Exam Question 8 Gratifications

The Blumler and Katz theory suggests that people use the media to satisfy their needs. They managed to narrow it down to four key main ideas:

• Escapism from everyday life
• Surveillance and information
• Personal relationships
• Personal identity

The LEGO movie does very well at the escapism aspect of the theory. The LEGO movie is an action/thriller genre movie, the LEGO explosions and very cleverly animated fight scenes create a tense atmosphere. The atmosphere helps to divert people from the worries of everyday life and focus on the scenes happening in front of them.

The personal relationships are dealt with very efficiently within the LEGO movie. The viewer can relate to Emmet well as he is the nobody and humans naturally tend to be pessimistic and criticize themselves a lot harsher than other people. The average viewer will relate to the small guy or the 'underdog' this makes the audience take a shine to Emmet, which makes him such a great main character. The same goes for Lord Business, he is portrayed as the antagonist. In the movie he releases the Kragle which is the super glue that Lord Business plans on gluing the entire city together and make sure no one can change the way that the city is. He wants people to follow the rules as if it was a bible.

Surveillance is not really covered as thoroughly in the LEGO movie. so there is not much to explain about on that front.