B1: Explore the different ways in which your chosen
texts attract their audiences.
In order to analyse
the television industry, it is important to look at the way in which certain
T.V programs attract their audiences. With this in mind, the producers will
construct the media based on target audience and the uses and gratifications of
each viewer. In this essay, I am going to analyse how audiences are attracted
to my three chosen texts: Lost, Mad Men, and Louis Theroux: America’s Most
Hated Family.
Mad Men, an American
T.V show produced by AMC, is a good example of how audiences are attracted to television,
through elements of the uses and gratifications theory. It is clear that the
target audience for the show is a middle class male demographic. The highbrow
nature of the show lends itself to a middle class audience, as it is often re viewed
in newspapers like ‘the guardian’. Therefore, a preferred reading of the text
would come from a more middle class viewer; perhaps an older male based on its
more mature content. With this in mind escapism plays a vital part in Mad Men,
as the situations and settings within the show are different to the social
norm. For instance, the misogynistic way in which Don Draper attracts the woman
in the taxi would be unrealistic and fantastical for the average older
‘guardian’ reader, and therefore desirable. This implies that a passive
audience would take a preferred reading of the text, and thus be ‘entertained’.
A different reading –
one that may not fit the target audience – is a female interpretation of the
show. The idea that women see other women doing well in television inspires
them to also be strong and independent. This is the case in Mad Men, with
characters like Betty being the only female character that other women can
relate to. This notion of personal identity sees women as a secondary passive
audience, as women can relate to the feminist nature in which Betty becomes
divorced and finds another man, at one point manipulating the central male
character. With this in mind, a female interpretation of Mad Men would be a
negotiated one as it is split between a positive and negative reading. Despite
there being some argument for a female preferred reading, it is clear that a
lot of women would take a negative stance on the themes and issues raised. A
feminist reading of the text, might argue that its persistent use of
patriarchal narratives, allows for its misogynistic messages to become a tool
for oppressing femininity. This is evident through the season’s opening
episode, especially through the character of Peggy. Despite her apparent
‘rising star’ status in the episode, she is still controlled by Don
Draper. However, an oppositional
reading of the show may come from a younger audience, as the slow paced editing
and long detailed narratives are unknown to a generation of ‘MTV’ viewers. The
opening to Season 4, see’s an extended conversation between Don Draper and an
interviewer take place, something that a younger audience – 16-25 – may find
unappealing. This therefore rejects the messages and values of the show. A
younger audience would be more used to fast paced editing and simple
narratives.
In Comparison to Mad
Men, another American TV show that I have studied is ABC’s critically acclaimed
‘LOST’. The show combines elements of science fiction and drama, something that
appeals to a wider demographic, thus creating a wider target audience. A key
element of ‘LOST’ that attracts its audience is the element of social interaction.
With websites like ‘Lostpedia’, the science fiction genre itself enjoys a
certain amount of ‘cult status’. It is important for many ‘Lost’ fans to
interact with each other about the shows narratives and characters. A younger
person may take a more preferred reading of ‘LOST’, as they are more likely to
discuss it with their peers. This
is why many science fiction fans are attracted to ‘LOST’, as the nature of the
unpredictable narratives makes them want to talk about it with others. The
scene in which the polar bear appears is a prime example of this, as for many
later episodes, fans speculated why it was on the island. It is this kind of speculation and
discussion that makes ‘lost’ so popular to young people and science fiction
fans.
As well as this,
‘LOST’ appeals to its target audience through its use of an extended ensemble
cast. This allows for an audience to personally identify with a specific member
of the show, based on their own personalities/experiences. The cast features a
member of almost all races, personalities and gender and this helps to bring in
a wider target audience. However, some people may take an oppositional reading
from the way in which ‘Lost’ uses many cultural stereotypes. For instance, the
representation of Jin and Sun, highlights a cultural stereotype that Korean
couples are male dominated. Some people may see this as being offensive and
take an oppositional reading from it.
Finally, Louis Theroux’s
documentary show ‘Most Hated Family in America’, explores many elements of
documentary making that appeal to its target audience. An important factor
here, is the show’s BBC scheduling: BBC’s aim being to entertain, inform and
educate. The show ticks all of these boxes, and therefore makes it an ideal BBC
viewing. Regarding the uses and gratifications, the show’s key method of
attracting audiences is the informative nature of the program. The show deals
with a controversial topic, something that a lot of audiences may be unfamiliar
with. This attracts its audience using unknown information. Louis Theroux’s
interview style also attracts its target audience, as he is very open minded,
often appearing naive in order to get more from his interviewee. In doing this,
he is asking the questions on the viewer’s mind attracting the target audience
through information. In this same way, ‘America’s Most Hated Family’ may be
viewed with an oppositional reading, the focus being primarily on Louis’
documentary style. A review in the Irish Telegraph, criticised the programs
motives thus creating an oppositional reading of the text. ‘A group of
loathsome people who spend every second of their lives trying to attract free
publicity for themselves got a whole hour of it courtesy of the BBC. Ah, the
joys of public service television.’ This is an interesting take on the
scheduling and decisions the producers make to attract audiences : an
oppositional reading may infer that the producers are using shock tactics to
draw in more of an audience.
To conclude, it is
clear that each of the three texts, attracts their audience differently and that each text appeals to its target audience in different ways. However, there are negotiated and oppositional
readings of each of the texts, suggesting that it is the audience who make the final decisions on what they wish to watch no matter how much the text is targeted at a specific audience by the production company that makes them.
Four years after his initial documentary, Louis Theroux returned to the infamous Westboro Baptist Church amongst stories of broken families and increasing erratic behaviour from the church. Read about Theroux's return to 'The Most Hated Family In America' in BBC News Magazine here.
For a greater understanding of the way audiences affect TV series commissioning read how US TV networks ditch police shows for high-concept drama here in this current issue of The Guardian.
Watch Louis Theroux talk about his documenatry career interviewing extremists, addicts and celebrities in a live interview at Brighton Documentary Festival.
