Social Learning Theory

The social learning theory is directly related to the uses and gratifications theory. The uses and gratifications theory states that users (people) seek out media to satisfy their needs, whether it that is to learn something new, be socially engaged, or just to be distracted from their daily lives. Instead of focusing on satisfying needs, the social learning theory suggests that how we react towards somthing in the media will directly determine how we behave when something of similar contents arises. If you like a movie you see with a particular actor, when their next movie comes out there is a chance that the first movie watched will influence your decision to see the next. The theory also discusses expectations we have of the media. If you watched that movie with the same actor and it ends with a nice conclusion that makes you feel good, you may expect the same outcome from their next movie, or if a movie is of the same genre as one you have seen much of in the past it is very common to expect a cliche ending.
One film star I find that well suits the social learning theory is Will Smith. He started out as the Fresh Prince of Bel Air but then soon broke into the movie industry with Independence Day in 1996. The movie grossed over 300 million dollars, and ever since then Smith has become a global superstar. He easily can be applied to the theory because every since that debut film was both a great success at the box-office and applauded by the critics every film he has been in has either been a box-office hit (100 million) or a critical success, if not both. When people see that a Will Smith movie is coming out they expect great things. Whether it an action movie, a comedy, or a drama every Will Smith film because a success one way or another and that is very rare.

You can view his filmography and box-office totals here:
http://boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=willsmith.htm