uses and gratifications week 5 media diary

Media diary week 5- uses and gratifications week

 

The first text that I am going to apply uses and gratifications to is BBC news. I watch this every night before bed to bore me to sleep. The first U & G that applies to this text is information. This is because the news keeps people updated on what’s going on in the world/ current affairs. It informs people of information such as the sport news, deaths, murders, latest tech and politics. The main information source is the BBC news presenter. He commentates and tells us what’s going on in the world/ country today. He physically tells people what is going on in case people feel that it important, keeping people up to date 24/ 7.

 

The camera angle is commonly a med-shot, only displaying from the torso upwards. The shot is also taken from directly in front of the camera so that it looks like the presenter is perched on a chair, formally speaking to you directly. This makes it appear informative because more emphasis is going on what the presenter is saying rather than what’s going on in the background. It draws direct attention to what the presenter is talking about. The formality and the use of the BBC voice also make it appear like an informative text because the voice is known as ‘clear’ and ‘standard English’ meaning that people can find it easier to comprehend the text- enhancing the informative aspects.

 

Another uses and gratifications that could be applied to BBC news is entertainment. This is because there is footage, images and other media forms related to the topic spoken about. As it isn’t just a person speaking all day and night, the images add to the excitement of the news topics because they add imagery and colour, enabling people to imagine the story as well as hear about it. It can be used to illustrate the news topics, like images in children’s books, it’s used to entice and entertain/ engage people.

 

Using the images and footage, the news can create a form of escapism from reality. This is because they are able to imagine the situations occurring in the outside world, away from their lives. Some of the news stories are so bad that people get pulled into them and therefore escape from their reality and realise how hard the outside world can be. This can make people feel grateful for the stressful life that they live, as there is a lot worse going on externally. It takes people’s minds off the stressed in their own lives and engages people in what tragedies are occurring in others.

 

Sometimes co/ guest stars come onto the news to talk about certain topics. This can provide entertainment because people get to witness the conversation and peoples thoughts/ feelings about something and engage with that. People feel that listening to the conversation satisfies them as they feel that they’re involved. This provides entertainment through the characters on the news as they get satisfaction from listening to people speak about a certain subject, possibly a subject the consumer enjoys.

 

The final uses and gratifications that apply to this text is social interaction. This is because people feel as though they can talk about current affairs such as bombings and their outtake on the matter with others. Information displayed on the news is often very erratic and large scale so it hits people hard when the listen to it. This shocks people into speaking about it to others because they’ve heard some big tragedy on the news. Word of mouth occurs and the issues on the news become world-known through the hash tag system on social networking sites, for example.

 

The second text that I am going to apply the uses and gratifications to is Shakespeare’s play ‘Titus Andronicus’. The first U & G that applies to this is entertainment. This is because the purpose of a play is to entertain an audience. The play uses characters to provide the entertainment in his play. It is about murder, rape and eating human beings. This is entertaining because it creates tension amongst the audience about how and why people are getting murdered and the numerous amounts of crimes and happenings creates excitement too.

 

The writing in the text produces excitement because of the use of imagery. The play creates imagery surrounding death by using very graphic language to describe the on-goings. The words are persistent and intellectual, some even providing a clever use of irony. Those who are into dramatic plays will find this exciting because it is over dramatic as the events at occur in the play are unlikely to happen like that in reality. As mentioned previously, it creates a sense of escapism for the audience because it diverts them from what’s happening in their lives to what’s going on in the play. The imagery enhances this.

 

Another U & G that applies to the text is social interaction. This is because it is dramatic and eccentric, meaning that people are likely to talk about it with others after reading the play. The shocking use of language and negative, goory imagery is likely to influence the audience and cause them to discuss their experience with peers or others who’ve experienced it. Again, the writing in the text causes this.

 

In some cases, people may also take personal identity from the text. This is because they can relate to the character(s) in the play. They may even agree on people’s values and ideas in the play, meaning that they support the actions of the character in question. However, as it is a Shakespearian play, it is unlikely that many people can take personal identity from the text. Also, due to the nature of the play it is unlikely because of the blood and gore, maybe even the anthropophagy used. Not many humans eat other humans; however, those who have or wish that they could do so would possibly take personal identity from this text. Even a rape victim who wants revenge could relate to the character Lavinia.