Every time we encounter a model that tries to assess the relationship between the Audience and a Media Text we can ask one simple question.
Does the model view the audience as ACTIVE or PASSIVE?
We always see the audience as a 'mass'. Despite the fact that we can clasify the audience into groups, we can't analyse audience members individually.
There are many theories which we will look at that examine the relationship audiences have with a text. These theories consider the audience in two ways Passive or Active.
This does NOT mean that there are two different types of audience -
a Passive audience and an Active audience.
It simply means that we must decide how we view the audience based on the theories and decide which we find most convincing.
But what do we mean by Passive & Active? Let's look at some of the words we associate with each one...
Passive
- Easily manipulated
- Compliant
- Weak willed
- Followers
- Controlled
- Dominated
We may think of metaphors such as: Zombies, Sheep, Pushover
Active
- Engaged
- Involved
- Responsive
- In Control
- Free willed
Basically having the ability to choose and to have our own mind when it comes to interpreting the world around us.
Before we look at any audience theories look at the three statements and decide which is most true for you...
Have you got evidence to suggest that you are right?
Can you disprove the other two?
