Reception theory

Prison Break.

The text that i have chosen to write about is a TV show called Prison Break which was released in 2005. It is based on a business man who's mission is to break his brother out of prison who has is on the death sentence and has been wrongly convicted. To do this he has to be imprisoned in the the same prison as his brother. The show contains action, drama and scenes that contain high tension. In my opinion the target audience for this program are men aged 18-30 who enjoy action. Most viewers would be English From the UK or America and preferably isn't very religious. The audience would be in the working class and below because people in this class have spare time to watch the program and maybe have only part time jobs. The viewers of this program would be drifters and egoists because this show proved something different and isn't something that everyone discusses like soaps and traditional shows. Due to this i think the typical audience member would be an explorer because Prison Break provides something different and can be enjoyed in different ways. It also provides knowledge about subjects that aren't typical such as prison life and how they plan to escape throughout the show.

The encoders want the audience to get a good grasp of the characters and what each prisoner has been through and their stories. This allows the audience to become attached to the program and gives them the urge to keep watching. The show consists of ideologies that have been encoded by the producers. One of them is family values, tho is because the main character (Michael) has put himself into prison to save his brother from the death sentence. Prison Break celebrates how one intelligent individual can defeat a entire prison with his fellow prisoners and his plans for the future. The show has many underlying messages, such as how important family can be to certain people and if you can relate to the show you get a more clear understanding to the messages shown and the circumstances with each character. Prison Break tells the audience that life is very important, especially to the characters in the program, whom want to get back home to their loved ones instead of being imprisoned.

The oppositional reading of the text consists of certain ideologies that viewers hold against the text. Some audience members might hold grudges against the show because they disagree with the ideas involved. For example, the fact that prisoners are escaping from prison could offend some audience members because they think its wrong and is against their values. They understand why they are escaping and have witnessed their stories but refuse to face the fact that they have broken the law.
People who might have this view could be people who have specific jobs who are against the situations in the program such as police officers who their job is to catch the criminals who are in the show for committing a crime. Also, law enforcers who's job it is to punish people who have committed crimes and sentence them to jail time. Another cultural reason that might lead to a oppositional view is gender because Prison Break is dominated by men and their abilities to escape, this could provide a sexist view against certain women. Religion is also a oppositional point of view because religion is all about standing by the right and wrongs in life and this can depict someones religious views. The last cultural point is someones personal experiences, for example if someone has been present or has been victim to a crime that one of the prisoners has committed, they can have a negative view on the prisoners escaping and think that they deserve to be there due to their experiences.

The audience members will also have a negotiated reading view, such as understanding why the prisoners want to escape and the circumstances they are facing. However, they will also disagree with the idea of escaping prison and the fact that they are in their for a reason. The audience who gave a negotiated reading don't take the program into consideration, they just completely disagree with the idea of the show and this could be caused by how the audience has grown up or how they view the media. This could be due to religion and what beliefs a audience member has, it could also be their up bringing and surroundings, for example if the audience member comes from a liberal family they would not agree with this show.

The Prison Break audience watch this program for entertainment/escapism. The show allows the audience members to take their mind off day to day problems they may be associated with and escape into an intense show with aspects of life that are different to the typical viewers. Due to the program being so different to what the audience members experience in their day, it can allow them to watch many episodes at a time and still enjoy the trills that the show has to offer.