Applying Audience Theory

12 Years A Slave

I feel like the audience for 12 Years A Slave would be an active audience. They would create their own meanings for situation which happen in the film, such as myself, when I saw Epps have a child, which I thought he had conceived with Patsey, which challenged me to think deeper into the meaning of the film, even though it wasn't right. I would also argue that the audience are Interactive. 

So says, ".... i felt like it was so much more than film, and it was beyond anything I've ever seen... there's just so many scenes that really wreck you to the core, and I cant emphasise this enough". I feel like this shows the Interactive audience as So and many other YouTubers and Vloggers have made reviews because the film has really struck a raw nerve with them and they wanted to show the world their views and have discussions with other people about it.

Hypodermic Needle: 
The message from this film is that Slavery across America in that time period was deemed the norm, and that everyone watching the film accepted that. There is no room for interpretation due to the fact that the brutal aspects of what actually happened to slavery were so strongly shown in different scenes of the film. Whipping, hanging and brutal beating were part of daily life to slaves under slave master's holds. This film is from a black persons perspective, so it portrays the white men as cruel and evil, whereas if related to Nazi Germany, Hitler portrayed Jews as cruel and evil.

Uses & Gratifications:
Entertainment/Diversion: I feel like there is no entertainment driven from the film, as it is emotionally heart wrenching and heartbreaking. But the film does allow diversion from reality, and it puts the audience in someone else's shoes.

Information/Surveillance: This film is very educational, as it shows a real life story of struggles into American slavery and how real people coped with the harsh troubles, as it is based on a true story/book. It shows the audience how slavery really was back in the day.

Social Relationships: The film could be a part of social relationships, and the audience can discuss it with their friends if they decide to watch it together. It could form a topic of controversial conversation.

Personal Identity: The film could help African Americans discover in depth what happened to their ancestors, and where they came from, which overall makes up them as a person. 

Cultural Commonality:
Director Steve McQueen is of  Grenadian descent, meaning his family ancestors were likely to be involved in a part of the slave trade back in the day. By being Black & British, this means that he is in a minority group, so he could possibly be of third/fourth descent of someone who was a slave. The target audience will be more likely to be able to relate with Steve, as he may have had same experiences of being a minority in a White dominated society and culture, as slaves were. In America, Black people are still deemed as what they were over 150+ years ago, this can be seen in the Ferguson Riots.


Hall's Preferred Reading:
I think that 12 Years A Slave has a Preferred Reading, as much of the audience would sympathise with  Solomon Northup. The film is an accurate perception of what happened in this time period with slavery, and the fact that the representation of Black people has only slightly evolved in the last 150+ years. I feel like some white people watching 12 years a slave would have a very oppositional reading, such as extreme Christians and Far-Right groups, as they would say their perception of the film is viewing and branding all white people are racist. This could be counter-argued by William Ford's fondness of Solomon Northup. 

Guardians Of The Galaxy

I feel like the audience for Guardians Of The Galaxy could be a passive audience, as they are introduced to Peter Quill straight away, and by doing this it accepts that he is the main character, and will be the 'good guy'. There is no reason in the film for the audience to differ the views which Disney create, as the audience will go out and buy the merchandise, such as T-shirts and figures. The audience aren't really the type to make in depth You Tube analysis reviews of the film.

Hypodermic Needle:
The audience will not challenge Disney's Marvel expectations, which are already created and expected when you go and see a Marvel film, like: ''All alien species will be all nice to you and then fight against you after they've been nice for long enough''. The audience already know what's expected, as space wars are never simple.

Uses & Gratifications:
Entertainment/Division: Because Guardians is set in a fantasy world, this allows the audience to escape and discover a whole new world which is known to them. It is a film which needs the audiences full attention, as bits are a bit hard to understand, so escaping and forgetting about life is very important in the few hours spent watching the film.

Information/Surveillance: The film does not really educate the audience, only in the fact if the world was to ever come under some sort of alien abduction an humans are forced to live on a different planet, how to successfully win a space battle, and what type of aliens not to trust.

Social Relationships: This film is something the audience can discuss with their friends, as a lot of action happens, the TA are bound to have a favourite part of the film/character in the film that they'd like to discuss with other people who have seen the film. This allows topic of conversation not to run dry, as the film is jam-packed with different events and parallel stories.

Personal Identity: I think the only real identifiable situation in this film is Peter Quill's mother dying from cancer at the very beginning of the film, and him listening to the same mix tape over and over. This can easily relate to a young audience, as lots of mothers/family die from cancer, and music is a massive help when getting through and overcoming a death of a family member.

Cultural Commonality: 
Director, James Gunn is from St. Louis, Missouri, and Peter Quill is from Colorado, this means the film appeals to a mainly American audience. He is an avid comic book reader, which could help the audience to relate to him, as he directed a film based on a Marvel comic. His interest in music meant that the film had revolved around the mix tape. 

Hall's Preferred Readings:
 Hall's preferred reading for this film is preferred, as the Disney audience is an audience who do not question Peter Quill's representation, as the film is fantasy and set in space, they have no one to compare suggested characters to.