Rio Ferdinand

Typical examples of a Documentary:

Rio Ferdinand: Being Mum and Dad
Making a Murderer
An Idiot Abroad
Man on Wire
Planet Earth
Kurt and Courtney
The Secret


Rio Ferdinand's "Being Mum and Dad" is a 'one-off' documentary that explores Rio's life after the sudden death of his wife, leaving him alone, looking after three children of theirs. The show appeared on Tuesday at 21:00, after the British watershed, which possibly makes the documentary more realistic, as it is more likely that they will use footage that might not have been considered before the watershed. Throughout the episode, Rio would follow through a journey, and we, the audience, take on the role of watching how Rio copes from the loss. Some stories, more setbacks than anything, occur throughout the episode, making Rio's life harder, and making the task of being 'both parents' harder for him and his family.

From the very start of this scene, Rio has already used a technique that is widely used in documentaries. The blank 'stare' out into the wilderness signifies that he is looking out into the future, trying to see if there is happiness for him and his family, because at the moment, he has nothing due to his loss. The blank stare also shows the lack of emotion in him, as the grief has completely overtook all other emotions in his body. This is empathized by the facial expression after this, a blank stare downwards, towards the floor. This always creates an emotional feeling to the audience, as it appears that Rio is reflecting on his life, wondering if he made his wife, Rebecca, proud. But, the start of this clip is conventional in documentaries. Most of them start happily, and this one is no different. He describes his family, and then (along with the change of shot to a flashback) he drops the bombshell, and suddenly everything changes. The slow, piano music starts to get louder when he stops speaking and the text takes over, possibly signifying that Rio has no words for what has happened to his wife. The documentary appeals to the audience through personal identity. Although, hopefully, not many of the audience have lost a wife, we can position ourselves in such a way that we can relate to him, as we can imagine life without our loved ones, and suddenly we can feel his pain. By putting ourselves in Rio's position, we are then engaged in the media text. It could possibly be considered to be escapism, as we can take our mind of our life for the duration of the documentary. The use of shock tactics is also important, the audience is meant to be shocked about some of the storylines within the documentary, as it keeps us engaged in the journey that Rio is taking, and makes the audience more likely to continue watching until the end.

Documentaries like Rio's usually attract a Mainstreamer audience. Mainstreamers live in a world of the domestic and the everyday, a daily routine is necessary to Mainstreamers, and with most documentaries (albeit, not this one) being a series on weekly, they are more fitting to Mainstreamers. The target audience of this documentary is likely to be both male and female, in my opinion. Females are stereotypically usually more emotional, and sympathetic in times of despair, however Rio challenges the stereotype, as unconventionally, it is him who has come out, and he is proving that men can be emotional as well. It proves that men, without their partner, have a little piece missing inside them. It is likely to be an older audience, about 25-34 years old, who are being targeted by the documentary, as they are likely to have partners, and they are the ones who are, more than likely, personally identifying with the documentary, as they are of a similar age to Rio. The use of the children in the family is important, as this creates a 'bubble' around the target audiences age, as people who are outside the bubble (age group) can still personally identify with the documentary if they have children themselves. A traditionalist could possibly be a Lifestyle of the target audience, as they typically don't want things to change, they like things to be done in the old fashioned way. As documentaries started less than 100 years ago, Traditionalists would definitely be targeted by documentaries.