‘The aim of a media text is to appeal to a variety of audiences.’ How true is this of your three main texts?
PLAN - make sure you write this on the answer sheet!
YES
Westworld - map scene hybrid genre
Kyle - dog scene - british, women, working class, MES of dog, conflict, lexis
BPII - Walrus mother - struggle, positioning, direct mode of address
uses and grats
verisimilitude
anthropomorphisation
eduction
hypo needle
cultivation
Argument - "I shall argue that it is generally absolutely essential for a TV show to appeal to a variety of audiences. However, in some cases a TV show will appeal only to a very specific audience. In both cases, audience appeal is solely included to demonstrate the ideology of the producer and to manipulate the audience"
Definition - "Audience refers to the group of people who are targeted by a producer. Throughout the last century we have learnt that audiences are far more sophisticated than we have given them credit for. Therefore, producers must think carefully about how they appeal to a wide range of audiences in order to produce more income. There are a variety of different ways that a producer can therefore appeal to an audience through a media product."
Context - "In order to argue that media texts appeal to a variety of audiences, I shall discuss The Jeremy Kyle Show (Thursday 15th March), a reality talk show broadcast on ITV, Westworld series one episode one, a sci-fi/western hybrid, and Blue Planet II, episode one, a nature documentary first broadcast on the BBC in 2017.
Westworld - map scene
- Westworld makes heavy use of genre hybridity in order to simultaneously appeal to it's target audiences. For example , in the map scene occurring early in the first episode:
- CU of Teddy demonstrates the MES of his Western costume, typica; of the western genre
- MES of wooden train is emphasised through the diegetic sound effect of the train's horn
- Slow zoom out panning shot to a completely different setting, a hologram, now connoting the sci-fi seting
- High production values - excellent and extensive use of CGI
- Non-diegetic soundtrack dramatic, and using a Western style piano, however shifts to a bassy, threatening and dramatic version of the song
- Using genre hybridity is an excellent way of appealing to a range of audiences. In particular, the map scene offers it's audiences the gratification of escapism. It depicts an alternate reality where the audience do not need to worry about the issues in their own lives. However, we can argue that distracting the audience from their own issues is a form of hegemonic control from the ruling classes.
Jeremy Kyle - Dog scene
- Jeremy Kyle, in stark contrast to Westworld appeals to it's audience through it's low production values, the use of audience reaction shots and the heightened sense of verisimilitude that this provides.
- MES of lack of teeth connotes poverty and bad hygiene
- Editing technique - reaction shots, manipulates the audience in to a specific reaction, also positioned, dominant ideology, anchorage
- Ideological manipulation of the audience
- Through these techniques, the Producers of The Jeremy Kyle Show uses more explicit and manipulative ways to appeal to a very specific audience. Time and time again, the producer presents a dominant reading that the poor are unpleasant and supposed to be laughed at.
All suggestions made by students from R block A2 media. Thanks all!