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Cinema was only discovered early in the 1900's, which means it hasn't actually been around that long. But it took the world by storm. It was a revolution. Film companies could make these representations of reality to entertain people in an innovative way. Cinema was rapidly developed, giving us what we have today. However, in the beginning, it was seen as a weapon.
Many people were skeptical about media, and still are today. The hypodermic theory is a common belief. This is the idea that the audience of media texts passively absorb all of the information fed to them; therefore they consume all of the information. This has lead people to the idea that if people watch violent films, they will become violent; if people play violent games, they will become violent; if people watch films with mentally unstable characters, they could follow in the footsteps of the character.
We disagree with this idea. Our film is a psychological thriller which in turn means there are twists in the plot and distressing scenes because of the psychological issues our character has. There is also the violent father character who has made his daughter this way. But through our audience research we've recognised that people don't necessarily watch violent, action or scary films etc because they idolise the people in them - it's for the rush people get from the thrilling atmosphere. Our first questionnaire also showed that people would prefer to see things from a victims point of view which shows they want their connection to be with the victim so they can empathise and understand. I don't believe that because computer games and films are more violent than they used to be, that people are any more violent - anger is released through playing the games and the world used to be much more violent. It was the norm to have swords and for men to beat their wives and also punishments were much more brutal. Violent games and films are tame in comparison.
We specifically chose our audience to fit the uses and gratifications of our film. Our film has a very tense atmosphere which means there are scenes which would make the audience 'jump'. Because of these, people within the demographic we chose tend to watch thriller films as a group. Thrillers are watched in a group so that the audience can share the experience, feel the fear together and support each other. The hypodermic model tends to suggest that media texts are consumed alone, without thought or intelligence. However our film raises many social issues that people have opinions on, they don't just consume the ideas, they think about them and relate to them. This also proves the two-step flow theory. The audience watch the films, and then discuss them, and if they enjoyed them, they will encourage other people to watch them. There needs to be a unique, surprising depth to films to make people talk about them. Hense why we used the psychological side to our film, the idea of an unstable mind will interest the audience and take their thoughts to a new level.
Award ceremonies also boost the idea of the two-step flow. They give the film recognition and people think people liked the film so much it got awards, therefore they will think it's good too.
