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Media Audiences GapFill
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When it comes to analysing television audiences, it is important to look at Henry Jenkins and his theory of . In general, Jenkins' writing mostly concentrates on popular culture forms, reflecting on his own, and other people’s, experiences as a media fan. Jenkins’ distinction of what elevates someone from being a consumer to a fan is that they are actively involved in the creation of meaning beyond that which is explored in the texts themselves. This goes against the traditional nature of the creator–audience relationship in which the latter is consumer. The following analysis of the popular Netflix show Stranger Things is designed to demonstrate how Jenkins’ theoretical approach can be applied to the set television products you are studying.
An idea coined by Jenkins, , refers to the unauthorised alteration of source material by fans for their own purposes. In such cases, fans appropriate aspects of a television programme and create something that possibly contradicts the intentions of the original creators. Stranger Things has inspired much of this kind of behaviour from recut trailers for fictional spin-offs to detailed pieces that focus on niche subplots or supporting characters. The latter has an entire dedicated to the circulation of such content. Pictured above is a standard piece of , imagining a crossover between Stranger Things and the popular horror film franchise, IT. The artist has recreated the iconic poster for Stranger Things Season 2 but has layered the sinister grin of IT’s Pennywise the Clown over the skyline. In addition, from the film (e.g. the red balloon and the ‘welcome to Derry’ sign) has been digitally imposed onto the poster, and the tagline, 'you’ll float too', has been cleverly blended with the logo for the second series. Stranger Things has also been the subject of numerous memes (subtitled still images) and GIFs (short, clips) which offer more casual, light-hearted ways for fans to socially interact.
In many cases, fans produce this kind of work in order to challenge or subvert the narratives of mainstream television. Fans have reinterpreted lines and actions from certain characters in order inflect new meanings on to the show. In this sense, Stranger Things is unique because of the way in which the creators respond to audience demands. The fan cravings for greater diversity of sexuality led to the first LGBT+ character being written into the show. It is clear that producers of Stranger Things have used sites such as Facebook and Twitter to gauge a sense of what fans are looking for.
is an American organisation that measures data for audiences, the goods they buy and the media they consume – it revealed that the third season of Stranger Things amassed a record-smashing 26.4 million American viewers within four days of release. Not only do organisations like this analyse audience figures, they also measure the emotional reactions people have to television shows by analysing responses expressed through . These insights are then shared with the television companies who can take this into consideration when they produce the following series.