Lesson 8 The I.

T Crowd
Audience Pleasures
Objective : develop understanding of
audience pleasures and examples for
question 2
Starter stereotypes
How are these characters represented
stereotypically?
Audience Pleasures : The Uses and
Gratification Theory
UGT holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their desires
and needs to achieve gratification. Gratification means to gain pleasure from.

The main ways the media can be useful or gratify is classed as :

Diversion: Escape from routine and problems; an emotional release
[66]

Personal Relationships: Social utility of information in conversation; substitution of
media for companionship
[67]

Personal Identity or Individual Psychology: Value reinforcement or reassurance;
self-understanding, reality exploration
[68]

Surveillance: Information about factors which might affect one or will help one do
or accomplish something
[69]

Exercise : Think
of examples of how the mobile phone can achieve these uses and areas of
gratification.

An example : The Mobile Phone
Audience Pleasures Examples
Narrative Linear Jen plotline -
Moss plotline -
Roy plotline -
Satire Business -
Narrative disruption-
resolution
Equilibrium

Disequilibrium
catchphrases
stereotypes
Intertextual
references /parody
Absurd/Surreal
humour
Audience recogntion
(U and G
Self recognition)
Narrative and resolution (Todorov)
Difference and repetition ( Neale - Stereotypes )

Ego release and self recognition (U and G) and
friendship with small cast and frustrations of
modern life

Comedy slapstick one liners situation, parody and
surrealism
Transgressive pleasures
Performance slapstick, exaggerated style,
The FinalCountdown
Series 4 Episode 2
- Characters situations have developed little from series 1 aiding familiarity and repetition Moss is still an
- I want to reinvent myself. From this moment on everythign is going to be different. Hello I.T have you tried turning it off and
on again
- Countdown intertextual reference with Moss as sevant and absurdism it actually already is a word then meeting with
Harold Tong mirrors action film genre He has spirit this one i.e parody
- Comedy of social embarrassment Roy on toilet
- Douglas has replaced Renham but is equally erratic
- Jens plotline mirrors many frustrations with work
- Roys plotlines mirrors many peoples career frustrations and insecurities when hes mistaken by a college colleague as a
window cleaner
- 8 plus
- Jen career recognition not invited to meetings
- Establishing shots panning upwards (transitions) indicate their inferior status in the company
- Slow motion tracking shot of a berreted Moss as he enters the 8 plus club with diegetic rap parodies gangster lifestyle
- No more unlicenced street count down battles
- Ist rule of street countdown is...
- Choiral music eighteen letters Ive never seen so many. He is the one...Mtrix parody intertextual
- -pun / 1 liner Macs no I really just work with windows
- Other physical comedy Yesterdays Jam (vibrating phone)



Mindmap

-
References
Parody spaced fight scene

Audience Pleasures Essay 20 minutes
Narrative
There are a number of audience pleasures that can be derived from Graham Lenehams I.T Crowd. Within the narrative there is
interest and satisfaction from the disruption to the chief protagonists lives leading to eventual return to the initial equilibrium.
Jen (the aspiring I.T managers)
Identification
Comedy