Soap Opera Genre – Target Audience

Name: Elizabeth PlumbCandidate Number: 2049Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic SchoolCenter Number: 64135

OCR Media Studies – A2 Level

Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

Hartley’s 7 Subjectivities: o Age – The age group for a typical soap opera would be

between the age groups of 16-70 because many people seem to enjoy watching the drama filled programs from teens to the elderly as they all feel that they can relate to the subjects in the programme.

o Gender – The main gender for soap operas are normally females, this is because they feel that they can relate to the problems and situations in the opera. This is said by Rebecca Feasey (2007) as she states the soap opera genre focuses on:

‘The home, family, domestic tribulations and the strong women and as such, it has long been said to appeal to the female viewer’o Class – People of a middle/lower class would watch

Eastenders, this is because the characters represent the middle/lower class therefore they are represented in the audience as the same.

o Ethnicity – People of the white and black ethic group would watch Eastenders, this is because they are both present in the episodes and are not racially stereotypical.

Trailer 1 - Eastenders

Socio-Economic Needs:The typical viewers of this text would be in the C1-E group, this is because students and workers would most likely watch this is due to the same type of characters being played who seem to be in about the same groups as the people watching, for example most of the characters are working class which therefore attracts a working class audience as they can relate to the issues or feelings presented.

Psychographics:Consumers of this program would either be at school or education or would have a normal lifestyle. However, due to watching the program they may feel pressured to make the same lifestyle choices as the characters on screen as they feel that they are influenced by them, for example when gang crime is presented on the show audiences may feel influenced to do the same thing.

Katz’ Uses & Gratifications theory:o Personal Identification – The audience may feel that they are

influenced or should make the same decisions as the characters, for example gangs or crime. Personal Relationship – The audience may feel like they have a relationship with the character as they enjoy them or feel they are like them, for example if the character has gone through an emotional time which is the same as the audience , they may feel connected to the characterInform and Educate – The audience may also learn something from the characters as the multi-stranded narratives themes & issues that they cover may effect some people, for example how issues are overcome, either about crime, emotion or housing abuse.

Eastenders is on 4 times a week normally at the prime time hour of 8pm, this time is significant because it enables people from group E to watch it without offensive language, due to the watershed typically at 9pm the program will not include any offensive or strong adult themes.

These logos are a symbol of the support that the program offers once it has included a subject that the audience may have faced. This offers the audience support about the issue.

Trailer 2 - Hollyoaks

Socio-Economic Needs:The typical audience of this media product would be in the E group because students would be the main target audience for this program as they focus mainly on teenage issues such as sexuality and family issues.

Psychographics:Viewers of this text would (stereotypically) either be at school or within education. When watching the program teenagers may feel that they should be influenced by the characters therefore they may change to be more like them, for example gender change.

Katz’ Uses & Gratifications theory:o Personal Identification – The audience may feel that they are

influenced or should make the same decisions as the character, for example if the character makes a decision that the audience feel they need to make too, then they may feel they could make it.

o Personal Relationship – The audience may feel like they have a relationship with the character as they enjoy them or feel they are like them, for example transgender which is explored in the program. Inform and Educate – The audience may also learn something from the characters as the story lines that they cover may effect some people, for example family or relationship issues.

Hartley’s 7 Subjectivities: o Age – People watching this program would mainly be of the

age group between 16-25 because the program deals with mainly teenager issues and has younger characters involved.

o Gender – The gender profile for this program could either be girls or boys. This is because they focus on different relationships, whether that being gay, straight, lesbian or transgender, this could attract different genders as they focus on different issues. Class – The class for the target audience would be of a lower class , for example socio-economic group E. This is because the target audience are teenagers, therefore have not got a high status.

This image helps to show that the target audience for Hollyoaks is teenagers. This is because the cast of the soap are offering ‘exam help’.

Hollyoaks is scheduled on channel 4 twice a week at the prime time hour of 8:30pm. This could be because they focus on personal subjects that teenagers would only understand therefore it is shown later on, for example transgender issues that teenagers can relate to.