TV COMEDIES & AUDIENCES

Applying theories to

audiences.

Today you will

LEARN:

To research and develop a focus on the

importance of Audience in media studies.

Why ? To improve your research and presentation skills and

reflect on your knowledge of a key concept relating to

TV Comedues.

You can …….evaluate the

usefulness of your research

into audience theory when

selecting material to plan an

essay response.

.

Progress will be demonstrated by showing

You can …….research

and identify the key

features of audience in

relation to contemporary

TV comedies.

You can …….evaluate

the usefulness of your

research into audience

theory in creating your

own sophisticated written

response to the issue of

modern audiences and

TV comedies.

TV COMEDIES - TARGET AUDIENCE?

Who do you think the target audience is for the two comedies?

Jot down a quick profile of the audience.

Consider gender, age, ethnicity, socio-economic background, personality type.

Consider the following Audience Theories, try to apply them and see if you can make your audience profile more ‘sophisticated’.

When we ask WHY do audiences watch comedies, the simple answer is, so they can have a laugh. See if you can put that, and any other reasons you come across, into a more formal, media studies style answer using this powerpoint.

MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

Where does

buying & watching

TV comedies

Fit into

Maslow’s Hierarchy

of Needs ?

AUDIENCE – SOCIAL VALUE GROUPSsocial value

groupcharacteristics

self actualizers

focused on people and relationships, individualistic and creative,

enthusiastically exploring change, 'in a framework of non-prescriptive

consideration for others' .

innovatorsself-confident risk-takers, seeking new and different things, setting their own

targets to achieve.

esteem seekersacquisitive and materialistic, aspiring to what they see are symbols of

success, including things and experiences.

strivers

attaching importance to image and status, as a means of enabling

acceptance by their peer group, at the same time holding onto traditional

values.

contented

conformers

wanting to be 'normal', so follow the herd, accepting of their circumstances,

they are contented and comfortable in the security of their own making.

traditionalistsaverse to risk, guided by traditional behaviours and values, quiet and

reserved, hanging back and blending in with the crowd.

disconnecteddetached and resentful, embittered and apathetic, tending to live in the

'ever-present now‘.

Mainstreamers

Early Adopters

Which groups

watch TV

comedies?

AUDIENCE – SOCIAL CLASSsocial

grade% Pop. social status occupation

A 4 upper middle classhigher managerial, administrative or

professional

B 23 middle classintermediate managerial, administrative

or professional

C1 29 lower middle class

supervisory or clerical, junior

managerial, administrative or

professional

C2 21 skilled working class skilled manual workers

D 15 working class semi and unskilled manual workers

E 8those at lowest level of

subsistence

state pensioners or widows (no other

earner), casual or lowest grade workers

AUDIENCES & CONSUMERSOR MEDIA EFFECTS

Hypodermic Needle Theory

In the 1930s the Hypodermic model proposed that the mass media has a very direct and extremely immediate effect on the general public, who accept the injected messages without question due to their passiveness.

HYPODERMIC THEORY (CONT.)

This theory tended to be applied to products such as day-time soaps, tabloid newspapers, rap music, men’s lifestyle magazines, video nasties. These are produced by the ‘mass media’ and can affect lots of people.

Some people react strongly against this ‘corruption’ and ‘moral panics’ ensue about the effects on the unemployed, mothers at home, children, poorly educated etc.

USES AND GRATIFICATIONS THEORY

More recently Uses & Gratifications theorists Blulmer & Katz argued that people's needs influence how they use and respond to a medium.

The same media text may gratify different needs for different individuals. Different needs are associated with individual personalities, stages of maturation, backgrounds and social

roles.

USES & GRATIFICATIONS (CONT.)

This theory / model tells us that the audience is using the media rather than being used by it. The consumer selects a particular piece of media to satisfy a particular need, be it escapism in a game, find out information, form relationships or daily gossip.

Some people consume particular media to be identified with peer groups, or they are fans of a particular film franchise, tvshow or sport.

USES & GRATIFICATIONS:CATEGORIES OF AUDIENCE APPEAL

Audiences tend to consume media for one, or more of the following reasons:

1. Diversion / Escapism / Pleasure

2. Surveillance / Information

3. Personal Relationships (wasn’t X good last night?)

4. Personal Identification (oh that’s like me!)

Which reasons

best suit watching

TV comedies?

UTOPIAN SOLUTIONS (RICHARD DYER)

Media Academic Richard Dyer expands on the Uses and Gratifications theory and notions of escapism by suggesting that entertainment texts offer us Utopian Solutions.

Utopias are perfect worlds.

Through films and games we can experience an idealised world where we can see and do what we are denied in our real lives.

Implicit in this is the notion that we all enjoy different forms of escapism.

Do TV comedies

show perfect

worlds?

Or do we watch

imperfect worlds to

reassure ourselves?

RECEPTION THEORY (STUART HALL)

Context is key to our understanding of the message. Different people react to different texts differently. A viewer’s age, gender, social class, ethnicity, nationality all impact on our understanding.

Dominant (Hegemonic) Reading – the preferred reading of the film / text, or what the author intended you to take from the film.

Negotiated Reading – the viewer accepts much of what the film says, however, they negotiate certain elements of the text, not blindly taking all the message in.

Oppositional (Counter-Hegemonic) Reading – the viewer rejects the message or ideology of the text. This is usually the case when the viewer is from a different background to the producer of the text.

TWO STEP FLOW MODELKatz and Lazarfeld developed a theory about Communications.

First Step: Opinion Leaders (Film Critics etc) (media mavens) get information about a text from the mass media.

Second Step: These people pass on the information and their opinion to others (often through the media). Word of mouth carries this on.

Film Critics do this. YouTubers do this. Music Pundits do this. The internet facilitates this. Social media means we all do this.

For many ‘word of mouth’ endorsement from peers is the most powerful persuader.

AUDIENCES BY AGE (TV & FILM)The classifications, as published in the BBFC guidelines, are as follows:

U – Universal, suitable for all.

PG - Parental Guidance (general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children)

12 and 12A - Suitable for 12 years and older. No-one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. No-one younger than 12 may rent or buy a 12 rated video or DVD. Responsibility for allowing under 12s to view lies with the accompanying or supervising adult.

15 - Suitable only for 15 years and over. No-one younger than 15 may see a 15 film in a cinema. No-one younger than 15 may rent or buy a 15 rated video or DVD.

18 - Suitable only for adults. No-one younger than 18 may see an 18 film in a cinema. No-one younger than 18 may rent or buy an 18 rated video or DVD.

R18 – Restricted. To be shown only in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults of not less than 18 years.

TARGET AUDIENCE - RECAP

After looking over these slides about a variety of audience theories, could you now give a more detailed profile of who you think the TV Comedies’ target audience is?

Please write up your profile.

Compare your thoughts on target audiences to the research you conducted about audiences. What similarities and differences did you discover?