Uses and gratification theory + Markus Rashford

Question 1

What is the The Uses and Gratifications Theory

Answer 1

The theory suggests reasons why an audience responds to different media text

Question 2

Name 4 reasons as part of this theory

Answer 2

(1) Entertainment and diversion
(2) Information and education
(3) Social interaction
(4) Personal identity

Question 3

Describe reason 1 “Entertainment and diversion” mean

Answer 3

Audiences consume media texts to escape from their everyday lives. They choose entertaining texts that allow them to divert their attention from the real world, perhaps by watching a fantasy film like Harry Potter or reading a fashion magazine like Vogue.

Question 4

Describe reason 2 - Information and education

Answer 4

.Some media texts are consumed by audiences when they want to be informed and educated. Newspapers, news programmes and current affairs documentaries educate and inform. They help the audience to find out what is happening in the world.

Question 5

Describe reason 3 Social interaction

Answer 5

some media texts like im a celebrity get me out of here or the x factor provoke interaction with the audience. This sparks an immediate reaction from the audience. This gets the crowd hyped

Question 6

Describe reason 4 - personal identity

Answer 6

Relate to other people’s experiences and identify and empathise with others - soap operators, goggle box and talent shows are good exampels of this

Question 7

who is marcus rashford

Answer 7

footballer for Man U & England - given MBE
has a working class background - youngest of 5 children raised by a single mother , grew up in council estate
has a large social media following on FB INSTA , TWITTER e.g 16 mil on Instagram

Question 8

how does rashford social media portray his career of football

Answer 8

presents his career in a positive way as it is his occupation & what he is known for
rashford tagged in content that presents him as a highly skilled footballer with an illustrious career - he is distinguished & successful at what he does

Question 9

how does rashford social media portray masculinity

Answer 9

subverts typical representations of high-profile male footballers, who are associated with arrogance and toxic masculinity
instead presents men as emotional, caring and passionate

Question 10

how does rashfords social media portray women

Answer 10

women shown in positions of power and success

many of his posts honour his own mother, who is presented as a role model he personally admires, possibly encouraging a young audience to do the same - uses visual language of heart emojis to further convey this
he has a clear interest in the England Women’s football team, the Lionesses, and has frequently posted about their recent successes with a supportive tone, celebrating them
however posts dominated by male focused content, perhaps reflecting the stereotype that football is a ‘male dominated’ sport

Question 11

how does Rashford’s social media portray him as a role model?

Answer 11

images + tweets of children reading his book ‘You Are A Champion’ connote he is an educated role model for young children - he cares about the youthful population and the future - subverts stereotype that footballers are uneducated as he has written an acclaimed book
promotion of his book club + his book present him as a teacher/educator - one of the first things an audience encounter on his website - suggests he puts issues important to him first

Question 12

how does Rashford’s social media portray him as popular/successful?

Answer 12

retweets + inclusion of celebrities, some that have aided his campaign, some who are role models to him, represents him as successful, popular, and supported by other well known figures
mention of him receiving an MBE (eg. on his website) connote his success, his contributions to the country have been formally recognised by the UK
often retweets/reposts messages or images he has been tagged in - offers audience interaction, they can engage with him personally
direct addresses his audience to engage them, includes ‘calls to action’, especially around his campaigns, to encourage his audience to get involved

Question 13

how does Rashford’s social media portray him as charitable?

Answer 13

promotion of ‘The Trussell Trust’ signifies he is caring and eager to give back and support those in poverty - this NGO that is working to end food poverty and hunger in the UK, they provide food banks
all his social media platforms offer informative and educational content so his audience can learn about social issues and find the support they may need eg. retweets posts by Tesco

Question 14

how does Rashford’s social media portray the working class?

Answer 14

represents specific communities and working class areas, such as in Manchester, where Rashford himself was raised - shows he hasn’t forgotten his roots despite his success and fame
posts highlight a number of working class areas, issues and organisations - reflects his own background growing up in poverty and his family struggling financially

Question 15

how does Rashford’s social media portray his political ideas?

Answer 15

Rashford uses his online platforms to raise awareness of his campaigns and voice his opinion on political issues in an attempt to bring change - in 2020 he convinced the UK government to provide food vouchers for 1.3 million children in summer holidays
he is proudly political -clear interest in campaigning for social improvements, particularly issues he personally relates to
famously posted the letter he wrote to the Conservative government demanding they do more to end child poverty and hunger

Question 16

how does Rashford’s social media portray his nationality?

Answer 16

A
very patriotic
- visual language of the English flag, symbols, references and colours create a patriotic representation that links him to the country, possibly because he is a very patriotic person
- however, this emphasis on his English nationality could also be an attempt to counteract the racist attitudes many football fans have towards black players - they don’t consider Rashford British because he is black - 1/3 of all online massages to Rashford are negative

Question 17

how does Rashford’s social media portray his race?

Answer 17

A
challenge negative stereotypes of black men
- Rashford presents black men as educated, successful, influential and socially engaged - this contrasts many stereotypical representations of black men by other media, such as being uneducated and delinquent
- his own experiences of online hate and racism, and his own ethnic background, may influence the way he represents race + racial issues - they are personally important to him

Question 18

what is the oppositional reading of Rashford’s social media?

Answer 18

he is ‘virtue signalling’ - Rashford doesn’t actually care about the issues he is promoting and is solely doing it to seem righteous and gain attention
racist attitudes - 1/3 of all online massages to Rashford are negative, especially after the Euro 2020 final in which he missed a penalty causing him to receive a lot of racist abuse on social media
he wrote ‘You Are A Champion’ to make money, not because he wants to support and educate young children

Question 19

what is the preferred reading of Rashford’s social media?

Answer 19

he is interested in the issues he promotes on all his social media platforms and genuinely wants to support struggling communities
he is role model for young children, education is important to him

Question 20

who is the target audience for Rashford’s social media, in terms of class?

Answer 20

working class, he focuses on many working class issues and has a working class background himself, which an audience can relate to, simplistic verbal language used could suggest a lower educated audience

Question 21

who is the target audience for Rashford’s social media, in terms of age?

Answer 21

young, 15-32, frequently used visual language of emojis and simplistic verbal language, focus on children and education - also targets families (parents), many retweets of children reading that parents have tagged Rashford in, possibly an 28-45 audience - posts much more family-friendly than other male footballers

Question 22

Q
who is the target audience for Rashford’s social media, in terms of gender?

Answer 22

G - mostly male, focus on male issues and celebrities - attracts an audience who are interested in football, which is a predominately male dominated sport

Question 23

who are the psychographics for Rashford’s social media?

Answer 23

football fans, especially Manchester United supporters
parents who are interested in the work Rashford does around his Book Club and education
aspireres, mainstreamers - he is presented as a role model for young children, is a high-profile footballer who plays for a well known football club

Question 24

how is Rashford’s website different to his other social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)?

Answer 24

website offers very little interactive content, even asks the audience ‘please don’t send fan mail!’ - suggests website is used for information around his campaigns and serious issues, which are more important than his fame, not for fun interaction

Question 25

is Rashford’s social media a successful platform?

Answer 25

he has a large number of followers on all of his social media accounts - he reaches a large audience
impact Rashford has is clearly immense - he wrote to the Conservative government demanding they supply over 1.3 million children with food vouchers over the summer holidays in 2020, in which he was successful
Rashford ran a campaign that raised over £20 million, which was made possible by his social media posts imploring his audience to donate and bring change
uses his social media to promote issues which affect a large amount of the UK’s population