Spooks Clip

To what extent does the nature of an institution affect the representation of C.A.G.E. in a given text?

The biggest institutions in British media have a vast target audience courtesy of the various TV channels/Radio stations that they own. For example the BBC, as well as its main channels and stations, broadcast tens of less widespread services including BBC Alba, a channel for Scottish-Gaelic speakers and overseas channels such as BBC America. Because of such a wide range of audiences, lots of different people from all aspects of the C.A.G.E. analogy are catered for.

.The BBCs most popular channel is BBC 1 and its most popular program is Eastenders. Eastenders is now the most popular British soap, over taking Coronation Street several years ago. It appeals to a wide range of people, but mainly lower-middle and lower class people of all ages and genders, most of whom will be British. The main reason for Eastenders continuing popularity is the cast of characters, some of whom have been with the show for years. The show also reinforces lots of stereotypes about certain types of people; because it has such a huge audience (over 8.4 million people) these stereotypes have the potential to be taken as realism by a large number of people. For example if an Asian person was seen on EastEnders to be a ‘bad guy’ this would get out to over 8 million people. If even a fraction of this number took the show as realism, there could be a widespread backlash towards the Asian community in Britain.

In other shows such as Skins on channel 4, the target audience is clearly defined by the age of the characters – 16-early 30s. This show, along with Big Brother, is the most watched on Channel 4 and offers a unique look into the lives of the younger generation that older people may not have been aware of, although most events depicted in the show are exaggerated for maximum effect.

For less widely distributed channels C.A.G.E. is an important part of audience targeting and selection. Taking FIVE as an example, despite its mission statement of reaching an extended audience, it mainly shows reruns of American dramas such as 24 and CSI. Therefore, as a gross generalization, its target audience is white, young to middle aged, lower to middle class and male. The channel now also shows the soap opera Neighbours, which was originally shown by the BBC. This extended its audience by bringing in people that would have watched the show on the BBC and other followers of the soap.

In conclusion, I think that the nature of an institution affects the representation of C.A.G.E. by, depending on how popular that institution is, allowing a wide range of audiences have access to many different channels and views on Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicit.

Differences between TV & CInema

TV

• Lower production values; less special effects
  
• Longer running time; e.g. episodes instead of a single film
  
• Events shown in real time
• Direct, the viewer is more a part of the story
• Plot can be longer & more complex
  
• Lower quality image
  

Cinema

• Huge production values; special effects galore
  
• Shorter running time; e.g. film instead of episodes
  
• Events shown in narrative time
• may include a narrator or voiceover
  
• Condensed plot to fit in shorter running time
• High quality image to fit on bigger screen