Pharrell Williams

Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications Theory states that audiences are active in their media consumption and we choose media to fulfil one or more of the following: Personal Identity, Information/ Education, Entertainment and/or Social Interaction.
Can you match up the definitions with the uses?

Use

Definition

  • Personal Identity
  • Information/Education
  • Entertainment
  • Social Interaction
  • Seeing the person as someone to identify with, a role model, someone with similar values as your own or someone to aspire to be like.
  • A way to acquire more information about a topic, a way to seek knowledge or understand something more.
  • Media to be enjoyed, maybe as escapism, allowing you to forget about your worries or the mundanity of your own life for a short time.
  • Providing a source of conversation between people, allowing people to socialise whilst discussing a media text.

When watching Pharrell Williams’ ‘Freedom’ video, which of the ‘Uses and Gratifications’ above do you think the video fulfils? Might different people gain different gratifications? What kind of people would have a specific use or gratification? Why?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlY90lG_Fuw&start_radio=1&list=RDLlY90lG_Fuw