Uses and Gratifications of Cinema-Going: A Case Study of Daystar University Students

Abstract

Film study and research has been at the core of communication scholarship in many countries. Here in Kenya, film, as a focus of study and as an industry has not been well developed. Little or no research has been conducted on cinema goers, thus creating a knowledge void in the area of film and film audiences. This study was therefore conducted, and is proposed as a steping stone to further film research in Kenya. The study sought to find out the uses and gratification of cin- ema-going. To accomplish this, students from Daystar University were sampled. Due to the scope of study, only undergraduate stu- dents enrolled for the January/May 2004 semester in the Athi-River campus were sampled. Stratified random sampling was employed. The study used a descriptive survey design, and used a self-adminis- tered questionnaire to collect data. Eighty-four respondents filled out the questionnaire. This study sought to find out if three of the five categories of needs formulated by Katz, Gurevitch, (1974), were gratified by going to the cinema. These are affective, social integrative and tension release needs. The study found that the students are frequent cinemas-goers, meaning they go to the cinema at least once a month. Genres that are most watched are action, comedy, thriller and romance movies. Another finding was that cinemagoers usually go to the cinema with their friends, rather than alone, or with their families.