Audience Theory - Blumler and Katz

Blumler and Katz theory talks about the use and gratification within an audience. They devised 4 needs of the theory - surveillance, personal identity, personal relationships and diversion. The underlying idea behind the model is that people are motivated by a desire to fulfil, or gratify certain needs. So rather than asking how the media uses us, the model asks how we use the media. 

Image Essay: Beyonce - Pretty Hurts

Within the music video 'Pretty Hurts' by Beyoncé, the surveillance aspect of the theory doesn't necessarily apply - due to the fact that this idea usually tells an audience what has been going on in the lives of celebrities. It focuses more upon news and current affairs - not products.

Personal Identity explains how being a subject of the media allows us to confirm the identity and positioning of ourselves within society. The use of the media for forming personal identity can be seen in Beyoncé’s music video - as she is a role model who inspires late teens and young adults globally to not be caught up in the expectations that society has on women’s appearance. Through the use of the narrative, the story allows us to associate and relate to the product directly, making us feel gratified. This is because Beyoncé brings to life the reality of what beauty really looks like: ugly. As distorted body image and mental health is a common issue amongst teenagers, the product appeals to a wide audience, as they can relate to it – making them identify with the video.

Blumler and Katz state that as an audience, we form a relationship with the media and also use the media to form a relationship with others. Beyoncé is known worldwide as an inspiration to all from her talent to her appearance. Therefore, as she is aware of this, through her media texts she promotes the relationships she has with her fans, in order to appeal to them. Furthermore, through the characters and the narratives in her videos – it helps us understand social issues and issues we have encountered to help us deal with emotional times. Consequently, as she focused Pretty Hurts upon such a big issue in society, many people could emotionally connect with the pain she portrays – forming a companionship with the video.

The idea of diversion is that as an audience, we watch music videos and films to take our minds off everyday life. So when we want to distract ourselves from the problems we are experiencing, we disconnect from the world through the media. As Beyoncé has consecutive hit singles, she offers a vast amount of media texts for her fans to consume – making it easy for an audience to disconnect from their reality to her world.

To conclude, it is evident that within Beyoncé’s music video ‘Pretty Hurts’ Blumler and Katz’s uses and gratification theory can be applied – due to the fact it conforms to three of the four main ideas; personal identity, personal relationships and diversion.