Peaky Blinders scene response

' Explore the different ways your 3 main texts target their audiences'

Peaky Blinders was directed by Steven Knight and was broadcasted on BBC2 at 9pm. The series follows the life of a post-war family in 1919, in the industrial city Birmingham. I specifically focused on series 1 episode 2.

The text provides in-depth historical content, which specifically appeals and is suited to an Active Audience. This is shown within the scene where Cillian Murphy and Sam Neil are having a private conversation. Within the miss en scene, they are sat within an upper class hotel dining suite- with embroidered furniture and grand paintings. This signifies the upper class lifestyle after World War 1. Through dialogue, Cillian says "Why would i shake the hand of a man who didn't go and fight for his country?" The constant reference to the War is encoded to provide an Active Audience an educational gratification- from the Blumer and Katz Uses and Gratification Theory. 

B4- How global is the appeal of your three main texts? (30)

            I have studied the success of three alternative artists being; Nirvana, Radiohead and Lady Gaga.

            Nirvana first came to the scene with their first studio album ‘Bleach’ , released in 1989 by the independent label ‘Sub Pop’. However, this album failed to chart in America as it didn’t have the financial support to promote and globalise the bands success. Their music genre then was more ‘rock and metal’ based which was very diverse from the mainstream. In 1991, the band diluted their alternative heavier sound to more popular music and signed to a huge record label ‘ Geffen’. Geffen is owned by Universal and has large marketing budgets, enabling the band to be promoted all over the world, in order to gain more profits.

            In the 90s, the Internet was not available to advertise and expand a bands fame and reputation. However, to be the mainstream and gain their fans they combined the genres; punk, rock and pop to create the genre ‘ Grunge’. To promote the band and their new studio album ‘Nevermind’, Geffen were heavily reliant on magazines and TV appearances to gain more of a secure fan base. They appeared on Top of the Pops in December 1991, performing their new single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. As the songs played on the programme were pre-recorded, Nirvana chose to mime their instruments sarcastically and the lead singer- Kurt Cobain- sang an octave lower and very little articulation. This then allowed their performance to become a global phenomenon by ‘ word of mouth’, which was another thing Nirvana relied on for publicity. This album was first released by ‘DGG Records’ in September 24^th 1991, with an optimistic expectation of 250,000 sales. However, 30 million copies were sold worldwide, and the increasing demand for the album kept increasing.

            ‘Nirvana’ continue their fame through all generations. This is due to re-releases such as Nevermind, 20 years after Kurt Cobain’s death. This prolongs their success and keeps the band alive for more people to listen to and enjoy.

A2 Media, Television industry- Audience homework

Section 1

1a) Identify the main targeted audience of Mad Men

Mad Men was the first television series produced by AMC, which expected viewers to subscribe to their channel to be able to watch the shows they broadcasted. This relates to the specific target audience suitable for Mad Men, as people have to pay to be able to watch this programme. This also eliminates a mass and mainstream audience, as it is not available for all viewers. A niche audience is the most suited to Mad Men, as the text is not completely publicised and broadcasted on a channel such as ITV1. Due to its historical context and the era it is representing, a more active audience is suited in order to successfully decode the text.

1b) Identify one way the text has been encoded to appeal to that type of audience.

The focus on historical context and how characters are represented in certain ways to make them more representative of that specific era e.g. Joan representing the Marilyn Monroe figure.

1c) Justify how that point/technique/convention would gratify your previously identified type of audience. 

By the audience being more active they would appreciate and understand the influential figures of that time, which is the 1950 and 60s. Marilyn Monroe was seen as the most beautiful woman in the world and was an iconic figure in art and fashion. Her curves and flamboyant behaviour was seen as attractive whereas a passive and mainstream audience would not understand this convention as they are used to finding slim, tanned females attractive.

1d) Describe a narrative sequence where this point/technique/convention is present. 

This is specifically shown with the female protagonist- Joan. While in her office, she is being made to sleep with a business partner in order for the company to succeed and gain more profits. Her body is being sold and used for the males gain, showing common narrative themes and issues of sexism. She is wearing a tight, navy dress showing off her curves and her hair is of a red head. Her voice is very light and flamboyant similarly to Marilyn Monroe.


Section 2

2) Does Lost target a passive audience? Justify answer

Lost does target a passive audience as the dialogue throughout includes a lot of exposition, which allows the audience to know whats going on throughout the episode. This meaning that they don't need to work anything out for themselves compared to an active audience which are more likely to decode a text more successfully.

3) Identify how Lost is encoded to gratify a passive audience

By the use of the score while creating an enigma, a passive audience are able to decode this information to know something is either going to happen or the audience is going to find something out. This will gratify a passive audience as it will keep them informed and intrigued within the text.

4) Justify one point/technique/convention that would force Mad Men's audience to decode the text actively in order to gain gratifications.

By the lack of the score convention, there is a lack of awareness as to when something is going to happen and the creation of an enigma. By a performance decoding the text actively they will be able to understand the narrative effectively.

5) Explain and justify how Peaky Blinders has been encoded to gratify both passive and active audience.

A passive audience would enjoy the use of soundtracks from the White Stripes, as using modernised music the audience are able to relate to the text more. An active audience would appreciate the professional use of cinematography, that the text has been complimented on frequently. Both of these conventions are used within the first 3 minutes of episode 2. A fight between the three Shelby boys and other men breaks out, the scene is filmed in slow motion and the soundtrack is reversed. This would gratify both a passive and an active audience as it is entertaining and interesting to both audiences.

6) Justify the statement 'Lost is encoded to be inclusive'.



7) Why does the use of a score appeal to a more passive audience?

The score appeals to more of  a passive audience as it indicates them when an enigma is occurring and something is going to happen or told to the audience. This means they don't need to decode the text by themselves or work something out that isn't given to them directly, this is what an active audience is able to do.

"Discuss the audience appeal of your three main texts."

The way an audience may react or read a text varies,  according to Stuart Hall's theory of ' The Encoding and Decoding Model' in 1980,  as all texts are polysemic. The way an audience may decode/encode a text may be because of factors such as age, gender, culture and knowledge; which are all different according to each individual. This is relevant to my chosen television texts.

Lost is made by the American television company; ABC, which creates mainstream texts to target a vast audience throughout the United States. The director, JJ Abrams is famous for his work in the genre of sci-fi and in films such as Star Trek. His pilot of the new series reached 18.6 million views and the first series had an average of 17.6 million views. It is typical of a mainstream text and its preferred audience would be that of a passive audience, due to the conventions used throughout.The series follows the story of a group of people who have crashed onto a desert island, somewhere between America and Australia. There are a variety of ethnicities, ages and genders which are relevant to the mainstream genre convention being an 'ensemble cast'. This allows a passive audience to be able to relate to at least one character within their text which is more likely to encourage them to be intrigued within the narrative. This is specifically shown with the character Sun, who is a female of an Asian ethnicity,within her 30s. Her body is always covered up and her husband does not allow her to expose any part of her body which could be shown as 'intimate'. This is relevant to a specific culture, which some people of the same ethnicity may be able to relate to.

Lost is based on the 1950's series 'The Twilight Zone', as it shows similar framing and slow zooming effects in order to create enigmas. These technical codes are frequently used within episode 2 of Lost, usually before a commercial break in order to keep their audience watching. An example of this is shown when there is a slow zoom towards the face of Charlie, which results into an extreme close up. The use of score is also used in the background in order to create tension and an enigma. The close up lasts for at least 6 seconds, focusing on his facial expression which is shown to be 'fear'. This exaggerated close up creates more tension as the audience are questioning what the character is thinking about. This is how the director intends for the audience to feel, which is relevant to the Hypodermic Model, as a passive audience accepts what the director is intending for them to feel and react to a certain scene within a text. However an Oppositional reading from an active audience could be that the text is too obvious read, as this creation of an enigma is obvious that something is going to happen.

Kate is the female protagonist within the second episode, along with Jack, who are both seen to be the 'heroes' within the narrative structure. Kate has similarities to the fictional character 'Lara Croft', being that she is strong, brave, beautiful and heroic. She has been constructed to be wearing very little clothing, she is slim and toned and has long brown hair. She is what every girl wants to be and look like, which encourages a female passive audience interested in her character due to her similarities with the famous Lara Croft. This also giving an audience the gratification of entertainment and pleasure with what they are seeing.

Mad Men was created by an American satellite and cable channel called 'AMC', who also then came make Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. AMC stands for; American Movie Classics, and by the year 2013: 97,699,000 American households subscribed to this channel for their televisions. The programme was aired on Sky Atlantic within the UK, which again is a channel that audiences have to subscribe for to be able to watch. Mad Men was the first television series they created as they wanted to show the world something new. It was the first TV drama series to win an Emmy award consecutively; this proving that it was a huge success. It specifically targets an active audience as the text is more niche than mainstream. Throughout the series there are very complex character representations, focusing on life within 1960 America and how sexism was a common force within the work place. This again affecting how an audience might view the text whether positively or negatively. A passive audience may take an Oppositional reading as they may not understand all of the themes throughout the text as it is not a modernised text. Don Draper, is the male protagonist within the text who runs a high end business within the city of New York. His wife Megan Draper wants to excel within her acting career, his secretary Peggy has had enough of how he treats her, and Joan who uses her beauty in order to gain success within his business. Television critics commented on the specific episode I have studied being Series 5: Episode 11 'The Other Woman' as: ' a top notch episode, full of closed door talks and identity politics.'

Marilyn Monroe, was the main beauty icon with the 1950s and 60s, as her curves and famous smile made her the ideal woman of that era. Joan takes the role of Monroe within the series as she is similar in the way she looks, her body shape, what she wears and how she speaks. This could make an active audience be able to relate the two people together and want to carry on watching the series. Also, audiences with retrophilia- an obsession with the past- may also enjoy the programme a lot more as it gives an audience a real life representation of how life would have been within the 50s and 60s. Mad Men has created a large cultural phenomenon being within the fashion industry and inspirations for other shows and films such as the new television drama ' Suits'. A passive audience may take an Oppositional reading as they may not find Joan's character attractive as females who are classed as attractive in modern day are ' skinny, toned, tanned' etc. They may not understand why people find this character physically attractive.

Sexism between genders in the work place is a common theme within the narrative of Mad Men, which also exaggerates how it has evolved over time due to force of Feminism. We see that Joan is a strong sexual character who is available for the pleasure of men. She abuses her state of power, as she achieves it through sleeping with someone. Her sexuality is also enthused through the technical conventions and camera movements. An extreme close up of her chest while taking off a necklace, makes a strong focus on her cleavage and neck. This again relating her to intimate themes within the narrative. However, we see a change in sexism when Peggy finally stands up for herself infront of Don. She is standing above him while he is sat down in an arm chair within his office. This makes Don look less powerful and dominant over Peggy as we have seen previously. This is showing the ways of Feminism being present and that women are beginning to fight back against the oppression of men. An active audience would appreciate this fact and how the world has evolved since then to more equality  within opportunities.

Peaky Blinders was first premiered in the Edinburgh Film Festival in June 2013, showing episodes 1 and 2 back to back. It received outstanding reviews and was a truly magnificent piece. It is set in Birmingham in 1919 after soldiers have come back WW1. It shows the struggle with mental health and alcohol abuse that the war has had on the community and also the poverty throughout the city. It follows a criminal gang featuring Cillian Murphy and Helen McCroy, who are famous film stars. The director Steven Knights is a big fan of Cillian and his work within the film business. By the feature of these famous actors attracted a variety of audiences being passive and active. The series was aired on BBC2 in the Autumn of 2013, which broadcasts programmes of the arts, culture, drama and comedy. An Oppositional Response of the series is from Jim Shelley, a Daily Mail critic: " i felt that the series was rushed with characters and plots often rushed and under developed and lacked complexity." This could be argued as the series was only 6 episodes long, it is a lot information to get into 6 hours. A passive audience may also find this hard to keep on top of the narrative.

The series has been complimented for its high production values and cinematography; things that an active audience would strongly appreciate. Also for its historical context which is a niche convention and an active audience gratification. An example of high quality cinematography within episode 2 is the fight scene within the first 5 minutes. The scene is shown in slow motion, with the soundtrack of the White Stripes reversed. High angle shots are shown of the men lying on the floor when looking up at the three Shelby's who have beaten them up. This creates a sense that they are more dominant and powerful characters and that they are set above anyone else. An active audience would appreciate this careful and detailed cinematography, compared a passive audience may not understand why it is in slow motion and that the soundtrack has been reversed. However a passive audience would find the use of modern soundtracks from the White Stripes entertaining how they are used within a different era of drama.

The use of the old fashioned car relates to historical context and how this family was wealthy enough to actually own a car compared to the rest of their community. A niche and mainstream audience would appreciate the feature of an old car as they can relate it to how technology has evolved over time within 100 years. Aunt Polly shows authority and power over the rest of the Shelby family, which shows that she had gained power and independence while the men were at War. The men respect her and audiences would respect this fact as it was rare for women to be the dominant figures aswell as men.

Mad Men

Primetime Emmy Awards:
WON 2008
WON 2009
WON 2010
WON 2011

LOST- ' Most media texts target a range of different audiences'. How true is this for your chosen texts?

The series of Lost targets a wide mainstream audience. The director JJ Abrams used carefully constructed conventions to attract a variety of passive and active readers, to make the programme a success.

The use of an ensemble cast enables readers to relate to the text as it has been encoded that a range of readers would have someone within the cast they are able to relate to. There is a variety of nationalities, race', ages, genders and stereotypical representations present within the text. A difference in nationality is specifically shown when the Korean female ' Sun' and the White American ' Kate'. There is a strong language barrier between them as they both speak different languages, which shows elements of the Binary Opposition Narrative theory; as both characters have been forced together due to the situation they are currently in. Also there are two stereotypical representations shown with the two women. Kate is shown to be half naked, exposing most of her body while Sun is completely covered up. This shows the difference in their ethnicities and how they have been socialised to act in a certain way. This evidently has been constructed by JJ Abrams to focus on a variety of ethnicities, to enable people nationally relate themselves to a specific character.