Audience research 1 - Analysis

Yasmin Schmitz

Audience questionnaire one Analysis

1) Are you Male/Female?




Male - 9
Female - 11

2) Which age group do you fall under?
The majority of people that answered these questions were between the ages of 15 and 20. This is because the majority of people I asked were from school and they all fall under this age group. The rest was a family member.

3) How many films do you watch per week?
Most of the people I asked were students studying for their A-levels and are very busy with their school work. This is why the number of films watched per week is quite a low number.

4) How do you watch most of your films?

Cinema - 6
TV - 5
DVD - 9

DVD was the most popular answer to this question. This is because people would rather sit at home to watch their DVD than go out to the cinema. Also, prices of DVD’s have become so cheap now, due to online websites like Amazon or second hand shops like CEX, that people are more inclined to buy them at lower prices instead of paying a lot more to go and watch the movies in the cinema.


5) Have/Did you study any films in school?
Most people who took this survey were students at the Beacon school who had just finished their GCSE’s and so most of them had taken the same course last year. The main answer I got to this question was Romeo and Juliet. This is the movie they had to study for the media section of their English exam. The majority of answers were yes answers but there were few that said no. The age of people who said no was about 40 years old and over. The reason why they said no is because the option of studying films in school was not available to them.

6) What do you understand by the term social realism?
A word that was used a lot when answering this question was the word ‘realistic.’ This gives me the impressions that not a lot of people know what it means because they just recognise the word ‘realism’ from the question. A few answers told me that social realism is something that we come across in every day life and issues we face in the real world. A word that was mentioned once was the word ‘contemporary’. This means that only a few people have an understanding of social realism because it is based around modern social issues, things that happen in the society we live in today. The words “every day life” and “realistic” link together because events that take place in every day life are usually realistic. There was a particular answer that caught my eye. It said “Social realism is a genre that is not promoted by the media and is not publicly successful.” This proves that the media takes a huge part in promoting films.
I am going to have to try to include these themes in my film so that becomes the genre of social realism.

7) What definition of social realism do you indentify the closest with?
Screen Online, Oxford Dictionary or Wikipedia.
The answer that was circled the most was Wikipedia. I think this is because Wikipedia is the largest online encyclopaedia on the globe and is very commonly used by teenagers today. I asked a lot of teenagers so this is why Wikipedia was the most popular answer. I feel that this is the definition they can relate to the most because they are familiar with it. Where as screen online was not circled by anyone and only one person circled the Oxford Dictionary definition. The only person who circled the oxford dictionary definition was around 50 years old. This is because they relate to the oxford dictionary definition because it I the oldest one. I think the reason why the screen online definition was not circled by anyone is because they are unfamiliar to the words and phrases used. They are all technological terms and film language that most people are unfamiliar with. Wikipedia was written by different people and has many different options so it can relate to a wider range of people.

8) Out of these films, which have you seen?
As you can see the films that have been seen the most, like about a boy, Adulthood and Trainspotting, are either films that have been successful in the media or have famous actors/actresses in them. This shows that films are not watched based on how good they are but are watched based on how well they are promote. This means that I will have to promote my film as well as I can if I want it to be successful with my audience.

9) What would you expect from a film with social realism content?
The majority of answers to this question were quite similar. All the words and phrases used were negative and included semantic fields such as violence, drug abuse, vandalism, joy riding and child abuse. It was also mentioned that social realism includes a lot of teenage crime in deprived areas. This means that social realism films are giving teenagers a negative stereotype. They are portrayed in a light which causes problems in our society today. This could be a negative factor about the social realism genre. Also, teenagers could be more inclined to commit a crime if they see it being done in a movie with a social realism genre because they are being influenced to do so. This question links in with 6. They both include the same sort of themes in their answers. If people think that social realism means every day life, and a social realism film includes these negative themes, then our society must be completely damaged.

10) Does the social setting of the story affect the realism of the movie? If so, why?
The answers to this question were quite double sided. Most of the people who answered said that the social setting of a story is important and affects the realism of a movie greatly. An example of one answer was “yes, you can’t have a realistic argument in a city made of jelly.” This means that the setting of the story is very important because stories are more believable if they are set in a serious environment. On the other hand, some people said that the setting is not important to the movie because it all depends on how believable and realistic the storyline is. I think that both answers make sense. The setting has to be realistic and has to be contemporary; it can’t be set in the 1700’s. Also, if the storyline is realistic, then this should create a realistic setting. This will help with my script because now I know what type of setting to place the scenes of the movie in.

11) Can the ethnic background of a movie be important to the story? If so, why?
I think this question made some people feel uncomfortable because a lot of the answers I received were based on the lines of “everyone should be treated equally.” I think some people were afraid to state their opinion because they didn’t want to offend anyone in any way. A number of people said that it entirely depends on the storyline of the movie and how the protagonist deals with its issues. They concluded that a story would be more interesting if it stuck to one particular community because then the story would be more realistic and they could act in their natural environment. Both of these answers are quite opposite because the first answer doesn’t answer the question in detail but the second answer gives a clear statement in whether the ethnic background of a movie is important to the story line. In my opinion, the ethnic background is important to the story because it is interesting to see a variety of different cultures and how they act.

12) Does the story have to be set in a deprived area to be set in a deprived are to be realistic or can realism happen in a luxurious setting? If so, why?
One answer that caught my attention was this, “No because we have rich people in real life.” This answer has completely changed my perspective of social realism movies. I used to think that a movie could only be realistic in a deprived area but now I think that social realism can happen in any background at any time because rich people have realistic issues as well. Another answer stated “we have more middle class and lower class people in the world; we just choose to focus on the people who have more money than us. This is why social realism should keep to deprived areas, because it is the only movie genre that does.” This answer was very interesting and completely conflicts with the first answer. I like the second answer because it tells us that the more deprived a movie setting is, the more realistic it will turn out to be. A lot of the answers that I received agreed with the second answer and this is why I have chosen to set my film in a deprived area rather than a wealthy one.

13) Have personal experiences in your life affected your perspective of social realism films?

Yes - 8
No - 12

The majority of people who have answered this question don’t have any personal experiences that have affected their perspective of social realism films.


14) Can subjects like racism in society, bullying in schools, mental health issues be a topic of an engaging drama? If so, why?
A lot of people answered yes to this question. I think this is because these are the most popular or main issues that happen in our society today. One person said, “If social realism didn’t have these subjects, then there wouldn’t be anything else to talk about.” I don’t agree with this answer. These are very important issues but there are plenty other issues that can be faced. For example, runaways, drug abuse and instant messaging sites on the internet. Unfortunately, most of the topics that emerge in social realism films are negative. Another answer stated that “these are problems people have to face every day, but shouldn’t be put into movies otherwise more of these incidents will occur.” This answer links into question 9. Answers also stated that the negative themes and situations in social realism genres could influence teenagers to commit these crimes. Occasionally, the social realism genre can create stereotypes if characters are exaggerated, especially in a hybrid movie.

15) Given that This is England is quite a popular film amongst those who’ve seen it, do you think that the media should do more to promote British Social Realism films?
Yes - 18
No - 2

I think the majority of people who answered this question want British social realism films to become more popular so that they can learn about the society we live in. I think people are too concerned about what the media has to say and don’t find films for themselves. That is why so little is known about social realism.

16) When going to the cinema, do you think there should be more variety in the types of films that they are showing? If so, why?
A lot of people are happy with the films that are being shown in cinemas today. They are not really interested in social realism films. I think this is because people have different interest in films and social realism isn’t their preferred genre. Also, a lot of people do not know what social realism is, and are more open to the films that have been promoted by the media. They are more comfortable with genres that they are used to. E.g. Romance, fantasy, sci-fi, drama, comedy, horror, action or thriller. These are all the types of genres that are regularly shown in multiplexes. The minority that said yes only said this because they think that the contemporary films that are being released are all too similar. I agree with this answer and I think that they should show more variety in the types of films that they are showing. This could be done by promoting social realism films in the media. A lot of answers that were given have said that the media doesn’t do enough to promote social realism films. One answer that stood out for me was “Usually in social realism films, the main character is involved in bad things and either dies or has something really bad happen to them. I think this puts people off social realism films and is why cinemas don’t show them.” This is an interesting answer and is very true. In real life, the good people do not always survive, but this makes a movie realistic.


17) Do you think at least one or two of the screens in multiplexes should show some home grown British films?
Yes - 6
No - 14

I think the reason why there are so few yes answers is because people are not interested in this the social realism genre and are more interested in big Hollywood films with special effects because that is what the media promotes. A lot of my questions lead to problems with media promotion.


18) Why do you think multiplexes show so few social realistic films?
This was a simple question and I received very simple answers. One answer was “because they aren’t the most popular types of films and don’t have famous actors or actresses on them.” The media has exploited the celebrity world so much that movies become irrelevant if they don’t have someone who has been rampaged by the media in them. I think there are many reasons why social realism isn’t the most popular genre. Firstly I think the media doesn’t do enough to promote it. Secondly, people are attracted to famous actors and actresses and social realism films are the type of movies that make an actor or an actress famous. And thirdly, people are more interested in special effects and wild car chases than realistic incidents that happen in our every day life. Another answer to this question was “people find them boring.” Social realism doesn’t have any fancy special effects which all the Hollywood films do have. This links in with another answer someone gave me, “the dull content and low special effects put me off watching social realism films and if they were shown in cinemas, people wouldn’t go to see them.” People are so used to special effects and super hero’s and villans that as soon as they are wiped away, people are not interested.

19) Do you think that the use of famous actors and actresses would benefit the popularity of social realism movies? If so, why?
Some people have said that starring in a social realism is a good starting place but they usually move onto bigger movies in the end. So if actors and actresses who are already famous star in a social realism, then this would promote the movie because we know these actors at that can give us different expectations of the movies. Other people said that if actors and actresses we know star in a social realism film then it must be good because they wouldn’t be famous if they hadn’t been in successful movies. So overall, I think that having famous actors and actresses would benefit the popularity of social realism movies. This is because we know then and we know that the movies that they have been in are successful. This links in with question 18 and proves that a lot of people think social realism films would benefit from using famous actors and actresses. All the questions involving the unpopularity of social realism movies lead to the fact that they are not promoted by the media and they do not have any famous actors or actresses in them. So I think that it would benefit these movies.


20) What subjects/themes do you think social realism could tackle in a commercially successful way? Here are some of the words that appeared.
Health issues
Runaways
Alcohol
Teenage Pregnancy
Vandalism
Violence
Sexism
Racism
Drug Abuse
Social Realism



All the words/themes/subjects that have appeared in this web are all negative. They are all semantic fields of social disenfranchisement. This means that there is already a stereotype that comes with the social realism genre and it’s not a very positive one. If this is what people think will make a social realism commercially successful then there should be more interest in this genre because these are the type of things that happen in our every day life. The word “social” means to relate to human society and how it is organized. Also, it relates to the way in which people in groups behave and interact. So these negative themes are themes that are cropping up in our every-day life.