Audience essay

Audience is the most important part of a film due to the fact that they are the people that are consuming the product that is made. In this essay i will be applying mass audience theory and active audience theory to my summer trailer last man standing. Mass audience theory can be defined as the audience being passive and that they can be influenced easily, it also believes that everyone sees and interprets the media in the same way. on the other hand active audience theory goes against mass audience theory by saying that the audience see media texts in multiple separate ways and it examines their responses.

the effects model is argued that media has an effect on the audience and can be influential towards the audience but the effects that it gives off are seen as typically negative. it also expresses that audiences are passive which correlates with mass audience. in-addition this model says that the viewer accepts the message that is presented to them through text. this stands out in horror films because they are made to tell a story of what happens to people when they make the wrong decisions and don't know right from wrong and this is shown through subtexts like teen punishment which demonstrates what happens to teenagers when they make the wrong decisions. this would apply to my trailer because our characters are teens that get killed because they have sinned which relates to people watching it and they accept the message sent across because of this.

the hyperdermic needle theory is highly similar as the media text that is being shown and is very powerful and drug like forcing the audience to take in the syringe-like message figuratively being drugged.

The uses and gratification theory can be defined as the viewers taking advantage of the media text so that it meets their personal cognitive, affective, personal, escapism and social needs. this would go with an active audience due to the fact that the audience are using the media text for their uses rather then the media using them to tell them what is good and bad. tension free needs would apply to my trailer because the characters came across as stressed out and worried for where their friend went.

desensitised theory is argued that the more violence viewers are exposed to overtime the less sensitive we are to it. for example people watching horror films might not have any emotional impact because they are used to seeing the same thing causing producers to make new things that are more gory and violent. this theory would apply to mass audience as the viewers would predominantly agree with the message. This theory would not apply to the last man standing due to the fact that there was blood but no gore or actual death scenes not making it impactful on the audience.

copycat theory argues that the audience will imitate what they see through the media and how it affects the viewers behaviour and how they think. having this theory in place is helpful as it allows parents to monitor their Childs media consumption. the negative thing about this theory is that one persons type of horror will differentiate from another meaning that it is impossible for everyone to monitor their child because they don't realise that what their kid is using is bad.

catharsis is defined as being able to cleanse and purge what you are feeling. in certain films like the new 2017 jigsaw there are high amounts of torture, blood, for and violence that are demonstrated in smart sinister ways in which the audience take pleasure from and enjoy. in cleansing and purging through watching a film it prevents you from committing to anything that you are thinking of doing in your head and stops you from imitating certain things that you say as you would have gotten rid of the emotions you had before the film. This theory also does not apply to my trailer because we don't have that many emotions or violence that allows the viewer to cleanse/purge your emotions however we do have characters that seem distressed and worried which some of the audience might be able to relate to.