Audience Theories
Hartley has established that there are 7 areas of an individual that must be considered when regarding socialising them. These are:
- Self
- Gender
- Age Group
- Family
- Class
- Nation
- Ethnicity
We can use these groupings in order to establish why an individual or group of society would consume a text, in relation to which 7 areas they fit into and which audience would consume Homeland. However, Fiske then went on to develop these categories adding:
- Religion
- Education
- Region
- Political Stance
This now gives us even more insight into which characteristics or groupings an individual would fit into. Without these 4 more categories, we would not be able to disect an individual in as greater detail.
In applying these categories to an audience that would consume Homeland, I would say it would be mainly white married American men from upper lower class to middle class, in the age range 25 - 50. They would be Christian from an average education and tend to lean to the right of the political spectrum. I would suggest that they are not from the Southern states in America.
The threat of terrorism dramatically affected American media in all forms and has furthered American protectionism, with 9/11 being the first external attack on the US in its history. This rocked American society, so they stereotypical American male is now even more adverse to terrorism and whatever forms it may come in, provoking this "macho" alpha male that America is so well known for producing. This is the primary audience I would suggest that watches Homeland, and to create a text that suggests that the honest, hard working American solider has been turned into a Al Queda insurgent, would provoke this audience.
According to its genre, it is a political drama/thriller, while having action moments, it would again appeal to a male audience however with Carrie being the main character, trying to defend American soil from terrorists it may deter this audience slightly. There is also the added factor that Carries sexuality and appearance is instantly stripped away in the first episode, so the male audience would not view her an object of desire, removing another incentive for a male audience to watch.
