Lost
Lost is a mainstream text that
targets a mainstream audience
Non-liniers narrative is used in
a mainstream media texts particularly in lost because it is a way of giving
extra information to the viewer allowing them to be passive because they don’t have
work things out for themselves. In the opening scene Kate is talking to jessy
about when they were on the plain, but instead of us just hearing what he has
to say about it, which is a lie anyway, we see the scene on the plain with him
hiding from the air hostess as he takes drugs in the bath room, the non-linier
narrative makes the audience feel important because they know more than the
characters.
Score is used in mainstream texts
because it tells the audience what to feel. The score allows the audience to be
passive because they don’t have to think about the feelings of the characters.
This would appeal to a mainstream audience because they want something they can
watch without paying attention to. When a group of the lost characters decides
to take the radio up to the top of a mountain the score is used to indicate a
quest, it sounds like music from Indiana Jones, this would engage the audience
because they might think that something interesting is going to happen on the
journey.
Enigma codes are used in
mainstream media texts because they are grabbing the audience’s attention and
making them want to carry on watching. Lost uses a lot of enigma codes so that
the audience stays engaged. In one scene a young boy is in the jungle looking
for his dog and he sees some on the floor, the music goes tense and dangerous,
then he sees that they are handcuffs so some of the tension is released, but
then who did it? And the tension builds again. There are so many enigma codeds
used in lost because it is on ABC which is a big American channel with lots of
breaks and they need to keep people interested.
Mad men
Mad men is a
high brow text that targets a niche audience
The Cinematography in mad men would appeal to a niche
audience because they would be looking deeper than the storyline. Mad Men was made
by Mathew Weiner for AMC which is a channel that you have to pay for, this
means that the audience would want more for their money, so the cinematography
is more for their money because Mathew Weiner wanted quality over quantity of money
brought in from the series, this means that they wanted their audience to gain
gratification from there carefully thought out lighting and camera angles, an
example of this is when penny and Don are in dons office and she tells him that
she is leaving to company, she is standing over him as he begs her not to leave,
the way they this final scene with the two of them is put together is to show
the changing attitudes to women in the workplace, and this is shown thought the
power that is portrayed in this scene and is enhanced by the cinematography.
The
historical content in mad Men would appeal accuracy in the historical content
would appeal to a more niche audience because not everyone would understand
whey certain things are happening in the series unless they know about that
period of time. The way men react to Joanne, in this series the men swoon over
her and she uses her sexuality and looks to get ahead when she sleeps with a
business man to get the company a contract and herself a promotion, a more
passive audience might not understand that Joanne was considered pretty in the
1950s because she was curvaceous, and resembled Marylyn Monroe. A passive
audience might not make the connections with the 1950s so they would not see
why she is considered beautiful and an active audience would make their
connections.
Peaky blinders
Peaky blinders is a drama made by
BBC 2 that targets both mainstream and niche audiences
The mise –en scene and
iconography would attract a more niche audience because they would be paying
attention to how accurate the clothing and setting is, they would notice and appreciate
the smallest detail because they would know that no expense has been spared on
the mall seemingly insignificant things, such as the pin on collar that Tommy
Shelby wears. Or the spike that goes with the fire when Aunt Polly tries to
save Aida’s letter from the fire. A niche audience would also pay attention to
the digetic sounds in the scenes. When the scene is outside you can hear sounds
coming from the factories, there aren’t important to the main story line but
they are to the setting, because this shows that they are in Birmingham when it
was an industrial capital.
Sound track the soundtrack in
peaky blinders is largely compiled of the white stripes; this would attract a
mainstream audience because they are a well known duo so a lot of people would
know the music and might be able to relate to it because it is something that appeals
to them. Also the music is used to create excitement in the audience because it
is used cleverly. There s a complete silence in a scene when the police are all
lining up to rade houses, then as the first door in banged on the music starts,
this excites the audience and sends them in to a frenzy so that they are griped
by the scene
Famous cast in
peaky blinders would attract a more mainstream audience because people would
see an actor or actress they like and know does a good performance and they
would want to watch it to see them. A well known actor in peaky blinders is
killian Murphy, he would attract audiences who have also seen him in Hollywood
films such as batman and inception and both texts had mass audiences which
could potentially follow him to peaky blinders for his acting skills and his
looks.
