LO2 Task 3 - Audiences

Introduction

Hi everyone, it’s Alex Blundell here again with another video for you, this time analysing the audience of the film Taken 3, and which type of people 20th Century Fox have aimed the film at. John Hartley, in 1987, and Ien Ang, in 1991, both suggested that producers of films create invisible fiction and imaginary entities before creating a media product. This basically means that they have an idea of the kind of person that would watch the film before it is made, so they can target a certain demographic during production. This is important for the producer in order to maximise profit when a film is released. For me, the target audience of the film is males, with a median age of around 18. SEE MOOD BOARD.

Gender

I would say that the gender ratio for the audience of this film is 80% male, 20% female. The reasons for this are:

Out of the 6 main roles in the film, 5 are males and only 1 is female.

The male roles are:

   -Bryan Mills

   -Stuart St. John

   -Oleg Malankov

   -Frank Dotzler, who is a police inspector and head of the murder investigation

   -Sam Gilroy, who is a communications expert and Bryan’s oldest friend

   The only main female role is Kim Mills, excluding Lenore who is only in the film for the first 20         minutes, and this connotes that women aren’t capable of being protagonists or playing main parts on the whole. The lack of major female involvement can also be related to John Berger’s 1972 theory of “men act, women appear”. This makes the film very relatable to for a male audience, and somewhat alienates a female one.

At the point 11:26, Bryan and some of his friends are denoted spending some free time golfing together. This scene is clearly aimed at males as they are doing a stereotypically male activity whilst having classically male banter, which connotes a carefree, calm and generally happy attitude. Men in the audience would be able to relate to this a lot more than women. Carl Rogers’ 1980 theory of “ideal self” applies here, as a male audience would see Bryan as a role model and someone they want to be like - a calm and fun person to be around with a few good friends.

1:05:33 denotes a particularly violent exchange in the liquor store between Bryan and some antagonists, involving head cruching, bottle smashing, kicking, punching and throwing. This fight connotes brutality and a lack of mercy from any of the men involved. In addition to this, the fact that the fight involves only men means that it would not be aimed towards a majority female audience. Brutality and violence is a more common theme in male films.

At 1:15:22, Oleg Malankov is denoted zooming in with his sniper rifle on two girls playing tennis, and he follows their bodies with the gun while making “pow” noises with his mouth. Though neither males or females would find this idea appealing, it is definitely something that would be seen in a male film as it connotes that females are below males and that Malankov sees them as toys. Furthermore, Laura Mulvey’s “male gaze” theory of 1975 applies here, as Malankov looks at the girls as if they are sex objects, aiming at their chests and backsides with an amused smile on his face. This would relate to a male audience too as they might also look at the girls in a sexual way.

One way in which this film is aimed at females is the chemistry between Kim and her boyfriend Jamie, and them trying to make their relationship work. At 1:37:53, towards the end of the film Kim and her boyfriend Jamie are denoted telling Bryan their decision on Kim’s unexpected pregnancy. Bryan says “it’s a very important choice”, but “I will support you 100%”, before Kim reveals that she is going to have the baby and that they will name it Lenore. This dialogue connotes that an event such as pregnancy shouldn’t be taken lightly and many things should be considered and thought about before coming to a final decision. This section of the film would relate more to females, as some female audience members may have experience of pregnancy. In addition, Kim defies Laura Mulvey’s “male gaze” theory, as she isn’t dressed as a sex object, nor does she act sexually - she is involved in a loving relationship. This would also appeal to female audience members.

Age

At 04:57, Kim is denoted looking at a pregnancy test she has just done, which is showing as positive. The connotations of her expression are shock and an inability to process what is happening, as her dad calls to give her an early birthday present. She treats him in a rather cold manner to begin with and this connotes that she might be confused and startled. The scene could relate closely to some young women in the audience of the age of 18, who may have experienced an unexpected pregnancy and know the feelings that go along with it.         

At the point 50:20, Kim is denoted talking to Stuart, her mum’s boyfriend before she died. There are police cars outside the house for “protection”, and Kim asks Stuart why they are there. He replies “Inspector Dotzler asked if we minded and I said no”, to which Kim says “you should have asked me. I mind.” The connotations of this dispute are tension and strain in their relationship, frustration and a dislike from Kim’s side. These feelings could be targeted at a young adult audience as they may have recently experienced one of their parents getting a new partner after a divorce, and be familiar with how Kim feels and the unfriendly relationship. More importantly, a young adult audience is now at the age of being able to understand the impact of a divorce on people’s lives, and on a larger scale, the feelings of loss and the general battles and hardships in life, such as in jobs or education. Feelings could be very raw in a young audience if a divorce has recently happened to someone close to them and so this scene would relate to them.

The point 1:03:40 in the film denotes an antagonist casually saying to his friend “okay, let’s go get drunk” and driving to the liquor store after he thinks he has just killed Bryan by making his car fly off a cliff. The connotations of this dialogue are calmness and satisfaction that a task has been completed. The scene might relate to some members of a young audience because they might like to “go get drunk” after they have done something difficult or completed a demanding task. Although that task wouldn’t be killing someone like in the film, the principle is the same, and it is a stereotype of people around the age of 18 that they like to go and party and get drunk to de-stress.

At 1:21:20, gadgetry and technology is denoted as Bryan’s friend Sam Gilroy and one of his friends manage to swap a live CCTV image of Bryan infiltrating Malankov’s building with a looping tape, so the police don’t suspect anything. The connotations of this scene are a knowledge of technology and a determination to use it to help Bryan. Young people would be a perfect audience for this as it reflects the modern world and technology - they would most likely own a fair amount of technology and be interested in it, meaning they are a digital native audience. 

1:30:45 denotes the beginning of the final epic chase at the end of the movie which goes on for over 3 minutes. Bryan is denoted setting off in his Porsche to stop Stuart’s plane taking off, with the police chasing him all the way in a high-speed pursuit. The connotations of this extended police chase are nerves, excitement and adrenaline, all of which would be targeted towards a young audience of around the age of 18. Young people are always being related to thrill-seeking and excitement, so this pursuit would be perfect viewing for many of them. In addition, a teenage audience would aspire to have a car like this after watching the pursuit, which might influence them to try hard and do well in life and make enough money to buy one.

Lifestyle

The NRS is an organisation which takes surveys of demographics in the population to provide information about who is watching which films. I think the NRS categories best suited to my film are categories D and E, nest builders and urban venturers. Urban venturers are teenagers living in or around the city and who have an outdoor lifestyle, while nest builders are young adults who are building towards a nice house and family.

I think these two types of people would be able to relate to Kim and her boyfriend Jamie in the film Taken 3, because they are two young adults living in Los Angeles, and they have to start to plan a family together after Kim unexpectedly becomes pregnant. Obviously the fact that they are living in a city represents urban venturers, while the way in which they deal with the unexpected pregnancy would be of interest to nest builders. In addition, Kim has a strong personality in the film and won’t let anyone walk over her - she speaks her mind to everyone. This relates to many teenagers and young adults (and therefore urban venturers and nest builders) who have a strong sense of identity. Furthermore, the advertising for this film would also attract people in the city, as it is a blockbuster which would be advertised on billboards, buses and buildings all around a big city. Urban venturers and nest builders are far more likely to see these advertisements than other demographics, who might live away from advertising, in the countryside for example.

In terms of hobbies, the audience might be influenced to try some kind of martial arts or karate after watching the film as it contains a lot of fighting and combat, and since we see Bryan playing golf early in the movie, the audience might think it looks like fun and be influenced to try it with their friends. In addition, as Bryan is in a group of his friends here, the audience members might be able to relate this to their own friendship groups and be influenced to socialise in different ways, based on what they see from Bryan and Taken 3.

The immersive effect of the film and the fast-paced action means that people would go to see it for the purpose of escapism, one of four reasons that Denis McQuail said people watch films for. The public would want to escape their daily life and responsibilities, and they could do this by watching Bryan’s hectic life for a couple of hours, as he evades the police and defeats the people who put his family in danger. Another reason that people watch films, according to Denis McQuail in 1972, is to improve personal relationships. Since urban venturers go out a lot with their friends, Taken 3 could be a real talking point between the friends and it could improve the friendships. They might talk about what they thought was good and bad about the film and their favourite parts, helping young people to bond. For nest builders, it could work in the same way, except it would build help the couple in question to improve their relationship.

Spending Power

The NRS also has a way of categorising the population into “social grades”, called the “ABC1 profiling system”. It spans from social grade A, being upper middle class, to grade E, being anyone below minimum wage, for example a pensioner or the unemployed. I think that the people who would watch Taken 3 would belong to the spending power classes B, C1 and C2, which are middle class, lower middle class and skilled working class respectively.

One example of the film representing social grades B and C1, middle class and lower middle class is when Bryan invites Lenore to his flat to have a meal. When she arrives, he pours them both a glass of wine (08:51). This would be a fairly middle class thing to do as they have the disposable income to spend on nice food and wine. The viewers might do this often with family and friends to relax, without having to worry about the cost.

Another example of the film representing social grades B and C1 is when Bryan goes golfing with his friends (11:26). This is quite a typical middle- and lower middle-class activity to do for males, perhaps at the weekend in their free time, as they have the disposable income to afford to do it regularly and are well-established in life by now, meaning they have the time to spend doing it. Golfing is a rather expensive activity, as the better golf clubs cost a lot of money and you have to be able to afford a membership to a club. Only middle-classes would be able to afford this as they would have enough disposable income.

We see Stuart St. John’s house around half an hour into the film (27:18). It is huge and includes a large back yard and swimming pool. This is certainly an upper-middle class house and so the audience might then aspire to have a luxurious lifestyle in a house like this, as it could be achievable for them if they are already in a middle-class situation. In addition, any nest builders watching the film would also aspire to have a house like this, for when they get good jobs, settled down and have kids.

Bryan’s car is another way the film represents the middle-classes. Bryan has a black Porsche (1:29:53) which looks in perfect condition, and we see him speeding away from the police in it in the film. A Porsche is obviously an expensive car, and the middle-class might aspire to have one. After saving for a while, they could afford one and it would be a realistic possibility for them - this could not be said for any lower classes.

A final example of Taken 3 representing the middle class and lower middle class would be Kim’s iPhone that we see when she surreptitiously texts her father behind Stuart’s back to try to help him out (1:27:13). At the time the film came out, this was the newest model so it would have been just about the most expensive phone on the market. As the middle classes would have enough disposable income to be able to afford a top-of-the-range smartphone, this part of the film represents them, as someone with a social grade less than C1 might struggle to afford an iPhone.

In terms of the marketing of the film, social grades B and C1, who I think the film is aimed at, would be able to afford the official merchandise for it that 20th Century Fox put out, such as T-shirts and hats. They might also buy the Blu-ray disc rather than the DVD in order to watch in HD, because they have the spare money to do so, or buy the soundtrack to the film if they particularly liked it.

Thanks for listening to this education resource on audiences - I’ve been Alex Blundell and I’ll see you again next time!