Definition of Audience: The assembled spectators or listeners at a

public event such as play, film, concert or meeting.

THEORISTS
Judith Butlers theory called the Queer Theory, highlights that
the roles played by males and females were prehistorically
assigned and cannot really be changed because gender
controls all of our identity or how we perceive other peoples
identity. In other words gender, particularly as it is represented in
performance on TV, film etc.., is fluid flexible depending on the
context in which it is seen. For example, an audience can see
Tom Cruise playing a straight pilot in the Right Stuff and
interpret his gender, although male, as having very queer or
gay attributes.
Anthony Giddens theory looks at the traditionalist vs the post
traditionalist views of society. Traditional societies are ones in
which individual choice limited by its dominant customs and
traditions. Whereas post traditionalist societies are ones where
the ideas set by previous generations are less important than
those of individuals.
The hypodermic model implies that mass media has a direct
effect on audiences and change their behaviour. This was
proved during the rise of television, where adverts and
propaganda created a strong effect on the population in
order to "inject them with appropriate messages to trigger the
desired response. The model explains that people normally end
up believing what they are told because there is no other
source. The James Bulger case was seen as the violence
displayed by his 2 attackers as being correlated to the film
Childs play 3. This is because the boys had apparently
watched the horror film previously before attacking the 2 year
old toddler.

How do these theories link to the horror genre?

Butlers theory can be connected to the horror genre because horror
films often use The Queer Theory, to direct their audiences minds in
the direction they want them to go. This theory is also true because
audiences are able to identify a sickly old man as having evil
tendencies and can spot him as being a villain and very different (Saw
film).
Horror films almost always use traditional views of families (A mum, a
dad and a child). This is to make it more relatable to audiences.
(Giddens) However as the times move forward, the horror industry may
need to look at adjusting the modern family to suit a post-traditional
society and appeal to mass audiences, especially as gay marriage is
legal in some parts of the world now.
Horror films can have profound effects on audiences (hypodermic
model). They can cause people to behave in criminal ways if too much
horror is viewed at one time, due to the desensitisation to the violence
from watching too much of it. Horror films however can also be linked
to educating people about the unknown, such as ghosts and helping
them to cope with the supernatural and rationalise situations rather
than being completely frightened of it and not being ignorant.