Audiences of murder mystery films
- 1. Joseph Russo
- 2. Audience for Murder Mystery The audience for a murder mystery film depends on these factors: • Age/Gender/Ethnicity • Nationality/Homework • Class/Status/Income • Employment • Marital Status • Hobbies/Interests • Other media used
- 3. Barthes’ Enigma Code Barthes’ Enigma Code is used when the text, in this case a murder mystery film, asks a question and the audience continue to watch to find out the answer. It can be applied to the Murder Mystery genre because many of the conventions associated with the genre can ask questions to the audience. For example, when there is a murder, the audience can attempt to work out who committed the murder when questions are asked, such as why there is a specific clue linked to the murder.
- 4. Hall’s Reception Theory Hall’s Reception Theory is used so the audience can decode the messages in Media texts differently. This theory states that the media texts are encoded by the producer and include values and messages. Some audiences will decode the text in different ways and sometimes not in the way the producer intended. The three ways that the audience decodes the media texts are: • Dominant or Preferred Reading – how the producer wants film to be seen • Oppositional Reading – when the audience creates their own meaning for the text. • Negotiated Reading – when the audience accepts part of the producers views but has their own view on parts as well.
- 5. Hall’s Reception Theory in Murder Mystery Stuart Hall’s theory is represented in murder mystery films because depending on the audience, they would react in different ways. One example is in the film ‘Prisoners. For example, if a parent was watching the film they would feel differently to a person with no children. This is because a parent knows what it is like to have children and care for their safety. However if an adult with no children watched it they would not watch it in the same way as a parent would. This shows that Hall’s reception theory relates to the Murder Mystery genre.
- 6. Questionnaire I created a questionnaire to find out what kind of people watch murder mystery films the most by asking various questions about themselves and what aspects of murder mystery films they like. I asked questions such as: • Gender • Age • Marital status • Whether they are employed • What they like to see in a murder mystery film • Whether like to see who the murderer is at the start of the film or the end of the film • What they look for in the protagonist and antagonist • How often they watch murder mystery films
- 7. Age From my questionnaire, I found out that a lot of people who watch murder mystery films are older teenagers and young adults. This could be because they have more free time to watch films and would be more interested in it. 11-15 3 12% 16-20 10 40% 21-25 5 20% 26-30 2 8% 31+ 5 20%
- 8. Marital Status From my results I found out that more half of the people who answered are not married. This could maybe show that a younger audience watch murder mystery films because from the age question I found out that most people are 16-20. Married 8 32% Not 17 68% married
- 9. Employment I found out that it was almost equal about the question on employment. Just over half of the people are employed that answered the questionnaire. Yes 15 60% No 10 40%
- 10. What people like in a murder mystery I found that most people like to see both a murder and kidnapping in murder mystery films. Nobody who answered my questionnaire said they like neither a murder or a kidnapping. Murder 8 32% Kidnapping 4 16% Both 13 52% None of the 0 0% above
- 11. What people like to see in the protagonist People like a range of aspects in the protagonist but the mental aspects (charismatic, intelligent, ambitious) stand out the most. A lot of typical protagonists in murder mystery films are typically mentally strong.
- 12. What people like to see in the antagonist I can clearly see from the results that a violent antagonist appeals the most to the audience. This could be because violence creates action and action makes the film more interesting and appealing to the audience.
- 13. How often people watch murder mystery films A lot of people only watch murder mystery films sometimes and few people watch them regularly. Some people don’t watch them at all but this could be because of a busy lifestyle, such as work and family.