The document provides an analysis of the British sitcom The Inbetweeners. It discusses the show's genre, narrative structure, characters, and how it appeals to its target audience of 15-25 year olds. Key points made include that the show follows four friends in their late teens dealing with themes of relationships, alcohol and sex. Each episode features a humorous conflict that is resolved by the end. The informal and crude humor is meant to entertain through relatable situations the target audience can identify with from their own experiences.

1. Adam Andrade The Inbetweeners Task 7 Units 25,26
Genre
The Inbetweeners is a British comedy sitcom, which
first aired in 20082010 for three seasons, the
exploits of four friends, who are socially only
marginally above what one of them calls "the
freaks", are presented as they grow from their late
teen years into adults and as they go on their quest,
usually unsuccessfully, for such grown up things as
beer and sex. Simon Cooper, Jay Cartwright and
Neil Sutherland have been friends for some time. Insecure Simon's main quest in life is to
get long-time friend, Carli D'Amato, to be his girlfriend. Jay is the big talker whose stories,
especially about his sexual conquests, are more fantasy than reality. And slightly dim-witted
Neil is generally two steps behind everyone else in comprehension of life, and who is always
defending his father from beliefs that he's a closet homosexual. Into the group comes its
fourth member, Will McKenzie, who met them when he transferred into their school, Rudge
Park Comprehensive, at the start of sixth form, as Will's newly divorced mum could no longer
afford his private school tuition. The series wasn’t a big success straight away and only
kicked off properly when it moved to channel 4. The series was a success and gain much
backing from fans, so much so that the episodes are still being aired today.
Narrative
The inbetweeners is a linear story base, the story
continues to unfold in one straight lie, there is some
jumping back and forward between the past which is
also non-linear. This also continues through film 1
and 2. The Inbetweeners have a range of characters
that Vladimir Proop used and although it may
change every episode basic list for the characters
are: The Villain - Phil Gilbert (Head Teacher) or
Mark Donovan. Even though the villain is usually Gilbert in this case he is the villain in
making Simon help with the fashion show but also is the dispatcher as well by making him
be involved. The Hero - It can be one of the four main characters that can be the hero of the
episode. In the example episode I’m using of the Fashion show the hero is Will who helps
Simon out with the fashion show and tries to persuade him not too.
The Donor - It can vary in each episode as one of their parents for example could give them
a gift. Even though it is usually the parents in this episode the donor isn't the parents as they
do not help or give a form of gift in helping them out.
The Princess - It could be one of the crushes or girls they are after. The princess in this
situation is Tara as she is the reward from Simon being in the fashion show and for helping
in the fashion show.

2. CONFLICT AND RESOLUTION (STRAUSS):
Every single episode includes a humorous event which often involves conflict for the
characters to overcome. By the end of the episode, the conflict is resolved so I would say
that The Inbetweeners follows this theory
RISING CONFLICT (HOLLYWOOD MODEL):
Each episode shows evidence of rising conflict as
they all start off fairly 'dull' and build up to a comedic
event for the characters to overcome throughout the
episode. There may be hints towards this event from
the start, so I would say that The Inbetweeners has
rising conflict in each episode
ACTION/ENIGMA CODES (BARTHES):
Action codes are created using up to date music, quick witty remarks from the characters
and the interest of the viewer being targeted from the start. Enigma codes are also created
as the viewer is left wondering what hilarious problem the characters will face in each
episode and they are also questioning why the characters, particularly Jay, say and do the
stupid things that they do
Other enigma codes used are like when will narrates while a clip is being played 'Simon
never told us what happened at his driving test' which relates to the narrative being played at
that moment in time. This technique adds humour. The narrative is mostly linear although
the intro to the programme contains flashbacks to the episode before which is nonlinear. The
episode also deals with issues young people will relate too for example bullying and
humiliation/teasing between friends. The narrative is being told through wills voiceover. This
technique is used to direct the audience on what is happening between dialogue. Wills tone
of voice creates this representation.
BINARY OPPOSITIONS:
The blue, black and white in the title sequence stand out against each other and so do the
black and white of the uniforms that the characters wear
SOCIAL BINARY OPPOSITIONS (STRAUSS):
There are many social binary oppositions present in The
Inbetweeners. There is Will, the 'geeky' character adjacent
to Jay, who is the total opposite. There are teachers and
students, parents and children, females and males,
college life and social life, the list goes on........

3. Another element that identifies the audience is the
use of non-diegetic music with the sound track.
The song is about everyday woes which may
have connotations with the narrative but could
also be a message to the audience applying
Blumler and Katz theory and watching the series
as a form of escapism. The structure of The
Inbetweeners is that they start with the equilibrium
of everyday teenage life. They then have a range
of disruption in each episode such as for example there is a fashion show on or its
someone’s birthday and this causes a range of different problems with-in itself. They do
though have a recognition of the disruption by the main characters as they realize their
problems and try to deal with it, but their attempt to repair often doesn't work and makes their
situation worse or their just accept that they have a problem and can’t' fix it and this results in
a new equilibrium in which they accept what has happened and try to continue with their
teenage life.
Target audience
The 'inbetweeners' uses different aspects
to appeal to its target audience. Its target
audience is young people aged 15-25.
This can be seen from its use of young
characters and its implementation of the
characters within a modern social and
school environment. It appeals to its target
audience through its' mise en scene' in a
variety of ways. Firstly, the use of
costumes on the main characters in the segment, help appeal to the target audience. The
referent of the main characters costumes is what would normally be considered ‘trendy’ or 'in
fashion 'clothing. This signifies that as these characters are ‘trendy’ in appearance this show
must also be ‘trendy.’ This is a marketing technique used to engage the target audience
more so as it makes the characters seem more appealing, and more people can relate to
them. The suburban setting of the show also remains appealing for many, as this again
enables more people to relate to it. This setting also signifies a more realistic element to the
show, which in turn makes it more immersive. The performance within the show is appealing
as the comedic value of it offers a sense of escapism. Furthermore, the crude humour used
in the show appeals to the target audience far more than other comedy shows. The fact that
this humour is also used in the context of situations, (like having an embarrassing first car)
further assists in enabling more people to relate to it and it is overall more appealing for the
target audience

4. The use of no' non-diegetic' music whilst the
characters are in direct conversation, makes the
dialogue and conversations so more realistic and as
much more immersive. This ultimately offers a
greater sense of escapism, which makes the show
more appealing to the viewer, as it means they can
forget about everyday life more easily. Furthermore,
the use of 'non-diegetic' and 'diegetic' music when
the characters are traveling in a car, makes the traveling seem more instant, thus creating a
greater sense of excitement and interest for what would otherwise be a boring, pointless
scene. In addition to this, the use of narration or “voice of God” in these sequences, not only
helps to continue the narrative through these scenes but allows the viewer to establish a
more personal relationship with characters. This appeals to the target audience more
because the characters are put into situations which the target audience can easily relate to
- the more personal link with them, causes the viewer to feel as if they too are experiencing
the characters experiences with them.
The shots are predominantly 'medium close ups'. This
fits in with the fact that most of the scenes are
predominantly dialogue. This connotes a more personal
aspect to the conversations, and makes the audience
feel more immersed - almost as if they themselves are
part of the conversation. Additionally, this element is
developed further by the large use of' shot reverse shot'
editing to keep the conversations fast paced and to
again keep the viewer’s concentration and attention.
This also helps the dialogue seem quicker and more realistic. Other camera angles are used
for comedic effect, like long shots focusing on the yellow car (a figure of fun, and main joke
point of the segment). This helps contribute to the comedic aspect of the show and
ultimately helps the show fit into its purpose of making the audience laugh and entertaining
them. However, the yellow car is only successful as a comedic device, in the context that it
has been given to a young adult male, whereas stereotypically, the colour yellow is
associated with females. The editing (as previously mentioned) is mostly 'shot reverse shot'
as the programme revolves around and relies upon its dialogue for comedy. When not using
'shot reverse shot', mainly regular cuts are used.

5. In conclusion, this show uses multiple aspects to
appeal to its target audience, entertain audience,
and to overall immerse the target audience in the
programme more. This is achieved successfully as
the show occurs in a realistic suburban
environment. Given the regularity of this setting,
this creates another easily forged link that the
audience can form between themselves and the
show, making the events and occurrences more
relative and ultimately making the show more
immersive and entertaining. Mode of address The
inbetweeners has a very informal mode of address, conveying humour within every second
of each episode. This is very common as it is a comedy. Through the body language and
vocabulary used by each character, we can tell the show isn’t supposed to be taken
seriously, and all scenes and topics are either stereotypical or over exaggerated to create
humour for the audience. This can be noticed in any episode of the Inbetweeners. There are
also enigma codes for example will narrates while a clip is being played 'Simon never told us
what happened at his driving test' which relates to the narrative being played at that moment
in time. This technique adds humour. The narrative is mostly linear although the intro to the
programme contains flashbacks to the episode before which is nonlinear. The episode also
deals with issues young people will relate too for example bullying and humiliation/teasing
between friends. The narrative is being told through wills voiceover. This technique is used
to direct the audience on what is happening between dialogue. Wills tone of voice creates
this representation.
Impact on audience
It makes people either of that age, older or even younger compare their experiences to what
these 4 four boys have to deal with. As most people would want to jump off a cliff having to
deal with the awkward, cringey grossed out feeling these boys seem to put themselves in
every episode and in both movies.
1st movie Made a grossing profit of 60 million across international cinemas in the Uk and
Europe with only a 3.5million budget, so the impact was good, clearly people enjoyed the
series and the film and could relate to the trouble the characters faced. However, the movie
made a bad statement in the us screening across ten cinemas and only making about
50,000. The director believed it was due to the language barrier the two countries differ with,
which is why the movie had so little impact in the US compared the UK. The second movie
made the same amount also again not having the impact on the US wished for.

6. Audience effect theories (moral panic, encoding decoding, uses of gratificatio​n
Uses of Gratification theory – The uses and gratifications theory are important as it targets
the audience effectively, whether they take a preferred, oppositional, or negotiated reading.
The Inbetweeners promotes passive text viewing as it is pure entertainment as the genre of
the show is comedy and does not offer information, audiences are also able to personally
relate to certain characters in the show, The Inbetweeners represents very common and
usually characters that most ordinary people can identify with or have encountered during
their school days [3]- each character has a different personality e.g. the geek, the idiot, the
overconfident, and the normal guy. In this episode Will McKenzie is new to the school and
therefore feels like an outcast, many of the viewers might be able to personally relate to this
character. Whilst watching the show we feel their embarrassment because we can identify
with some of the situations they find themselves in. The show's friendships and situations
feel real. The Inbetweeners is not informative but does integrate social interaction into the
program but overall it is mainly consumed just to make the audience laugh, as the genre is
comedy. We know this as The Guardian quotes ‘it has two different gag ratios - the laughter
one, and the urge-to-spew one. Both are high.’ For example, it’s very humorous when Will
tries to get served in the pub but in fact gets everybody else kicked out when he says
‘everybody in this pub is bloody underage’ then goes on to insulting nearly everybody in the
pub.
In comparison Skins contains all four aspects of the uses and gratifications theory. Skins
also features a group of teenagers doing the same type of activities but characters with in
‘Skins’ are always successful, and they never make fools of themselves (unlike the
Inbetweeners). A review by Msn said the moment the school nerd is seduced by the willowy
class hottie. This could only ever happen in Skins.’ This shows how the characters are often
successful. E.g. in this episode Michelle agrees to take Sid’s virginity.
Moral panic theory- Adults may see this group as a subculture as they do have different
norms and values from the rest of society. They also behave and dress differently to the rest
of society. The way in which they act and behave can put a negative label on them and they
may be "folk devils". Because of this it may cause a moral panic as people will feel
threatened by this "subculture" and believe their acts are dangerous as they value things that
people in society do not. Examples of their delinquent behaviour include; swearing, insulting,
disrespecting, drinking, smoking etc.
Hypodermic Model theory​- The media inject us with their ideas about British Youth, we
have no power over the media. Whatever the media say, we agree with. Adults from different
countries or even the uk could take this representation of the youth in the inbetweeners and
instantly believe this is what the youth are like in this country this is what everybody gets up
too, which can be argues for and against.
Cultivation Theory - The more violent behaviour you see on TV, the more likely you are to
notice it in real life, the audience’s ideas are 'Cultivated'. This representation is seen in the
inbetweeners as with the amount of “alpha males” you see pick on will or Simon etc. this can
cause the audience to take this knowledge of what they have seen on the screen and
instantly believe this sort of behaviour is all around them, in some cases it might but it’s likely
it’s not.

7. Copycat Theory – audiences especially of a young age could take new knowledge they
picked up from the film and use it in real life scenarios this would be a moral panic situation
for parents and other adults. Like some of the offensive language and terms used by the
characters in the series and films.
Stuart hall Encoding and decoding theory – Where producers enter text to create certain
codes and Where the audience de-construct the codes to understand the representations.
Hall also states that texts are polysemic, meaning they may be read differently by different
people, depending on their identity, cultural knowledge and opinions. Polysemic is more an
issue for the film itself as not everything that is done or said is going to be appropriate for
specific people, which would have more of an effect on the movies profit gain, such as all the
nudity sexual and offensive terms and language used is not going to be humorous or
understandable for everyone, for example under the age permitted to watch this movie or
people who grew up or do differently to what is shown on the screen.
The Male Gaze theory can be applied in both programs, the figure of the woman on screen
as the object of desire for male viewers. In the Inbetweeners this is shown when Carly is
speaking to Simon and she leans down revealing her cleavage, so the audience can see
part of her bra. In Skins the first shot of Michelle is her legs; the camera follows them up to
her towel as she is on the phone to Tony discussing helping Sid lose his virginity. The male
gaze can be applied as they appeal to males as a form of ‘eye candy’. Laura Mulvey quotes
“There are circumstances in which looking itself is a source of pleasure, just as, in the
reverse formulation, there is pleasure in being looked at”. This can represent women in two
different ways, either a voyeuristic view or as a fetishistic view. Voyeuristic being about a
person who derives sexual satisfaction from observing and fetishistic being the displacement
of sexual arousal or gratification to a fetish. This need for pleasure can often back up
stereotypes of women and objectifying them.
Preferred Reading - This is when the audience agrees with the owner/ institution of the
representation (working together) Negotiated Reading - When an audience concludes which
is like the one portrayed from the institution, they agree with some sections and disagree
with some, so they only keep the sections which they agree with Oppositional Reading -
Understand the context of which the film is put in, although they will by no means agree with
it. Depending on who is watching the film and were, would be the dependent on whether the
audience is preferred, negotiated or oppositional reading as an 18 year-old in suburban area
like Romford might enjoy the film and preferred the reading of the film. Whereas a teenager
in the US might be have a negotiated reading agreeing with some parts but not all of it.
Someone with an oppositional reading I believe would be someone from a different
background growing up might not agree with the reading they are presented with.

8. Message
The message of the inbetweeners could be a lot of things, especially as it’s a comedy there
to make people laugh through the stupid and idiotic things the 4 boys do at that age.
However, through the humour I believe from what’s displayed that the writers, director and
producers are saying that life for teenagers is hard, there are many new problems faced
everyday, whether it be exams, relationships, planning for the future, family issues and many
others, there is always a chance something could go wrong in your life down the road, but
like the 4 boys in the inbetweeners, never give up on your life, live it the way you want to and
don’t let embarrassment, shame or regret get you down.