X Factor

My guilty pleasure is the X factor.

I think the X Factor appeals to a middle aged stay at home mum/dad target audience. The X Factor is a talent show (whether everyone is talented or not isn't down to me) that airs on a Saturday and Sunday night. I don't think this text is absurd for me because I am a mainstream audience member and this show seems to tick all the mainstream boxes. It airs on a family brand TV channel and it is very popular and well known. I think the X Factor is a secure programme as well so I don't see it as a text I wouldn't usually consume based on the audience type I am. However, compared to the texts I usually consume (Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead) it is very different but ultimately it fits into my audience category. I think I take a preferred reading to the X factor because I get behind all the sob stories and I laugh at all the funny contestants, which is what I think is the encoded reading of the X factor. Using the uses and gratifications theory the X Factor entertains me but I have a deluded personal identity to it. When watching the X Factor I, along with many people I am sure, aspire to be able to sing like the high flyers of the competition. Now in reality I can't but it is nice to have the fantasy of a weekend!