G321 - How Films Attract Audiences

Film openings are used to attract audiences in two different ways. The first of these is through spoon-feeding of information via the Hypodermic Needle Theory which prevents the audience from having to concentrate on what is being shown to them. When Hypodermic Needle Theory is used, the audience are likely to be attracted through intriguing images extravagant yet simple narratives. The second potential method is through use of the Uses and Gratifications Theory which relies upon the participation of the audience to be understood and accepted. When Uses and Gratifications Theory is applied, the audience are more likely to be attracted by more diverse and harder to understand narratives which require attention. The chosen method used by specific film openings will help to establish genre and give the audience an idea of what to expect from the film.

Child's Play 3 (1991) - Horror/ Mystery/ Thriller
Child's Play 3 has been accused of adopting the Hypodermic Needle Theory and it was suggested by many UK tabloid newspapers that the film itself was what caused 10-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson to torture and murder 2-year-old James Bulger. However, there has never been any evidential proof towards either boy ever seeing the film. Despite this, it is clear to see how it could be interpreted that Child's Play 3 adopts the Hypodermic Needle Theory due to the highly graphic images used to introduce the film which appear to be shown too early in a film applying the Uses and Gratifications Theory.



Up (2009) - Animation/ Adventure/ Comedy
Up is an example of a film which employs the Uses and Gratifications theory to cause the audience to understand the differences between the character's families/ upbringings and how this has affected their personalities. This allows the audience to feel emotionally attached to the characters, causing them to feel sympathetic towards the protagonist. This is important as without this understanding the film's narrative would be significantly lacking in meaning.



This information will help me when it comes to creating my own film as it will allow me to concentrate on whether I want my audience to focus on the narrative of the film and take something helpful away from it, rather than being drip-fed information. Further to this it highlights the dangers of Hypodermic Needle Theory, and therefore has put me off the idea of adopting this approach in terms of my own film.