Spectatorship is the relationship between the film and the viewer. How the viewer makes sense of the film they are watching.
The The Hypodermic Syringe Model
A passive audience, where the idea and meaning of the film is injected into the minds of the viewer, which is accepted uncritically.
The Uses and Gratifications Model
An audience of individuals that will react to the film differently, interpret its message and meaning independently. The audience will actively use the film for things like self-identification or entertainment etc…
Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory
Stuart Hall theorises that “a film only has meaning when it is decoded by an audience and not all members of the audience will decode the meaning in the same way, especially when the text they are decoding is something as complex as a 2-hour feature film.” Another factor includes their own pre-existing views on certain social issues etc… Each viewer will interpret the film uniquely due to their independence and own personal experience.
Ryan Stainsby's Film Studies Blog 