Uses and gratifications - Blulmer and Katz

The uses and gratifications theory focuses on the notion that audiences are not passive and actively seek out media outlets and products which meet their needs and there is often social interaction. This theory does not focus on the content of specific media products but the reason why the audience would choose to interact with a particular media. The theory assumes that the audience is spoiled for choice of alternate choices to meet their needs.

Blulmer and Katz are theorists that believe that there are just as many reasons to use the media as there are media consumers. The concept is an optimistic view of the media and the effect it has on today's society, it shows that media users have the power to read what they wish to read. For example, on Facebook if I see a post appear on my news feed which I did not want to see I can remove it from my news feed and complete a one question survey to say I do not wish to see posts like this appear. Uses and gratifications ignores the fact that media is an ever growing, dominating presence in our everyday lives with organisations even like schools now becoming a brand. The theory does not define how big the power of the media is.

An example of Blulmer and Katz's theory can be seen in the music we choose to listen to; whether it be because of the mood we are in or simply because we like the artist. The promotions surrounding artists and their music can make a large impact on who listens to and watches the final product, for instance The XX. The XX are an English Indie pop band and their album cover for 'Coexist' became an image which was seen by many Tumblr users as being cool. Below is an image of the original album cover.

Many edits began to appear of different images behind the X 

Due to these images appearing in many places a larger number of people became interested and decided to listen to The XX's music.

Music Video Analysis - Justin Bieber Where Are U Now

Justin Bieber's newest music video sees Justin teaming up with Skrillex and Diplo to create a video which has 'artistic flair'. It is a concept music video. Justin invited his fans to draw on each individual frame of his music video to create the vibrant video. The drawings are of everything and anything, some contain intertextuality as fans have chosen to draw characters such as Lisa Simpson from popular American show The Simpsons. The drawings do not have great meaning as a whole, they have been used more for the effect as each drawing is shown for an extremely small amount of time, as well as the video drawing attention because of the process behind it, it also sends a message to his fans. In recent news there have been many reports of Bieber being irresponsible and loosing respect of many fans, allowing fans to be involved within the creation of this video makes them feel like a part of the process and makes connections with when Justin Bieber used to be far more involved with his Beliebers. 

A large variety of shots are used within the video including close ups of Justin, long shots to show off his dance moves and even wide shots of the studio space whilst the frames were being drawn onto. Certain sections of the video do not show drawing on any frames, this allows the audience to concentrate of the lyrics and view Justin Singing them. This variation makes the video feel very controlled and makes the moments where the cartoon drawing and phrases are shown to be even more eye catching. 

If you pause the video at any point you are greeted by a different sketch which makes the video almost interactive for the viewers. Below are  some examples of freeze frames from the video.

Below is the wall which the frames of the video were pinned up on in order to be drawn onto. 

The genre of Where Are U Now is EDM (electronic dance music) which is a genre that is often played in clubs. This has influenced the video, the general lighting is quite dark like a nightclub along with the vibrant drawings and Justin is dancing in a style that suggests he is also listening to the EDM song. Richard Dyer's star image theory applies heavily to this video as Justin is the main focus of the video. Julia Kristeva's intertextuality theory also fits this music video as some of the drawings make reference to popular pop culture references such as celebrities, artists and television shows. This video still has a rather rebellious edge to it as it gives the impression that he video has not been censored however this was probably an intentional message, one of the drawings evens reads 'bush did 911' which is a very bold claim which could ultimately get someone into trouble. It also adds to the meaning of America having freedom of speech.