Coursework Primary Text: Audience Theory (minus reception theory and hypodermic model)

Gerbner:

• The Gerbner Model looks at how and whether watching TV may influence ideas of what the every day world is like. It is possible that many people may be influenced by watching Made in Chelsea to think that the lifestyle which is portrayed is what every day life is like.

Uses and Gratifications:

• The uses and gratifications theory relates to why an audience might want to access a particular media text. Reasons why the target audience might want to access Made in Chelsea are: social interaction (it uses hashtags on the opening sequence to persuade the audience to take part in discussions about what they are watching online. It creates an online communitiy which will be favored by many, and allows people to bond over a shared interest), diversion (getting an insight into the way of life of upper class Londoners diverts the audience away from the troubles of their own daily life, which makes watching the programme attractive to them) and finally, personal identification (the audience may relate to the personality or life events of a characetr which would make watching the programme more attractive).

Moore:

• Moore is the idea that media texts can create an imaginary community. Made in Chelsea achieve this by using hashtags. These enable those that are watching the programme to discuss it via Twitter, and consequntly, an online "community" is made- the viewer feels like they are part of something, and it gives them a sense of belonging. It is not just Made In Chelsea which this appears in. Every TV show which uses a hashtag has the same effect, as do forums (e.g. the Student Room). In today's society, making these new communities is very important, because sense of community in the real life is being diminished in many places, particularly urbanised areas.

Morley:

• Moreley looks at the idea that different texts are interpreted in different ways by different people. Made in Chelsea is likely to be looked at in many different ways by the different people that are attracted to it. For some it is simply a reality TV show, and a chance to be "nosey" and look in on other people's lives. For others, it is likely to be viewed as more of a TV drama, where they follow the stories which are presented to them, and want to watch the next episode to see what happens next. For others, it is simply a chance to see a lifestyle which they aspire to have themselves, and it is used purely for diversion. For others, all of these factors may play a part in the interpretation.

Cultivation and Cumilation/Desensitisation:

• This is the idea that we become desensitised to what we see in the media. For example, on the news everyday there is a negative story, perhaps something along the lines of: "Today in _____, hundreds were killed". It has got to the point in our society where by this doesn't effect us, and we don't think too much about it. We have become desensitised to negative things that happen in our world. On a lower scale, the same is happening in reality televsion shows. Made In Chelsea desensitises us to a materialistic way of life, and so we see their life styles as normal, when perhaps they aren't. This relates to the idea of the media dumbing down. Furthemore, the actions which are portrayed on the TV show such as a male cheating on their girlfriend, which go unpunished, infleunce others into thinking they are right. This idea was looked into in much detail but with violence in TV shows influencing children between the ages of 12 and 17. They idea of woman being mistreated in soaps was also researched, and this relates closely to what has happened in the most recent series of Made in Chelsea.