EVAL Q2a - Audiences

Theorists such as Stuart Hall take away the idea that texts only have one, fixed meaning, that is the aim of ideology. Texts are polysemic, and the interpretations made by audiences are as valid as that makers of the text. So in order

JOHN HARTLEY quoted in Ien Ang's "Desperately Seeking The Audience" , talking specifically about television, but it can and has been applied to other media industries.

“Institutions are obliged not only to speak about an audience, but - crucially, for them - to talk to them as well; they need to not only represent audiences but to enter into relation with them” 

Here is an example of overwhelmly negative audience feedback, for Alex Cox's film Sid &Nancy (from my teacher's ProdEval blog)

- I feel this film was totally evil.- Makes me uncomfortable but doesn't answer any questions. Where is the character growth?- A degrading, revolting film. There was nothing anyone could relate to. The characters were so inhuman.- The script is deplorable. The look of the film syrprised me for its apparent amateurism. The choice of shots were [sic] totally boring - there were no dolly shots or anything even subtly soothing.- The Americans are depicted as ridiculous. 

The film's box office further anchors its limited and niche marketable ability to audiences (primary audience will have been fans of Sid Vicious punk, as well music specialists/historians)

My media product isn't targeted at a niche audience. Films centred on LGBT+ characters often are, and there are multiple distributors: 

TARGET AUDIENCE

PRIMARY TARGET AUDIENCE

14-19 year olds, a long with lesbian and bisexual women of the same age as well as up to all other ages.

SECONDARY TARGET AUDIENCE

Anyone who stumbles on this film by chance. When asking my coursemate Evie Gibbons on why she watched Submarine, she said she found a link to it online and was intrigued by the fact the film was called Submarine. The reactions I got to my title CrossWord were widely varied, but all brought up interesting connotations, so I hope that it might make it more appealing to a potential wide audience

RECEPTION THEORY

Stuart Hall said that it is wrong to say the makers of a media text have the true reading of the text, the readings of audiences are just as valid. It is ideology that tries to fix one meaning. So Hall set out three types of reading and audience has in relation to the intended reading by the producers of the text

THREE TYPES OF READINGS

Preferred/Dominant Reading - The reading encoded by the makers is recognised and accepted by the audience

My work: The representations of LGBT characters goes well with marketing the film to a mainstream audience.

Negotiated/Contested Reading - Some of the intended meaning is accepted/understood, but there are still objections to it by the audience

My work: There are some interesting representations in this text, it has positive intentions/messages, but the characters are still portrayed very stereotypically.

Oppositional/Rejected Reading - The reading encoded by the makers of the text is completely rejected, for personal/ethical reasons, or a complete different social background.

My work: My text is not at all empowering to LGBT+ people. The fact that all the characters can't be non-heterosexual shows how we live in a heteronormative society, or the represenation of the protagonist is extremely homophobic