2. Audience Responses?
There are many different audience responses ranging from bad to
good – depending on company motive.
It‟s ideal for any media product to get a good response
It‟s not guaranteed that the product will get a good response, or if
the audience will even like it.
Stuart Hall is a theorist who studied the different types of audience
responses; he came up with the theory of:
Preferred
Negotiated
Oppositional
3. Preferred
This is when the audience read
author/producer intended them to.
the
text
the
way
the
An example of this: If Kerrang! Magazine was to write an article
about the Rev from Avenged Sevenfold and some of the
statements and facts were not quite true e.g. He had a tattoo of
something inappropriate in an inappropriate place – the audience
would still believe whatever the article says.
Another example of this: An interview with the producer of Doctor
Who (Steven Moffat) – he told the audience that in the 50th
Anniversary, they wouldn‟t be seeing any Doctors from any other
times apart from 10 (David Tennant), we wouldn‟t see the new
Doctor at all etc. the fandom believed him, but when the 50th
came out – everything he said wasn‟t going to appear in the 50th,
appeared in the 50th! Damn it, Moffat.
4. Negotiated
This is where the reader somewhat agrees and accepts the meaning but modifies it to
apply it to themselves depending on their experiences, background and interests.
An example of this: fandom theories: an example of this, from the Adventure Time
fandom, the world that Finn and Jake live in is a post apocalyptic war zone – this theory
is aided by the fact that during episodes there are skeletons and destroyed cars and
tech lying around. Finn seems to be the only surviving human – in one episode he finds a
tribe of creatures with human like qualities who had evolved and become fish like from
living under the ground in a bunker for so long. If you watch the show – it‟s usually happy
and upbeat, this theory can damage your views on the show for a long time.
http://adventuretime.wikia.com/wiki/Forum:My_little_theory
Another example is: Eastenders, people can relate to because it comes across as real
life scenarios. Its also gives off a calm and collective feel because it shows loving and
caring families getting along and helping each other out with their problems like real
families should do. The audience can watch it and escape from their own family
problems. Its kind of like a dream effect because someone who does has problems can
imagine that the actor on TV is them and is therefore watched for escapism.
5. Oppositional
This is where the consumer reads and understands the meaning but
completely disagrees wit it and refuses to accept.
An example is: making gay marriage legal – some people read the text,
agree and accept it however, some people read the text and completely
disagreed because of their own views. An example of this would be the
storybook: In Our Mothers‟ House was banned because of complaints of
normalizing a lifestyle that some people disagree with.
Another example is: a song by a band called: the Monkees, the song is
called: “Pleasant Valley Sunday” which shows a typical suburban
neighborhood where everything is perfect yet the lyrics oppose this – saying
that nice home, yard and charcoal burning everywhere is not what it seems
– the lyrics challenge „normal‟ views on suburban life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYR012uXcVo&feature=PlayList&p=07A
AE87F1802ABB2&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=35
6. Audience Responses?
There are other types of audience responses, these are:
Participatory
Cultural Competence
Fan Culture
7. Participatory
This is were the audience is encouraged to interact with thing such as TV series,
books, magazines and Films.
They give their view on what they thought happened during the show/film/story
and what they think will happen next.
This shows that their audience is an „active audience.‟
This is huge on social networking sites such as:
Twitter
Facebook
The preferred reaction is that there will be direct interaction from the audience –
for example, at the end of Emmerdale they usually hash tag (#) a certain event
– the fans pick up on it and use that same has tag on twitter.
8. Facebook Case Study
Facebook is a very large media source – it has a lot of advice and help for the
service users, it also runs a blog that allows Facebook users to contact the
creators and ask for help or guidance.
It‟s used kind of as a personal blog where you can add friends, find friends
and interact with them.
It also enables hash-tagging due to it‟s partnership with Twitter – it also allows
people to upload their images from Instagram and a whole range of other
websitestoo.
https://dev.twitter.com/media/twitter-tv
Facebook allows users to follow celebrities and other people – with each post,
depending on if it‟s shared by a follower – can earn someone more followers.
Facebook for every phone is the largest followed page on Facebook:
http://www.insidefacebook.com/2013/10/01/top-25-facebook-pagesoctober-2013/
9. Instagram Case Study
Instagram allows people to take photos or find photos, add effects to them and then
publish them online – it‟s more commonly used as a phone app.
http://blog.instagram.com/
This site also allows you to follow people whose images appeal to you. I personally run an
Instagram account that‟s dedicated to sending out pictures of Nicolas Cage.
Some people have over 50,000,000 followers!
The top 5 most followed Instagramers are:
Instagram with: 53,113,741
Justinbieber with: 12,025,005
Kimkardashian with: 11,716,885
Badgalriri with: 10,744,409
Arianagrande with: 8,091,964
10. Cultural Competence
This is understanding the signs, symbols and language in a magazine.
Readers recognise these and interpret them – they create meanings.
For example: Every time a triangle crops up in media – on a magazine
cover, on the cover of an album etc. people automatically assume it‟s to
do with this new cult: Illuminate.
Language is the hardest symbol to understand – unless you‟re fluent in
more than one language – in which case, it‟s not so hard.
For example: Looking at Korean, it‟s hard for an English person to interpret
what the symbol means.
This is because it‟s in a series of shapes that we, as English people, don‟t
understand – making it pretty much impossible to read.
11. Cultural Competence
Producers aim for this reaction at all
times
(Consumers react by interacting with
the media)
This is a preferred reaction
This can come from any TV show such
as: Coronation Street or Hollyoaks
Or from any movie such as: Fantastic 4
or Nightmare on Elm Street.
12. Fan Culture
This is where the audience itself – actively takes part in the creation of media.
Fans take it upon themselves to write stories, „fan fics‟ or „fan fictions‟.
These are stories based on the ends of movies, TV shows and love. This is
created through the „art‟ of „shipping‟ – two celebrities in a franchise are
brought together in fan fictions for the benefit of the fandom.
This idea is HUGE!
Fan culture existed a very long time before the recent ones – but with the
invention of social networking – the idea of fandoms has become huge and
extremely productive!
An example of a place where much fan fiction is written and millions of
fandoms go to express their feelings, opinions, theories and ideas is Tumblr.
http://www.tumblr.com/about
13. Tumblr is one of the biggest places to go for submitting
fandom ideas – as we can see – Tumblr is one of the biggest
social networking sites to be used.
The layout is simple and the idea is that you have your own
personal blog – you reblog other peoples submissions that
you find interesting or funny and in return – you get followers.
14. Fan Culture
Another example for websites where fans
submit fan fictions is: Wattpad.
Wattpad is a website where aspiring authors
go to submit stories about certain TV shows,
Films or their own, original ideas.
It‟s simple to use and on average, people
spend over 3500+ minutes on it at one time!
Publishing fan fictions can lead to mainstream
success – 50 Shades of Grey actually started
out as a fan fiction based off of the Twilight
saga – look how popular that is now!
Some content may be removed due to
Copyright issues or because of adult content –
there is a LOT of adult content on both Tumblr
and Wattpad!
http://www.wattpad.com/about
15. Henry Jenkins
Henry Jenkins studies the boundary between the text and the
reader, the growth of fan culture and world-making.
World-making – “a fictional universe that will sustain franchise
development, one that is sufficiently detailed to enable many
different stories to emerge but coherent enough so that each
story feels like it fits with the others”
- A quote http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Jenkins
16. Fandom Examples:
Sherlockians (Sherlock TV Show)
Whovians (Doctor Who – TV Show)
SPN/Hunters (Supernatural TV Show)
Fannibals (Hannibal TV Show)
Potterheads (Harry Potter Films)
Gleeks (Glee – TV Show)
Teen Wolf (TV Show)
Avengers (Film)
Ringers (The Hobbit, Lord of the
Rings – Films)
Trekkies (Star Trek – TV show and
Film)
Cumberbabes (Benedict
Cumberbatch fandom)
Nerdfighters or D.F.T.B.A. (YouTubers
fandom)
Merlin (TV Series)
Directioners (1Direction fandom)
Tributes (The Hunger Games – Film)
Game of Thrones (TV Show)
The Walking Dead (TV Show)
Avatards (Avatar: Last Airbender – Film/TV
show)
17. „Ships‟
When two characters are
brought together by „love‟ to
create fan fictions:
Sherlock and John – Johnlock
(TV Series)
Dean Winchester and Castiel
– Destiel (Supernatural)
The Doctor and Sherlock –
DoctorWhoLock (Combined
fandom)
The Doctor, Sherlock, Sam
and Dean Winchester –
SuperWhoLock (Combined
Fandom)