Audiences;

 

Theory?	Definition
Cultivation	As audiences watch more and more film and television, they gradually develop certain views about the world, some of which are ‘false’.
Desensitization	If we are exposed to too much violence, or too much blatant sexuality, we will become less sensitive to real life violence and sexual behaviours.
Copycat	This approach suggests that people will imitate what they see in the media – e.g. if young people watch Natural Born Killers, they will go out on a killing spree. This is not so much a ‘theory’ as an assumption perpetuated by the Press!
Reception analysis	Audiences are seen as active producers of meaning, rather than as merely consumers of media meanings. They make sense of media texts according to their social position (in terms of their identity) – and their gender, race, class etc.
Uses and Gratifications	Instead of researching what the media do to the audience, this approach studies what the audience does with the media. This approach also takes account of people’s personalities and personal needs.
Hypodermic Syringe	Just like the syringe used to inject a drug into a body, the media ‘injects’ messages directly into the minds of the viewers/listeners/readers; and they can be as addictive as heroin ...

This box method has really helped me understand the different types of theory's for audiences in a clear and memorable way. I think that all of the theories above are true and agree with the impact they can have on society, as my short film will contain violence i believe the 'Desensitization' theory fits in to it. This is because there is a murder but to an outside audience watching this it wouldn't seem like a big deal as they are so used to seeing murders in films that it has become a common thing. 

Audience pete buckingham what people go to see from Elaine Humpleby