Research & Planning - Audience Theories One (Cultural Studies)

The effects theory is the idea imposed by psychologists, that target audience behaviour is almost directly correlated with the portrayal of violence within media forms such as music, gaming, films and adverts for any of the prior. This can be simplified to saying media forms have direct behavioural effects upon the passive audience.

The cultural studies approach attempts to understand media texts intentions and sees the audiences as active rather than passive. This shows varying audience demographics to hold different standpoints in relation to those depicted within the media. The Gratification Theory shows audiences to be active by asking “what people do with media” rather than the passive approach  “what media does to people” (Katz, 1959) The cultural studies approach was developed within Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (BCCCS) and shows how audiences perspectives can be split into three clearly defined sections; 
Oppositional reading, to which the viewer is totally opposed to the representations, values and messages and thus are not influenced.

Negotiated reading is the middle ground. These viewers will broadly accept the media's messages, representations and values although they will have reservations and slight disagreements with particular aspects.

Preferred readings are also known as the target audiences views. These people will not have any problems with aspects of representation and will see it as appealing overall. They may be swayed and influenced by the messages these media forms portray, but are likely to see it as "cool" rather than take it as a way of life.

For example, an oppositional reader would view this as negative, promoting reckless driving and destruction and in no way see it as appealing to the driving game it is advertising, especially through the catch line "inner peace through outer violence". A preferred reader through would understand that this violence and destruction is only meant in the harmless nature of it being a game. They would see it as cool and rebellious not only through the male dominated imagery of the burning tyre and trashed car, but also the contrasting catch line. A negotiated viewer though, would appreciate both arguments, they may disagree with aspects such as the suggested reckless driving but still view it as a good game because it is clearly meant in a masculine attracting fashion rather than promoting destruction.

In this advert for Hit man, a woman is lying on an expensive, lavish material dressed up in seemingly expensive clothes with a high riding skirt allowing a lot of suggestive leg to be shown. This shows her through a male gaze, attracting a male audience. It is also evident she has been shot with a single bullet wound to the head, backed with the contrasting/controversial line "Beautifully executed".

An oppositional reader would see this as a horrific sight with promotion murder being acceptable. They would also see this as exploitation of the female body, further expanding the stereotype of women as objects. Despite this, a preferred reader would see this as a somewhat appealing sight, combining two of the stereotypical male pleasures; guns and sex. Although these have been combined into a necrophiliac appealing scene, this view is not taken as it is clear the scene is hypothetical, but the game contains both gun violence, and the attraction of women. More so than this imagery, the catch line "Beautifully executed" is much more of a selling line, replacing the semantics of violence with those of beauty. Through all of this, a negotiated person would see this to be a perverse scene, but also meant as purely a marketing scheme, and that while the image is perhaps distasteful, it shows the product to be male dominated and "cool".