The show is well written and is very easy to understand and become involved in. It was aired on Channel 4 in the UK during it's ten year run, but once the series finished it was moved to E4, another one of Channel 4's family, which tends to be aimed at students and young adults, around 15- 25 year olds. To celebrate the shows 15th anniversary, a full ten season box set was released making it more available for audiences to watch at any time.
Due to the ensemble cast, there is something that most audience members can relate to or see in themselves and therefore provides more interest. The characters also create good models for behaviour as though they aren't wealthy or particularly successful, they all have jobs and maintain good relationships with each other. As the series progress, they travel from good role models to great ones, due to the decisions they make and responsibilities they start being trusted with. A good example of the progression of a model of behaviour is from the first episode of the first season when Rachel first appears as part of the group fresh from leaving her orthodontist husband-to-be at the alter and sacrificing her reputation and wealth in order to be happy. In contrast, in episodes 11 and 12 of series three, Rachel has successfully started working at Bloomingdale's, pursuing the career in fashion that she has always wanted. She also has a long-term stable relationship with another of the characters, Ross, and is living with Monica and contributing to household and utility costs. This shows the growth through that period of time and shows Rachel as a positive role model as she managed to turn her life around.
Friends also provides information to its audience and is useful for seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and decision choices. The show covers a wide range of events and issues and explores many common real-life aspects that trouble the young adults of society, such as dating, relationships and different ways of coping with change. An episode that sticks in my mind when I think of the advice and help that Friends can give is the third episode of season three, where Ross and Rachel give relationship advice to Chandler about how to deal with small arguments and disagreements in his relationship with Janice. The advice they give, while humorous from a comedic perspective, is also very useful and when applied to situations in real-life, it works as intended. Over the ten seasons, the storyline covers much more content and the characters have to deal with their issues in a practical way, which becomes as useful to the audience as the anecdotal example given.
The show is also written in such a way that an audience may choose to watch it in order to satisfy curiosity and general interest, as there are many cliffhanger episodes where the final conclusion isn't revealed. A good example of this technique being used is in the last episode of season four. The episode is all about Ross' and Emily's wedding which is ruined when he says Rachel's name at the alter instead of Emily's. The problems that follow aren't explored in that episode as it draws to a close just after Ross' mistake and are instead delayed until the premier episode of season five when the issues that arose are addressed. This keeps audiences entertained and interested as they want to know the conclusion and the consequences of Ross' mistake and what kind of impact it's going to have on the group dynamic and relationships. Friends has also attracted much attention all over the world since it first began, and a younger audience may view it now to see the spectacle of so much media attention as even now, the show is talked about on social networks greatly, even though it never penetrated that area of publicity when the programme was originally aired.
The main reason why audiences watch Friends and become so dedicated and interested in the show is due to the entertainment value that it has. As with the other areas, the ensemble cast plays a big part in this as there are so many storylines and emotions all being expressed at the same time that it provides an escape or diversion from problems for audience members as they become more concerned and engrossed in the characters' issues. This also relaxes the audience and provides them with another reason for viewing as the show begins to become a comfort as members know that they don't have to worry about the issues and events in their lives for a half an hour period and so they find enjoyment in the relaxation they get, thus causing them to watch more. The show also provides aesthetic enjoyment as the main cast are all good looking and attractive, giving both genders more of a reason to tune in. The show also featured guest stars every so often, including Jennifer Grey, Jill Goodacre and Hank Azaria just in the first season, which provided more aesthetic enjoyment to different audience members. While I, personally, love Friends for the reason already discussed, one of the reason I watch it a lot is due to the emotional release it provides. The storyline is so diverse that it can have audiences crying with laughter one minute and then have them absolutely distraught the next. An example of this that is most effective is in the final episode of season ten, when Ross is causing a humorous response one minute as he is having an argument with the message on his answering machine and then the next minute the entire situation changes when the conclusion of the phone call is revealed and the response changes to crying with happiness. The roller coaster ride of emotions throughout the show is another reason why Friends was such a hit.
The final reason why audiences tend to watch Friends is to due to social integration. As the show explores so many situations, the audience begins to develop a sense of social empathy and they gain an insight into the circumstances of others which becomes useful in real-life situations. Audiences start to understand how deal with different social situations better and some continue to watch the series in order to learn and develop this understanding. Due to the shows' popularity, it is also a common basis for conversation and social interaction in new relationships and old ones, and in order to maintain this audiences may watch and re-watch episodes in order to ensure they are still part of the conversation. For example, my close friends and I are constantly quoting lines from the show to each other in relevant situations for enjoyment and we all re-watch episodes from throughout the series in order to gain more humorous responses to situations. It provides a common ground that we can all bound over and this provides another incentive for audiences to watch the show. Friends is not only popular throughout my friendship group, but is also a common topic and quotation base throughout my immediate family and allows me to connect with my mum and older sister as we all enjoy watching the show together. This can then be extending further through social media and I can also become connected to other people who love and appreciate the show as much as I do, even though it finished at least nine years ago.
Friends also provides information to its audience and is useful for seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and decision choices. The show covers a wide range of events and issues and explores many common real-life aspects that trouble the young adults of society, such as dating, relationships and different ways of coping with change. An episode that sticks in my mind when I think of the advice and help that Friends can give is the third episode of season three, where Ross and Rachel give relationship advice to Chandler about how to deal with small arguments and disagreements in his relationship with Janice. The advice they give, while humorous from a comedic perspective, is also very useful and when applied to situations in real-life, it works as intended. Over the ten seasons, the storyline covers much more content and the characters have to deal with their issues in a practical way, which becomes as useful to the audience as the anecdotal example given.
The show is also written in such a way that an audience may choose to watch it in order to satisfy curiosity and general interest, as there are many cliffhanger episodes where the final conclusion isn't revealed. A good example of this technique being used is in the last episode of season four. The episode is all about Ross' and Emily's wedding which is ruined when he says Rachel's name at the alter instead of Emily's. The problems that follow aren't explored in that episode as it draws to a close just after Ross' mistake and are instead delayed until the premier episode of season five when the issues that arose are addressed. This keeps audiences entertained and interested as they want to know the conclusion and the consequences of Ross' mistake and what kind of impact it's going to have on the group dynamic and relationships. Friends has also attracted much attention all over the world since it first began, and a younger audience may view it now to see the spectacle of so much media attention as even now, the show is talked about on social networks greatly, even though it never penetrated that area of publicity when the programme was originally aired.
The main reason why audiences watch Friends and become so dedicated and interested in the show is due to the entertainment value that it has. As with the other areas, the ensemble cast plays a big part in this as there are so many storylines and emotions all being expressed at the same time that it provides an escape or diversion from problems for audience members as they become more concerned and engrossed in the characters' issues. This also relaxes the audience and provides them with another reason for viewing as the show begins to become a comfort as members know that they don't have to worry about the issues and events in their lives for a half an hour period and so they find enjoyment in the relaxation they get, thus causing them to watch more. The show also provides aesthetic enjoyment as the main cast are all good looking and attractive, giving both genders more of a reason to tune in. The show also featured guest stars every so often, including Jennifer Grey, Jill Goodacre and Hank Azaria just in the first season, which provided more aesthetic enjoyment to different audience members. While I, personally, love Friends for the reason already discussed, one of the reason I watch it a lot is due to the emotional release it provides. The storyline is so diverse that it can have audiences crying with laughter one minute and then have them absolutely distraught the next. An example of this that is most effective is in the final episode of season ten, when Ross is causing a humorous response one minute as he is having an argument with the message on his answering machine and then the next minute the entire situation changes when the conclusion of the phone call is revealed and the response changes to crying with happiness. The roller coaster ride of emotions throughout the show is another reason why Friends was such a hit.
The final reason why audiences tend to watch Friends is to due to social integration. As the show explores so many situations, the audience begins to develop a sense of social empathy and they gain an insight into the circumstances of others which becomes useful in real-life situations. Audiences start to understand how deal with different social situations better and some continue to watch the series in order to learn and develop this understanding. Due to the shows' popularity, it is also a common basis for conversation and social interaction in new relationships and old ones, and in order to maintain this audiences may watch and re-watch episodes in order to ensure they are still part of the conversation. For example, my close friends and I are constantly quoting lines from the show to each other in relevant situations for enjoyment and we all re-watch episodes from throughout the series in order to gain more humorous responses to situations. It provides a common ground that we can all bound over and this provides another incentive for audiences to watch the show. Friends is not only popular throughout my friendship group, but is also a common topic and quotation base throughout my immediate family and allows me to connect with my mum and older sister as we all enjoy watching the show together. This can then be extending further through social media and I can also become connected to other people who love and appreciate the show as much as I do, even though it finished at least nine years ago.
Romany this is a really good piece of work, well done. You have really thought about the uses and gratifications of the text. On the whole you give good examples from the text that link and justify to the individual gratifications. Couple of improvements.
ReplyDeleteAlways (every single time) refer to the text to justify any points you make, for example...
"The show is well written and is very easy to understand and become involved in" How so?
"Due to the ensemble cast, there is something that most audience members can relate to or see in themselves and therefore provides more interest" Give details on the variety of personalities within the text. You come back to this later and do it, but in terms of structure keep points together, dont half finish it and come back to it half way through.