So we've discussed the idea that the media might be dangerous, force us to do things, be violent and antisocial, we've discussed the potential of the media dumbing us down and here's the conclusions we came to...
The quotation from Halloran is fundamental to how we study Media and marks an important shift in the subject and marks a change in the theories we look at...
"We must get away from the habit of thinking in terms of what the media do to people...
...and substitute for it the idea of what people do to the media."
It's from this ethos that theories moved away from looking at the effect of the media and moved towards looking at considering audiences as 'Users'.
Make sure you know this theory as we will apply it to most of the texts that we look at throughout the entire course.
To elaborate on various ways we can find these Uses and Gratifications.
Escapism/Entertainment
- Humour - though we must analyse what type of humour it is
- Dramatic elements - drama can come from conflict, despair, irony - wherever emotions are involved
- Transporting us to places alien to us - maybe exotic, perhaps dystopian
Information/Surveillance
- News
- Facts
- Specialist information
Personal Identity
- Sharing commonalities with characters - such as age, where you're from etc
- Sharing personality traits and outlooks on life with people
- Enforced indentification through Close-Ups, Voice Overs and Point of View shots
Social Interaction
- Media that we consume with others - playing with, watching with, communciating with...
- Discussing with friends, family colleagues about our experiences after we've consumed
- Using other media which allows us to communicate and interact with others about our consumption
It's all very well knowing what the Uses and Gratifications are, we must know how to apply it. To do this we'll look at the target audience of Men's Fitness magazine and decide from there exactly what uses and gratifications they would have for it...
From the 4Cs model we may can suggest that the target audiences come from the Aspirer and Succeeder categories. From the Lifestyle Categories the Audience types most likely to respond would be the Egoists and the Trendies.
From the magazine cover we can see evidence of these audience groups. The Strapline: "Making Your Best Better" would appeal to the Succeeder's need for prominence, to be the best. The model on the cover has the kind of physique that the Aspirer would buy the magazine in order to acquire. The Trendies would respond positively to articles which promise to "Boost Brain Power" and "Pro-tips for Speed" - these things will surely make him respected by his peer group who will have similar interests. An Egoist will be drawn to the article promising the reader will: "Look Great in the Summer" as this clearly offers them personal gain which fits in with their outlook in life.
Not only does the magazine appeal to these audience types but they will actively Use it - as it offers them various gratifications.
Information
This may seem the most obvious and is relatively straightforward - however this is probably not the main use that the audience will have for the magazine. In summary, an audience will use this for...
- Tips on how to improve fitness techniques
- Information about how other people have improved their fitness
Social Interaction
This magazine offers little in the way of Social Interaction - in fact it promotes ideologies of fitness really being a lone activity - it seems to celebrate the individual in pursuit of the perfect body/fitness more than anything else. That said, it is a specialist magazine and some audience members such as the Trendies and Aspirers may use it to have the knowledge in order to have informed conversations about their hobby.
Entertainment
Another use which may not seem obvious from a fitness magazine - however some articles suggest a lighthearted approach to the magazine, connotations that not everything inside is completely serious. Examples of these coverlines are...
- "The man who'll eat anything"
- "MF goes hunting with dogs... and we're the bait!"
- The use of the colloquial phrase "Fat Bloke"
Personal Identity
Possibly the biggest Use that audiences have for magazines is to find some Personal Identification - the producers of magazines know this and do everything they can to enforce this identification. Here are just some of the ways that this magazine does it...
- The model makes eye contact - making an instant connection to the audience
- The use of personal pronouns such as "You", "Your" and "I"
- Stories from readers which make it feel as if they have ownership over the magazine
- Direct address - particularly imperatives such as: "Get a beach body now"
Magazines specifically look for ways in which they can make the audience feel as though their media text is specifically for them - look out for this next time you are in a newsagents!
Whilst the Uses and Gratifications model manages to look, as Halloran asserted, at what we do with the media rather than what it does with us - it does have its limitations - to demionstrate this, lets look at how we can apply it to reality TV show Big Brother...
Personal Identity
- From the diary room - contestants speak directly to us, make eye contact and reveal thoughts and feelings that they share with no-one else.
- Audiences may also identify with contestants of a similar age or background or with similar personalities.
Entertainment
- From the dramatic elements such as arguments and disputes in the house
- The comedic moments such as the ridiculous tasks
Social Interaction
- Discussing the show with others after an eviction or significant event
- Commenting on the show using social networking sites, Facebook or Twitter
Information
- The show (at the height of its fame/notoriety) was often newsworthy itself and audiences may have used it to find out what all the fuss was about - think of the Jade Goody race row and so on
But there are other things that we use Big Brother for! How about...
Interaction
- Ever since it's arrival on our screens - one of the key appeals and uses we have for shows like Big Brother (and X-factor, I'm a Celebrity etc etc) is that as an audience we control the programme. The story of a series and the fate of its characters are determined by us - and this, in conjunction with other needs is a fundamental reason why people consume the show.
If you don't believe the ideas mentioned on the last slide - just watch the clip below, what do you use it for?
