M1: Suitability for animations and the target audience

    

                Suitability for Animations and 

                         the Target Audience

                                 

Just like any other media, animation has a target audience it is trying to reach. In this report you will read about some of the contraversies when media products got things wrong for the target audience and how effective the media product is. 

 

The term target audience can be broken down into age, sex, gender, ethnicity, geological location... Psychometrics are used to categorise groups of people based on their values, lifestyle and attitude of the world. There are lots of different types of psychometrics such as mainsteamers, explorers etc.

                                 Harley Quinn TV series

The Harley Quinn TV series is a DC 2D animated series in the genres superhero adventure. In this series,  Joker and Harley Quinn break up, she learns to become the queen criminal in Gotham without him but with the help of her friends. The series is targeted towards mainstreamer/explorer adults; there is excessive swearing, lots of violence and fight scenes, drugs and alcohol are frequently shown, there is lots of sexual innuendo and is frequently talked about. The purpose of this is to entertain the adult audience who are okay watching and hearing these things, the BBFC age rating for this series would be 18+. I believe that mainstreamers may watch this show because DC and the characters are very popular as well as the series. However, I believe explorers would love Harley Quinn because this is comedic and different to normal DC media. They would love the action packed nature of the show. Women may be the majority of the viewership. The Harley Quinn TV series is based around Harley Quinn breaking free from her ex The Joker. She tries to find herself without a man in her life, she creates a team and causes mayhem in Gotham. Some women may relate to this.

        This video shows how the TV series is 2D animated and how it is aimed towards adults.

                               Is this suitable for the target audience and is it effective?

Although the Harley Quinn DC animated TV series is for adults, it looks like any other DC series that kids watch. This would be very controversial as DC is know to produce TV shows and movies for both adults and children. There are lots of PG rated movies and TV series around the Batman characters. Children might be drawn to watch this adult TV series because they love the characters. they also might be drawn to the series because this is animated and not filmed in a real environment with actors, they might think this is appropriate for them when it isn't. 

Is this effective in the terms of entertainment? Yes, lots of people are making articles about the series saying how brilliant it is. Is this effective for an adult target audience? Yes, the swearing in the first episode clearly tells parents who might have accidentally let there kids watch this that it isn't aimed at kids. Adults will think this is a funny animated TV series with their favourite Batman characters that they grew up alongside.

                              Who Framed Rodger Rabbit

Who Framed Rodger Rabbit is a live action animated PG rated movie released on the 2nd of December 1988. The movie is about a detective that tries to figure out the mystery of who framed Rodger Rabbit for the murder of Marvin Acme. They have used live action animation for this movie. This means that the Looney Tunes and other animated characters can exist in the same world as the real actors and people in the movie. They create live action by using computer generated or hand drawn characters and editing them in after filming the scene with the actors. The purpose is to entertain mainstream children, boys and girls. and families (this is a PG rated movie). I believe they are mainstreamers because Looney Tunes is a popular kids TV show. They entertain children by using their favourite Looney Tunes characters from the animated series and making them live action. Children will think the movie is fun.

                                        

                           Is this suitable for the target audience and is it effective?

Because Who Framed Rodger rabbit was created in 1988, there are some very controversial things in this movie, we are more aware and accepting of everyone as a society in these modern times. In this kids film, Jessica Rabbit is Rodger's wife, she is heavily sexualised with a red sparkly dress (red signifies passion and romance), lots of makeup like red lipstick and her hair is styled. They have used the male gaze theory by Laura Mulvey in 1975: Women are objectified/sexualised for the pleasure of heterosexual men. This is deemed extremely inappropriate for modern times in general, never mind for a kids film. We as society have much more equality between men and women now, women aren't sexualised as much. Furthermore, alcohol and cigarettes are present in the film. Back in 1988, cigarettes and alcohol might have been more acceptable because they didn't fully understand how harmful they were. Children would be influenced by the presence of cigarettes and alcohol and want to try it themselves. The BBFC (British board of Film Classification) has laws against this now: Drugs and alcohol references cannot be marketed towards children, they cannot cause harm to them and they have to contain an anti drugs message if they are present.

Is the film effective for the purpose of entertainment? Yes because this is a famous movie and it earned $329.8 million at the box office. Is it effective for the target audience? No because it sexualises women which sends a very toxic message to children, it contains cigarettes and alcohol in a kids film which isn't allowed in this modern society. Is it effective in gaining the attention if children? Yes, the cartoon characters from their favourite Looney Tunes TV show would make them want to watch the film.

                                The Simpsons TV series

The Simpsons is a 2D/3D animated sitcom TV series based around a family with the same last name.  Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie have to deal with different situations and adventures in each episode. This is a PG animated series animated at mainstream families and the purpose is to entertain audiences. I believe The Simpsons target mainstreamers since everyone has seen at least an episode of the show, it is on TV frequently. The Simpsons are a family, the families watching the show may relate to some of the dynamics between the characters and occasional situations in the TV series. Both sexes will like the show as they are both represented.

                              Is this suitable for the target audience and is it effective?

The Simpsons is heavily on harmful stereotypes throughout the series. Marge is a stay at at home mum who looks after the kids. This is stereotypical because in the past women had to childcare while men went to work, however women are also going after a career for themselves. Groundskeeper Willie is a stereotypical scottish man who is always angry and playing the bagpipes. Apu is a main stereotypical Indian character with a strong accent and he is a character made fun of in the series. This relates to the Alavardo (1987) Hall (1995) racial stereotype theory: The media either demonises ethnic groups or makes them seem dangerous, exotic, humorous or pitied. For Apu's character, they take the mess out of the character and his accent. There are lots more stereotypes in The Simpsons, these stereotypes are toxic for society, expecially children that are learning the rights and wrongs in the world. Furthermore, some of The Simpsons episodes contain more adult content that children shouldn't be exposed to, however The Simpsons still have a PG rating. Is this effective in entertaining audiences? Yes, The Simpsons has some family friendly humor and focuses on a family. Is it effective for the target audience? No, the stereotypes are harmful for society and especially children, some of the content and jokes isn't appropriate for children.

To conclude, making sure the animated media product is effective for the target audience and suitable for them is key. The end of traditional audience theory by Clay Shirky (2008) relates to the target audience and contraversy. Because of technology, audiences don't exist anymore, they can dislike something and break the media product or like it and make it popular online through opinions. Therefore audiences communicate with the media. This is why it is important for animated media products to be effective and capture the target audience in a positive way, otherwise contraversies can cause major damage to the reputation of a media product and it won't be successful.