LO2: Task 3 - Audience of X-Men Origins Wolverine - Vlog 3 /w Script

Script - Vlog 3

Gender

Male: 80%

Female: 20%

Lifestyle:

ABC1 – 64%

C2DE – 36%

Stereotypes – Different Genres have different forms of gratifications.

Theory – Ien Ang (1991) and Rick Atman (1999)

X-Men Origins Wolverine Demographics Analysis:

1. Gender - The most common gender to watch XMOW is males because of the action and thriller themes and its genre of sci-fi. Sci-fi tends to be for males rather than females but the film is not necessarily restricted to males and can be watched by females as well. One of the reasons the main gender of XMOW is males is most likely the fact that it has themes that are more stereotypically associated with males; mutant powers, indomitable heroes and futuristic times. The movie affects the gender demographic because the themes it features that may only appeal to the male populous. The film often shows action, which is more oriented to males rather than females. 


2. Age - The ages of the demographic of XMOW is 12A which is a rating for a film which can be watched by 12 years old in the cinema. This doesn't mean that people who are 12 watch this but people who are older and may enjoy the genre of sci-fi and action. Considering the current generation of when the film was released, it can be said that people who were around the age of 15 and older may have watched it. The age of audience may be affected by the general theme of the movie in the fact that people who are in younger generation may like the fact the powers exists and future may feel like what is denoted in the movie. Any form of 'super power' seems to attract a certain range of ages, most likely to the fact that something literally 'out of this world' looks realistic. 


3. Lifestyle - The lifestyle of XMOW's audience may be people who have hobbies related to XMOW. Another factor that doesn't apply to all the audience of XMOW but it is more likely for more of the audience to be like that. A factor that may affect all of the audience of XMOW is the people who are in different classes. ABC1 would be more likely to go and watch XMOW because it was first featured in a cinema and may only be watched by people with a disposable income. Another possible factor could be that since X-Men were already in a different form before even the movies were created, X-Men were already in a different form of media i.e. Comics. People who may read the comics may want to watch it as the characters they know can be seen in a realistic fashion. In terms of ethnicity, certain types of ethnic background may enjoy these types of film more than others.


The lifestyle of people who may choose to watch films like XMOW are people who like the concept of sci-fi and this could be students, young people and middle aged audiences. People who produce media for example could watch films such as XMOW to pick up concepts to make their own film or to produce a review for the film. People consume media for different purposes. Each production has a purpose that it can provide to its audience. Escapism is most likely the main reason for watching XMOW due to the themes it denotes (Rick Altman 1999).


Ien Ang (1991) and John Hartley (1987) suggested that producers create an invisible entity or invisible fictions before creating a media product. This is the starting point for creating the profile and the images that will use it in. This fictional entity was made so that a media product can be made to reflect the need of the audience. 


4. Spending Power - This links in to the lifestyle of the audience. ABC1 have more spending power due to their disposable income and the fact that they earn more compared to that of working class. People are more likely to go and watch the film due to the fact they can spend more on things that are considered leisure and people who earn a lower wage tend not to spend on less important things. Spending power may also depend on the age and lifestyle of person. The age may have varied spending power assuming that the younger the person is, they less pocket money they are given for example. Lifestyle may also affect the spending power in terms of people wanting to pay to watch the film or they choose not to spend money watching a film but instead use it to buy something else. Considering the budget was $150 million, the prices for watching the film will be a little high up which will mean that people who don’t have as much money won’t be able to watch it.