- The document discusses theories of audience reception for the murder mystery genre, including Barthes' Enigma Code and Hall's Reception Theory. It also discusses factors that influence the audience for murder mysteries, such as age, gender, employment status. - The author conducted a questionnaire of 25 people about their murder mystery viewing habits. It found that most viewers are older teenagers and young adults who are not married. It also found viewers prefer films with both a murder and kidnapping that feature a charismatic, intelligent protagonist and a violent antagonist. - The results indicate Hall's Reception Theory applies as different demographics view and interpret murder mystery films in different ways.

1. Joseph Russo

2. Audience for Murder
Mystery

 The audience for a murder mystery film depends on
these factors:
• Age/Gender/Ethnicity
• Nationality/Homework
• Class/Status/Income
• Employment
• Marital Status
• Hobbies/Interests
• Other media used

3. Barthes’ Enigma Code

 Barthes’ Enigma Code is used when the text, in this
case a murder mystery film, asks a question and the
audience continue to watch to find out the answer.
 It can be applied to the Murder Mystery genre
because many of the conventions associated with the
genre can ask questions to the audience. For
example, when there is a murder, the audience can
attempt to work out who committed the murder
when questions are asked, such as why there is a
specific clue linked to the murder.

4. Hall’s Reception Theory

 Hall’s Reception Theory is used so the audience can decode the
messages in Media texts differently. This theory states that the
media texts are encoded by the producer and include values
and messages. Some audiences will decode the text in different
ways and sometimes not in the way the producer intended.
 The three ways that the audience decodes the media texts are:
• Dominant or Preferred Reading – how the producer wants film to be seen
• Oppositional Reading – when the audience creates their own meaning for
the text.
• Negotiated Reading – when the audience accepts part of the producers
views but has their own view on parts as well.

5. Hall’s Reception Theory in
Murder Mystery

 Stuart Hall’s theory is represented in murder
mystery films because depending on the audience,
they would react in different ways. One example is
in the film ‘Prisoners. For example, if a parent was
watching the film they would feel differently to a
person with no children. This is because a parent
knows what it is like to have children and care for
their safety. However if an adult with no children
watched it they would not watch it in the same way
as a parent would. This shows that Hall’s reception
theory relates to the Murder Mystery genre.

6. Questionnaire

 I created a questionnaire to find out what kind of people
watch murder mystery films the most by asking various
questions about themselves and what aspects of murder
mystery films they like. I asked questions such as:
• Gender
• Age
• Marital status
• Whether they are employed
• What they like to see in a murder mystery film
• Whether like to see who the murderer is at the start of the film
or the end of the film
• What they look for in the protagonist and antagonist
• How often they watch murder mystery films

7. Age

 From my questionnaire, I
found out that a lot of
people who watch murder
mystery films are older
teenagers and young
adults. This could be
because they have more
free time to watch films
and would be more
interested in it.
11-15 3 12%
16-20 10 40%
21-25 5 20%
26-30 2 8%
31+ 5 20%

8. Marital Status

 From my results I found
out that more half of the
people who answered are
not married. This could
maybe show that a
younger audience watch
murder mystery films
because from the age
question I found out that
most people are 16-20.
Married 8 32%
Not
17 68%
married

9. Employment

 I found out that it was
almost equal about the
question on employment.
Just over half of the people
are employed that answered
the questionnaire.
Yes 15 60%
No 10 40%

10. What people like in a
murder mystery

 I found that most people
like to see both a murder
and kidnapping in
murder mystery films.
Nobody who answered
my questionnaire said
they like neither a murder
or a kidnapping.
Murder 8 32%
Kidnapping 4 16%
Both 13 52%
None of the
0 0%
above

11. What people like to see in
the protagonist

 People like a range of
aspects in the protagonist
but the mental aspects
(charismatic, intelligent,
ambitious) stand out the
most. A lot of typical
protagonists in murder
mystery films are typically
mentally strong.

12. What people like to see in
the antagonist

 I can clearly see from the
results that a violent
antagonist appeals the
most to the audience. This
could be because violence
creates action and action
makes the film more
interesting and appealing
to the audience.

13. How often people watch
murder mystery films

 A lot of people only watch
murder mystery films
sometimes and few people
watch them regularly.
Some people don’t watch
them at all but this could
be because of a busy
lifestyle, such as work and
family.