audiences and products

1. Audiences & Products
Elliot Miller

2. Task 1

3. Passive Consumption
• Passive consumption is a way audiences consume information and
texts given to them by using very little/ no interaction with said media
content, the audience will consume the information given to them
without expanding or further interacting with the text, but instead just
accepting it. Media outlets such as newspaper and Television News
channels play a big part in targeting passive audiences with their
sometimes fabricated stories as an attempt to further engage with the
passive audience by creating a more compelling story that will surely
interest the audience. (Add example)

4. Hypodermic Needle Model
• Definition
The Hypodermic Needle Model is a theory developed in the 20’s after the first World War when researchers observed
the effect government propaganda on audiences. the theory suggests that the Hypodermic Needle affects audiences
so that they immediately believes and accepts what it is told by the media source.
• Strengths
It can provide people with information about the mass medias public influence and also cab show how easily they can
form collective opinions amongst the public which support the beliefs and messages that media outlets wants them
too.
It can also be an effective and reliable way of gaining insights into trends and followings generated in the public.
• Weaknesses
Theory is based around public brainwashing, making a general public believe what the mass media source wants them
too believe, this can be done to impose a false perception on life and events, attempting making audiences believe
things that are incorrect and in doing so is ethically wrong.
• Example
An example of the hypodermic needle theory being successful was back in 1938, the radio dramatization of the
science fiction novel ‘War Of The Worlds’ by HG Wells was performed just like a contemporary news broadcast.
However as audiences listening would hear this stimulated news broadcast and would conclude that it was really
happening and a invasion from Mars was coming their way, mass panic arose with people running away, barricading
their homes and readying their weapons as an attempt to defend themselves.

5. Active Consumption
Active consumption refers to the audiences that instead of just consuming
information they also interact with the media content given to them, they
can then go on to creating their own versions of the content to then further
relay this to more audiences. An active consumer will either agree or
disagree on the media text given to them and then from there the
consumers influence will help further the production by creating more
content on the same subject. This type of consumer questions information
given to them instead of just accepting and believing it to be true. Social
media can play a part in active consumption for the example with television
news their can be segments that involve social media interaction with the
public allowing them to express their own opinions on the matter. However
as social media has helped with active consumption it has also done the
opposite with passive consumers, targeting them with ‘fake news’ through
the use of social media sites.

6. Uses and Gratifications Theory
• Definition
The theory refers to how and why certain people in the public actively consume specific media products that we identify as needing in our lives in
order to satisfy ourselves. Instead of looking at how the mass media effects audiences, this theory focuses more on how the audience reacts to
the media given to them. In summary there are 4 reasons as to why we chose to engage in a media text.
• Information and education – we as an audience can chose certain types of media to gain knowledge or inform us, such as news channels or
documentary films.
• Entertainment – this is one of the biggest reasons to why we choose to interact and consume media texts, to gain an entertainment value from
what we consume, we want to be entertained and that can be an array of emotions.
• personal identity - we might identify with certain characters or celebrities we see through the media, some see them as role models to look
up to, which can then effect they way they live their life, through learning and mimicking these characters/celebrities behaviours.
• Integration and social interaction – this is the idea that people can consume a media text and then interact about said text to others around
the world, it can create a community like feel for the audience members, making them feel apart of a group all watching and enjoying the
same thing while not even being together.
• Strengths
Uses and gratifications theory can sometimes have a positive effect on audiences as it allows us to identify the needs in our lives that we fill with
media products.
The theory helps us to further understand the reasoning behind popularity in media products, why some might like a product more than other.
• Weaknesses
The uses and gratifications theory implies that messages are packages of information that all the audience will interpret the same, instead of
considering how the message is received with the audience.

7. Reception Theory
The cultural theorist Stuart Hall developed the idea for the reception theory, he suggested that all
media texts are encoded and decoded, meaning the media texts are encoded with a specific
message by the creator to then be decoded by the receiver of the media product. Unlike the
Hypodermic Needle theory which focuses on passive audiences who just accept meaning from
media texts, the Reception theory suggests that the audiences decoding of the message will differ
in one of three ways.
• Preferred – this is when the audience will decode the message exactly how the creator wants
them too, which again relates the Hypodermic needle model.
• Negotiated – this is when the audience will generally accept the messages intention but may
modify their own interpretation of it that reflects their own lifestyle.
• Oppositional – this is where the audience will have a completely different view as to what the
message is trying to make you feel.
It is also stated that an audience members background can have an effect on the way the receive
the message, for example the type of up bringing on a person can determine in what way they’ll
receive the message, for instance someone who has lost a loved one may reacted more emotionally
then others to a media product that displays a narrative with a death of a family member.

8. Reception Theory
• Choose an image (poster, screenshot from a film, photograph etc) and
provide:
• A potential encoded message
The two main characters are placed in the centre of the poster and
are the largest image that stands out most to audiences seeing it,
this has obviously been done to draw attention to the lead roles,
however the posing of both characters has been chosen to depict
they possible narrative for the film at what roles they will play
together, the message of a romance story is encoded in this by the
creator to display this romance, if they were stood back to back
with both annoyed/angry expressions then the message portrayed
would be a possible comedic genre of film instead.
• A potential decoded message
As the poster clearly suggests the genre of the film to be romantic
then the audiences potential decoding of the message may differ
due to their film genre interests, for instance If a person who
doesn’t enjoy romance film sees this poster and decodes the
message of romance they might be put off by this and decide to
not watch the film, the way they receive the message is differently
to some who in fact is a big romance fan, they will receive the
message intended by the creator.

9. Reception Theory
• Choose an image (poster, screenshot from a film, photograph etc) and
provide:
• Preferred reading
A possible preferred reading of this poster would be the use of a lead
female character as the main focus of the poster, showcasing she will
be playing a strong female lead role, this may attract positive attention
to the film as it demonstrates gender equality which may resonate in
people more than others such as people who seek gender equality in
the world.
• Negotiated reading
Some people may receive this message and accept what the film will
be as they may have more interest in an action film with violence
because that’s their preferred genre of film and the fact the main role
is played by a women will have no effect on them.
• Oppositional reading
An oppositional reading of this film might create dislike in a person due to the
role lead of an action film being played by a female, they may not believe in
gender equality and may believe that a female shouldn’t play this role and
instead be used for a more stereotyped role such as a romance.

10. Spectatorship
• Detailed Definition
Spectatorship is the audiences individual experiences from a media text that are characterized by
their specific personal connections with the text. The theory suggests that our certain responses are
due to our entire psychological make up including:
• Social self
• Cultural self
• Private self
• Desiring self
• Example
Private self – for example depending on a personal experience from your past you may react
differently to a film aspect then others, for instance if you have recently lost the life of a family pet
then you may react more emotionally to a film that features the death of a dog (Marley And
Me)then a person who has never owned a pet.

11. Framework for Interpretation
• List 2 very different frameworks for interpretation;
1
• Age: 18
• Gender: female
• Social status/Class: DE
• Ethnicity: white British
• Sexuality: straight
• Education: GCSE
2
• Age: 50
• Gender: Male
• Social status/Class: AB
• Ethnicity: African American
• Sexuality straight
• Education – university degree

12. Framework for Interpretation
• Discuss how each may react to a film of your choice based on their framework
• Detroit
1
As the films features a lot of political content
that dates much before this persons time then
due to their less mature nature as the age
suggest then their reaction to this film will be
different to someone who was alive at the
time, they may be confused with the strong
political message presented in the film. They
may also show a lot of anger for the film as it
depicts a time in American history that is very
different to how it is now, the treating of the
black community in American was awful to see
and for someone as young as 18 the scenes
can be hard to stomach as its hard to believe
what really went on.
2
The film features political content that this
person can to relate to, being alive during the
event depicted in this film then it will hit home
a lot more then person 1. as this person is of
African origin and may possibly even know
people involved in the Detroit riots then this
film will resonate more in this person than the
other, it will effect them more personally as it
features content that insults the nature of his
ethnicity, as well as being alive during the
events so he will already have a good
understanding of what the film is expressing.

13. Task 2

14. Case Study
• Select a genre (or film franchise) that you like and provide some
contextual background information.
• What is the genre/franchise, what are the key films, who are the key
directors/actors/studios/etc, how successful/unsuccessful was it, how
was it critically received, when were the films made, etc.
• Go over as many slides as necessary

15. Star Wars
• Star Wars is a Hollywood epic space opera media franchise that is based
around a film series that was first developed by George Lucas and Lucas
Films. The Franchise first began in 1977 when the first of the Star Wars
films was released, later to be given the title of Episode IV: A New Hope.
The films are set ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far far away’ and focuses its
narrative on the battle of good vs evil put into the form of ‘Jedi’ vs ‘Sith’
and ‘The Rebellion’ vs ‘The Empire’, the balance between these two being
what the films call ‘The Force’ an unidimensional power enabling the right
users to have superhuman abilities. As of today the Star Wars franchise is
still on going as there is yet to be one more instalment to the sequel trilogy
as well as the two instalment trilogies before hand, on top of that there is
two Anthology films joined to franchise with 2nd one ‘Solo’ to be released
in May this year. On top of this there is also a number of animated series
and games produced under the same franchise, as well as the huge
merchandise of affiliated toys, clothing and accessories to do with the
franchise.

16. The Creator – George Lucas
• George Lucas is an American filmmaker and entrepreneur that founded
Lucas Film and is best know for being the creator of this huge Franchise, as
well as the Indiana Jones franchise. Lucas’ career as a filmmaker started
upon graduating university where wrote and directed THX 1138 in 1977. He
then went on to direct American Graffiti in 1973 with his newly found
company Lucas Film, the film gained him notable attention as he received 5
Academy Award nomination. Lucas’ next film would however would
change his life forever as he created one of the biggest selling franchises of
all time, Star Wars. Upon its release in May 1977 it earned $461 million in
the U.S. alone and making a total including overseas to $775 million, this
made it at the time the highest grossing film of all time, until E.T. broke the
record again 7 years later. From then on Lucas began to create a whole
empire upon these Films with the later instalments of the original trilogy.

17. Key Films of the franchise
Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope 1977
The original and first instalment of the franchise is notably the most important, it
played the biggest roles in making the franchise what it is today with its record
breaking sales and huge popularity around the world. not only this but it also
saved the production company 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy as Lucas’ film
nearly tripled the companies stock price within three weeks of the films release.
Today it is regarded as one of the most important films in the history of motion
pictures due to its ground breaking visual effects and has been the reason for
launching an entire industry of tie-in products such as TV series spinoff, novels,
comic books, video games, amusement park attractions and the biggest of all the
merchandise. The film brought about a huge fan base around the world, it
created a community for fellow Star Wars fans with its merchandising campaign
offering fans the chance to purchase Star Wars memorabilia such as toys, games
and clothing. The films success brought around the two critically and
commercially successful sequels, ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ in 1980 and ‘Return of
the Jedi’ three years following. These two films also played nearly as much of a
role as the first as Lucas’ continued to give the fans exactly what they wanted and
more, the success of Star Wars would continue to grow exponentially.

18. Key Films of the franchise
Star Wars The Force Awakens 2015
The seventh instalment of the franchise played a huge role in bringing Star Wars back into the public eye,
after George Lucas’ huge $4 billion dollar sale of Lucasfilm studios to Disney back in 2012, giving them the
rights to Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Disney has since brought out three blockbuster movies under the
Star Wars Franchise that have all done extremely well. This film was the first Star Wars film to not involve
Franchise creator George Lucas. The film saw huge success and broke numerous records, it beat Jurassic
world for the fastest movie to cross the billion dollar threshold, hitting $1.09 billion in just 12 days. Not
only this but the film also broke the records for the biggest Christmas day box office in history ($49.3
million), biggest domestic opening weekend ($238 million) and biggest worldwide opening ($529 million).
Probably one of the most anticipated movies ever upon announcement, The Force Awakens had an
extensive marketing campaign back by Disney, they deployed almost the exact same marketing tactics
they did with the Marvel universe by starting marketing much earlier on and endearing the cast to
audiences all across the world. the campaign was born from a photo captured of the first sit down script
reading with all the cast, this sparked huge anticipation and gave the film a huge popularity spike. This was
then followed by more sneak peaks with pictures on cast and crew members social medias thus furthering
the anticipation and finally a trailer release that shot up everyone's excitement by giving them glimpse
footage of the film, the cast and most importantly the nostalgic feel given to the fans from the originals,
the excitement of seeing Solo and Chewie on the falcon again or C3-PO and R2-D2 making an appearance
on the big screen once more, this excites the fans, draws from their nostalgic pasts of the first time they
saw the films, which in turn creates even more excitement for the films release.

19. Cast - Original trilogy
• For the original trilogy Lucas chose to use an ensemble cast of young actors, a theme
which has follows suit throughout the entirety of the trilogies.
Cast
• Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) – Before he gained notable success from the franchise
Hamill had only appeared in a few American soaps such as General Hospital and the
short-lived sitcom The Texas Wheelers.
• Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) – Fisher made her debut at age 18 when she stared in the
comedy film Shampoo in 1975 as well as being the daughter of famous American actress
Debbie Reynolds.
• Harrison Ford (Han Solo) - Ford's previous work in American Graffiti eventually landed
him his first starring film role, when he was hired by Lucas to read lines for actors
auditioning for roles in his then-upcoming film Star Wars. Lucas was eventually won over
by Ford's performance during these line reads and cast him as Han Solo. Star Wars
became one of the most successful movies of all time and established Ford as a
superstar.

20. Cast - prequel trilogy
Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) – Christensen is a Canadian actor that
started his career on Canadian television at the age 13, he then went on to do
American television in the late 90’s and then gained the public eyes attention when
he was cast for Star Wars episode II Attack of the clones.
Ewan McGregor (Obi Wan) – Ewan is Scottish actor that was born in Perth Scotland.
He began his acting career after graduating from university when he landed a lead
role in the six part channel 4 series, Lipstick on Your Collar. He went on to do a
number of other roles in TV until he made his film debut in 1994 for the film Being
Human. Ewan gained most of his starting fame from the Danny Boyle classic
Trainspotting, where he played the lead role. Then in 1999 he was cast to play the
role of Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars The Phantom Menace.
Natalie Portman (Padmé Amidala) – Natalie Portman began her acting career at the
early age of 13 when she co starred in the film Leon: The Professional with Jean
Reno and Gary Oldman. At the same time she studied Dance and acting in New York.
Five years later she got the role as Padmé in Star Wars The Phantom Menace.

21. Cast – Sequel Trilogy
• John Boyega (Finn) – Boyega first saw stardom when
he was cast as the lead role in the 2011 UK sci-fi
comedy Attack the Block. It would be four years later
when he was cast for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
He has since starred in films such as Detroit (2017) as
well the second instalment of Pacific Rim (2018).
• Daisy Ridley (Rey) - Ridley began her career with minor
roles in the television programmes such as Youngers,
Silent Witness and Casualty. Ridley made her film
debut in the 2015 British independent horror film
Scrawl. Then in 2014 she was cast to play the lead role
in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and has since been in
the public eye.

22. Task 3

23. Your Interaction with Media
• Talk about why you like that film/genre and your relationship with it and
how audiences have responded to it, you cover the following:
• How audience engagement relates to the key theories you have outlined in section 1
• Outline and investigate all the different ways in which you and the wider audience
might respond and interact with the film (we’ve covered this at length with the
screenings for Star Wars related material).
1. Active spectatorship, fandom and preferred readings (how do audiences make
active responses to your genre)
2. Frameworks of interpretation, intertextuality and media literacy (consider the
effects of the film on other films/tv/etc and the way this is done, i.e. parody,
pastiche, homage, etc)
3. Social networking, conditions of reception and pre- and post- viewing experience
(how the audience interacts and responds as part of a community)
• Go over as many slides as necessary

24. 1. Audience interaction
• Star Wars is one of the most successful film franchises of all time, from the
succession of the trilogies to the huge array of other related products that
followed, such as video games, animated series, toy, clothes and much
more other merchandise. This great use of marketing the films franchise
has enabled fans to become so much more involved in the films then
before, it allows the fan base community integration with the franchise by
giving them even more content then just films, making the Star Wars
experience never ending by not constricting it to just the big screens and
instead producing relatable content on a global scale for the world to
purchase and enjoy. This in turn has brought about audiences to respond
to the products through creating content of their own and relaying them
forward through media sites, this content includes products such as fan
films, fan art and other Star Wars inspired literacy.

25. Fan Art
Fan Art is artwork that has been created by fans of said fiction, this can include
comics, film, television series or video games and will usually relate to a specific
character or aspect of that fiction. This is work a fan of the fiction will create in their
own time, meaning they more often then not will create this work out of self
enjoyment rather than for a commission fee or endorsed by the creators of the work
from which the fan art derives. Fan art can take a number of different forms, these
can include traditional paintings and drawings or graphic designed relatable content,
as well as posters, photo collages or even artistic representations of of characters in
different contexts whether they are new contexts or contexts that already relate to
the current original series. Fan art is a very popular form of artwork as it gives
passionate fan members the opportunity to further their passion by creating artistic
pieces that illustrate their own artistic potential while also representing their passion
for the fiction they are creating the work for, it gives the active spectators of the
franchise the chance to make their mark on the fan base community and gives others
the opportunity to praise them for their work if they like it, as it will be a common
interest they share.

26. Star Wars fan art (traditional)

27. Star Wars fan art (new contexts)

28. Fan Films
A fan film is a film narrative constructed by fans that is inspired by a film, television series, comic
book or a related source. Fan film makers usually consist of amateur work done by fans, however
some of the most notable fan films have been made by professional filmmakers who are fans of the
topic as educational work or as demonstration reels. Fan films will vary in quality as well as length,
from short fan films to even full length motion pictures being made by fans. The leniency of the
original films producers can vary when it comes to copy right infringements with fan made films,
some discourage the production of them while Lucasfilms took a different approach. In 2000
Lucasfilm developed their official legal policies regarding the creation of fan films and even went so
far as to create an official Star Wars fan films award. However the surge of Star Wars fan films is
also seen as the demise of the following trilogy with the fan. As new and more believable fan
theories about the films came out in the production stage of the sequel trilogy this intervened with
George Lucas’s story structure as he has said he didn’t want to look like he was stealing ideas from
already existing amateur work. However there is many more possible reasons for the downfall of
the sequel trilogy. Recent years has brought about the evolution of technology that has enabled
everyday people to create similar looking products to what professionals would produce in the
current market, which in turn has allowed the fan film culture to surge forward, here are some
examples of popular existing fan films.

29. Popular Fan Films
• Darth Maul: Apprentice
This is short fan made film that was created in 2016 by writer and director Shawn Bu, the film was uploaded to their
YouTube channel T7pro and has since grossed over 16 million views. The short film depicts the already known Star
Wars Sith Lord character Darth Maul as he fights to the death with 6 other Jedi to prove to his master his training as
an apprentice is complete. The short is of the highest professional standard with the use of lengthy and highly
complicated cerography, expensive equipment and good looking visual effects. The film its self took 6 months to film
and the scenes take place in a forest in Bollendorf, Germany.
Star Wars: The Force and The Fury
A short film narrative that features a lone Jedi that has crash landed on an unknown planet, he is perused by a
mysterious Sith lord who appears to already know him. The short was directed and created by Jason Satterlund in
2017 and has seen good popularity around the Star Wars community for its realistic and professional standard
cinematography as well as its great location setting.
Kara
Kara is short indie fan film written and directed by Joe Sill. The film is short in concession but focuses around a young
girl and her father as they try to seek safety in a rebel base on an unknown planet. The girl has realized she has
abilities with the force and is seeking guidance to control it. The film incorporates beautiful visual effects and
cinematography and also features and strong performance from the lead character that further entices the audience
into wanting more.

30. Fan Fiction
Fan fiction is fiction about characters or settings from an original piece of work, created by fans of that work, it enables fans
to come up and create their own version of their favourite work, giving them creative freedom to create their own worlds
around this already existing work. Fan fiction is not commissioned by the original work’s creator and is usually not
professionally published. Depending on the work’s owners copy righted jurisdiction, the fan made work may infringe on the
original author’s copyright, there have been cases in the past when authors has responded with legal action to fan made
fiction. In recent years fan fiction has seen a massive raise in popularity and creation, this is due to the development of the
internet, creating a gateway and platform for fan fiction makers to unofficially publish their work to other fans on the work.
There are three main categories that pieces of fan fiction can come under, stories that adapt certain original storylines,
stories that carry on the original stories text and stories that aren’t completely related to the original storyline yet existing
with the same fictional universe. The Star Wars community has one of the largest fanfiction followings, with thousands of
different new fan fictions being made all the time, Star Wars has a narrative with a large room for creativity to prosper,
being an entire universe on its own it has enabled fans to come up with some of the most original and imaginary
adaptations of the original work. These are some examples of Star Wars fan fiction.
Dissociative Identity Disorder – T. Alana M
Formerly titled "The Good Son". DID: a condition wherein a person's identity is fragmented into two or more distinct
personalities. Or, where Anakin Skywalker makes it his life's goal to drive Darth Vader to the brink of insanity. His four year
old son spectates.
A Second Childhood – T. Alana M
Unable to stand the suit any longer, Darth Vader uses illegal cloning technology to create a copy of himself with the aim of
transferring his memories into the clone. But unforeseen circumstances forces him to put his plans into effect earlier than
planned. Unfortunately, the new body is...a tad younger than expected.
Star Wars: The Ancient Force - Ranicholl
"Yoda was not a master of the Light Side—or the Dark." Luke hears this from a Sith prisoner and frees her to investigate
what she means. She killed her Sith master, but was arrested for killing a boy while sanely smiling. Luke fights unresolved
darkness within as he's tormented with questions: How did the Force originate? Is her third side of the Force depraved like
the DarkSide

31. 2.Frameworks of interrupitation.
• When a film franchise gains such success just as Star Wars has then its going to create a
huge backlash of other inspired pieces of work such as film and television series. These
come in the two forms of parody and pastiche. Film parodies show the same traits as fan
films as they are both inspired and created due to the work of an already existing
product, however they are imitations or spoofs of the already existing product, usually
done in a comedic form the films role is to make of scenes or specific events in the films
that people whom have already seen will understand and hopefully In their case find
amusing. There is both positive and negative connotations connected to parody films,
some see them as great adaptations of original pieces of work that engage humour to
the right minds, however there are many people who find the purpose of a parody to be
insulting to the creator of said work, as parodies picks apart their authors work and use
comedic elements to make fun of said work. People believe they can potentially ruin the
more serious pieces of work that people have put a lot of work into. Personally I can
agree with both sides of this argument, if a parody is done right and is to a good standard
then I believe they are a positive thing as they bring amusement to the fan community of
these pieces of work by involving them in comedic elements related to the specific film. I
can also see them as being negative as when done badly they don’t just insult the maker
but also bore the audience attached to the film.

32. 2. Star War Parodies
• Laugh It Up, Fuzzball: The Family Guy Trilogy
Family guy is an American animated comedy series created by Seth McFarlan.
Family Guy is no stranger to featuring comedic elements related to the Star War
franchise on their show, however in 2011 they took it one step further by creating
an entire parody film that imitates the original film. They followed this up with 2
more films imitating the following two Star Wars film of the original trilogy to make
their own parody trilogy. The trilogy uses family guy characters playing the roles of
the Star Wars characters.
Robot Chicken: Star Wars
Robot Chicken is an American Stop motion sketch comedy TV series, produced and
created for Adult Swim by fellow Family Guy voice member Seth Green. They
featured a special episode that was dedicated solely to parody Star Wars consisting
of 4 chapters. The show had beforehand featured small parody segments of Star
Wars however they brought out a special edition episode called Robot Chicken: Star
Wars. The show features a number of famous cameos by celebrities, even George
Lucas himself makes a feature as he plays himself.

33. Star Wars Pastiche/homage
• A Pastiche is defined as a piece of work that imitates the style or character of
original work, similar to parodies although rather than mocking or implementing
comedic values it celebrates the original work. Pastiche elements can be found in
one of two ways, either through cinematic techniques for instance implementing
similar filming techniques to an already existing piece of work in your own work or
it can be through the writing of your own work, featuring work based on or
adapting from previously existing work. One of the most common and famously
known techniques deployed by Lucas in the creation of Star Wars is the use of side
swipe transitions from scene to scene. A technique best known for its use in Star
Wars has since been imitated for uses in other films while still having the same
connections to the franchise.
• Paying homage refers to when respect or reverence is paid to a person a piece of
work through acknowledging said person/work through their own work. In cinema
homage can be paid by referencing an already existing piece of work,
acknowledging it through visual representation. Star Wars is a film franchise that is
constantly being referenced in other pieces of work, due to its incredible success
and fame over the years this has urged other people to represent this franchise
through representation in their own work, this can be through quoting the films
lines, recreating visual aspects of the film with their own twists or even cameo
appearances to indicate respect for the person.

34. Some examples of
other products
referencing Star Wars.
Simpsons – Lightsabre
themed duel with John
Williams score
Scrubs
That 70’s Show
Up
Friends – reference to Leia
How I Met Your Mother

35. 3. Audience interaction
• The internet has played a huge part in audience interaction with films, it
has allowed platforms to made that supply a community for fans to join,
converse with other fans, swap fan art, films and fiction. this is described as
the post viewing experience of films, this occurs after the films release
where fans of the film will create content such as fan pages and chat
rooms, giving them the opportunity debate and discuss their personal
views on the film. The Pre-viewing experience consists of everything before
the release of the film, this includes marketing campaigns, as in the selling
of the product to the people before the films release. This will involve
trailers/teasers, sneak peaks, posters and interviews. This is all done to
create anticipation for the films release within the audience, giving them
content to see before watching the films, giving them a small part of the
full experience of the film will in turn urge the audiences to want to see the
film.

36. 3. As films have become such a huge part of our lives over the years this has made comminutes within the fans of such films.
Especially since the evolution of the internet in recent years, fans has been given the ability to communicate with one
another around the world. This has brought around the creation of fan sites. Fan sites are online communities that are
usually owned and maintained by fans, for the use of other fans. They are online websites that invite fans of a certain
franchise or product to join the community and swap their views on the content with one another, they also offer a place to
swap images, downloadable content or more related elements to the media product. As Star Wars has one of the biggest fan
followings of any franchise then it is inevitable that there will be a huge fan following online, hundreds of fan sites dedicated
solely to Star War content are on the internet. This has only increased in recent years due to the current surge of online social
media sites as they have not only created a platform for anyone and everyone to express their views publicly and privately,
but they have also created a fully functioning platform for fan pages and groups. There are countless pages on Facebook that
are solely dedicated to and for the Star Wars community. The access to these fan pages has been made easier for the
common public to find, their content is easily published and at a fast rate. The interaction for audiences with films such as
Star Wars has been much easier then ever before, the content produced has increased with things like Polls for community
members to answer, surveys, mini games and quiz’s are all available for fans to interact with and enjoy. As I am myself a Star
Wars fan I have used these sites before and they have fit their purpose, I have find out more about the films then I would by
just watching them, I believe that these sites create more enjoyment in the fans then just the films alone, giving fans the
change to talk about their favorite elements has created a stronger love for said favorite films within audiences as it helps to
continue the films experience after the credits have rolled. One website that stands out for me is Wookipedia, Wookipedia is
a Stars Wars only Wiki that is a fan made online encyclopedia that features all the content and information a Star Wars fan
could ask for. The site, just like Wikipedia is ran by volunteer fans that update and fact check the content on a regular basis to
ensure the most factually correct content is produced for the fans. It is an extremely helpful website that will engage the
regular Star Wars fan by teaching them information about their favorite characters or aspect of the film that they may have
not even know before. Fan sites however are not the only form of the post-viewing experience for the Star Wars franchise,
conventions dedicated to Star Wars are also very popular within the community. They are events that invite fans to come
down and join in on Star Wars related fun, this can include fan meetings with the cast and directors, question and answer
boards for fans to ask their most desired questions to the creators of their favorite work and much more. Even cosplay events
are held where fans are given the opportunity to dress up as their favorite characters from the franchise, enabling room for
creativity and originality as some choose to add their own twists.