His Dark Materials: Audience and Industries blog tasks

 Audience

1) Read this audience rating guide for His Dark Materials. Based on the screening and this article, who do you think the target audience is for His Dark Materials and why? What about psychographic groups? You can revise Pyschographics here. I think the target audience for His Dark Materials is for young adults because it says HBO rated it 14+. I think this is based at people who enjoy the fantasy genre.

2) What audience pleasures are offered by His Dark Materials - The City of Magpies? Apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.

Personal Identity: There are relatable relationships between Mrs Coulter and Lyra as they are mother and daughter and friendships between Lyra and Will.

Personal Relationships: audiences can have personal relationships with famous actors, this will get them to continue watching the show

Diversion (Escapism): The chase scene caused diversion as it was fast-paced and entertaining.

3) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to His Dark Materials? Refer to specific scenes or moments in the episode to explain your answer. Visceral pleasures because of the witch torture scene and the chase+fight scene.Also Vicarious pleasures because of the exotic locations and the fantasy worlds.

4) How did fans react to Season 2 of His Dark Materials? What about critic reviews? You can find some possible answers for this in this BBC website article on the critical reception for His Dark Materials and watch the fan reaction video above. Fans would obviously keep watching if they have been hooked up with the first season but most people didn't enjoy it as much because  it was a missed opportunity and could've turned out a lot better.

5) What might be some of the preferred and oppositional readings for His Dark Materials? Why did some fans love it? Why have other people criticised it?  Some loved it as they were a part of the fandom and they were dedicated to the show but some maybe didn't like season 1 so they decided to not watch it.

Industries

1) Which companies produced this His Dark Materials series? HBO and BBC  aswell as Bad Wolf.

2) What were the UK viewing figures for A City of Magpies? How did this compare to season 1 of His Dark Materials? The first episode of season 1 gained 7.2 million views and in season 2 the episode" A City of Magpies" got 4.4 million views on the BBC,which suggests that season 1 was more enjoyable and entertaining then season 2.

3) What was American network HBO's role in making His Dark Materials and why is this important? Look at the notes above for more on this. They co-commissioned the show with BBC and are important because HBO has over 40 million subscribers and brings in around $7 BILLION in subscription revenue each year.

4) What famous stars are in His Dark Materials and why do you think they were selected for the show? Watch the Comic Con panel video in the notes above to see the stars talking about the show.The show features both British and American star names such as Brits Ruth Wilson and James McAvoy and American Lin-Manuel Miranda who wrote the smash hit musical Hamilton.

5) Who are Bad Wolf and what do they produce? Bad Wolf was founded in 2015 to create ambitious, imaginative and relevant drama for the global TV marketplace.  From its headquarters in South Wales the company has built up an international reputation as one of the foremost independent production companies in the UK, producing over 50 hours of high-end drama for broadcasters and networks including HBO, BBC, AMC and Sky.

Comparison: Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child and His Dark Materials - The City of Magpies

1) How are the technical conventions different between 1963 Doctor Who and 2020 His Dark Materials (e.g. camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scene)?  In His Dark Materials, they have a lot of low angle and high angle shots to showcase the power and authority each character has but also the weakness of some characters and in Doctor Who they have a lot of slow paced editing and over the shoulder shots to connote suspense and conversation. However in His Dark Materials they have more fast paced editing to create a vicarious pleasure for the audience and thrill during the chase scene.

2) What similarities and differences are there between Doctor Who and His Dark Materials in terms of genre and narrative?  His Dark Materials is a steampunk and fantasy genre, whereas, Doctor Who is a more science fiction genre and has a lot of action and enigma codes. Also, in Doctor Who the doctor is portrayed as a villain while the teachers were the heroes but in His Dark Materials Mrs Coulter is shown as the villain and the kids are the heroes, showing generational divide.

3) How are representations of people, places and groups similar or different in the two shows? They both have gender representations. In Doctor Who, the doctor is male which reinforces stereotypes and the man is a chauffeur for the woman as he is driving her when they follow Susan. In His Dark Materials, they have Will cooks for Lyra, which subverts stereotypes, as woman are expected to cook for men.