Television and Fun

A few decades ago television consisted of a small number of channels, today however there are more different channels than one can watch in a full day. Because a media company's number one goal, like every other corporation, is to earn the largest profit possible, media companies use segmentation to target niche audiences. Moreover, fragmentationÐ'--the large increase in the number of channelsÐ'--has also created niche audiences. So, what's the big deal with fragmentation and audience segmentation? By creating niche audiences, both fragmentation and segmentation make advertisers' jobs easier. For instance, if a company wants to advertise toys, then the company will buy airtime on the network Nickelodeon; since Nickelodeon has children's programming. The creation of niche audiences produces certain social questions about free will and freedom of speech; because audience groups are created and constructed. The following paper will examine two cable networks, Comedy Central and Oxygen, to determine the effects of such programming.

First off, Oh! The Oxygen Network aired the film Whale Rider on the night of Monday, April 5, 2004. The following will be an analysis of the advertisements that were shown from nine to ten o'clock, and thus one can determine which audiences were targeted. Whale Rider is a film about a young Maori girl that wants to be the next leader of her tribe, but is at the same time shown resistance from her grandfather. Paikea, the young girl, wants to participate in the training sessions conducted by her grandfather; but her grandfather is old fashioned and doesn't believe that a girl can become the chief. Paikea knows that she is destined to be the next chief and gets in trouble a number of times for her relentless attempts at trying to participate in the exercises. The movie has a subplot dealing with the relationship between Paikea and her father, but the film mainly revolves around Paikea's struggle to prove herself worthy to her grandfather Koro. Even though Paikea is much better than the boys at performing the ceremonial exercises, her grandfather is blinded by his prejudice. The film ends with a herd of whales being attracted to Paikea and getting stranded on the beach. Koro finally accepts Paikea's destiny when she risks her life by riding on the back of a whale to direct them back to the ocean. The advertisements that were aired during the film included weight loss productsÐ'--such as Jenny Craig, hair and beauty productsÐ'--such as Revlon lipstick and Loreal shampoo, women's media productsÐ'--such as the Ellen Show and the film Riding in Cars with boys, foodÐ'--such as Prego and Pop Secret Popcorn, cleaning itemsÐ'--such as Woolite and Lysol, birth controlÐ'--such as Ortho Evva patch, car insuranceÐ'--such as Geiko and Allstate, and department storesÐ'--such as Steinmart. Surprisingly there were only four commercial breaks within the hour each lasting about three minutes.

It's not hard to decipher that the typical Oxygen viewer is a female in her thirties, white, and suburban. The Oxygen Network tries to compete with LifetimeÐ'--another women's networkÐ'--by targeting an younger audience. Usually Lifetime airs Golden Girl episodes or a clichÐ"© movie that portrays Princess Diana, for example. The film Whale Rider is very contemporary and appeals to a younger demographic because of its vibrant scenes, and the fact that the protagonist is young. The characters in the film are also more likely to be accepted by a young generation, where as an older person would not be able to relate to some of the characters. For example, the film contains a scene in which the elderly women are smoking marijuana. Paikea's father also does the unconventional by deciding to go to Europe where he fell in love with a woman; all this while his daughter stayed with his parents. Moreover, one can easily tell that the network is targeting the female demographic. Just the plot of the movie makes this point undeniable: a young girl overcoming the hardship of discrimination. In my opinion the film is meant to target a person that is inner directed as according to the VALS system. The movie deals with a social issueÐ'--discrimination, the protagonist has a missionÐ'--to prove herself worthy and fulfill her destiny, and the film is, for a lack of a better word, artsy. People who are inner directed have lifestyles that are mission oriented, individualistic, socially involved and artistic. The film fits the inner directed psychograph perfectly. Furthermore, the commercials aired on the network correspond to the stereotypical thirty year old woman. For example, make up and hair products are mainly used by women. The food items mentioned, a pasta sauce named Prego and Pop Secret Popcorn, are items that a typical woman would be interested in. In a household, the woman usually prepares the food and cleans the house, thus it makes sense that the food and cleaning commercials would be shown on the Oxygen Network. There were a number of car insurance commercials during the film because women are good customers for insurance companies. Women tend to be more responsible than men and thus are less likely to be in an accident or miss a payment. The fact that the Ortho Evva birth control patch was advertised suggests that the audience is young; since birth control is mainly used by women in their twenties and thirties. On the other hand the psychographic characteristics of the film did not correspond with the characteristics of the advertisements. In my opinion the products were aimed at outer directed individuals. For instance, Jenny Craig, the weight loss product, targets people that are concerned about their image and want to impress others. The hair product and make up commercials also convey the same message by showing a famous celebrity or a young beautiful woman looking stunning because they use a certain product. People who are outer directed are belongers and emulators and live lifestyles that are visible and material.

The next analysis will be of Comedy Central and the shows South Park and Chappelle's Show which aired on Wednesday, April 7, 2004 from nine to ten o'clock. South Park is a thirty minute comedy that is aired on Comedy Central and is produced and created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The show originally grew out of a short film entitled "Jesus vs. Frosty" that was animated and created by the duo. Four foulmouthed children, Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny, are the main characters, and they have outlandish and bizarre adventures in the town of South Park, Colorado. The show is one of Comedy Central's most successful shows and is now in its eighth season. This specific episode was a parody of the film Save the Last Dance.

...