media diary week 2

Media studies media diary week 2 

Mrs browns boys is a sit-com about an Irish elderly woman and her family consisting of a husband (of whom she wishes to die) and her 5 grown up kids and their lives. Each of the children live their own lives, creating a small level of multi-strand narrative, however each individual sector links up to one another, also displaying a linear narrative. The events of the show take place in Mrs browns house, where she along with her husband brought up their 5 grown up children. Its not hard to tell that Mrs browns boys is a comedy, with all its witty remarks and clumsy events leaving the family in stitches for the full half hour of running time. There never seems to be a dull moment with the show. The events are realistic to an extent, making it funnier as the show progresses. It follows strong cause-effect logic within each episode. This is evident because if something bad happens, something funny comes shortly after as a result of this. The show alone is enough to put a light on your evening. The family life that they display to us is a never ending entertainment; there is always something going on in order to keep the consumers entertained.

Crude humour is used. A lot of adult jokes and references are mentioned which is why I believe that its more of an adult comedy. On the other hand, it really is a family film- but possibly for teenage children rather than young ones. Watching it on your own isn't half as funny as it is watching it with a group of people.

As previously mentioned, the genre of the programme is a comedy of which the format is a sit-com based around the ethnic background of an Irish family. The show is produced by the BBC and each episode runs for an average of 30 minutes. The purpose of Mrs browns boys is to entertain people. The show when found on TV is commonly shown at night/ evening. This suggests that its aimed at an older audience and people that have possibly been working all day to entertain them/ cheer them up after work. It may also be to inform people of the life of an Irish family and their traditions in a comedic way.

The institution which product Mrs browns boys is the British Broadcasting Corporation of which is commonly known to the audience as the BBC. However, BocPix also have had an input in the production of which was aired on BBC one.

The target audience of the show is middle aged people. This is because some of the language used in the text would not be understood by the younger generation, however the older may find it too crude and a mockery of old aged people. Mainstreamers are likely to consume this text because it is a popular show that is well watched and known in British society. People of working class are likely to be targeted because the family displayed within the programme are the same. This allows the audience to relate to the text, making it more personal and enjoyable for that specific audience. Another reason could be because middle classes have a stereotype of being to ‘classy’ and above people to even consider the language used within the show. Working class are considered as ‘common people’ meaning that the language would appeal to them more.
I believe that people who consume the text are people who need a good laugh. They either don’t have much to look forward too/ be happy about in life or they are comedy lovers. If someone seeks happiness and enjoyment then they are most likely to consume this text. The fact that it makes people laugh means that the two step flow theory can occur. If it makes people laugh, then to create the same effect on others the consumers of the text are likely to tell other people their opinion and so on. Generally, I believe that people who need something to look forward to after a hard days work would enjoy the text.

Although all of this has been said, people can react in different ways to the text as use of offensive humour sometimes occurs. The three types of audience readings are preferred, oppositional and negotiated reading. People with a preferred reading of the text will likely see it as funny, light hearted and a good family laugh. Someone with an oppositional reading, however is likely to take offence to the text and view the humour as crude and unneeded; they will have a negative perception of the text in comparison. People with a negotiated reading sit on the fence generally. They see how the text can be perceived as negative, however don’t take any action or offence to it and carry on watching. They’re unlikely to find it as funny as those with a preferred reading meaning they’re somewhere in the middle. It all depends on what type of person you are.

above is a video of the scene where granddad gets a visit from the doctor.