Panorama: Domestic Abuse

Codes and Conventions Voice overs Archival Footage Background MusicInterviews Experts Factual DialogueOn / off screen narration

Representations of Domestic abuse victims The victims of abuse are seen as shaken by their ordeal and vulnerable, in the documentary . This is used to highlight the seriousness of the topic and to make the audience feel more sympathetic .

The older female victim was beaten up by her male partner this made the abuse more tragic to the audience this was used to change or challenge emotions of the audience.

The victims were represented as really vulnerable by being told what to “eat” or to “put another coat on “ The victim was interviewed however she seemed really calm which was common as it was so use to her, this made the audience feel more empathic and worried.

At the end of the documentary

Representations Of Abuser’s The abusers are represented as awful people as they abuse their victims repeatedly with no remorse , and ruin their victims life by controlling them constantly . This makes the audience upset and angry as they can see the impact and distress this has on the victims.In this scene we see the victims attending a counselling session , the real impact the abusers have caused and the amount of victims make the audience feel a sense of compassion.

Representation of the Police The police are represented as the “good guys” the “heros” in this documentary they are seen as compassionate and sensitive to the topic the police state that the victims are just surviving they are also stating the different forms of control should be illegal. The police are represented as very professional ,adapting to different situations so that they can help the victim by keeping the situation calm , this allows the audience to realise what the police actually do to help.

Modes

This documentary is expository mode because it has a logical arrangementThroughout it starts of with the victims being abused and then the lead up to a conviction then the victims trying to rebuild their lives. It also offers a preferred meaning as the documentary hopes the audience will understand domestic abuse further, as the documentary makers want the audience to fight against abusers and the UK’s criminal justice system to make to make them realise how serious domestic abuse is and how the laws should be tougher .

Target Audience http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04v5zpj/panorama-domestic-abuse-caught-on-camera

• The target audience would be women between the age of 17-55 , they would be of any ethnicity but British, they would mostly also be feminists and in employment or education.

• They’re most likely to be females as females are more likely to be victims of domestic abuse , and to feel more inclined to support other women therefore this documentary would want them to fight against abusers and stereotypes.• There are more likely to be feminists as well as men are the abusers most of the time and feminists want a fair society through supporting documentary's where women are subordinate.

Furthermore they are also likely to be the age of 17-55 because it could have experienced them in their life time of are just interested , they would still think there is hope for the women to rebuild their lives after wards whereas older people wouldn’t care as it doesn’t interest them and they have other problems to worry about.

Meaning

The meaning of this documentary suggests that women don’t realise they are victims of domestic abuse and their own love can lead to them getting physically hurt. It indicates this through the fact the women's lives are ruined and have to seek counselling . It also highlights how certain forms of control used by the abusers aren’t illegal and law enforcement recognise this but can’t do much, this is then supported by the fact that the victims often return to their partners . This documentary uses expert opinions , victims and archival footage of the victim injuries to get the message across and to make this message stronger.

What this documentary has taught me

Watching this documentary has taught me that I can use a lot more archival footage as it gives a feel of realism to the audience, however the archival footage would be used to break up the documentary’s actual footage as it can be boring and go on.

I have also learnt that not having a on screen presenter as being entertaining or opinionated empathises the seriousness of the documentary. Therefore since our documentary is serious we would use an on screen presenter but just to introduce topic.

Furthermore we need to be cautious when representing different people as panorama makes a fair opinion on different groups . So for our documentary would need both sides of the documentary it needs to be unbiased and have both sides of the argument so it is valid .