Uses and Gratification Theory - Peaky Blinders

How is Uses and Gratification Theory used throughout Peaky Blinders?

Peaky Blinders is a crime drama showed on BBC Two at 9pm. The programme is set in 1919 Birmingham, which follows former world war one soldiers who have returned home and formed a criminal gang. Throughout Peaky Blinders, Uses and Gratification theory is justified through clear links with technical conventions, conventions and sequences from the narrative, an example of this through entertainment purposes: filling time. The target audience will use Peaky Blinders to fill their time passively through the score/non-digetic sounds to guide them through the character's feelings, reactions and dialogue. 

What Noir conventions are present within the film 'Drive'?

What Noir conventions are present within the film 'Drive'?

The film 'Drive' consists of typical Noir conventions, which of one is portrayed through the role of the male protagonist. This particular role requires certain characteristics both positive and negative including: hard-heartedness, loneliness, selflessness and the ability to be physically tough.

Within the first scene of the provided text, we're able to caution the loneliness of the protagonist during dinner at his colleague's house with his wife and child, as he often glances in her direction wide-eyed providing the impression of isolation. Later, the text provides us with evidence of the protagonist's desirers resulting in himself being drawn into a threatening situation and further withdrawal from the femme fatal.

How typical is 'Sin City' of it's genre?

The film Sin City is a hybrid, consisting of joint characteristics from both Noir and Comic Book genres in order to produce a more state-of-the-art text.
           One way of which Sin City typically conforms to the Noir genre is by usage of a male narrator, which tends to be highly common within this particular film genre, as the repeated protagonist within the tale is male and proceeds the assertive role. Nevertheless, the protagonists within the story regularly succumb the Femme Fatale's sexuality of the sequence even though, women are only used for men's personal gain. An example of typical male narration within Sin City is when the prostitute Goldie is murdered, Marv speaks about the inflicted harm in return for the person who'd caused it to happen, as well as speaking negatively of himself, calling him a "two timed loser". Yet another male protagonist role, John Hartigan constantly puts himself down by his narrative comments which he also used for self-motivation "an old man dies, little girl lives" whilst saving a young girl from paedophiles.
            A typical feature used constantly throughout Sin City to portray the film's status of Noir and Comic Book hybrid genre is through usage of a leather trench coat, worn by the protagonist, Marv. Trench coats were popular military coats, introduced in the 40's, around the time WW2 roughly ended, which relates to the 'cold war' theme, Noir genre films are based upon. However, one main comic book convention 'the Superhero's cape', portrayed within Sin City through the protagonist, Marv's trench coat at the beginning and end of each mission, as he removes and later clothes himself with the coat before and after killing his enemies (conventions of the horror genre), to prevent disgrace upon his character as a hero.
            One way of which Sin City conforms typically of comic book genre conventions, is by usage of over exaggerated physical violence which exceed the boundaries of common sense. Within Sin City, at some point each protagonist uses extreme violence which doesn't tend to occur naturally in Noir films. An example of this is when Goldie's murdered and the Police are called, and Marv escapes by blowing the police away by punching the door open, he then continues to fall down flights of stairs, dodging bullets, breaks through windows, stops a police car and drives off in it. This highlights the modern features of film as being hybrid, with fast, exaggerated conventions of a comic book.

Mainstream and Niche Audience By Rose

Define Niche and Mainstream audiences

A mainstream audience consists of a mass audience being targeted by a media text. An example of some media texts, of which would target a mainstream audience would be: The Simpsons, The X Factor and The Sun. The Simpsons is scheduled on different channels, including channels you may pay for such as Sky1, and also Freeview on C4. By broadening themselves on a range of different channels, this makes it more accessible to the audience to whichever time of the day suits them best.
              The X Factor is a form of typical 'Saturday night TV', even though it's only scheduled twice a week, it's still highlighted as mainstream. The show is presented on a few ITV channels which are accessible on Sky, virgin, freeview and so on.
              Over the years, the TV show has hosted some of the world's most popular celebrities within the music industry to judge. The older generation tend to tune in more because of the fact, Take That boy band star, Gary Barlow happens to be judge. Whereas the younger generation tune in mainly because of the young, attractive, female pop stars such as: Nicole Scherzinger and Cheryl Cole.
              Within the X Factor, background stories of the contestants unfold and in some cases tend to pull the audience's heartstrings, this may be because the audience feels as if they can relate to the situations or become sympathetic towards them. But on the other end of the scale, the audience mainly tune in just to laugh at people making 'fools' of themselves. This show has been decoded the way it was encoded, and this goes for most passive/mainstream programmes.

              A niche audience consists of a fraction of people who take a unique interest within a specific media text. An example of some media texts, of which would target a niche audience would be: Breaking Bad, Brass Eye and Cycling magazines.
              Brass Eye was scheduled 6 times during 1997, and once in 2001 originally broadcasted on Channel 4. Although it's no longer accessible on the television, you're able to still watch the episodes via YouTube and other sites.
              'Mocumentaries' such as Brass Eye are aimed at the niche audiences as they are for more active viewers. Brass Eye is a series of mocumentaries which cover specific stories the national news cover often but in a fictitious way, such as: Drugs, Paedophiles, Crime. Within the series, dry humour/sarcasm is thrown about which only active viewers would understand. The show hosts celebrities who are told to speak about the 'problems' in today's society. They're given certain lines to say which include 'facts' that aren't always correct, not knowing that the audience's reactions would be different to how they're trying to portray.