Research On Movie Audiences In The Network Era

Marshall McLuhan once said that Media are the extensions of Man.The rise of network media produces great impact on the human-being both physically and psychologically.People's living and thinking style,as a result,have been remodeled. Statistic shows that instant messaging is the second internet usage motivation among the audiences,while entertainment is the first one,of which movie watching is a major part.Therefore researches on movie audiences in the network era are valuable for the development of movie and movie industry,and it will also make clear the changes of people's living and thinking style caused by the use of new technologies, which will be of some instructive value for any further researches on the subject of "Media and Men",one of the major aspects in the field of communication studies.The thesis will study the behavioral characteristics,aesthetic appreciation characteristics and psychological characteristics of movie audiences in the network era in the light of communication and arts psychology.It will answer mainly two questions: firstly,what is the audiences' movie watching pattern in the network era? To answer this question,it will take where and how the audience watch movies into consideration.This part is to discuss the impact of network towards audiences' life style.Secondly,what kind of psychological needs,including aesthetic and social ones can be inferred from those behavioral patterns? This part is to discuss the network's impact on the audiences' mentality.Thirdly,what do the Behavioral and psychological changes of the audiences mean to movies themselves,the movie culture and the movie industry?The thesis consists of six parts.The preface makes a brief introduction to the research background,the achievements made in the related academic area,the theme's coming into being,the creativeness of this research and the research methods adopted. The second chapter introduces the theoretical basis of this research,including the audience theory and the new media technology theory.The emphasis will be put on the uses and gratifications theory and media theories of Harold Innis,Marshall Mcluhan and Derrick de Kerckhove.Chapter three illustrates audiences' behavioral characteristics in the network era,like a brand new movie-watching fashion on one's own initiative and selfhood and their preference for network movies and spoof movies. The fourth chapter discusses the aesthetic psychology of the network movie audiences. It makes a comparison between network movie watching and the traditional way of movie watching and explains the impact of computer screens on audiences.It also analyzes the influence of film websites and new opinion leaders in film forums. Chapter five analyzes the social meanings of network movie watching,such as,it promotes the yearning for freedom among the audiences and dialogues between the elites and the grassroots.The last chapter is the conclusion.