Modern audience theories...
Gauntlett Theory.
The British sociologist and media theorist originally focused on contemporary media audiences, however he has moved more towards more everyday sharing of media. He has looked at its role in identity and expression. He stated that identity today is far more transferable and changeable than ever. He states clearly about consumers watching what they want to, the 'pick and mix' from certain products of what hey actually want to watch. Gauntlett goes on to make statements about how the representation of women has changed over time, he says that 30 years ago, popular culture was a negative spiral that threatened to go back into previous traditional stereotypes. However, mass media has changed massively since then. Gender stereotypes have been significantly challenged by strong female characters changing the representation of the gender as a whole, making it far more diverse. The whole 'tough' and 'strong' stereotype of the male gender has also been challenged by certain characters showing different characteristics. Through being media students, we make our own short films (producing) as well as watching and taking in a number of media outlets (consuming), we become a prosumer, making it difficult to follow general stereotypes and makes typical media consumption unclear.
Jenkins Theory.
Henry Jenkins' theory suggests that a unique selling point is created through certain genres appearing to break the rules. This involves hybridisation, which is used to describe a type of media convergence where new media is brought out containing parts of old media.
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