Uses and gratifications theory

The uses and gratifications theory helps us understand how media affects people. It states that people use media for what they need rather than the media controlling people and their needs; which makes it quite opposite to the magic bullet theory. This theory has a user/audience centred approach. There are several needs and gratification for people which are focused into five categories;

·         Cognitive needs

·         Affective needs

·         Personal integrative needs

·         Social integrative needs

·         Tension free needs

Cognitive needs

This is that people use media for acquiring knowledge and information, however only certain people have these needs, these people are the ones who have intellectual needs to acquire knowledge. In order to gain this knowledge many audiences may watch documentaries, Malik Bendjelloul’s 2012 documentary Searching For Sugar Man. It hard to apply my film towards people’s cognitive needs because it will not be delivering them information or knowledge; however it could make people think about their views and judgements on the idea of suicide and teenage depression.

Affective needs

This need includes all types of emotions, pleasure and other moods of a person. People use media, like film, to satisfy their emotional needs. Many people to fulfil this need will watch romantic dramas such as Nick Cassavetes’s 2004 film The Notebook, based on Nicholas Sparks’s novel. Films in this genre create emotions in an audience because they can empathise with the characters and the narrative; especially with the narrative revolving about an illness that affects many people. The affective need of the audience will be strongly met with the theme of the loss of a loved one which is something most audiences would be able to empathise with, especially with the target audience being the same age as the protagonist this will mean empathy will be easier to create. Also with the theme of depression and suicide in the film it is a very sensitive subject for some audiences therefore instilling an emotive response in an audience.

Personal integrative needs

This is that people use media to heighten their self-esteem, status, gain credibility and stabilize. Therefore meaning that people watch films and assure themselves that they have status in society, thus meaning that they change their life style and media helps them do it. This is mainly done with product placements seen in Sam Mendes’s 2012 James Bond Skyfall. People will see the products that James Bond uses and wears and with his high social status people will go out and buy the products thus intern raising their self-esteem. In my film I could raise their self-esteem because the audience could place themselves about that of the protagonist because they will feel that they are better than her because they will not be dealing with the problems that she will be.

Social integrative needs

This encompasses the need to socialise within society. In modern society people do not seem to have social gatherings, instead they are using media such as social network sites, such as facebook, twitter, e.t.c. to satisfy that need. Also it gives people common topics for discussion. Film such as Stephanie Meyer’s series Twilight directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight), Chris Weitz (New Moon), David Slade (Eclipse), Bill Condon (Breaking Dawn part 1/part 2), thrive of this need to make their films popular with their teenage target audience. Twilight fans used social network sites such as twitter to vent their obsession with the film series which later made them be called Twihards. However this is only really popular with many blockbuster films because of the budget and vast popularity of the film, this effect will be hard to replicate with my art house film because with only having a small target audience it is hard to generate a cult following, especially with the film only be an individual short film not a series.

Tension free needs

People use the media in terms of escapism and to relieve from tension. This could be applied to many surreal films, because of the difference between the real world and the world that is portrayed in the surreal film people engross themselves in the film and forget about their own life and worries. This could be applied to many of Tim Burton’s film especially that of his adaption Alice In Wonderland, which even explores this theme in the film itself, with her going to wonderland to escape from her problems in the real world. I could use this in my film because the audience will get engrossed with the worries of her life and with the surrealistic effect of the film and forget about their own life for the short while of watching the film.