Critically acclaimed 'Man Men', written and directed by Matthew Weiner, targets a niche audience. 'Mad Men', season 5, episode 11, 'The Other Woman', targets the preferred audience of an active viewer, who will be gratified with historical and social context of the 1960's.
The episode of 'Mad Men', 'The Other Woman', targets a niche audience due to the scheduling of the programme. 'Mad Men' has been scheduled on subscription channels which you have to pay for, in America, the programme is on AMC and in England, it's on Sky Atlantic. This reduces its audience base, due to the the channel having to be payed for to view. This means it is not on mainstream television, therefore not targeting a wide range of audiences.
Another reason why 'Mad Men' targets a niche audience is due to the gratification's it offers it's viewers. 'The Other Woman' highlights issues surrounding female rights within the 1960's, therefore only targeting an audience who are gratified by the historical context, who will be the preferred audience. This can be seen through the complex representations of the women within 'The Other Women', with Joan using her body to advance within the work place, and Peggy quitting her job due to feeling repressed. This use of representing a complex range of the results of womens rights within the 1960's will attract an active audience who is not gratified by a passive and mainstream representation. This will limit it's audience who will tale the preferred reading of the text, therefore 'Mad Men' will not target a wide range of audiences.
'Mad Men' also uses a polysemic narrative, therefore requiring an active viewer to have the gratification of decoding the text in the preferred way. This can be seen within the scene where Joan sees Peggy leaves Don's office after telling him she's quitting her job, in which the camera captures a mid-shot of Joan's expression, with the viewer being unaware of whether she's happy or not that she's going. This use of a polysemic narrative causes the viewer to have an active say in the meaning of the episode, meaning a more passive audience will not be gratified by the lack of answers and take the negotiated reading. This limits 'Mad Mens' audience who will be gratified by the text, therefore meaning it does not target a wide range of audiences.
In conclusion, I feel that 'Mad Men' doesn't target a wide range of audiences through its use os scheduling the programme on a niche channel, to limit its audience. This is done due to the text being designed to gratify a more niche and active audience through its structure and context of the series, which can be seen within the episode, 'The Other Woman'. This means that I disagree with the statement that most media texts target a wide range of audiences, due to my chosen text 'Mad Men' not doing so.
Thursday 25 April 2013
Tuesday 23 April 2013
Discuss the audience appeal of your three main texts.
Mad Men, season 5, episode 11, 'The Other Woman', appeals to its target audience through the gratification which it gives its audience through-out the series. The episode, 'The Other Woman', is set within the time set of the 1960's, providing the viewer the gratification of information and escapism into the 1960's work place. This juxtaposition between the 1960's time set of the series and the viewers modern ideology of society provides the viewer with an aspect of escapism, therefore appealing to its audience. This can be seen within the scene where Don Draper throws money in Peggy's face after she asks for a raise in her pay. This scene highlights the issues surrounding the lack of gender equality within the 1960's, specifically within the work place, with men being viewed as generally more superior than women.
Mad Men also targets its audience through the mode of address of its episodes, therefore appealing to a specific audience which are more high-brow and being gratified by a more intellectual style of writing. This mode of address can be seen within the scene where Peggy is telling Don Draper that she is leaving the business, after they win the pitch for Jaguar. Within this climatic ending scene for the episode, 'The Other Woman', the sequence doesn't use any non-diegetic music, which would be used in a more mainstream series like 'Suits', to signify to the viewer to react. In comparison, Mad Men, treats its audience as more intellectual and able to read a more sophisticated text, therefore does not use non-diegeti music to signify its viewer to react to the sequence, therefore targeting and appealing a more sophisticated audience.
Mad men uses a more character lead narrative, again appealing a more active audience. More mainstream programmes such as 'Suit's' uses the theory of propps to make a passive audience more aware of who is the hero and who is the villain, making the narrative easier to read. However, Mad Men uses complex characters to give the audience the gratification of having a long term investment with the series. Journalists and critics support this point through describing the episode, 'The Other Woman', as being 'identity politics'. This character lead narrative can be seen within the scene where Joan sees Peggy leave Don's office after telling him that shes leaving the business. Joans expression is polysemic, allowing the viewer to decipher the text in more detail and intellect, allowing them to side with what Joans view of Peggy leaving is. This appeals to a more active audience, who do not want a straight forward narrative, and want to have an active say in the episodes meaning.
Mad Men also targets its audience through the mode of address of its episodes, therefore appealing to a specific audience which are more high-brow and being gratified by a more intellectual style of writing. This mode of address can be seen within the scene where Peggy is telling Don Draper that she is leaving the business, after they win the pitch for Jaguar. Within this climatic ending scene for the episode, 'The Other Woman', the sequence doesn't use any non-diegetic music, which would be used in a more mainstream series like 'Suits', to signify to the viewer to react. In comparison, Mad Men, treats its audience as more intellectual and able to read a more sophisticated text, therefore does not use non-diegeti music to signify its viewer to react to the sequence, therefore targeting and appealing a more sophisticated audience.
Mad men uses a more character lead narrative, again appealing a more active audience. More mainstream programmes such as 'Suit's' uses the theory of propps to make a passive audience more aware of who is the hero and who is the villain, making the narrative easier to read. However, Mad Men uses complex characters to give the audience the gratification of having a long term investment with the series. Journalists and critics support this point through describing the episode, 'The Other Woman', as being 'identity politics'. This character lead narrative can be seen within the scene where Joan sees Peggy leave Don's office after telling him that shes leaving the business. Joans expression is polysemic, allowing the viewer to decipher the text in more detail and intellect, allowing them to side with what Joans view of Peggy leaving is. This appeals to a more active audience, who do not want a straight forward narrative, and want to have an active say in the episodes meaning.
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