30 min quick test

"It is essential for a TV programme to simultaneously target both mass and specialised audiences"

Explore this statement with reference to Les Revenants

PLAN:

Yes! Les Revenants expertly targets both 'casual' and 'devoted' audiences, by providing the audience with a range of polysemic readings

Key theory: Stuart Hall's reception theory

how useful is this theory really? Does Les Revenants even have a preferred reading? Surely it lacks one, instead focusing on confusing the audience as much as possible with a range of hermeneutic codes and complex use of intertextuality?

intro- agree, definition of mass audience 

p1- interetexuality of program referencing other 
scene: Adele sees simon in mirror- horror-romance ect

p2- talk about canal+ and the range of programs they promote, ideology of producer  
scene: Claire welcomes Camille home and has domestic with Perrie and Jerome- soap oper

p3- Mogwai have a cult audience 
scene: Victor following Julie home- synth rock slow tension build up crosendo 

CODES!!!!!

finish- conclusion, own viewpoint


I believe that for a tv programme such as Les revenants it is essesial that it targets both mass and speacilsed audiences as the producers main ideology is to provide the audience with polysemic readings, therefore this can only be achieved with a range of view points. By definition a cult audience is a devoted fan base intent on proving there love for a particular media product, commonly a tv seris. However for a successful program i think that it must reach out to multiple, casual audiences and not just devoyted fans.

The show is based on the 2004 French film 'They came Back' andprsents the sinaro of random dead coming back to life. Therefore most likely this forfills the zombie genre but it blatently subverts this as the 'dead' do not act like typical zombies. In an early scene when Camille returns home and greets her mother she acts perfectly normally for a 15 year old girl, rumerging about in the fridge and talking with her mouth full of sandwich. The abnormality of the situation is shown through the slow long shot of the mothers horrified face. This is further emphasised with the shot reverse shot cutting between Clare silent figure and camille chatting away. In this moment the grene of the program changes and becomes more soap like as it is insinuated that Cailre has had an affair or some sort of relatiohip with another man. This targets a whole separate audience meaning that from the very begging the programe is asserting it self as not a styreoyipvcal zombie film and setting itself up ]to tackel many family issues. 

Les Reveants is aired on the French premium channel Canal+. This is an example of a Hybrid Broadcast Braodband and shows a range of shows, both imported and bought or produced. Unlike other shows that have cult audiences the ideology of this show is not nessicarly explicitly clear and there does not seem to be a single main protagonist. Therfeore the audnice can pick and choose who they idetify with and who they agrree with. This negociasted style of reading allows the producer to target a wider age range and demographic of people. Stwaurt Halls argues that the audince will idetify and accept a veiwpoint wether that be the prefred reading and oe the prodcer had set out to achive or an oppositional reading. That being said in this case the binary oppositional themes of life and death, in conjuctuion with sex, domestic life and childhood cause the audince to have an extreme polysemic reading of the program. 

The general mise-en-scen of the show is middle class French town life. On the other hand the show seems to reference