Audience
AIM: Within this section i will be defining the term audience and relating audience theories to the film "Modern Times" by Charlie Chaplin.
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this page the reader will be provided with a definition of audience, an analysis of an audience theory, an explanation of how this relates to Modern Times and my film and an explanation of the target audience.
DEFINITION: The assembled spectators or listeners at a public event, such as a play, movie, concert, etc.
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this page the reader will be provided with a definition of audience, an analysis of an audience theory, an explanation of how this relates to Modern Times and my film and an explanation of the target audience.
DEFINITION: The assembled spectators or listeners at a public event, such as a play, movie, concert, etc.
MODERN TIMES
ANALYSIS OF THE AUDIENCE THEORY: In my opinion, the audience theory that relates to the film "Modern Times" by Charlie Chaplin, is the hypodermic needle theory. It theorises the use of mass media. The theory states that audiences are passive and receive mass information through the media without the use of rational thought to challenge the dominant ideology, or within film the preferred meaning. Within society the hypodermic needle is used through advertisement as a form of propaganda by the government.
HOW THIS RELATES TO MODERN TIMES: Modern Times targets a variety of audience. The fact that Chaplin was so famous during those times attracted a large audience. For example, Modern Times deals with the hegemonic structure within the society, therefore it would attract politicians or people of an older generation. From my research, I can justify this claim because I've understood that politicians such as Adolf Hitler were appealed to Chaplin's film. Also, Chaplin appealed to
children, this is from the silliness of his movement and also, the fact that he used continuity editing shows that Chaplin made things easier for children to
follow and understand.
children, this is from the silliness of his movement and also, the fact that he used continuity editing shows that Chaplin made things easier for children to
follow and understand.
Nowadays, Chaplin's films are more appealed to the film literate because it is a silent film and it is in black and white. People are less inclined to watch an old film that doesn't relate to their daily lives. However, during the times when Chaplin's film style was popular, people expected to see things like continuity editing, bright lights and "fake" looking set. This would give the more theatrical look on film and appealed to a large range of classes.
HOW THIS RELATES TO MY FILM: Within my film there is a manipulation of the hypodermic needle. The film opens with the dominant ideologies view of how "hoodlums" or "gangsters" make a living. However this is manipulated by the fact the drugs they sell are not real drugs and the fact that they are wheezing and coughing because they are not used to smoking weed etc. I will be targeting a market of audiences that dont necessarily watch silent films (teenagers). I am implementing two different genres to appeal to a wide range of audience from teenagers to film literate people. This also relates to my film in the sense that the target audience would be lower class due to the hegemonic structure within it.
ILL MANORS
ANALYSIS OF AUDIENCE THEORY: Once again, it seems that Ill Manors caters to the hypodermic needle theory. I have come to this conclusion because it seems that the film reflects what is presented in the media. By this I mean that the illustration of hegenomic structure between "hoodlums" and the law is always demonstrated in the media and therefore fed to the audience all the time. Ill Manors is sending out the message that is constantly presented in the media, it therefore acts as a form of "propaganda". However, Ill Manors does give the message that not all people who grow up in a certain area are bad, which isn't necessarily reinforced in the media.
HOW THIS RELATES TO ILL MANORS: Ill Manors is rated an 18, so the target age is clearly 18-30. In terms of a group of people, like Modern Times, I would say Ill Manors is for those who are of similar background (working class) because it is a film that people can relate to. I wouldn't however say this is for a niche audience. In addition, the film seems to be targeting those who enjoy music and a mostly male audience.
HOW THIS RELATES TO MY FILM: The target audience is similar in age and I will be looking at a prodimently male audience, however as my film is giving a satirical message about "gangster", I am not necessarily aiming at a working class audience.
CONNECTIONS
ANALYSIS OF AUDIENCE THEORY: This film encodes the audience with a message that isn't necessarily obvious thus allowing the audience to decode the film as they please. This theory by Stuart Hall illustrates the fact that during the production of a film or text, a director encodes it with a message that they want to represent through the use of semiotics and/ or discourse. This is then further developed by how the audience understand the film. There are two obvious instances when it comes to audiences viewing a film. They either have a direct understanding of what the director's intentions were or interpret the film how they want to or they may even completely reject the films representation. These three interpretations can be seperated under three titles, dominant meaning- the audience understand the film as the director intended, negotiated- the audience rejects the representation of the film and oppostional- where the representation is recognised, however the audience choose to reject it due to the culture or political ideologies.
HOW THIS RELATES TO CONNECTIONS: It seems that the target audience for this film are adults around 35-50 who are film literate. This film is clearly aimed at a niche audience. The audience connotations of the film seem to be that the director wanted to represent what the strain of work can result in. Howevver I would say that the audience would understand this as an individual who took the easy way out and decided to drink his troubles away and then commited a series of crimes as a result.
HOW THIS LINKS TO MY FILM: I will be targeting a market of audiences that dont necessarily watch silent films (teenagers). I am implementing two different genres to appeal to a wide range of audience from teenagers to film literate people. This relates to my film in the sense that the target audience would be regular cinema goers as well as a niche audience.