What I did on - 28/03/2012 an 29/03/2012

Yesterday i found out that the 1970s media theorists Blumler and Katz presented their model of audiences uses and gratifications, declaring that their are 5 main reasons why the audiences consume media text:

1. To be informed and to be educated.
2. In order to identify with character and situation.
3. To be entertained.
4. To enable themselves to socially interact with others ( by watching, listening or reading together or through discussion of what they'd seen, read or heard).
5. To escape from their daily troubles and woes.

For the 1st one I believe some people would want to watch shows that they could get knowledge from e.g 'Secret Diary of a call girl' which most people would watch to see how a 'call girls' life is and if she is living a normal life or struggling to hide her identity. So some people would want to know what the medias perception of a 'call girl' is. Most people watch documentaries for the same reason; to understand the truth behind history the present and the future and what why and how it happened or it will happened; its mainly all for self knowledge and instead of reading from a book people watch it for a better understanding, some people get engaged by images/pictures.

For the 2nd one I believe that people who are not as socially active or do not have a wide range of friends would decide to watch shows with a range of characters in e.g ' Friends' and build a relationship of understanding the characters although they would not actually have met the characters. They would  want to identify the situations and imagine themselves in it or be able to relate to it in one way or another. Some people want to see other peoples life's, they would be nosy people if they looked at their own next door neighbors life or their friends life however when its an act on T.V and you want to compare your life or see other peoples life then why not watch it? its on T.V.

The 3rd theory is 'to be entertained' most people who watch sitcoms would watch it because they would be able to make fun of the characters or have a laugh about the stereotypes of the characters or the race of the characters without being racist themselves. For example in 'The Big Bang Theory' Pennie is blonde so its stereotyped therefore the audience would feel the privilege  of being a much more dominant person compared to her. Penny's a waitress and a aspiring actress meaning she is 'working class' that would mean the audience would feel superior; they would be entertained by her words as she is seen as 'blonde' they would automatically find her stupid and everything she says would make them laugh - at her stupidity.

The third theory is very common; most people would watch shows to either have a really good lengthy conversation or be able to socially interact with their friends without awkwardness. They would like to have a similarity withe her/his friends; they would be become closer due to this. similarities bring people closer especially when you can relate to each other and share your opinions on the show/sitcom/movie with your friends

The last theory is that they watch it to relieve stress, i agree. i watch stand up comedies and sitcoms to get rid of the problems I face at school; if Im having an exam its my way of escaping.Many people who go to work, get bossed around by their boss, they are stressed out a lot and upset then they watch entertaining shows to make them laugh and make their life look easier compare to others. They would be able to feel less unhappy about their own situations.