Kick-Ass Target Audience/Appeals

There are many appeals of the film Kick-Ass, one of these is the expectations of the superhero movie are met as the themes and conventions are extremely conventional meaning that the film will have met these expectations of the audience.

In addition to this expectations are challenged throughout the film, which can also act as an appeal in itself as the audience are constantly bombarded with information and images they do not expect, this is demonstrated when we see Kick-Ass walking through the streets and Frank D’Amico follows him in his car, we then see Kick-Ass walk into an ally and Frank follow him where Kick-Ass is then shot to death. This challenges the audience as the way the scene is shot the audience are obstructed and do not have full knowledge, which is unusual as the audience usually know more than the characters in the film. However the audience are once again challenged as we soon find out that it was no Kick-Ass and but was actually a children’s entertainer which lead to the audience being shocked and question the film as their expectations are once again challenged.

Another way this film attracts its audience is the idea that it although it is a superhero movie it is also a high school comedy, this gives a new dynamic to the film as it is easier for the audience to relate to the characters. It is hard for a normal person to relate to someone such as the Hulk as they do not have extreme power so the fact that Dave is simply a high school geek that cannot talk to girls and even is alter ego of Kick-Ass has no powers makes it much easier to relate to him as a character. Once scene that highlights this is when Katie and Dave are stood at the lockers and Katie says “hey gorgeous” and Dave comes back with stutters and mumbling, to then he realises she was talking to her friend Erika. This allows the audience to laugh at Dave for being so clueless but also may allow some audience members to relate to the situation and think of when they were in high school.

This film appeals to the mainstream as the character types are extremely relatable and allow the audience to personally identify with them, however the characters also have that aspect that is not relatable at all. The gritty nature of the film and graphic violence is hard to watch at some parts but is very intense and some viewers will see that it is just a film. For example the fact Hit Girl is a child that is constantly beat up and abused is hard for some viewers to watch but we also remember that she has murdered others so should treat her the same as any other criminal.

Overall this film does exactly as a film should it intrigues the audience to ask questions and constantly want more, the audience clearly want Dave to succeed time and time again and even though he is always pushed down the audience always want him to get back up. The fact that this film breaks and challenges conventions only makes it that more appealing for an audience.