Uses and Gratifications Theory
Bloomer and Katz created the Uses and Gratifications Theory, which suggests reasons why audiences become interested / engaged into media products.
Personal Identity:
Some audiences like to watch or read media texts because they can compare their life experiences with those represented in it. Audience pleasure comes from empathising and identifying with characters or content represented in them.
Inforation and Education
Some media texts are consumed by audiences when they want to be informed and educated. Newspapers, news programmes and current affairs documentaries educate and inform. They help the audience to find out what is happening in the world.
Entertainment and Diversion
Audiences consume media texts to escape from their everyday lives. They choose entertaining texts that allow them to divert their attention from the real world.
Social Interaction
Audiences watch media texts as a social point of conversation with others - the media gets people talking while the action is still happening.
How does our trailer use Katz and Bloomer's theory?
In our film trailer, the action code (Barthes) is used to establish the disruption (Todorov) of our film when our main protagonist is kidnapped. This part of our trailer uses fast paced shots to create audience panic and tension , which acts as a diversion for audiences to escape their everyday routines, and emerge in the action of our film, therefore supporting 'Entertainment and Diversion' of the Uses and Gratifications theory.
Personal Identity:
Some audiences like to watch or read media texts because they can compare their life experiences with those represented in it. Audience pleasure comes from empathising and identifying with characters or content represented in them.
Inforation and Education
Some media texts are consumed by audiences when they want to be informed and educated. Newspapers, news programmes and current affairs documentaries educate and inform. They help the audience to find out what is happening in the world.
Entertainment and Diversion
Audiences consume media texts to escape from their everyday lives. They choose entertaining texts that allow them to divert their attention from the real world.
Social Interaction
Audiences watch media texts as a social point of conversation with others - the media gets people talking while the action is still happening.
How does our trailer use Katz and Bloomer's theory?
In our film trailer, the action code (Barthes) is used to establish the disruption (Todorov) of our film when our main protagonist is kidnapped. This part of our trailer uses fast paced shots to create audience panic and tension , which acts as a diversion for audiences to escape their everyday routines, and emerge in the action of our film, therefore supporting 'Entertainment and Diversion' of the Uses and Gratifications theory.