Uses and Gratification!

First Dates 

First Dates is a series shown on Channel 4 every Thursday at 10pm. It follows people as they go on blind dates set up by Fred the restaurant owner. Some go well resulting in relationships and some go catastrophically wrong resulting in a very awkward meal together. Although this is not the most intellectually challenging or action packed programme it includes many of the Uses and Gratification model causing it to attract a large audience. 

First Dates uses a combination of Escapism/Entertainment, Personal Identity and Social Interaction in order to appeal to its audience of mainly mainstreamers. It is very entertaining using humour throughout mainly through the conversations between the two 'singletons'. Each episode they manage to create an awkward atmosphere no matter how well the dates are going. They do this by cutting there music so the silence between the two is emphasised, this makes the audience laugh because of how awkward it is. They also crop images, zooming in on peoples faces, really highlighting their facial expressions in response to something the other person has said. This also makes the audience laugh and sympathise with the dater. The fact that they provide us with information about each dater at the beginning (age, hometown...) also helps the audience to create a bond with them, allowing them to feel more invested in there relationship, willing them to do well. This point also relates to personal identity because it also allows you to relate to the people on it. An average episode contains about 6 pairs of data, with a huge range of different personalities and styles. By using such a range of people it is very likely that you will find something in common with at least one of them. First Dates is a great programme to watch with other people, and discuss how comparable you think they are. There is also a hashtag present throughout the programme encouraging you to interact on social media discussing the programme with other audience members. The programme itself also has its own twitter and Facebook page which is active throughout each episode, often replying to messages which makes the audience feel more involved in the show. 

Simpsons Hit and Run

Simpsons Hit and Run is was a very popular playstation game during the mid 2000's. It allows you to drive around Springfield completing challenges as all the different Simpsons characters, high jacking different vehicles and avoiding the police. As you progressed through the game, more cars and more characters became available to use. 

This game mainly uses Escapism/Entertainment in order to appeal to its audience. The non-realistic cartoon images allow the gamer to escape to a world that they know doesn't exist yet they can still fully immerse themselves in that world. This is because although thing such as 'Duff beer' and the 'Itchy and Scratchy' show don't actually exist in the real world, they are realistic within the Simpsons world. The controllers also helped the realistic feel of the game. Whenever you drive over a rough surface the controller vibrates as if to mimic the feeling of actually being in the car. The family life in the game is also fairly realistic illustrating the stereotypical family of two parents and a son and a daughter. This makes it more familiar to the audience attracting a mainstream audience, specifically teenagers with an interest in the Simpsons and gaming.