Mini mock Les Revenants
"It is essential for a TV programme to simultaneously target both mass and specialised audiences"
Explore this statement with reference to Les Revenants
Reception Theory, Cult TV, Preferred Reading, Negotiated Reading, Oppositional Reading.
Answer: The TV show 'Les Revenants', which was broadcasted to the French TV channel Canal+ in 2012, targets mainly specialised audiences throughout the first episode. I will discuss the ideas of reception theory and how the producer wanted the audience to receive the show.
'Les Revenants' targets a specialised audience through the use of location. For Example, in the first scene with Camille and the bus crash, it is shown to be set in the alps. The use of this location in first scene shows the audience the producer is targeting is from France as they will instantly know where this is set. However, an audience member from another country may have to do a little digging around to find out where the Alps is and why it is set there. Also, Camille is shown to be a moody teenager when she is sitting on the bus as the close ups of her face show her looking miserable and looking out the window with her headphones in, this would be preferred reading the producer is going for. Later on in the scene we are shown a butterfly breaking out of a glass cabinet, this could show the symbolic code of how the dead are breaking free and are returning, this would require an active audience as the producer wants the audience to have questions about the show, a passive audience member may not understand this.
Another way in which the show targets a specialised audience is through the use of confusing narrative points. For Example, in the last scene we are flashed back to four years earlier, revealing that Camille and Lena are actually twins. This would confuse the audience a lot as the whole narrative structure of this episode is backwards but the producer wanted the audiences to watch on and have more questions than answers. The idea of when Lena loses her virginity during that time Camille is about to die, shows how symbolic death is in this show. This scene could also be seen as slightly controversial as it depicts two underage teenagers having sex which would been quite disturbing for some people.
This shows that the show is targeting a specialised audience as it is making the audience think about what is actually happening, the mass audience may find this show to confusing and complex and they would rather watch something else. Also throughout this scene there is a lot of hermeneutic and symbolic codes, this encourages the fans of the show to look into them and come up with theories about the show. Because the last scene leaves us on a cliffhanger we are made to wonder why and the producer wanted this for the reason that specialised audience will talk about the show further and get more people to watch it, this would then gain them a cult following.
'Les Revenants' targets a specialised audience through the use of location. For Example, in the first scene with Camille and the bus crash, it is shown to be set in the alps. The use of this location in first scene shows the audience the producer is targeting is from France as they will instantly know where this is set. However, an audience member from another country may have to do a little digging around to find out where the Alps is and why it is set there. Also, Camille is shown to be a moody teenager when she is sitting on the bus as the close ups of her face show her looking miserable and looking out the window with her headphones in, this would be preferred reading the producer is going for. Later on in the scene we are shown a butterfly breaking out of a glass cabinet, this could show the symbolic code of how the dead are breaking free and are returning, this would require an active audience as the producer wants the audience to have questions about the show, a passive audience member may not understand this.
Another way in which the show targets a specialised audience is through the use of confusing narrative points. For Example, in the last scene we are flashed back to four years earlier, revealing that Camille and Lena are actually twins. This would confuse the audience a lot as the whole narrative structure of this episode is backwards but the producer wanted the audiences to watch on and have more questions than answers. The idea of when Lena loses her virginity during that time Camille is about to die, shows how symbolic death is in this show. This scene could also be seen as slightly controversial as it depicts two underage teenagers having sex which would been quite disturbing for some people.
This shows that the show is targeting a specialised audience as it is making the audience think about what is actually happening, the mass audience may find this show to confusing and complex and they would rather watch something else. Also throughout this scene there is a lot of hermeneutic and symbolic codes, this encourages the fans of the show to look into them and come up with theories about the show. Because the last scene leaves us on a cliffhanger we are made to wonder why and the producer wanted this for the reason that specialised audience will talk about the show further and get more people to watch it, this would then gain them a cult following.
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