Audience Demographic Categories

Bad Eductaion - Research Task Question 4b

4. (b) Discuss in detail how one programme offers audience pleasures. Give examples from the programme. [15 marks]


Create a ppt which analyses each of the main characters in the series and connects them to the exam criteria. You need to create a slide for each character and include


E - C KNOWLEDGE

Character Name - what can we tell about the character from just their name?
Actor's name - do they have star appeal?
Actor's previous comedy/acting roles and TV station shown - often we like to watch people we 'know' are funny?
Character 'use/gratification' - do we identify with certain characters? 
Character stereotype - can we instantly tell what this character will be like? Why?
Character 'role' in series - how do they help 'tell' the story or move the narrative forward?

Include a range of images


THINKING QUESTIONS TO EXTEND YOUR ANSWERS


C - A GRADE EXPLANATIONS (with prompts)


Do we prefer 'characters' or 'stars'? - Do comedy series need a star or do they make a star?
Do we need to 'identify' with the main characters? - Is it important that we like and recognise ourselves in the character?
Why do we like repetition? - Why do we watch when we know how it will end?
How important are stereotypes?

Stuart Hall’s ‘Audience Reception Theory’ 2

Stuart Hall’s ‘Audience Reception Theory’

Hall argues that the media appear to reflect reality whilst in fact they construct it. He also addressed theoretically the issue of how people make sense of media texts. 

In a key paper, 'Encoding/Decoding', Stuart Hall (1980), argued that the dominant ideology is typically inscribed as the 'preferred reading' in a media text, but that this is not automatically adopted by readers. 

The social situations of readers/viewers/listeners may lead them to adopt different stances. 'Dominant' readings are produced by those whose social situation favours the preferred reading; 'negotiated' readings are produced by those who inflect the preferred reading to take account of their social position; and 'oppositional' readings are produced by those whose social position puts them into direct conflict with the preferred reading Hall insists that there remain limits to interpretation: meaning cannot be simply 'private' and 'individual'.

Theory: Katz, Hartley and Maslow

Katz’ Uses & Gratifications theory

• Personal Identification – Where the audience can relate to a character or their situation
• Personal Relationship – Where the audience builds a close bond with a character or group of characters
• Inform & Educate – Where the audience LEARN something from consuming the text
• Diversion – Where the audience can ESCAPE from their reality and immerse themselves in the text.

 Hartley’s Seven Subjectivities

1. Age
2. Gender
3. Class
4. Ethnicity
5. Self-Image
6. Nation
7. Family

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Social Climbers– Where the audience are driven by improving their status in society
• Caregivers– Where the audience sympathise with the characters situation.
• Explorers– Where the audience are driven by social change.
• Survivors – Audience members who want the security and routine of knowing the characters will be ok (For example) or something will be resolved.