damage to equilibrium

5) A state of new equilibrium

Barthes'  5 codes

Barthes believed that narratives have one or more of the five codes. In media studies the most commonly seen codes are usually enigma and action codes. The five codes are:

• Enigma codes - This code is to do with narratives having a mystery about them with unclear and ambiguous answers this tends to leave audiences at the edge of their seats and sometimes frustrated. An example of an enigma code would be a cliffhanger at the end of a soap opera, this would encourage the audience to spread news and talk about the show and also persuades them to come back next week for the next episode to reveal what happens next.
• Action codes - This refers to the elements that add to suspense to the text and foreshadow an event to occur, e.g. if two men in an old western style film were standing face to face and a close up of one guy slowly moving his hand down to his gun is creating suspense and we, the audience, realise action is about to occur 
• Semantic codes - This code refers to parts within the text that suggests or refers to additional meanings. Semantic codes tend to have a connotative function in the text. It has an extra layer of meaning in addition to it literal denoting meaning.
• Symbolic codes - This of course is about symbols within the text
• Referential codes - This code refers to anything in the text which to an external body of knowledge such as scientific, historical and cultural knowledge

Medhurst's Shorthand Stereotype theory

Medhurst believes that stereotypes were used as a shorthand to allow quick identification with characters in narratives. Stereotypes are often generalised ideas of a group of people which aren't always true ideas of a group. Even if the stereotypes aren't fully true they do relate so some within that group due to it being true to them or due to it being a widely seen idea of the group.

Gramsei Hegemony theory 

Gramsei theory of hegemony is just simply power through promoting values/ideologies. 

-Akshay