Classifying Audiences

The Mainstream: For those who fall under the mainstream audience, their main need in life is for security. This may not necessarily mean having various different locks on their doors and passwords on everything they own, but security to know that they are 'safe' within society, that they fit in. Because of this, I think that a perfect example of a text that would appeal to them would be Britain's Got Talent. This is because it is something that the majority of society talk about, as the mainstream audience is the largest group of people within the 4Cs across the world. This will mean that they will always have something to talk about, even when the show isn't on television. BGT receives a large amount of media attention before and after it has been aired, whether it be the hype of the show and the countdown until it goes live, or the rumours and speculations about at least one of the most loved contestants sprawled across the front of OK! magazine. Such things reassure the mainstreamer they they are secure. The show will be a key part of their everyday life and social events until the next mainstream show comes to light, such as The X Factor or Big Brother.

The Succeeder: The succeeders are known as those who seek reward and often seek out the best because they feel that is what they deserve. They tend to be very organised and have strong goals for themselves. I believe that a good example of a TV show for these people would be The Great British Bake Off. This would be because there is no one telling them what is right and what is wrong and they can decide for themselves which people they would give their time to and which ones they wouldn't. They will also relate to the panel of judges, who have the power over the contestants, because they occupy positions of responsibility in society in the same way that the judges occupy positions of responsibility to the contestants. Moreover, the judges have a high position of control over the contestants, which is the key need in life for the succeeders; control.

The Explorer: The explorers, are those driven by a need for discovery and things out of the ordinary. For example, you would never see an explorer watching something like Hollyoaks, where the plot is near enough spoon fed to the consumer. A good example of a media text which would be watched by these people is Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. The 1980 film is centred around a man, his wife and their child getting trapped in a hotel by a heavy period of snow, and as the film unfolds, we see the man lose his mind. Seems pretty straight forward, until you watch the movie. Kubrick includes many vague scenes and because of these, the film is now known for its conspiracies, so much so that in 2012, a separate film was made; Room 237. It is a documentary movie which discusses the many conspiracies that are associated with The Shining. Some say that the movie has 'no ending', however in the mindset of an explorer, this is not the case, and it is simply about how YOU personally interpret the film. It requires your full attention when watching it, so it would not be suited to a mainstreamer who just wants something to talk about, or a 'drop-out' who will not 
commit themselves to anything. For an explorer their key need in life is for discovery. 

The Aspirer: For the aspirer, the key need in life is to have status, to be accepted and to have what everyone else has. They are driven by other peoples perceptions of them than they are their own values. They believe in what other people would see as being superficial. In the Summer of 1990, grunge band Sonic Youth released the album Goo. Approximately 20 years later, high street fashion store H&M began stocking a t-shirt with the album cover of this CD on the front. The t-shirt sold out more than once, encouraging the shop to stock it again and again. Traveling into the city centre, you would see the shirt being sported on more than one body. Whether the people wearing it knew what or who Sonic Youth are, is a different matter. I believe this is a perfect example of a media text that attracted the 
aspirers, as this is one of many superficial frenzies that have occurred over the years.

In my opinion these categories are very useful, as they help us to categorise society into 
seven groups. However I do not believe that every single person would only fall into one category each. Somewhere along the lines, there will be individuals who fall into more than one. For example, I think it would be easy to be an aspirer and a mainstreamer. This would be because mainstreamers long to 'fit in' to society and ensure they are safe, and have no desire to stand out and discover things for themselves. Aspirers are driven by other peoples perceptions of them and an attractive pack is as important to them as it's contents. These two groups are similar in the sense that they both include something about what other people think and see in you, and your desire to be a 'normal' individual within society.

A show that is on TV now is The X Factor. A typical profile for someone who would watch this show would be woman, as they tend to have more patience to listen to people and what the judges have to say. The show is a family show, there are no explicit scenes and it is branded as having 'something for everyone', whether that be a boy band for the teenage daughter or a middle aged man for the mother figure. As a result of this, this character would be part of a family, specifically the mother. We imagine that she doesn't really take much pride in how she looks and doesn't have the best job, she is white British and lives in a working class area. She is very much a family woman with more than one child and is still in a relationship with the father of the children. 

I think Britain's Got Talent would appeal to a 'groupie' as they have a desire to be accepted by those around them. This lifestyle category fits in nicely with the idea of a mainstreamer as they both revolve around society's perceptions of them.

The Great British Bake Off would appeal to a mixture of 'innovators' and 'egoists' because these two groups of people want to succeed and make their mark on the world, and also make money. They would enjoy watching this show because of the competition and the idea of a prize at the end of a lot of hard work, the prize being money.

The Shining would appeal to 'drifters' because they aren't entirely sure what they want from life, maybe because they are still exploring the world of work, and maybe for other reasons. This is in relation to the fact that no one is entirely sure of the meaning of this film is and in order to get what you want from it you have to explore. 

The Goo t-shirt would appeal to 'trendies' and 'groupies' who want to be accepted and have the admiration of those around them. So by wearing what was at the time the 'in thing' they would have this, which would give them the admiration and security they long for.