Thursday 6 February 2014

How does Peaky Blinders target its audience?

Peaky Blinders is a crime drama set in Birmingham in 1919. It follows world war one soldiers who have returned home and following this, have formed a gang. Peaky Blinders is aired on BBC2, a channel with a reputation for screening highly praised "high brow" dramas. This has helped attract its intended target audience, which can be argued to be both Niche and mainstream. The fight scene at the beginning of episode 2, shows a fight between the Shelby brothers and Irish gypsies. A range of camera shots have been used along with quick cuts, use of the soundtrack and slow motion. This allows the audience to understand the narrative and interact with characters. The use of cinematography shows off technique and the hugely stylised, high production value. The use of a  modern soundtrack in a period setting shows juxtaposition and you can argue that it attracts its audience by breaking mainstream conventions and doing something completely different to most mainstream dramas. The soundtrack allows the audience to understand characters and the narrative, which is a mainstream convention and therefore attracting a passive audience. Another way it can attract its target audience is by gratifying the audience by things such as introducing them to historical knowledge from the era. When we first meet Grace in episode 2, we are made aware that the representations reflect those of the era which it is set in, gratifying the audience with historical context.

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