Explore the main ways your three main texts appeal to their audiences.

In all three of my texts it is clear to see that they have been encoded with certain features which appeal to their audiences.

To start, in Mad Men, in the episode 'The other woman' there is a scene where Don goes to visit Joan at her home regarding the Jaguar pitch. During this scene aspects of the mise en scene are encoded to appeal to an active audience. We see the use of a traditional 1960's flat with the orange wallpaper, the 1960's clock and table. Don is also dressed very formal which is typical of mens fashon at that time. This would appeal to an active audience as they would take a preffered reading to how the mise en scene has been encoded to create a clear representation of the time it is set in. However, a passive viewer would not recognise that these features have been purposely encoded, building onto the idea of a polysemic viewing.

In the same scene Don talks to Joan's mother, asking to speak to Joan. During this we see Joan's mother go into a separate room where Joan is. However the camera doesn't follow her into the room, it stays with Don. This lack of exposition would be gratifying to an active audience as they would realize that the story is not being told to them every step of the way. It would also make the active audience question what they talk about when she goes into the room. Another thing to point out about this scene is how Don speaks to Joan. In the 1960's there were very sexist values around women, it was a very male dominated misogynistic society and it was made out that women were lesser than men. However in this scene we see Don speaking on the same level as Joan saying "I want to tell you its not worth it", like he sympathises Joan and cares about her, respecting her as a woman. This contradiction of the time its set in would appeal to an active audience as they would realise that this feature has been encoded to move away from the stereotype around attitudes towards women in the 1960's. We see a similar idea being shown later on in the episode during the scene where Peggy is handing in her notice and resigning. During this scene we see a shot of Peggy standing looking down on Don whilst he is kissing her hand goodbye. This would be recognized by an active audience as Peggy having power over Don which strictly contradicts the ideology of values of women towards men at that time. The uses and gratifications theory can be applied throughout this as it evidently shows how the producer has encoded the texts with the lack of exposition to suit an active audience, viewing them as more powerful.

Lost however is a mainstream text, encoded to suit a passive audience. During season 1 episode 2 we see characters including Kate, Sayid, Boone and Charlie walking through the forest the use of a film score plays a vital role. As the bear starts to charge we hear fast, tense and dangerous non diegetic music. This would be appealing to a passive audience as it this exposition instantly lets them know what emotions to feel and sets the mood of the scene before anything has really happened, so much so that the need to visually see what is happening isn't needed to understand what is going on. During this same scene when the bear initially roars we see close ups of the characters faces. We see a shocked and scared look on their faces. This close up of their faces, taking up the whole screen with these emotions, again acts as a form of exposition towards a passive audience, letting them know what is happening and how to feel. Kate even says "Somethings coming" which clarify's even further that this danger is approaching fast. The use of a film score, close up shots of facial emotions and the verbal dialogue all contribute to the exposition a passive audience gets and how they are told what is happening step by step without reason to question otherwise. This exposition relates to the hypodermic needle theory and how the producer has encoded the texts with passive connotations.

To build on  this, a little further on we see Boone shoot the polar bear with a gun. As the characters crowd around the bear we see a shot of it. As an audience we can clearly see that it is a polar bear through the white fur. Even so, the vocal clarification and of Kate saying "That is not just any bear, its a polar bear" is still there, thus appealing to a passive audience through this exposition. The fact that Boone has a gun and that there is a Polar bear on a tropical island will work as an enigma and appeal to both a passive an active audience. A passive audience would take a preferred reading and recognise that these aren't usual occurrences and question why they have happened, but not take matters any further. An active audience would also take a preferred reading, recognizing this enigma but will socially intergrate with other Lost fans, discussing this on social sites such as lostpedia. This relates to Stuart Halls idea of a polysemic viewing.


Moving on, the fact that Lost uses an ensemble cast means that there is a wide range of ethnicitys and personality's shown throughout. This in turn leads to a form of personal identification as audience members may be from the same ethic background as some of the cast. Not only does this lead to favoritism with the result of social intergration about the characters but it also expands Losts audience to a global scale with the use of people from different countries. The use of an ensemble cast could also work as an enigma code with the use of different attitudes. This would make a passive and active audience question where this will lead them in the future and make them wonder if any conflict will arise.


During Peaky Blinders, in season 1 episode 2, we see Aunt Polly talking to inspector Campbell in the church. During this scene there is the use of no non diegetic music and there are long pauses between the characters dialogue. This would appeal to an active audience as they would recognize that there is a lack of exposition with no score to convey a certain emotion about the scene and that it purely relies on the characters acting and dialogue to show what is happening. Even when inspector Campbell pushes Aunt Polly against a wall there is no non diegetic music, just the echo of the church they are in and the dialogue they are speaking. To build on this, as Campbell pushes Aunt Polly, she stands up to him by kissing him. This shows how Aunt Pollys character has been encoded to represent a strong independent woman who can look after herself. As this is this is set in 1919, post world war one, the attitudes towards women were misogynistic and there was a patriarchal society. This in turn would appeal to an active audience as they would recognize how the stereotype of women, much like in Mad Men, has been contradicted. During this scene referenes to the time it is set in and the real world issues of the time are shown through reference to the war when Aunt Polly says "Im lighting candles for boys from the garrison who lost their lives in France". This would gratify a active audience as historical references give a clear portrayal as to the time it is set.

Another scene to mention is the scene where Aunt Polly and Ada are sitting in the kitchen. During this scene aspects of the mise en scene show a typical post world war one style kitchen with the use of raggy curtains, brick layered walls and old fashioned wooden furniture. Additionally the lighting of this scene has a sepia effect, looking like it was filmed at that time. This would appeal to an active audience as they would recognize that the producer has encoded the mise en scene to suit and represent the time it is set. Another historical reference is made in this scene also when Aunt Polly says "The IRA are killing our boys, 10 a day". This historical reference along with no non digetic music would appeal to an active audience as they would recognize that this fact has been said with no musical exposition to highlight a certain emotion around the fact that people are being killed.

Another historical reference is made during the scene where Tommy is riding his horse through the streets of Birmingham. During this scene we hear the digetic sound of mechanical explosions and loud bangs. As this frightens the horse we hear Tommy say "Its just noise. In France we used to say its just a music horn band turning up". There is also non digetic music in this scene, we hear it is soft and sad, sounding somewhat sympathetic for Tommy and the horse. This scene would be gratifying for both an active and passive audience through the exposition telling the passive audience how to feel and the historical reference teaching the active audience, thus showing polysemic features

In conclusion all three of my texts are encoded with particular features which make them appeal to their targeted audience. However all three show essences of a polysemic viewing.

How typical are your chosen texts of their genre?

When looking at my three texts, Sin City, District 9 and Fish Tank we can see that they all hold conventions which make them typical of their genre. However Sin City and District 9 hold postmodern values with the use of a hybrid nature.

To start, in Sin City, during the scene where Hartigan is going to save Nancy we see typical Noir conventions being addressed. In this particular scene we see the use of low key lighting, dramatic non diegetic music and the viewing of a cynical protagonist. Hartigan in this scene and throughout, typically of Noir, presents himself with a strong and authoritative nature. Aspects of the mise en scene support this with the use of scars on his face and the authoritative close up of his police badge. The use of a voice over narration of Hartigans voice supports this further. His voice sounds, typically of Noir, hardened and depressed with the use of fast talking and mumbling. This voice over gives us an insight into the characters personality and acts as an enigma making us as an audience wonder where this personality will lead him in the future.

Shortly after, in the scene where we see Hartigan and Bob talking we see the idea of 'good cop, bad cop' being addressed. Hartigan wants to go and save Nancy, but Bob is trying to convince him to not do so and leave. This results in Hartigan punching Bob, leading to Bob shooting Hartigan in the back later on. This 'good cop, bad cop, idea highlights the themes of mistrust and paranoia which is a common convention of Noir. Additionally, in the same scene we see Sin Citys postmodern, hybrid aspect being shown through the mise en scene. Hartigan is wearing a big trench coat which sways in the wind much like a super hero's cape would which is a typical character to be in the comic book genre. Propp can be applied in this instance also, we see Hartigan being the hero trying to save Nancy who is the princess, but is stopped by Bob who is the villan/false hero. These are typical conventions of the characters and narrative structure of a comic book story.

The second cynical protagonist we follow throughout Sin City is Marv. Marv presents him self as a strong, tough and dangerous character. However we see essences of depression through him, which is another typical convention. An example of this is when he says "Hell is walking up every goddam day and wondering why you're still here". This depression throughout Noir is commonly associated with a femme fatale who ultimately leads to the protagonists demise. With Hartigan it is Nancy and with Marv it is Goldie. An example of this is in Marvs death scene. In this we see the camera zoom up to Marvs eye where we see Goldie lying in her death bed, where Marvs disequlibrium began. The post modern aspect of this scene with the use of the colour red on Goldie suggesting seductiveness, danger and death highlights how the women in Noir are viewed and represented whilst making an even clearer link of Goldies death to Marvs.

In my second text, District 9, in the scene where Wikkus is walking through the alien zone we see evidence of a typical science fiction dystopian society being shown. Aspects of the mise en scene support this with the use of gritty alien shack and the conflict between humans and aliens. This scene shows science fiction conventions too with the use of aliens walking around, the interaction of humans and aliens and mise en scene aspects such as the big alien spaceship. This scene also shows District 9's hybrid features with the use of a documentary style approach. During this scene we see Wikkus being filmed by a hand held camera. As he is analyzing the alien shacks he is making constant reference to the camera filming him, like he is being interviewed.

Another scene which shows typical science fiction conventions is when we see Wikkus working in the MNU headquarters. In this scene we see evidence of Todorov with his disequilibrium starting to occur through the transformation beginning through his nails falling off. This transformation is a typical feature of science fiction and this particular scene shows close reference to 'The Fly' where the same thing happens to the main protagonists nails.

During the scene where Wikkus is travelling in the MNU truck we see more evidence of District 9's hybrid nature. We see a medium close up shot of Wikkus inside the truck. The use of a handheld camera in this scene pointing at him just sitting there in the truck adds to how it seems like he is being followed and interviewed. This surveillance camera in this scene adds to his also, further empathizing the idea that they are being followed by showing their location from a higher angle. During this same scene we see the idea of a society controlled by the government being shown. Aspects of the mise en scene support this with the use of the MNU logo on the uniform, trucks and even a MNU surveillance camera highlighting how they live in this controlled society.

Fish Tank however is not a hybrid. It follows the stereotypical conventions of the social realist genre. During the scene where Mia is looking out of the window, we see a panning longshot of the area she is part of. Aspects of the mise en scene show a gritty, run down and dystopian council estate she is part of. Mia being, being the main protagonist adds to this with the use of the worn raggy clothes she is wearing. Also in this scene there is no non diegetic music, only the diegetic sound of traffic. This adds no emotional feeling through the use of a film score, thus adding to the realism of the scene.

Another scene which shows typical social realist conventions is the scene where Mia is walking through the street. During this scene we see her being filmed with a shaky handheld camera. Her walk is determined and fast, like she has somewhere and she is of some importance when in reality she has nowhere to go and she is stuck in this continuous dysfunctional cycle. During the same scene we also see Mia get into a fight with some girls and says to a man "Tell her her old mans a cunt". This conflict and the use of informal, violent language, typically of social realism, appears that is has became a normality in her life and the use of this language is part of her natural dialect.

To build on this idea of a dysfunctional cycle being shown we see evidence of this through Mia herself, Mia's mum and her little sister Tyler. Mia's mum is very much like Mia, she represents her self with a very violent and informal nature. We see this has been passed down to Mia and is being passed down to Mia's little sister Tyler who has also picked up the use of a informal and violent nature. This 'passing down of personalitys' is a clear representation of the cycle they are stuck in and adds to the typicality of Fish Tank to is genre with this representation of dystopia.

In conclusion all three of my texts hold typical conventions of their genre. However two hold postmodern features making them appeal to a wider, more modern audience.

'Distribution is the key to success.' How far do you agree? Refer to your three main texts in your answer. [30]

All three of my chosen texts, Lady Gaga, Nirvana and Radio Head have distributed their music in various ways which have led to their success as a artist, with or without the help of certain distribution methods.

To start, Lady Gaga is a worldwide known pop star who uses the mass media and a major record label promotion in her favor. Her 2011 album 'Born this way', released by Interscope records, sold an estimated 440,000 copies on amazon for 99 cents within the first two days and 1.108 million copies in the United States in the first week. A high production music video was also released for the song 'Born this way'. The high production video allows Gaga to present herself in a state of power over her fans, cultivating them to buy the album and socially integrate about her as an artist. However, with the use of this digital distribution method, consequently illegal downloads and the leaking of songs can occur.

Gaga is known for interacting with her fans using social media and forming this parasocial relationship with them. She has a mass following on twitter of 41.5 million followers, and 66 million on Facebook. Gaga replying to tweets and Facebook messages,calling her fans 'little monsters', allows her to maintain her mainstream image by cultivating her fans by interacting with them on a personal level. The term 'little monsters' suggests that Gaga is the 'big monster', like she is above her fans. This draws her fans in even more when they are spoken to personally as she is viewed as some form of icon. This mass following also allows a wider form of promotion for her future releases by letting her fans know. Therefore from this point we see the use of digital distribution  methods as responsible for a huge part of Lady Gaga's success.

Gaga gained more widespread popularity as she released 8 singles over a 5 month period each released with a music video. The high production value of the video, the provocative appearance Gaga gave herself along side the mass social media promotion with the parasocial relationship formed allowed Gaga to gain more hits on her music videos, making them go viral, maintaining her mainstream and popular status with an increased market value. It could be said from this that Gaga is completely dependent on the distribution of music through media technology and that if it wasn't for such a huge social media following and this parasocial relationship she has with her fans then her music would be much more niche.


Nirvana however distributed their music in a complete opposite way to Lady Gaga. Nirvana were a 1990's grunge band which changed the way mainstream music was viewed. Their disorder, teenage attitude, high distorted and angst filled music was revolutionary for sub genres and attracted a big fan base. Aspects of the mise en scene in their music video 'Smells like teen spirit' show this. Throughout we see the the video being set in a school basket ball court with teenagers 'moshing' to their music. This 'moshing' or form of violent dancing was important as it expressed Nirvana's rebellious iconography.

As internet wasn't available as a method of distribution, Nirvana, along side many other bands at that time, relied purely on live performances, word of mouth, music videos and being signed to a major record label. Thus in 1991 after previously being signed to a record label called 'Sub Pop records' where they had already developed a large following, Nirvana signed to Geffen but still maintained this punk attitude towards their music and did not 'sell out' towards their hardcore fans just because they were signed to a major label. Following their new signing, produced by Geffen records they released the album 'Nevermind' on September the 24th 1991. The album being produced by a major record label allowed mass promotion and the distribution of album copies overseas, which was something their previous independent record label could not do. American stores received an initial shipment of 46,251 copies and 35,000 copies were sent to the United Kingdom where 'Bleach' had previously been successful. Therefore the distribution via a major record label played a major factor in Nirvana's success as it mean it would reach more ears overseas as well as at home.

On their UK promotional tour of 'Nevermind' they made some TV appearances such as 'The Johnathon Ross Show' and 'Top Of The Pops'. Maintaining this angst filled, rebellious nature, when appearing on The Johnathon Ross show they played a metal song called 'Territorial pissings' instead of their newly released single 'In bloom'. This 'disobeying of the system' was extremely helpful in terms of promotion as it resulted in distribution via word of mouth and people wanting to see them live. Not only did this help them from a musical promotion perspective but it helped express the fact that Nirvana didn't set out to be rockstars. They purely wanted to express how they felt about society, thus their actions are a consequence of that. Even so this rebellious nature on live TV was important in how Nirvana's music was noticed.

However since the death of Cobain and the development of the internet, Nirvana's music is distributed and heard via online sources such as iTunes and Youtube and is still able to target a rebellious audience through gaining online views and more popularity.



Radiohead are a English rock band formed in 1985. Six albums into their career, Radioheads contract with EMI expired, contrary to how this would effect artists such as Gaga and Nirvana, it had a positive effect. Radiohead self released their album 'In Rainbows' in 2007. This revolutionized the way artists would distribute their music as they allowed the fans to pay whatever they liked for the album, via their website. This meant less illegal downloads and more profit as the band were more in control of how the music was distributed which is something they didn't have when signed to a major label. The release of their 2011 album 'The king of limbs' sold an estimated 300,000-400,000 copies on the website alone. The use of digital distribution through their website meant that the album releases could appeal on a global scale and at the same time seek more sales from its already established fanbase.

As Radiohead already had a well established fanbase they didn't follow the release of 'The King of limbs' with a tour for a means of promotion and distribution. They did however make a low budget, niche music video to a song on the album called 'Lotus Flower'. Much like Gaga, Radiohead have depended on the use of the internet to distribute and promote their music appealing on a global scale. They have however contradicted the typical approach of using a major record label as a way to promote themselves.

In conclusion, all three of my texts have been successful in the distribution of their music We see Gaga and Radiohead have a more closer relationship with the use of digital technology to distribute their music on a global scale and Nirvana using a much harder approach to success with purely the reliance of a major label, word of mouth and live performances to distribute and promote their music.

'How does Lost target its audience?'

Lost is a mainstream text which is encoded to suit a passive audience. In season 1 episode 2 we can see a variety of encoded conventions which appeal to a passive audience.

To start, in the scene where a group of characters including Kate, Sayid, Boone and Charlie are walking through the forest and the bear starts to charge, the film score plays a vital role. The non digetic music we hear whilst the bear charges is dramatic, fast and scary to hear. This instantly sets the mood for the situation, telling the audience to feel these particular emotions. This exposition is gratifying for a passive audience as it tells them how to feel before anything has really happened, so much so that the need for visual evidence to know what is going on isn't needed.  To build on the idea of this exposition, the close up shots of the characters faces, along side the rocky hand held camera, lets us see how they react. In this scene we see shock and fear expressed on their faces as the bear initially roars. This additionally , along side the non digetic music, adds to how the audience are fed with this clear exposition as to what is happening without the need to actively question. Kate even says "somethings coming" to clarify even further that there is danger approaching fast. The use of non digetic music, close up of facial emotions and the verbal exposition shown has clearly been encoded to appeal to a  passive audience appeal as what is happening during the scene has been told in a variety of ways without room to question otherwise. The hypodermic needle theory can be applied in this instance as this scene clearly shows evidence of a passive nature from how the producer has encoded this exposition in each instance of the scene.

To build on this, a little further on the same scene we see Boone shoot the bear with a gun. When the characters crowd around it, Kate says "Thats not any bear, its a polar bear" It is evident to see that it is a polar bear just by looking, but again the use of exposition and the clarification of what we see is still present verbally, thus shows more evidence of how its been encoded so suit a passive viewing. Additionally the fact that it is a polar bear on a tropical island and the fact that Boone has a gun acts as a enigma. A passive audience would take a preferred reading of this. They would recognize that Boone having a gun, and the polar bear aren't normal occurrences and will question why, but not take matters any further. Linking to Stuart Halls idea of a polysemic viewing, an active audience would also take a preferred reading of this enigma however an active audience would go online onto websites such as 'lostpedia' and socially intergrate with other lost viewers. This links to the cultivation theory and how these enigma codes have drawn its audience in, drawing them in to watch even more and making them discuss in online forums.

Moving on, the fact that Lost contains an ensemble cast means that there are going to be a wide range of personality's and ethnicity's. This leads to the audience gaining some form of personal identification from this as they could be from the same ethnic background as some of the characters shown. Not only does this cause favoritism with the result of social integration and the discussion of certain characters, but it also expands the audience range of Lost to a global scale with such a wide variety of ethnicity's given to us. The wide range of characters could act as an enigma in itself making a active audience question what the future will bring for a particular character and what conflict may arise. This causes even more social integration due to this cultivation and the drawing in of an audience.  

In conclusion Lost is evidently targeted towards a passive audience with the clear exposition presented in every instance shown. However polysemic viewing is also apparent with the use of cultivation through enigma codes and online social intergration.