The reading of Peaky Blinders

The head gang from the programme 'Peaky Blinders'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01fj94w

The programme Peaky Blinders is aimed at an audience of an older age group but also at people who would appreciate the kind of era that its set in - people who have either experienced the time or have an understanding of what the time was like.

The oppositional audience would be parents or younger people who may take a bad influence from the series or may take a bad idea of what the people of that time were like and form a negative opinion on them - not understanding the historical context that the series is put into.

The negotiated audience would be people who did not know much about what happened in that time but who have some idea of what was going on. These may take away the idea that people of the time were violent and aggressive but also understand why they acted that way - to protect others and regain control of their lives.

TV show construction

Jay James sings Say Something by A Great Big World - X-Factor audition week 1

The X-Factor is an example of how the media is constructed to entertain the audience and to appeal to and influence the audience in different ways. This video shows how the editors of the X-Factor have selected certain individuals to show to the public/audience, they have obviously shown Jay James because of his looks - he will be seen as attractive to some of the audience - and because of his back story. The reason that these factors make a difference in who gets shown or not is that, the more appealing the persons looks or the sadder the 'sob story' the more entertaining it is for the audience who are watching it at home. The camera people have also made his story more effective by showing shots of the family watching him on the screen, to add a more emotional aspect to the performance.

Sam Bailey sings Listen by Beyonce - X-Factor audition week 1

The audition of Sam Bailey is also an example of how the editors of X-Factor have constructed the programme as when she is singing, the camera people show shots of the judges faces, of her partner watching her from backstage on the screen and also of some of the other contestants turning to face the screen after hearing the sound of her singing voice. This constructs the show for the audience so the know how good she evidently is and how much of a surprise she has taken the others - both on the judge panel and in the audition waiting room - this has in addition added an emotional aspect to this performance as well and tries to affect the audience sitting at home by showing that not only is her job something you would't expect someone with a voice like hers to have but also to give her a sob story as well.

Gender presented through the media

Ouran High School Host Club

The anime TV series Ouran High School Host Club is an example of gender representation in the media as the main character Haruhi Fujioka explains that she views gender as 'not something that you should judge people on, but something that you should recognise as a part of them', meaning that we shouldn't stereotype genders as they don't describe what kind of person you are.

In the show, Haruhi is a girl who chooses not to design her looks on what people would describe as feminine and instead dresses in whatever she feels like. She also explains that she has short hair as she got something stuck in it and it was just easier to have it all cut off. The way the characters act is not how you would assume people of that gender would act either, showing that the stereotypes of genders are incorrect and give a wrong impression of how we should treat people because of them.

Sexuality presented through the media

The Naked Civil Servant (1975)

Sexuality is presented in many different ways through the media, in both negative and positive views. The Naked Civil Servant is a TV movie about the life of Quentin Crisp (born Denis Pratt) and how he dealt with his homosexuality in the 60s when it was seen as completely outrageous and wrong. 

The film targets how those who practised or revealed their homosexuality were treated and seen as strange/unnatural, and also how Quentin was very open about his sexuality and acted flamboyantly without caring for the criticism that he got.

Age presented through the media

The Quartet (2012)

The film The Quartet is a good example of how the media presents age and elderly people as it goes against the stereotype that they are in constant need of care and attention. It in fact shows them as being strong, independent individuals who have power over their own lives.

The tokenism way of presenting old age is someone who is in a care home or needs assistance from their family or someone assigned to help them. The Quartet is one of the few films that shows what most elderly people are actually like, independent, happy and trying to live life to the full.

Class presented through the media

The Telegraph on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's second child

Class is shown in the media through the royal family. Most of the articles that include or are centred around them tend to use positive and flattering language when mentioning the royal family. This shows that not only do most people have deep respect for them but also that because they are in a higher class - upper class - than most of the people that read about them - working class - the media may find it necessary to only praise them as if they presented the royal family in a negative way, not only would they loose some of their audience, the may be sued as a result.

Newspapers also cover the views of the people around the royal family, this article is a good example as it shows that the 'students and staff shouted their good wishes' to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, showing that the public think very highly of the royal family and respect them.

Race presented through the media

The Big Bang Theory

 An example of race shown in the media is The Big Bang Theory in which Raj is presented as a stereotypical Indian man, insulting his own culture, being unable to speak in front of or to women, and stating things that are unrelated to a religion which he supposedly follows.

The stereotyping that is present in this program is known as 'Tokenism' and is a way in which the media shows these types of stereotypical people to their audiences. It can create wrong impressions of people that others will believe which can unfortunately lead to racism or discrimination.

Favourite TV show

Supernatural season 9 opening title sequence

My favourite TV program is currently Supernatural which is shown in America. It is based on the lives of two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, and their escapades: hunting down and killing supernatural beings that are causing harm to the lives of humans all around the country (America). Over the years there have been a total of 9 seasons filmed and broadcast, the 10th season being made at the minute and scheduled to be aired on October 7th 2014.

Supernatural has a great deal of graphics to add to the already filmed scenes as some of the creatures the have to face need to have them, in addition to the make-up and prosthetics, otherwise they wouldn't be able to be included (beings such as demons, angels and leviathans). Also the writer and crew at Supernatural create a completely different title sequence for each of the seasons.