Soap Opera Genre –

Target Audience

Name: Jon VillacciCandidate Number: 1248Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic SchoolCenter Number: 64135

OCR Media Studies – A2 Level

Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

1st Trailer – Eastenders In accordance to Hartley’s seven subjectivities the target audience is :• Age- The age range for EastEnders typically ranges from age

13 – 60 as the programme is a nation wide mainstream TV drama which has been aired for over 30 years. The programme has a wide variety of target audiences however this age range is the most specific.

• Gender- The major stereotypical gender for soap opera genres such as EastEnders is female. Mainly because this gender stereotype is more relatable to soap opera, as it features multiple themes such as: The home, the family, domestic tribulations and strong women. However the programme equally targets both genders, for example the programme holds stories that both relate to men and women whether that be teenage life and troubles along the way or implements such as one of the male characters having testicular cancer which will only personally identify with the specific male audience.

• Class- The majority of the viewers come from a working class/middle class background as the characters mirror the audience allowing them to ‘personally identify’ (Katz) as they live similar lives.

• Ethnicity- The programme is set in the heart of East London which is home to a wide variety of different multi-cultural families. The Drama depicts a very modern day London filled with a multi cultural community. By having many cultures and religions in the trailer and programme it allows for the TV drama to gain a wider target audience.

• East enders is viewed on BBC 1 four times a week at prime time hour which is 8pm, primetime hour allows the working class and category E to view the program without any foul language as well as being in time for people who have just come home from work. After 9PM (watershed) programs will include more adult related subjects and offensive language.

• Personal identification (Katz) – The program contains themes which could relate to the viewers daily lives and some of the actions undertaken by the characters (actors) could influence good or bad decisions the viewers could recreate in real life.

• Personal relationship (Katz) – Members of the audience may feel like they have a personal link between the characters, for example a character may have fear of expressing that they are homosexual which may be relatable to an audience members life.

• Socio-economic needs: East enders viewers are typically from the C1-E group category. This is because the audience watching watch this to mirror their own lives and feel of importance watching the same working class people.

2nd Trailer – HollyoaksHollyoaks is specifically aged at young people between the age of 16-24. The programme was first broadcasted on the 23rd October 1995.When watching the episodes there is a large emphasis on school and university life which is why it appeals more towards the younger generation in category E of the socio-economic scale.

The programme contains a variety of slang language which is particularly appealing to the younger audience. Verbal codes and colloquialisms such as ‘fit’, which is a slang term for attractive are ‘personally identifiable’ (Katz) to the younger generation. The reason why younger audiences are a main percentage of the viewership is due to the fact that young people want to be able to ‘survey’ similar lives to their own. Hollyoaks contains topics which are highly relative to the younger audiences such as sexual orientations and drug abuse. The soap opera can ‘inform and educate’ young viewers on the negatives and positives of modern topics (Katz).

This scene demonstrates the action packed scenes in the trailer which give a sneak peak in on the series. From this screenshot the theme is easily depicted as action/thriller.

• Socio-economic needs: Hollyoaks viewers are typically from the C1-E group category. This is because the audience watching watch this to mirror their own lives and feel of importance watching the same working class people.

• Psychographics: The program stereotypically attracts a younger demographic as they feel they relate and are influenced to act similar to the youth in the program.

• Hollyoaks is shown 5 times a week and scheduled at the time of 6:30 on channel 4. this may suggest why they target a younger demographic as students watch TV when they get back from school, 6:30 is before the watershed so is the perfect time for young viewers to watch the program.

• Age- The age range for hollyoaks typically ranges from age 16 above as the topics are relatable to teenage issues, as well as the program being played before the watershed so the younger demographic can view the soap.

• Gender- The major stereotypical gender for soap opera genres such as hollyoaks are female. Again this is due to relatable feminine topics , as it features multiple themes such as: The home, the family, domestic tribulations and strong women.

Secondary Research

“This television genre is marked as feminine in these days, in spite of the fact that men watch it (but they are as a rule ashamed to admit it in the public). Soap operas are, in the same way as romance in literature, considered as a lower form of popular culture (which is why, not only men, but women too do not like to admit watching these declined genres).”

https://www.muni.cz/vyzkum/publikace/759986Iva Baslarova

• This research suggests to me that both men and women identity's are almost ashamed to view soap operas on television as it is seen as a ‘low’ form of popular culture. ‘low’ referring to lower class members of the public who are viewing the soap to reflect on their own lives and personal identity with the characters involved (Katz).

• This sense of ‘shamelessness’ could signify (Da Saussure) men are to afraid to reveal their viewership to the soap opera as it is not seen in society as masculine or ‘machismo’.