Wednesday, 26 March 2014

Evaluation: Uses and Gratifications & The Male Gaze

Our media film makes use of the Uses and Gratification Theory laid down by Blumler and Katz in the early 1970s. This theory states that there are five reasons why audiences consume media products – to be informed and educated, to identify with characters and situations, to be entertained, to be able to discuss the film in a social environment and to escape from everyday life. Three of these can easily be applied to our film, and potentially a fourth. The one that cannot be applied to our film is to be informed and educated, as our film was not made for educational purposes.
The primary focus of our film is to entertain; it’s an action film, so is not designed to educate, but just for the audience to find solace and entertainment. Another of the reasons for which audiences could watch our film is escapism. This is probably the second most prominent of the reasons, as audiences would watch our film to immerse themselves in a world that is distant from their own to forget their problems. The other obvious reason why people may watch our film is so that they can identify with characters. We like to think that our characters are three-dimensional and have vices and virtues that audiences could relate to. The final reason that could potentially be applied to our film is to be able to discuss the film in a social environment. This would probably be the case more for a big budget film, but we establish several enigmas in our film that could prompt discussion.

Another theory of audience that can be applied to our film is the male gaze theory. This states that films are from a male perspective and therefore objectify women. We cast a female role in our film to entice a larger male audience, however she does not have a speaking part in it, leading to the conclusion that she is solely there for the satisfaction of male viewers. The plot never explores her story in much detail, so she is left as a two-dimensional character. The film as a whole appeals to a male audience, as it is high in action and thrills, features that a stereotypicaly male audience would enjoy.