Audience Theory

Uses and Gratifications:

The Uses and Gratifications theory suggests that people will go to the cinema because they hope to be either, informed, entertained, or they will go if they believe they will be able to identify with any issues in the target film. Topaz Spectre is an action/adventure superhero movie, which means that it is very unlikely that it will be informative at all, and there are no big issues addressed which people would be able to identify with, as superheroes don't exist, so it is mainly entertainment fuelled. Hopefully, when the audience watches our film, they will be entertained by it, and so they will have recieved gratification with what they have viewed, making the viewer active. This theory can be taken to a new level, by thinking it too far. For example, if I were to go and watch many more films, and become very reliable on the information supplied, it would take away my independance and make me less of an active view, and make me passive, meaning the Media is controlling what I believe in.

Most films are aimed at a passive audience, which means that whoever is watching the film doesn't really look in to a deeper meaning of the movie, and doesn't understand why certain decisions have been made for the trailer. If I were to go and watch a movie as a Media student I would watch it actively, as I have a better knowledge of film and would be looking in to why decisions were made to include certain shots and audio features. Another reason why the audience would be more passive, is because they wouldn't have much life experience from what is going on on screen. They may be able to empathise with Georgia Murphy, when she feels rejected from school, however they wouldn't know what it is like to develop a superpower. Hopefully, my film will inspire the audience that superheroes could actually exist, as it may give them some optimistic feelings towards these possibilities. This could link in to the Hypodermic Needle Theory, which suggests that what people see, they believe. I hope that our trailer could encourage the audience to look at life differently, in a place where superheroes and these kind of 'magical experiences' could exist.