Does Strictly target a mass audience whereas Homeland target a fragmented audience?

A mass audience targets a large audience however with the variety of texts available nowadays there aren't many shows that targeted a mass amount it's mainly used for broadcasting news events such as in a major events like 9/11 and 7/7 attacks. Whereas a fragmented audience targets more specific and smaller audiences with each show, so each genre has a specific target audience such as Downton Abbey is a period drama so it's likely to target a similar audience of Upstairs Downstairs which is another period drama.

Strictly is on at around 7pm on Saturdays which is prime time for family viewing therefore it draws in a large audience. Strictly is a popular show as it allows the audience to participate by voting to ensure their favourite stays in the competition. Shows like this often gain more viewers due to social networking sites because people like to comment on the dancers performances and share their views therefore Strictly is often trending in the UK on a Saturday night, therefore people using the social networking sites are influenced to tune in. Another benefit of social networking sites is that many of the celebrities on the show use them so the fans can follow the celebrity's personal views. Star appeal draws in a large audience because many celebrities have an established fan base so they are likely to watch Strictly to see their favourite celebrity.

Homeland is on at 9pm on a Sunday which dismisses family viewing therefore it has a fragmented audience. It targets adults who are likely to be unwinding on a Sunday evening before work on a Monday morning. The genre is a political thriller so it has a complex plot which doesn't allow viewers top dip in and out of the series. Channel 4 is known for showing American shows which narrows the target audience because some British people don't like to watch American tv.

Despite the fact Homeland is a fragmented audience the viewing figures of 3.04 million is larger than most fragmented shows however there is a clear difference between the figures between Homeland and Strictly. Strictly has a viewing audience of 11.413 million and comes in top with the most views every week it's on. It is likely that Strictly is so successful because its shown on BBC 1 as they try to provide informative, educational and entertaining British shows for everyone where as Channel 4 have more specific audiences as they bring popular American shows to the UK and don't show reality  programmes which usually draw in a mass audience.

Hartley and Fiske

Hartley created 7 categories to consider when identifying your audience, these categories are:

Self: what sort of ambitions or interests might your audience have?

Gender: is your audience mainly male or female, or both?

Age Group: what sort of age group would your main audience be in? Remember that different things appeal to different age groups.

Family: what role they play in the family, parent? Child?

Class: different social classes are seen to have different priorities. You need to target a specific group in order to offer appropriate motives, e.g. save money, look sophisticated etc. the majority of the country are middle or working class. Are you targeting a specific social class group?

Nation: the style and action the country takes

Ethnicity: the ethnic grouping of your audience may play a role in your choice of images/actors and messages. Are your audience members of a particular ethnic group?

Fiske developed Hartley's theory and added another 4 categories:

Religion: Involvement of different beliefs or ideologies 

Education: How certain people receive a text based on their level of education

Political Stance - Different groups have different beliefs 

Region (urban v rural)  - Stereotypical ways of living depending where you come from - Iconography

The American show Homeland targets adults from 20 to 40 as the political thriller is scheduled at 9pm on a Sunday which is a typical time for working class and middle class to sit down and unwind before work Monday morning.  The show has become popular in the UK due to the 9/11 terrorist attack, many post 9/11 shows have become popular because the attack really affected many American and some English citizens due to its serious nature. This especially targets the alpha males as they feel its their natural instinct to protect so they can relate to the characters in Homeland. Due to the genre of Homeland it targets people who follow politics and have an understanding of the American government and the different agencies in place to protect the country. 

Audience Positioning in Episode 2 Grace

Brody features a lot in the second episode and we see some of his dreams which mean that we feel sorry for him. His dreams are horrible and build up tension. The dreams take place back in Iraq post 9/11. The dreams are uncomfortable to watch due to the music increasing in volume, it's used to highlight Brody's feelings whilst causing a scene of tension for the audience for example when he's trapped in his cell cradled in the corner, the loud ringing enhances his paranoia.

You see from Brody's expressing he's angry and disgusted that he's burying Walker. Hearing him sing a patriotic song targets the audiences' raw emotions as it's likely they can relate to having friends and family in the marines. The loud shot wakes Brody up which suggest his dream isn't the real version of events. This allows the audience to question Brody further. What isn't he remembering? Why is he dreaming something different? This could suggest that Brody's doubting his actions and is dreaming of different, more noble circumstances as he's still mentally scarred from the horrific events. This is reinforced by the sense of being trapped in his home when he sits in the corner flash backing to his prison cell in Iraq.

Representations of Homeland

Homeland belongs to the thriller genre but has elements of politics. Conventions of thriller dramas are the narratives as they tend to include secrets and cover ups. The knowledge of the genre affects the audiences expectations as you assume they'll be the antagonist at the root of a political scandal and the protagonist who has to pursue the truth.

In the first episode you are introduced to Carrie, in the opening section you see her talk to her boss in a disrespectful manner as she tries to get what she wants, she then goes behind her boss's back to get information from an Iraq prisoner and causes a diplomatic incident. Her character is represented as determinded and strong. Carries character challenges Laura Mulveys theory 'the male gaze' as you don't view Carrie as an object of desire. The audience have respect and trust for Carrie as she's to protect her country however the audience are positioned to not see Carrie as reliable because we're not sure of the lengths she'll go to prove her theory. She also challenges the stereotype appearence of blonde hair and blue eyes due to the fact she stands up to authority and the audience like her as she's represented as the underdog when David tries to shut her down in Iraq yet she speaks to the prisoner anyway and has the power to save his family.
Carrie's boss David is the Director of Counterterrorism at the CIA, he is represented to have alot of power due to his occupation which isn't a streotype of a young black male. However his authority is often undermind by Carrie so he tries to restrain her, as the audience we don't like his character especially when we learn the reasoning behind his punishments on Carrie is because he blames her for his divorce suggesting they had an affiar. David is represented as weak contrasting with his powerful occupation.

Brody was found being held captive as a prisoner of war in Iraq after 8 years of being missing. At first he's represented as a hero who's undergone a traumatising experience therefore he's quiet and nervous. Brody returns home to his family but is jumpy and defensive when his wife touches him because of the beatings and scars he recieved in Iraq. As the audience you watch a sex scene with Brody and his wife through the eyes of Carrie therefore you experience the same emotional response as Carrie, the sex scene is awkward, agressive and lacks passion. The audience is cautious of Brody due to Carrie's informant saying an American officer has been turned. We soon learn that Brody lies about his interegation and that he beat the other missing marine to death.

Homeland Poster

The Homeland poster gives the audience an insight to the genre, narrative and characters of the Americam show.

The postioning of the characters suggest they are of equal levels because they are both eye level, the man is more forward suggesting that he has male dominance. The man is dressed in a USA naval outfit which helps to establish the genre of thriller.

The text 'The nation sees a hero. She sees a threat' also reinforces the thriller genre as well as establishes a working relationship between the two characters; suggesting they have a complication relationship where she doesn't trust him giving a clue to the narrative that she's going to find the truth about him.

The text also links to the image as you can only see half of his face, once side being the hero in millitary uniform and the other half being a blur that the blonde character sees as a threat. The blurred half of his face suggests his identity is missing which is a narrative link.

Homeland security is organised by the government in America which their highest priority is to protect America from terrorist attacks. Therefore the choice of title Homeland gives a huge clue that the main plot is going to be about terrorism .

How far does Downton Abbey meet the expectations of the genre?

Downton Abbey is a period drama set around when the titanic sunk. It is filmed in a stately home which is a stereotype of the genre to have high production values and be filmed at cultural heritage sites. The main storyline in the opening episode is that Lady Mary is not entitled to the ,anor as she's not married, this is a stereotype for the period drama genre that a woman is a victim to male dominance and doesn't hold power. The narrative is multi stranded based on different characters in the house for example Thomas and O'Brien sabotaging Bates work, yet the main story line is the dilemma of how Violet can keep th state in her family. These linear but asynchronous multi stranded narratives meet our expectations of a period drama. Another stereotyped used was high key lighting, this makes the stately home look larger and more extravagent as the high key lighting catches all angles of a room and enhances feature and ornaments. This is used in the women's bedroom when they are dressing to highlight their clothing and jewellery.

Skins

The tv drama series skins appeals to a young audience from late teeangers to young adults. Skins uses stereotypes to represent it's characters. The opening scene is a shot of Tony in bed, the close up then zooms out to show Tonys bedcovers that have printed on a naked man and a naked woman. Tony's alarm sounds and music is played and he starts to lift weights in his boxers. This first clip of Tony represents him to be a typical teenage boy. The weight lifting suggests he cares about how he looks which is a streotype of teenagers. The bed covers of naked people add to the effect that Tony is just wearing boxers, this eliminates any innocence and suggests he is sexually active. A streotype for teeangers is that if they are having sex, then they are drinking alcohol and doing drugs.