Q4Who would be the audience for your thriller film?

Age

Due to the fact that both of the characters portrayed in the thriller opening ‘Homeless’ are young people, it is likely that we would attract most attention from this age group itself. The 15-24 age group would be most likely to find interest in the thriller opening due to the fact that they will relate well to the characters being portrayed and the mise en scene.

Through research I have found that the problems that our thriller opening explores such as poverty and homelessness are ones that this age group will be most familiar with, due to issues such as the increase in university fees leading many young people to struggle find enough money for the most basic necessities such as food or a home and so I believe that this group will greatly appreciate the attention that this receives in the thriller opening, as well as making them likely to relate to the character Sam, who is homeless. As well as this the representation of youth culture in ‘Homeless’ will greatly appeal to this age group, as they are likely to be interested in the way that their social group is portrayed, particularly due to the fact that the plotline surrounds the issue of what it is like to grow up in contemporary Britain, something which this age group is familiar with, strengthening the appeal. The fact that a young person is shown to be the victim of a crime in our thriller opening will add to the interest from this young age group. The 15-24 age group is shown to be far more often the victims of crime opposed to the perpetrators, and so a young audience is likely to appreciate this realistic portrayal of events.

Gender

In the thriller opening ‘Homeless’ both genders are portrayed equally, in that they are presented contrary to the typical stereotypes. The fact that it features a strong, deviant female character may suggest that it will be particularly attractive to a female audience, who will see her as an admirable figure.

Taking a look at other media texts which feature strong female characters, ‘Gilda’, ‘Double Indemnity’ and ‘The Big Sleep’ have audience demographics, from IMDb, which suggest that they attract audiences of both genders fairly equally, meaning that the incorporation of a strong willed female, and male characters who are emasculated does not put a male audience off. However, this could be due to the fact that such productions are iconic texts of the film noir era, and so I looked also, at some more recent texts presenting females as dominant. The 2012 Canadian TV series ‘Bomb Girls’ features a majority female cast, in which it is set in a WWII munitions factory, where the females hold positions of authority. The IMDb audience demographics show that as a result there is a greater interest from a female audience for this series, from which we can imply that the feminine power portrayed here greatly contributes to this. Although there would be a male audience for ‘Homeless’, females would be much greater compelled to watch, due to the dominance of Norma.

Ethnicity

With the protagonist of our thriller opening, Sam, being played by a Malaysian actor, it is likely that we would attract some attention from a Malaysian audience, as they will be easily able to relate to the character and the events involving him which take place . People of ethnic minorities living in Britain would also take up a large share of the audience demographics, as similarly, Sam is a character that they can relate to. As Sam is from an ethnic minority, those also of ethnic minorities may be interested in how this character is portrayed in relation to those who are indigenous white British, and as a result, this would take up a large audience share for our thriller opening. The fact that Sam is presented as living in poverty during the sequence, resulting in the thriller opening creating the representation that ethnic minorities are likely to be less fortunate than indigenous British people is likely to add to the interest in the production from this ethnic group, who are interested in how they are portrayed, particularly considering this representation conforms with societies conventions; ‘jrf.org.uk’ finds “For all ages, family types and family work statuses, people from minority ethnic groups are, on average, much more likely to be in income poverty than white British people.”

Media interests

The application of the generic conventions associated with the thriller genre in the thriller opening ‘Homeless’ means that it is likely to appeal to anybody with an interest in the thriller genre. More specifically, those with an interest in gritty noir thrillers may be attracted to ‘Homeless’ due to the themes and events explored and the way that they are portrayed, such as the likeness between this production, and the film noir productions of the 1930’s in which the storylines are inspired by events in society of the time.

Such an audience are also likely to be flattered by the regular use of intertextual references to other iconic thriller productions during the sequence, and most particularly the use of a brick in a pair of tights that Norma uses to attack her victim Sam, which is a direct reference to Jackson’s ‘Heavenly Creatures’, which emphasises the genre of the production and the gritty nature in which the events take place, establishing the audience as those who enjoy watching thriller films.