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To what extent does your Cross Media area offer audiences a

wide range of pleasures and interests?


In Inside Death Row (ITV Plum Pictures) the audience are positioned by
the introduction to the issues (narrative convention) made by the
presenter Trevor McDonald. In episode 1, Trevor McDonald explains, An
hours drive south of Chicago in the state of Indiana is one of Americas
oldest and most notorious maximum-security prisons (verbal code). His
voice of God narration secures the interest of the audience, and is further
enhanced by the establishing shot (technical code) of Indiana State prison
which positions the audience to completely trust McDonald and gain
interest as he is being allowed inside such a dangerous and secure place.
The dark and dreary setting of the prison connotes the seriousness of the
situation as the inmates are waiting in the isolated prison waiting to die.
Audiences may identify (Katz) with this on a human level, and may
encourage audiences to develop relationships by debating this
contentious issue of whether the death penalty is the right punishment for
all prisoners with friends and family.
However, The Daily Mail website comment page (online) opens up the
debate of the death penalty to a worldwide audience. This platform is
readily available which demands discussion (Katz) about the themes and
issues of death row and elicits opinions on the
dominant/preferred/oppositional readings that are decoded from the
documentary (Hall). One comment on the website states that I struggle
with the Death Penalty, I know it is a fact that our justice system has put
innocent men to death and this cannot happen, not even once. A reply to
this statement showed complete disagreement with a member of the
audience stating Oh boohoo. These evil men committed heinous crimes
against humanity and they are too dangerous to live with the rest of
society (verbal codes). These codes imply a growing interest from
audiences and connotes that the audience are gaining pleasures from
being given the opportunity to debate the issue. The Daily Mail gives
audiences a platform to interact on, on a global scare with the
controversial issue of the death penalty.
Celebrity Big Brother (Channel 5) represents an extremely broad genre
with hybrids of reality and documentary emerging, thus gaining
recognition from wider audiences. In Celebrity Big Brother the audience
are positioned to engage in the character functions (narrative convention Propp) within housemates. In season 14 episode 10, Katie Hopkins is
represented as the hero and Perez Hilton as the villain by fellow
housemates. These particular character functions cause conflict and
secure the interest of the audience. In the episode, fellow housemate
Michelle Visage says Perez no-one gives a **** about what youre saying,
listen to Katie she knows what she is talking about. The conflict and

controversy provides entertainment for the audience, and therefore allows


audiences to identify (Katz) with the housemates on a personal level. The
different character functions may also encourage audiences to develop
other relationships by discussing the housemates personalities with others
that also watch the programme, seeing if they agree with the character
types of the particular housemates.
However, The Guardian website comments page (online) opens the
debate on the Perez and Katie situation to a much wider audience,
enabling more to get involved and express their own opinions on the
matter.
One comment states, OMG Katies little followers are turning
on her a little bit now after they have realized that they may of backed the
wrong horse haha! Good, she is evil. This comment disagrees with the
views that have been put across, branding Katie Hopkins as the evil
housemate. Another comment received in disagreement was 37 years of
age and he has to act like this? He is a total prat and makes my skin
crawl (verbal codes). These comments all connote growing interest from
the audience as they are replying to each others comments with their
own personal opinions that may differ. The audience will be pleasured
beyond the documentary itself as they are given the opportunity to
debate in different ways.
Channel 4s Supersize vs Superskinny audiences are positioned to engage
in the goal orientation (narrative) part of the documentary. In episode
season 6 episode 10, Dr Christian states, 3,500 calories per day, that is
basically an extra 5 days of eating per week. I know that you can tell that
this is bad and you need to do something about this otherwise your life
will be cut short (verbal code). This statement connotes the seriousness
of the situation as their life will be cut short if they continue eating this
amount. Towards the end of the programme Dr Christian then informs the
patient, 2 and a half stone! Look at how much weight you have lost, I can
see that you really have understood that what you were doing was bad to
your body and the change you have made is just phenomenal (verbal
code). Audiences can identify with the patients (Katz) on a human level as
they see their struggles at the beginning and can also gain pleasures in
seeing the patient achieve their goal that they wanted.
The YouTube comment box (online) provides allows the debate of eating to
be opened up to a national audience. This platform is readily available for
discussion and allows audiences to give their own opinions. One comment
states, We have to give her credit, you can tell she worked hard.
Another member of the audience sends praise to the patient saying keep
it up, you are doing very well (verbal codes), suggesting that the
audience dont only want to voice their opinions but also want to get
involved on a personal level and try and influence them to keep on going
with their diet. These codes suggest growing interest and interaction from
global audiences watching the documentary.

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