Exam Question | Discuss the audience appeal of your three main texts

Discuss the audience appeal of your three main texts (30)

            The three main texts I will be looking at are Lost, Madmen and Peaky Blinders who all appeal to different audiences. Lost is a science fiction television drama aired on ABC, following the lives of survivors after a plane crashed onto an island. The intended audience for JJ Abrams 'Lost' is a wide mainstream audience, where passive and active audience can be gratified. Madmen is a period drama series created by Matthew Weiner. The series is aired on AMC, which is an American cable and satellite channel that viewers have to pay for. It is set in the 1960’s and focuses on the life of Don Draper and his business. This text attracts a niche audience due to the advanced cinematography and complex character representations. Peaky Blinders is a six-part crime drama aired on BBC 2. It is set in Birmingham in 1919 and follows the lives of former soldiers who have returned home and formed a criminal gang. Peaky Blinders has elements of highbrow but also has mainstream conventions appealing to both niche and mainstream audience.

            A range of conventions have been used to appeal to the audience of Lost. One convention that has been used to appeal to this wide mainstream audience is an ensemble cast. 'Lost' has a wide range of actors and character roles with different ages, races, genders and nationalities included. Each character also has a different personality style with different views and opinions on things, so that there is a character that relates to everyone watching. An example of this is that there is a young American female called Shannon who is perceived as being vain and selfish. When asked by her brother to come help the survivors of the plane crash, Shannon rejects him and continues to sunbathe amongst the rubble. On the contrary, their is Hurley, a teenager with long curly hair and is much larger than the rest of the cast. He is willing to get to know the people on the island and get stuck in helping out. When Sawyer is fighting with Syiid he states 'we are all in this together man'.

Combining escapism and relatable plot is another convention that will help appeal to a wide audience. By each character having a somewhat relatable back-story that is revealed in the flashbacks and flash-forwards, it gives the audience not only a character to relate to but a situation or problem that they can relate to as well. An example of this would be the relationship between Michael and his son Walt. It is revealed that Walt's mother has recently died so Michael is responsible for taking care of Walt however because Michael is new to this, his relationship between him and his son is flawed. The audience might be able to personally identify with Michael, influencing them to watch more episodes of Lost to see how his situation turns out. On the other hand the series is set on an island somewhere which is not relatable to many peoples personal situations, leaving them a place to escape to while watching it. By using a neutral location it appeals to all different types of audiences and doesn’t alienate any group of people.

A third convention is the use of score, which is the background music of a film. A composer writes a score specifically for a particular film or TV show. It is written specifically to match the emotion in that particular scene of the show with the purpose that the audience will feel that same emotion at the particular time watching it. In Season 1 Episode 2, the use of score is used to create tension amongst the audience. When some of the characters are walking through the jungle on the island, they hear the sound of an animal running towards them. As they start to run away the score starts playing, getting louder and faster with high and low pitches to make the audience feel what the characters in the show are feeling; scared and anxious. This will appeal to the audience as they will feel a variety of emotions watching the show making it more entertaining for them as well again being able to escape to the island by feeling the emotions of the characters.

            Peaky Blinders also has high audience appeal. One reason why this series appeals to its intended audience is because of the historical context featured on the show. Peaky Blinders make reference to historical events, such as WW1 and the lives of the people during and after this time. An example of this in the text is when Thomas Shelby states ‘we fought for our country, fighting for the upper class’, which explains that when they came back from war they lived in poverty while the king lived in luxury and they are getting nothing in return for it. Peaky Blinders is also based around a real gang that formed in Birmingham in 1919, so by giving an insight into the circumstances of others, it attracts and gratifies an audience that wants to learn about the circumstances of the past. This appeals to the niche audience watching the show.

            High production value and cinematography is also an aspect that appeals to the niche audience of Peaky Blinders. An example of this is the fight scene in the beginning of season 1 episode 2. The fight starts with a slow motion close up of Thomas Shelby taking off his hat and hitting a man across the face with the blades cutting him. This is then followed by slow motion mid shots of all the other men fighting with close ups of their faces showing their emotions. As the shots are slow motion the camera cuts are slow and a shallow depth of field is used. There is also rewinded music played over the fight scene to create the confused and chaotic emotion.  This high quality cinematography will appeal to eh niche audience.

A third reason for this is the use of film stars on the show. By using popular faces on the show, it helps attract the audience to watch their favourite actresses and actors on the show. Such actors and actresses include Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby, Sam Neil as CI Chester Campell and Helen Mcroy as Aunt Polly. This cast will attract a wider audience to watch the TV drama. Using a well known cast will also help give a good reputation for the show, as the film stars are in high quality films, which will attract an audience looking fro that same quality.

            Madmen appeals to a niche audience with particular aspects of the show attracting this audience to watch. One of these aspects is the representation of the characters on the show. The females present in season 5 episode 11, are keen to break out of their gender roles present in the 1960’s. This might gratify a female audience as it gives them a model of behaviour and a character to inspire to themselves. In the episode Peggy, who has worked hard herself to work in a high position within the business, got offered a job working for another company in a higher-ranking job that earns more money. She takes this job and informs Don Draper that she is leaving his business. She opposes the gender role that women are controlled by men and proves that she makes her own decisions and has respect from her other colleagues. By the show displaying a range of behaviour and representation of women, it gives an insight to the viewers and helps them learn about the circumstances at this time. Again this could gratify the audience, as women would enjoy seeing other women do well in their business place. The audience of madmen would enjoy decoding the show, so the use of complex characters and complex narrative would gratify them, so they would be attracted to watch the show.

            Another aspect of Madmen that might appeal to the audience is the common context occurring in the show. The characters all work for a business and are shown working in the office. We also follow the personal life of Don Draper as well which is relatable to the audience that are also experiencing this. The preferred audience for Madmen are middle aged, middle class males, similar to the characters in the show. This means they would be able to relate to these characters, which would gratify them.