Wednesday 4 June 2014

Explore the different ways your chosen texts target their audience?

All of the different audiences interact in different ways to my chosen texts as their are preferred, negotiated and oppositional viewings of my texts and it must appeal to the correct audience.

Lost is a very mainstream text as it is open to a wide range of audiences this makes it more accessible by being on ABC which is an American network channel which is similar to the BBC in the UK it is open to all viewers and doesn't narrow their audience down. Lost is aimed at a very passive audience as it gives you indications on what to feel and when to expect things to happen. In the scene where the polar bear attacks they have a high use of score this is giving the audience a narrative and creates enigma codes by how it builds tension and excitement. The score in lost expresses how the audience should be feeling.
In this scene they say 'Its coming towards us' this creates enigma codes by the audience questioning what it is. The enigma codes help the audience to decode the text. It is able to target their audience by keeping them interested and intrigued. Also with the scene where the little boy finds the hand cuffs the question where they have come from. The characters in Lost ask and answer questions that the audience will be thinking which makes it very passive as you do not have to do much work. However as you watch the episode it answers the questions by telling you that the hand cuffs belong to Kate, you do not have to put much thought in to this.
However an active audience could also watch this programme but may find it a lot more difficult because you do not have to put much thought in to what is going on. They will begin to think of theories to why things are happening and question it. They will also get involved in websites such as Lostpedia which talks about Lost and they write reviews and summary's with what is going on in each episode. Also their are things that are not correct with what is going on for example a women who is pregnant on the plane which will make an active audience question this.
In the scene where the plane has just crashed Shannon is lying on the beach in her bikini she is not traumatised by what is going on she is a skinny blonde girl, this instantly creates a stereotypical representation of her which people might be able to relate to. Throughout the episode everyone falls in to their own stereotypical roles. Another example of this would be when Shannon asks to join the group to go on the hike, Kate automatically looks towards the men for their confirmation this shows that the men have authority which shows more stereotypical views. With people being able to relate to these stereotypical roles it takes uses and gratifications as you can relate and find enjoyment through this.
It is also able to open to wider ranges of audience as it includes different cultures such as Korean and American.
Mad men is aired on AMC which is an American subscription channel which targets a more niche audience. A oppositional audience would be aged between 16 - 25 as it lacks in entertainment in uses and gratifications which means they can not personally relate with this programme. Also with this demographic range they are not commonly an active audience and this programme is aimed directly at active audiences. People at this age range are used to passive programmes which use fast editing and simple narratives for example TOWIE and Made in Chelsea this is because they are able to personally identify and aspire to these ideals. It does not appeal to them because of how it is encoded. For example in the scene when Don goes to see Joan about her sleeping with Herb it shows sexual content in the work place from the 1960s this only provides them with sexual content from the 1960s they do not find gratifications from this.
Mad men is aimed at a more active audience and targets middle class men demographic. It has a very high brow nature of the show and lends itself to a middle class audience which is often reviewed by the 'Guardian'. It is aimed at a more active audience as a lot of thought has to go in to it as their is no use of non- diegetic sound until about 28 minutes in, so there is no sound to indicate sympathy or tension. This makes it a lot more difficult for a passive audience as they will struggle to understand what is going on and wont put much thought in to it either.
Mad men also educate their audience from around the 1960s by ensuring their story line reflects typical storylines from this era and the props and background setting all links closely with the correct setting this creates the mise en scene with the old fashioned fridge and clocks and their clothing that the characters are wearing.

Peaky Blinders is able to target their audience through self education as it is set in 1991 just after ww1 it will bring more of an audience who are interested in this era and provides them with historical and social information of the time it is set. Tommy also quotes 'War shy gypsy bastard' this gives historical connects and teaches the audience about post - war attitudes. It is also evident in the narrative when Tommy Shelby says 'Why would I shake the hand of a man who didn't fight for his county?' To the police which makes out that it is shameful not to fight. Also the programme is set in Birmingham which will make it appeal to an audience who are associated with this setting as they are interested in this.
It is target to a wide mainstream audience and it is influenced by it being aired on BBC which is accessible to all audiences and has many viewers already. It also has a high use of film starts which you may have seen these actors in other films which may make you intrigued to see this programme. Also in the opening scene it zooms straight in to the film stars faces which may make people associate with this programme and can relate with them. The different film stars are Cilian Murphy, Helen Mcroy and Sam Niel.
It also has a high use of cinematography which allows an active audience to decode the text. The fight scene at the beginning of the narrative uses a combination of slow motion, reversed music and shallow depth of field. Only an active audience would be gratified and appreciated this. With these uses of editing it can make it seem a lot more like a film and make it have high gratification value to make it more entertaining.
Overall each programme is very successful at targeting their audience.

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