The second major idea
of the mass audience theory was that the mass were all watching the same text. This suggests
that a film will be the same for every person who watches it.
A basis of Media Studies is that each of us has an individual way of seeing any media text, we
experience the same text in very different ways- so different it could almost be another text. The messages of film [and other media texts]
are received by audiences who are not an anonymous mass but a collection of
individuals with their own hopes, dreams, beliefs, desires, needs.
This lead to research into WHY
people watch specific films or types of media text
Uses and Gratifications Theory is an approach to understanding why people actively seek out specific media outlets and content for gratification purposes. The theory discusses how users proactively search for media that will not only meet a given need but enhance knowledge, social interactions and diversion
It assumes that members of the
audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and
integrating media into their own lives.
The theory also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet
their needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfil specific
gratifications.
In 1944 Herta Herzog began
classified the reasons why people chose types of media. She interviewed radio
soap opera fans and identified three types of gratifications based on why
people listened to soap operas : emotional, wishful thinking, learning
In 1970 Abraham Maslow suggested a Uses and
Gratifications Theory as an extension of
the Needs and Motivation Theory. The basis for his argument was that people
actively looked to satisfy their needs based on a hierarchy. The pyramid
hierarchy began on the bottom with Biological/Physical, Security/Safety,
Social/Belonging, Ego/Self-Respect and Self-actualization at the top
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