Wattpad, WHATpad, and WHY: An Audience Study of Movies Based on Wattpad Stories

Tolentino, J. M. V. (2017). Wattpad, WHATpad, And WHY: An Audience Study Of Movies Based On Wattpad Stories. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.

This undergraduate thesis examines the Filipino audience reception of Wattpad based movies produced since 2014. Wattpad is originally an online application where individuals could craft their own stories and share them online. Gaining popularity in the Philippines—whose fan base comes second to the United States—Wattpad has transcended the online medium and has now become available through print, film, and television.

Filipino movies based on Wattpad stories started in 2014. Wattpad and movies based on the story lines therein, like any other text, have garnered both fans and haters. With that said, this study uses a qualitative method of study, utilizing surveys and interviews distributed to Filipino youth—that may either categorize themselves as fans or haters of Wattpad-based movies—to determine how audience behavior and how they receive the text based on its elements as well as the medium it is delivered to them. The researcher relates the gathered data and results to McLuhan‘s Medium Theory and Blumler and Katz‘s Uses and Gratifications Theory.

Keywords: Wattpad, audience study, television, remakes, uses and gratifications, medium theory

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