Watching people, watching people: Exploring viewing experiences of music-video (MV) reaction videos on YouTube as shaped by viewers’ reception of the genre’s format

Abstract

Convergence and participatory culture have been conducive to a wave of new user-generated content. This thesis focuses on one specific facet of this phenomenon called the ‘reaction video’. In such videos, primarily uploaded to YouTube, regular people film themselves watching and reacting to various official media content. The genre has grown to be particularly popular in fandom, especially music-video (MV) reaction videos. Notably, there is almost no research that considers the appeal or viewing experiences of MV reaction videos for audiences beyond those actively engaged in fandom. Similarly, there is limited research on how the genre’s specific format plays a role. This thesis investigation is two-fold. It identifies and characterises the format aspects of MV reaction videos and their meaning potential for viewing experiences, and thus uses said format aspects as a lens through which to investigate the viewing experiences of audiences including and beyond those actively engaged in fandom. This is done through textual analysis of selected MV reaction video texts and in-depth interviews with two audience groups: active/frequent viewers and new/casual viewers. Both methods are framed by reception theory, genre theory, and uses and gratifications theory. My main empirical finding is that new/casual viewers receive the genre’s format aspects in a way that shapes less eudaemonic or personally salient viewing experiences than that of active/frequent viewers. This thesis presents the nuances of this finding in terms of the role of the viewers’ frameworks of reference, their familiarity with the genre’s format, their relationship with the content being reacted to, and their motivations for watching. The findings also demonstrate ways in which the genre can hold different appeal to new/casual viewers than active/frequent viewers in its capacity for learning and cultural exploration. With these findings, I contribute to the cultural-analytical and theoretical understanding of the MV reaction video genre, to understanding the role of format and an audience’s relationship with said format in shaping viewing experiences, and to exploring the behaviour and experiences of the two audience groups.