Media Diary Week 6

Guilty Pleasure

For me my guilty pleasure which I'm secretly not so guilty about has to be the supernatural drama "The Vampire Diaries". This show focuses on the life of the protagonist Elena Gilbert as we see her fall in love with vampire Stefan Salvatore and through this we see her open to the world of the supernatural. Throughout the series we're also introduced to many more supernatural threats including werewolves, witches and ghosts therefore making the show increasingly gripping and dramatic. Considering the show perhaps being described as a 'typical romantic vampire teen drama' the target audience would be the Mainstreamers when looking at Young and Rubicam's '4Cs' model due to their core need in life being familiarity. However I don't think that this show is the cliche vampire drama due to them taking risks with the storyline and the characters doing things that you never thought was possible. For that reason the show could also be targeted at an Explorer audience due to them responding to brands that  offer new sensations and instant effects.

This is a text that I wouldn't usually consume because I have never really watched or have continued to watch long drama series because I usually find them to get too dragged out or I'd get bored with the typical 'love triangle' or relationship complications. I usually like watching something different  and to discover new things therefore fitting in to the Explorer audience. Also I found the whole vampire romance story to have been done a thousand times before. However with this show from the start I found myself drawn to the unexpected plot twists and the cliffhangers at the end of each show that keep me wanting to see more despite the ongoing romances tied in with the show's characters. I started watching it due to basic boredom but now I'm basically addicted.

When taking a reading of the text, I think I take a preferred reading and just simply enjoy it for what it is because I'm usually too drawn into the gripping scenes to analyse it and consume it in a different way. I understand that the whole supernatural theme is complete fiction but I still enjoy the show all the same. It's the situations and scenes that occur which I know would never be possible which grab my attention so much therefore I don't think I could take an oppositional or negotiated reading.

Overall the text appeals me due to it foremost fulfilling my need of Entertainment as I could sit and watch the show for hours and still find my self enticed to everything that is happening. The new characters they introduce keeps the show's storylines interesting and the use of music in the background can sometimes create suspense and is a major attention grabber. The show also fulfills the need of Personal Identity due the characters being in high school therefore being a similar age to me despite my life being entirely ordinary in comparison. However even though most of the characters have supernatural elements, they still portray the importance of friendship relationships which us as an audience can relate to.