Music Industry - Audiences - Miley 3

Learning objective:
To study Miley Cyrus, Music industry with consideration given to Audience Responses and debates.

• Key words: Targeting, Debates, Responses

Audience segmentation.

All media texts must attract an audience. Here is a list of audience theories that are used to target media products at the correct audience.

Construction - This is the where an organisation devises a product that should appeal to a set audience. Use of language and mode of address are important as are values and lifestyles.

Consumption - This is the actual watching, listening or buying of the product.

Mass audience - This is a large audience group that is otherwise known as a mainstream audience; the text will probably appeal to a wide range of different groups.

Niche audience - This is a small audience group that is otherwise known as a minority audience; the text will appeal to a small group of people.

Pleasures of the text - There are a wide range of different pleasures that an audience can gain from watching media texts. Below is a list of possible pleasures, there are more though:
Involvement in continuing story in sequels or prequels.
Enjoyment of scandal in true life stories.
Enjoyment of romance.
Enjoyment of tragedy.
Enjoyment in someone else's pain or downfall (Schadenfreude).
Addiction.
Virtual friends.
Vicarious pleasures (living your life through others - fantasising).
Humour.
Realism.
The text reflects views that we agree with.
Tension and excitement.
We enjoy stereotypes.
They reflect our culture.
We can laugh at people we despise.
Conflict.
Spectacular events. 
We know and like the characters/actors
Makes you feel better; we are not as bad off as we think.
Understanding other parts of the country or the world.

Passive audiences - This theory suggests that audiences willingly accept what the media tell them and watch the content without any particular personal viewpoint and do not fully engage with the material. The text does not tend to offer the audience an opportunity to comment on the text through the Internet or social media.

Active audiences - This theory suggests that audiences will challenge texts that they do not like or agree with as well as those that agree with their values or not. These audiences are eager to choose their own content. The active audience texts tend to offer the audience an opportunity to voice their oppinion on the text through social media, forums, Twitter, Facebook etc.

Uses and Gratification Theory

This theory suggests that media texts potentially give audiences four things:

Element of the theory	What it means to an audience
Personal identity	Our lives may be reflected in the text (we may see a storyline or an incident that has happened to us at some point in our lives or at the same time). We choose to identify with the character in the text and model ourselves on them.
Diversion, escapism, entertainment	The text may help us escape from reality for a while. (almost like a safety valve from the frustrations of life.
Personal relationships, Social interaction	We may treat the text as a friend. (The regularity of Eastenders helps audiences build a relationship with the programme). We are interested in the text because our friends or peers are interested in it.
Surveillance, information	A text may give us information about a particular issue or subject. (coping with illness, teenage pregnancy for example). We just need information about the weather for example.

Audience Reception Theory

This theory looks at three ways in which audiences respond to media texts

Audience Response	How the audience responds
Preferred Meaning	The audience accept what the media text is saying about about how the world is and how to think about the topic of the text.
Negotiated Meaning	The audience accept some of the views of the media text but reject other parts and so form a partial opinion of what the media text is saying about how the world is.
Oppositional Meaning	The audience completely reject what the media text is saying about how the world is and do not accept any part of the views expressed in the text.

Fandom Issues
Fandom covers the ways that devoted audiences respond to different media texts. They are normally split into mainstream, alternative and balanced fan groups.

Fan Group	Definition
Mainstream fans	These are fans that tend to become extremely knowledgeable about one particular area of the mainstream media and become devoted to that part of the media at the expense of others. Twi hards for example, fans of Twighlight.
Alternative fans	These fans reject the mainstream as corrupted and boring and focus on the alternative media and usually are very negative about most areas of the media. They do like unusual and rule breaking media that rejects the mainstream. They will support new and innovative trends in the media until they become successful and then they will reject them as mainstream, critiscise them and then move on to other newer, innovative media trends…
Balanced fans	These are fans that have a mixture of mainsteam and alternative likes and dislikes. They enjoy the mainstream but also have alternative tastes. They look for the links between alternative and mainstream texts. They are knowledgeable about how the media works.

Task 1: Note down aspects of the concept of fandom.

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Key terms:

Desensitisation; this suggests that audiences who are exposed regularly to acts of violence through films and video games for example are likely to feel empathy when exposed to violence, bad language or other forms of aggressive behaviour.

How do media texts POSITION audiences?

Through technical codes employed by the text. 

Camera shots and angles are used to place the audience in a particular position.

For example the use of a close up at an emotional time in the text will position the audience to feel sympathy with a character.

A point of view shot positions the audience as the character allowing them to experience what the character feels.

This may enhance audience pleasure.

Positioning through camera angles can also be uncomfortable for the audience.

For example taking the audience where they do not want to go in a horror film or an extreme close up in a tense moment.

Through language and mode of address.

the use of colloquial or chatty language in a text aimed at teens will position the intended audience as part of the world of the text.

The audience can feel involved through the use of a direct and informal mode of address and the use of subject specific lexis.

The formal language used by broadsheet newspapers positions the audience differently, in a position of superiority.

Making them feel valued as a reader with the expectation that they understand the text and want to be informed.

Through the construction of the text using imperatives. The reader of a particular magazine for example is told by the text how to live their lives and what should be important to them.

Audience RESPONSES to positioning

As we have discussed, audiences do not all respond to texts in the same way (as suggested by the Hypodermic Needle model). They may accept or challenge the messages encoded in the text as they decode the text in one of three ways (Stuart Hall Reception Theory).

Preferred reading, negotiated reading and oppositional reading.

key terms to remember here are passive and active audiences.

What affects the way in which an audience RESPONDS to a media text?

An audience is not a mass all behaving in the same way. It is made of individuals who respond differently according to a range of factors.

Gender: Different genders respond to media texts differently.

It is suggested for example that women will enjoy and take pleasure from the themes and narratives of soap operas because they deal with domestic narratives and human relationships which are in the experiences of most women on a daily basis. (It is important not to generalise but you should talk about a primary and secondary audience).

Age: Again be careful generalising but different audiences respond to and decode texts differently. Older audiences may be uncomfortable with bad language or sexually explicit material.

However a younger audience amy have been desensitised to this sort of content and will be more comfortable consuming these types of text.

Ethnicity: groups from different cultural backgrounds will respond to texts differently because of their ideas, beliefs and heritage. For example nudity in a music video may elicit a different response according to the ethnic make up of the audience.

Different ethnic groups may also have strong responses to how they themselves have been represented in a text.

Cultural competence: This relates to audiences taking particular pleasure from a media text depending on their own experience and a shared knowledge. For example the audience who engage with the rules of Call of Duty will understand the control aspects of the game and the online sharing techniques because they are computer literate.

Situated culture: This is literally to do with where the audience is. The communal viewing of a film in a cinema, in the dark produces a different response to sitting and watching tv in a well lit room where you can be distracted or interrupted. Who you watch the text with will impact on the response. For example, watching a music video containing nudity with an older person may produce a more uncomfortable experience for the teenager.

Task 2: 
Watch the video 'Party in the USA' and write an essay considering aspects of;

• Audience positioning
• Audience responses. Stuart Hall response theories; how can they be applied?

Write up in your orange books.
Bullet points are fine for this.

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Representation of Stars

How celebrity coverage relates to some crucial areas of modern media: Stardom, Marketing and news.

Celebrity is now more widespread and commonly encountered than ever before. They blend into news and current affairs often in an attempt to boost ratings via human interest and glamour.

It is easy to link celebrities and their lives to news coverage.

George Clooney got married.

Commercial advertisers are keen that we associate these figures with their products and brands.
This is to do with ideology and notions of strong family values.

Jennifer Anniston/Smart Water.

Health bodies use celebrity to raise awareness of disease and improvements in dealing with it.
Marketing find it easy to associate Jennifer with health as an aspirational tool. 

Kylie/breast cancer.

The difference between celebrities and stars:

Celebrities are famous beyond a single area of achievement.

Many celebrities are also stars; but all stars do not necessarily seek or achieve celebrity status

(‘Opera Star’ or ‘a Star Chef’)

Definition of celebrity: = A person ‘whose image circulates without being attached to their initial

professional role (whether this be actor, presenter, criminal, politician, and so on)’

 To what extent are celebrities created by the media?

Max Weber: a celebrity has ‘an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men’ (quoted in Dyer [1979], p. 35)

Jessica Evans: ‘individuals do not become celebrities as a result of [any] innately alluring or magnetic qualities’; they are the result of a ‘mediated persona’.

• Rise of the image in the twentieth century changed our perceptions of fame.
• ‘Graphic Revolution’ = The rise in mass-produced images. Magazine circulation for example.
• ‘Pseudo-Events’ = Events staged for the main purpose of media coverage. 

A news conference is often held when an organization has an announcement and wants members of the press to get the announcement simultaneously. The in-person events may include interviews, questioning, and show-and-tell.Award ceremonies, red carpet events and celebrity photo opportunities.

Sex tapes when created with the intention of being 'leaked'

Modern celebrity is fabricated; it is a fiction.

Why do celebrities appeal to us?

Through celebrities we can assess what we are permitted to do or have vs. what we desire. 

Celebrities appear to have more access to what is desirable.

Is the image of any star just a representation, rather than a reality, that the media have constructed?

The only things we ‘know’ about any celebrity are mediated by the media.

Richard Dyer proposes that:

A star is an image not a real person.
That is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (eg advertising, magazines, pseudo events etc as well as films and videos).

3. Why is the public attracted to celebrities?

There are at least three differing components to any celebrity’s persona:

1) The ‘real person’ - the personal identity that pre-exists the public’s perception of that celebrity.

2) The ‘screen presence’ – this is based on the characters or roles that the celebrity plays on screen (action hero, romantic comedian, girl-next-door)

3) The ‘public persona’ - what we come to know about a star or celebrity through newspapers, magazines, etc.

Example: Three Faces of Victoria Beckham

Cause for concern or neurotic wife

Glamorous, Sexy Partner

Happily Expectant Mother

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Task 1: 
Write a short, illustrated essay on the differing components of Miley Cyrus' persona.
Consider:
Miley’s changing appearance and behaviour.
Debates surrounding the role of pop stars and their influence on young people.

See these links.

Jameela Jamil interview

Miley Cyrus Twerking at The MTV VMA's

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Miley Cyrus: Miley Cyrus is known for one genre - Pop, although if we study her work carefully, we discover that she plays and experiments with genre in different and interesting ways. 
New, emerging artists are often pigeonholed into clear, identifiable genres as these are safer to sell to audiences (who can recognise the genre codes to match with their preferences). 
Record labels are less likely to back more experimental artists as they are more of a commercial risk. 

• Cyrus remained fixed in this genre for a while e.g. with 7 Things

• The Climb features lots of country iconography, from the style of her guitar and the shot of her on a horse alongside a man in a cowboy hat. Her appearance had shorn the ‘Barbie’ look and she now appeared more worn and ‘lived in’ – again attempting to fit into the country scene and an older audience, following her Father. 

Cyrus was signed to Hollywood Records (a subsidiary of the Disney Corporation – for whom she had a television contract for performing as Hannah Montana). It was important, therefore, that she have a ‘wholesome’ image that were in line with Disney’s core values. However, when she turned 18, she was able to be marketed as a more adult version of pop. 

• Can’t Be Tamed appeared to feature more dance-beats and the video was more akin to a Beyonce release (including bondage clothing and sexualised dance moves – including pole-dancing on the bars of her cage) than an episode from Hannah Montana. The lyrics were also more adult. a clear move into the adult pop genre. 

Cyrus then took a few years out of the music scene. When she re-emerged, she was keen to shed the Disney image that had dominated her previous career. 

• Her image in videos such as We Can’t Stop and Wrecking Ball show a change in direction for Cyrus’s image. Perhaps because, by this point, she already had an established fan-base, she was able to play with genre codes.

Videos became controversially sexualised – lack of clothing and highly suggestive dance moves and actions (e.g. licking the head of a sledgehammer in Wrecking Ball). Less choreographed dance moves replaced with images of rebellion (e.g. outrageous parties in We Can’t Stop and the punk hairstyle that dominated the cover images on the Bangerz album.

In some ways, her experiments with genre represent what is in vogue at the time and are a form of identifying with rapidly changing fads and styles. It is critical to each record company to continuously find new talents since the life of a 'hit' record is only from 60 to 120 days.

Her move to the image of a more ‘soulful’ musician came complete with an intertextual reference to Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2U music video, where she is shown crying in a close-up (referenced in Wrecking Ball).

Music Industry - Miley 2

Learning objective:

To study Miley Cyrus/Music industry Wrecking Ball video with consideration given to Audience responses.

Key words:  

Responses, Laura Mulvey, Male gaze, Patriarchy, Spectacle, Terry Richardson

Laura Mulvey Male Gaze - The male gaze occurs when the camera puts the audience into the perspective of a heterosexual man. It may linger over the curves of a woman's body, for instance. 

The woman is usually displayed on two different levels: as an erotic object for both the characters within the film, as well as for the spectator who is watching the film. 

The man emerges as the dominant power within the created film fantasy. 

The woman is passive to the active gaze from the man. 

This adds an element of patriarchal order. 

Mulvey argues that, in mainstream cinema, the male gaze typically takes precedence over the female gaze, reflecting an underlying power asymmetry.

This inequality can be attributed to patriarchy which has been defined as a social ideology embedded in the belief systems of Western culture and in patriarchal societies. 

It is either masculine individuals or institutions created by these individuals that exert the power to determine what is considered “natural”.

 Over the course of time, these constructed beliefs begin to seem ‘”natural” or “normal” because they are prevalent and carried out unchallenged, thus arguing that Western culture has adopted a hierarchical ideology which sets masculinity in opposition to femininity thus creating levels of inferiority.

Laura Mulvey; Male Gaze theory applied to Wrecking Ball video:

Task 1: Make notes on the slide show above. Bullet points are fine. (Orange books).

Further reading:

1. Patriarchy is a social system in which: males hold primary power; males predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property; and, in the domain of the family, fathers or father-figures hold authority over women and children.
   The Society of the Spectacle is a 1967 work of philosophy and Marxist critical theory by Guy Debord. Debord develops and presents the concept of the Spectacle.
   When Debord says that “All that was once directly lived has become mere representation,” he is referring to the central importance of the image in contemporary society.
   Images, Debord says, have supplanted genuine human interaction.
2. The video was directed by Terry Richardson. Richardson is known for his provocative photography work with celebrities. 

Home work: Complete the Cloze exercise on The Male Gaze.

(To be submitted on Friday lesson 5)

1. _________________________________________________________________

Audience segmentation.

Task 2: 
Watch the video 'Party in the USA' and write an essay considering the theoretical audience aspects of;

• Appeal and targeting
• Stuart Hall response theories; how can they be applied?
• Uses and gratification (Personal identity, social interaction).

Write up in your orange books.

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Task 3: Write a short essay on the representation of the event

Miley Cyrus Twerking at The MTV VMA's

Consider:
Issues of Gender representation. [Mulvey and the male gaze.]
Miley’s changing appearance.
The role of pop stars and their influence on young people

Jameela Jamil interview

"I think the video is much more, if people get past the point that I'm naked and you actually look at me you can tell that I actually look more broken than even the song sounds. The song is a pop ballad. It's one of these songs that everyone is going to relate to, everyone has felt that feeling at one point. If people can take their minds out of the obvious and go into their imagination a little bit and see kind of what the video really means and the way it's so vulnerable and actually if you look in my eyes I look more sad than my voice sounds on the record it was a lot harder to do the video than it was to record the songs. It was much more of an emotional experience."

— Cyrus defending the concept of the music video.

Answers to questions on previous blog post

WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE? 
Primarily, the Miley Cyrus fans that have grown up over the course of her career and have become young adults. Girls of the same age who were formerly fans of Disney's Hannah Montana.

Mainstream audience that connects with the emotions and themes of the song. (Breaking up and relationship issues). This is a preferred audience who accept the message in the text.

New audiences; tapping into the current Lady Gaga fanbase because of the imagery of the costumes and drama provided by the video which is directed by Terry Richardson. Richardson is known for his provocative work with Rihanna. Balanced fans may be sceptical about Miley's work but be attracted to this collaboration. This is a negotiated audience who may not be fans of Hannah Montana but gain pleasure from the new Miley work.

Alternative fans (fandom) may be attracted due to the controversial nature of Miley promotional work.
Potential a new male audience due to explicit nature. 

WHY WOULD THIS APPEAL TO TARGET AUDIENCE? 

Older Miley Cyrus fans - Miley is different from how she was, there is a fresh and new look. 

Sheʼs grown up and matured, talking about things the established audience now connect with. 

Similar to the old Miley because the songs about emotion and love and staying strong, so it stays in a similar demographic. 

New audience - Edgier with Lady Gaga inflfences. 

The fact that sheʼs shed the persona of Hannah Montana encourages much discussion on social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook.

According to Uses and Gratification theory, audiences would consume Miley texts in order to construct their own personal identity and to engage in social interaction.

There are also oppositional readers who completely reject the new Miley texts and the messages that are sent, they may feel Miley is a poor role model.

Andrew Goodwin Music Video Theory A2 Media

Music industry - Miley1

Learning Objective: 

To explore the text that is Miley Cyrus, Music industry with consideration given to Audience targeting.


Section B of the A2 Media Studies exam will ask you to discuss audiences. You will do this with consideration given to the music industry and three 'texts' Miley Cyrus, Nirvana, and Madness.

Miley Cyrus - Genre

• Introduction to Miley Cyrus' career:

Here are some interesting links relating to Miley Cyrus:

http://www.mileycyrus.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miley_Cyrus 

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/09/19/miley-cyrus-marketing-genius/

Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball Video:

• MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS: 
• Artist: Miley Cyrus 
• Track Name: Wrecking Ball 
• Genre of song: Pop (Ballad/soft rock) 
• Director: Terry Richardson 
• Format: Studio based performance

• 1. INTENTIONS Changing Miley Cyrusʼs “Star Persona” and get out of the Disney stereotype. Previous persona “Hannah Montana”; Innocent and clean cut. Child friendly and comedic. Designed to appeal to young teenagers (12-ish) 
• New Persona: Risque and promiscuous, raunchy and objectified. Explicit. Confident and edgier. Shows that she is now older and grown up. Sheʼs trying to grow with her fans. To promote the single, and Miley Cyrusʼs new image as an artist. Also as a revenue stream, money is generated from views on youtube. 
• REPRESENTATION OF THE ARTIST 
• Confident: not at all shy to be represented so explicitly and be highly sexualized (licking the sledgehammer). Riding a wrecking ball shows her as powerful. Shown as a emotionally hurt and sad person, but still tough, she picks herself up and breaks things to relieve her stress and pain. 
• Angry; A lot of violent imagery, literal destruction and angry facial expression. Fails to lip synch near the end, so busy crying. Wants to look personal and honest. Attempting to take control of her own image and make herself a strong woman using her sexuality. The iconography is usually associated with porn, something that exploits women. 
• RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND VISUALS 
• Slow and soft opening builds to a crescendo - Music swells for the chorus. Instrumentation: Guitar, studio produced with a digital quality; keyboards and bass. Walls falling down and Miley hitting things are matched to the beats of the music. On the softer parts we see Miley crying against the white backdrop. Simple imagery for a simple song. 
• RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LYRICS AND VISUALS 
• Video is a literal interpretation of the metaphors used in the lyrics; “Wrecking Ball” “breaking down walls” etc. When the song says “wrecking ball” we see a wrecking ball. Consider Andrew Goodwin's theory. The song is about a broken heart and a broken relationship, and this is shown by the destruction of the wall. She naked because sheʼs striped to her raw emotions. Embracing pain - licking the sledgehammer. 
• VOYEURISM (NOTION OF LOOKING) 
• Licking of the hammer focuses on a sexually explicit intimate moment. High angle close up brings us closer. The explicit nature of the video, makes it obvious the viewer is watching something they shouldnʼt be. Being tantalized and played with, strip tease aspect. Weʼre watching Cyrusʼs raw emotion, distraught and crying.
• INTERTEXTUALITY 
• References to Sinead OʼConnerʼs “nothing compared to you” video, in terms of framing, and OʼConnersʼs delivering the song straight to the camera with tears of emotion. TYPICAL OF GENRE Typical of pop that the subject is love. Different a bit because of how raw the emotions are. Itʼs amped up; usually scantily dressed girls, but here fully exposed. The imagery relates directly and quite simply to the lyrics. Performed directly to the audience. Itʼs well lit and an obvious studio space, not grungy or dirty or handheld. typical pop look. The abstract drama is similar to Lady Gagaʼs style of videos. 
• Task 1: 
• Read the following open letter and make notes on the points Sinead O'Connor raises about audience here. http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/03/sinead-o-connor-open-letter-miley-cyrus
• Task 2: (Homework, to be submitted Wednesday April 20th, period 1) 
• In 200 - 300 words answer the following questions in relation to Wrecking Ball.

WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE? 
WHY WOULD THIS APPEAL TO THE TARGET AUDIENCE 

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Exam Section A approach

Learning objective: How to approach section A of the A2 exam.

This is what the front of an A2 Media Studies exam paper looks like:

This is what the next page of the A2 Media Studies exam paper looks like:

Section A of the exam questions are based around text. You should answer section A with responses on TV industry texts that we have looked at, Luther, Life on Mars and Common.

On the front page, you should write TV Industry in the box (Media Industry Chosen) alongside box A.

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Below is a selection of questions from Section A of the A2 Media Studies exam:

You will be asked to answer one question from this section.

SECTION A: TEXT 

Answer one question from this section. You must refer to the three main texts you have studied in each answer. 

Either, 

A1. Explore the different ways in which people are represented in your three main texts. [30] 

Or, 

A2. How typical are your three main texts of their genre? [30]

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Either, 

A1. Explore the narrative structure of your three main texts. [30] 

Or, 

A2. ‘Most texts today mix genres.’ How true is this of your three main texts? [30]

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Either, 

A1. To what extent do your three main texts challenge genre conventions? [30] 

Or,

 A2. Explore the key gender representations in your three main texts. [30]

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Either, 

A1. ‘All media representations are constructed.’ Discuss with reference to your three main texts. [30] 

Or, 

A2. ‘Media texts contain complex narratives.’ How true is this of your three main texts? [30]

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Either, 

A1. Explore the different representations of either men or age within your three main texts. [30] 

Or,

A2. How important are characters to the narrative of your three main texts? [30]

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Read the questions thoroughly before starting to plan your answer.
You need to know about genre conventions, representation and narrative in regards to the three texts. (Luther, Life on Mars and Common.)

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You will need to plan your response to these questions. 
This will make writing your answers easier and you will avoid losing 'silly' marks.

Task 1: Look at the diagram below. Make a note of the three concepts and the sublists;
Genre - Narrative - Representation (three lists). Leave enough space (half a page) so you can clearly put your ideas about each text.

Task 2: 

Using key terms found on this blog, consider what you will write about with regards to the three texts you have studied if approaching a genre question. 

Bullet points for each of Luther, Life on Mars and Common. Submit at end of today.

• Signifiers - All media 'texts' have signs and signifiers which send specific messages to the audience. In some cases we hardly think about how we read these signs. The use of colour for example to suggest.. mood.. atmosphere.. meaning.
  Signifiers: show, suggest, mean something to an audience

• Conventions - What are the conventions of a TV Crime Drama? Program titles Title sequences Lighting Camera Angles Characters Storyline/ narrative How do we know it is a TV Crime Drama? 

• Iconography - the visual images and symbols used in a work of art or the study or interpretation of these.

‘Iconography is an important aspect of genre. We expect to see certain objects on screen when we see a particular genre, for example, in a Western, dusty lonely roads, saloon bars, cowboy hats and horses, jails, sheriffs badges, guns, etc.. 

• In a modern horror film, we expect young girls, ‘normal’ objects, use of dark and light, etc. These ‘genre indicators’ are called the iconography of the mise-en-scene or genre.’

http://dls-media-as-1314-joshroberts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/iconography-of-crime-drama.html

Below is an interesting take on Luther:

Below are some exemplar plans: 

Audience
What affects the way in which an audience responds to a programme, e.g. age, culture, gender, situation, etc.? • Audience theories: uses and gratifications. This theory suggests that audiences ‘use different media texts for different reasons’: • For entertainment and diversion – audiences consume some media texts in order to escape from everyday life. This also suggests that audiences do not have to experience literal reality but can become equally involved in a story world that is believably fantastical if it offers escapism. Audiences like to become involved in the solving of the crime along with the detectives. • For information and education – some media texts are consumed by audiences when they want to know what is going on in the world or to find out information about other areas of the world. • For social interaction – some media texts are ‘of the moment’ and are discussed by the audience as they happen. This is sometimes referred to as ‘water-cooler’ television. Audiences watch the programme so that they can then use the experience to talk to others. An example would be when audiences go on social networking sites and tweet after the last episode of a series, giving their opinions on what has happened. Here, the audience response is immediate, and to be involved it is essential to keep up to date with the programme. This happened after the last episode of Sherlock. • For personal identity – this is the idea that audiences will gain pleasure from some media texts because they are able to compare their lives and circumstances with those featured in the particular text. The appeal of the programme may be that an audience can empathise with a particular character in a situation and be involved with how they handle it.

TV Industry - Genre, Narrative and Representation

The exam will ask you to discuss Texts. (Genre, Narrative and Representation)
You should approach this with consideration given to the TV Industry texts we have looked at; Luther, LoM and Common.
You will need to show good knowledge of the narrative devices used in TV crime drama with specific references to the shows we have looked at.

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TV Industry - Narrative

Crime has always been a popular TV drama narrative because:

• The good vs evil binary opposition is easily recognisable and dramatic.
• We like to try to solve the crime along with the detective, enigmas keep us hooked.
• The disruption (crime) and restoration of equilibrium (capture and punishment) offers reassurance that the police keep our society safe and that the government will protect us.
• Dominant (hegemonic) ideologies are upheld - crime and lawlessness do not pay, the law prevails.
• These are audience pleasures provided by this format.

Task 1: 

Consider the question below

How do the narrative devices in your chosen texts offer audience pleasures?

Write bullet points based on the TV crime dramas we have looked at (Common, Luther and Life on Mars) with regards to narrative devices. Be specific.

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TV Industry - Genre

How do the chosen texts use genre conventions?

You should open your response by outlining what is to be understood by the genre conventions of TV Crime drama.

Give consideration to the following:
Settings, usually well known places or cities which are dangerous places.
Titles, can give a clue to the genre, CSI, Sherlock, Sweeney. 

Mise-en-scene can include genre conventions, blood, X-Rays, weapons, fingerprints, police tape, sirens or cars...(discuss the Luther titles here).

Characters are divided into types; crime solvers, criminals, victims. 

Propp's characters can usually be applied here. 

Say how the different types can be identified, white coats, stethescopes, rubber gloves for forenzic experts. Say that these stereotypes are expected by the audience.

That they are cliches used to get a message across quickly.

At the end of the episode/series the crime is solved and the criminal usually is punished. 

Lead characters will often have a back story, and will weave their personal life in to the narrative. There is usually mystery involved, or some sort of puzzle, so that the audience can try to figure it out themselves. 

Almost always ends on a cliffhanger to keep the audience watching the next episode. 
Binary opposites are often used to keep the audience interested.
Don't forget audio codes such as sirens and often a humming sound to make the audience uncomfortable.

Consider the ideological implications of conforming or challenging the standard conventions of TV crime drama.

Be specific about the episode we looked at:  LoM-Genre | Luther - Genre | Common-Genre

Task 2: 

Write bullet points based on the TV crime dramas we have looked at (Common, Luther and Life on Mars) with regards to genre conventions. 

Consider if the shows conform or challenge the conventions of the genre.

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TV Industry - Representation

Understanding the concept of representation is essential at A2 level. 

You must be able to go beyond a simplistic discussion of stereotypes or positive and negative representations.

To analyse the impact of representation in media texts you must be aware of the context and the purpose of representation within the text. There are some key questions you must be able to consider:

• How has the world represented in this media text been constructed?
• What ideas and values are being communicated in the text? In this case by McGovern and the BBC.
• Who is the target audience of the text? How may different audiences respond to the representations contained within the text? Who will accept and who will challenge? (Consider Stuart hall here - Preferred, negotiated and oppositional readers).
• What messages are contained within the text? How might these messages impact upon the audience?  How might Common, for example, impact upon a teenage viewer?

Crime and the police

Let the examiner know that you are aware of how characters are usually represented in TV crime drama.

Some dominant ideologies about the police:

• Good
• Authoritative
• Powerful
• Male
• Moral
• Upholders of the law

Equally, dominant ideologies about crime and criminals are:

• Bad
• Marginalised groups (the unemployed)
• Must be punished
• Social decay

However, gradual changes in society, coupled with certain events (Hillsborough) have led to a gradual erosion of respect for authority and different perceptions of the police have emerged...

• Incompetent
• Corrupt
• Racist
• Female

Luther - Representation | Common - Representation | LoM - Rep |

Task 3: 

Consider how representation of age and gender are constructed through visual and technical codes.

Do the texts we have looked at show positive or negative representations?

Do they show an awareness of the context and the purpose of representation within the text.