Introduction
Hi there, its Sammie again. This time I have been asked to look at the demographics for my film 'The Fault in Our Stars'. Ien Ang (pronounced Yen) (1991) and John Hartley (1987) suggested that producers create invisible fiction or imaginary entities before creating a media product. This is true as the producers want to get a feel of what their target audience likes to do and what sort of things would interest them to incorporate these into the film. The main target audience for my film is teenage girls from the ages of 15 and upward.
Gender
The first example that represents gender in the film 'The Fault in Our Stars' is the relationship as it links to Carl Rodgers theory. His theory is 'Ideal self, ideal partner' and this links to the film as the main characters ideal self would be to not be ill and this relates to the target audience as they have other things wrong with them that they would like to change to become their ideal selfs. The ideal partner is Augustus because he is an attractive and caring young person like the target audience and they feel like they could see themselves with somebody like him, however this appeals mostly to girls. The next example that represents gender is again the main characters relationship as it links to Claude Levi Strauss's theory of 'Binary Opposition'. This links because Hazel is more dominant than Augustus most of the way through the film and so doesn't meet the average stereotype of the male being the dominant partner and the female being the subordinate partner. We can tell that this film is aimed mostly at a female target audience because of the fact that Hazel is more in control and so shows the females that watch the film that they can be in control. The third example is again linked to the main characters relationship and also to Strauss's theory of 'Binary Opposition' as the roles are reversed and Augustus becomes the dominant stereotypical male and Hazel becomes the stereotypical subordinate female. This shows the target audience that the roles can be reversed.
Age
The age rating of this film is a 12 but the median age is a 15 as the themes of the film are for a more mature audience that would understand what the meaning behind it is. The first example of this is the fact that this is a film about two teenagers that are battling Cancer. It shows the target audience that they can overcome anything if they try and if they really want to. The second example of this that I am going to use is when Hazel and Augustus go on their first date. This is an example because they are falling in love for the first time and it shows that if they can do this even if it is just for a short period of time, then the target audience can too. It also helps the target audience too believe in love if they don't already. The third example is when the lead characters travel abroad and go to Amsterdam. This shows the target audience that they can go anywhere and do anything that they want to. The fourth example is when they go to the Cancer Support Group as it shows that they are sociable and can still make friends even if they are terminally ill. This appeals to the audience as many of them may be involved in a support group for other problems that they have, also the target audience will be if an age where they are just learning g to cope or deal with social issues. Another example of the target audiences age is the book as this is a young adults fiction book.
Lifestyle and Uses and Gratifications
NRS stands for National Readership Survey. The target audience for my film 'The Fault in Our Stars' is in the lifestyle category E of the NRS which is Urban Ventures. The technology from the film back this up as the main characters have up to date technology such as I-phones and laptops which their parents have probably bought for them as they are teenagers and still live at home. It backs it up as most people have up to date technology because their parents can afford these kind of things and so can the characters parents in the film. This also relates to the target audience being digital natives. Digital natives are people who have been brought up within the digital age and they have witnessed the development of technology. Denis McQuail (1972) says that there are four reasons why people consume media products. These are; surveillance, escapism, building a personal identity and finally building personal relationships. An example of escapism in my film is when the two main characters go away to Amsterdam. This is an example as many people want escape and to go away on holiday and do things like they do in the film. Another example that links to escapism is when the main characters go on their first date as the target audience can escape and imagine that they are on the date with whichever main character that they like as they are both attractive. An example of building a personal identity is when the target audience can relate to the characters or the actors. They want to be or replicate them. The audience could relate to them because they have an illness that they are trying to overcome, or they can relate to the love story that is incorporated into the film. The film could also be in lifestyle category A: affluent achievers as many successful people will watch the film too such as people from the medical world that will understand the problems and the downsides of the illness that the two main characters suffer from. This would help the affluent achievers to build relationships too as they could talk to people similar to the characters in the film that suffer from the illness in the real world as they understand the themes that are included in the film.
Spending Power
This film will influence two different groups of people, who have different lifestyles. The first is Urban Ventures and their demographics would be C1 and C2. This means that they will have an income but it will be very little as they will be at college or university which means that they will probably have a part time job where they will earn minimum wage. The second is the thriving greys and affluent achievers and their demographics will be A and B. This band are all upper middle class and middle class people which means they have a good job and a decent wage and a disposable income. The first group of people may be able to go to the cinema to watch the film or buy the book or the DVD. But the second band of people could afford to go on holiday to Amsterdam like the two main characters do in the film. They could also afford to donate money to charity every month.
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