1. Craig Newton
Star Wars The Force AwakensAudience Report
The audience of the Force Awakens coversthree generations,the
oldermale wouldhave beenafanof the franchise from itsbeginnings
inthe 1977. He wouldhave expendablemoneyandwouldbe more
likelytospendmoneyonthe 65mm IMAXviewingof the film, due to
himbeinginthe social grade D of the NRS demographicscale,
meaninghe hasa little extramoneytospendthanthatof someone in
grade E of the scale. The type of audience StarWars the Force
Awakensattractsdoesnotonlytarget one sectionof the Youngand
Rubican4CS Scale.Thisis because ithasbeenproducedinsucha way
that itappealsto all sections,asthe resignedwill watchinawe asit featuresmanyoriginal
characters andmotifsfromthe original films.WhereasExplorersandthe Mainstreamwill enjoyit
due to the boundariesandideasthatare brokenwithinthe Sci-Figenre.
These pointsare validforthe olderfemale audience also,as
despite itbeingoriginallytargetedtowardsthe male audiencein
the original filmsinthe releaseof the Force Awakensitwasa
sellingpointtoawidertargetaudience thatthe leadrole wasto be
playedbyDaisyRidley,asRey.Attitudestowardsgender
stereotypeshave alsochangeddrasticallyoverthe pastdecade
meaningthe targetaudience of manyproductsandfilmshave
drasticallyincreased.
Leadingonfrom thisincrease intargetaudience there isnow the
fact of the leadrole beingfemale alsomeansthatmanywomen
can relate to the character,as genderstereotypesare foughtinthe
filmhighlightinghow womencanalsodoas much as men.For
example whenReyfliesthe MillenniumFalconoff of JakkuFinnis
surprisedthatshe isAble todo such a thing.Thisage range and
genderof the audience forthe Force Awakenshowever,would
mostlikelybe incategoryE of the NRSscale.Thismeansthat they
have little ornoexpendablemoney.Meaningthattheywouldbe
mostlikelytobuythe standardviewingof the film.Yetitcan also
be arguedlookingatthe figuresthatmanyof thisbracketwishtoview the filmina more modern
waysuch as 3-D forexample.
Youngermenwill alsohave beenpartof the E categoryof the NRS
scale whilstalsosharingthe same categoriesof the 4C’sscale,
eventhe resigned asformanyparentswill have broughttheir
children upwithStarWars. Therefore StarWars and the release of
the Force Awakenswillbringbackmemoriesof childhoodand
nostalgia. Incan alsobe arguedthat meanwill be more interested
inwatchingthe 3-D variantof the filmdue to the predominantly
male interestinthe technologymarket.
It can be saidthat all of the target audience watchthe filmforthe
same gratifications.Forthisfilmitwouldbe personal identityas
2. Craig Newton
there isa broad range of characters andtraits inthe franchise,thishavingbeenrecentlyexpanded
to an evenwidertargetaudience with the introductionof FinnbyJohnBoyegadue tohis heritage.
The gratificationof diversionandpersonal relationshipsisprevalentthroughoutthe seriesandThe
Force Awakensonitsown.
From a surveyIhave conductedI have discoveredthatayoungeraudience ismore likelytoprefer
the character of BB8 comparedto that of original charactersof the franchise.Whereasolderfansor
eventeenagersof sixteenupwardstendtoprefercharactersfromthe original films,suchasHan
Soloand PrincessLeia.Thisisfora varietyof reasonsmainlybeingthatitisthisage range of
audience thathave grownup withthisage of Star Wars and original characters.
I have alsodiscoveredthat due tothe spendingpowerof youngeraudience memberstheyare more
likely towatchthe filminregular2Dviewingasitischeaperthanthat of 3D or IMAXviewing.Many
oldergenerationsmaywishtowatchitin IMAXviewingastheyhave the spendingpowerandthis
filmwasthe rebootfor a franchise thattheygrew up withandtherefore wishtowatchitin the best
qualitythattheycan. My resultsof my findingsalsoindicate tome thatgirlsare more likelytolike
the character of Reywhereasboysidentifymore with thatof the character of Finn.The audience
initiallywasniche however,asidealsandpublicopinionsprogressedithasbecome amassive partof
popularculture andthisis reflectedinmyfindingsasthe targetaudience issowide.
