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TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > Media Studies > Audience Theorists

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Contents 1 Wittgenstein 2 Pierre Macherey 3 C.S.Pierce 4 Graham Burton 5 Hartley 6 John Fiske 7 Behaviour of audience 8 Hypodermic theory 8.1 DIRECT EXAMPLE 9 Uses and gratifications 9.1 DIRECT EXAMPLE 10 Comments

Wittgenstein

• he said that obviousness of context of use was related to ambiguity of meaning

• "don't ask for the meaning, ask for the use of the word"

Pierre Macherey

• "silence reveals speech unless it is the speech that reveals the silence"

C.S.Pierce

• "every part of any artificial construct signifies something and can fit into
  • ICON
  • INDEX
  • SYMBOL

• "it is impossible not to communicate"

Graham Burton

• "more than meets the eye" regarding and defining audiences
• where there are defined by the particular product they consume
  1. where they are specific audience for a particular type of product
  2. where they belong to pre-existing groups

Hartley

7 subjectivities when discussing what happens in socialising an individual

• 1. self
  2. gender
  3. age group
  4. family
  5. class
  6. nation
  7. ethnicity

John Fiske

Said he missed out

• religion
• education
• political stance
• region (urban v rural)

Problems treating audience as mass...

duality of audience

formed in response to the media

or

corresponds to an existing social group

(media or society as it's source?)

Behaviour of audience

EFFECTS DEBATE

Hypodermic theory

Media texts act as a syringe, media injected into us, metaphor, helpless vulnerable, unable to resist being effected.

DIRECT EXAMPLE

Jamie Bulger - boys 9+10 kidnapped 4 yr old and beat him after they saw it in an '18' film

Uses and gratifications

Individuals are able to cope and make sense of what they are on the receiving end of. Making realistic conclusions of what is real-life and fiction.

DIRECT EXAMPLE

Tom and Jerry - when Jerry is killed in episodes, children know he will return in the next episode...

Comments