B323 Section B Media Topic: Television and/or Radio comedy

Question 4 b): Discuss in detail how one programme offers audience pleasures. Give examples from the programme. 

I have chosen to analyse the audience pleasures of watching Miranda (BBC 1). I will give specific examples by close reference to episodes and by quotation.  

Miranda is mainstream family viewing, aimed at a target audience who would relate to middle class life. Miranda is a TV sitcom:socially inept Miranda always gets into awkward situations when working in her joke shop with best friend Stevie, being hounded by her pushy mother, and especially when she is around her crush Gary.

A comprehensive review of all four BBC TV channels by the governing trust (July 2014) found that BBC 1 could feel “middle class in focus and target audience" with Miranda cited as an example. They also found that the BBC is falling out of favour with younger people and BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic viewers). The average age of BBC1 viewers is 59, compared with 56 in 2010/11. However, the character of Miranda is also quite like a big child as she is unmarried, always making a fool of herself and getting into trouble with her mother, so I think that audiences such as young women, older women and even men who have upper class parents and possibly people that consider themselves quite clumsy, immature could relate to her and laugh at her mistakes. Audiences also relate to her relationship with her best friend Stevie  because they are two very different characters and the audience may have a best friend like Stevie or Miranda and they get to know the on screen relationship between them so they enjoy their typical immature fighting and sarcastic behaviour in certain situations. 

Miranda offers the pleasures of the sitcom genre, such as characters that are recognizable that the audience can relate to, who are stereotypes. Miranda's mother, for example, is your typical overbearing and overprotective upper class mother, she is only interested in finding Miranda a Man and she is willing to do anything to try to push her up the social ladder. She dresses very formally and always looks sophisticated unlike Miranda who looks lazy and casual. She is also Stereotypically very posh, we as an audience recognise her voice being in a RP style. 
Miranda's mother makes us laugh because she has certain phrases that she always says in every episode and we learn as an audience to expect them and laugh at Miranda's annoyance with her mother. 'such fun' is one of her commonly used phrases and she says this in every episode. She also makes us laugh because she is much like a lot of people's mothers so the audience laugh because they have experienced the same thing as Miranda so its more personal.
Miranda's group of girl friends are stereotypes. For example, Tilly her friend is the typical healthy, socialite who will order a salad instead of a pizza and goes to social events such as 'Henley Regatta' she is the polar opposite of Miranda and so when she goes out with her girl friends her immaturity and tendency to make a fool out of herself is amplified even more because she is so unlike her friends. Her friends are always dressed in colourful outfits and have their hair blow dried and their nails done, this emphasises that they are the stereotypically upper class surrey health mum. the audience can relate to them because they behave in a very normal and sociable way. 
Her girl friends often make us laugh at Miranda, such as in the episode when her friends say "she is probably half naked in public somewhere right now" when they are talking to Gary in the episode 'Dog' in series 1, miranda is actually hiding behind Gary, half naked. 
However, in many ways, Miranda is an anti-stereotype because she is not the typical slim attractive women, she is a larger clumsy lady with short hair and a compromising dress sense. 

There are many points of recognition for middle class audiences in the ways in which the sitcom addresses audience’s lifestyles, concerns, hopes, such as Miranda's conflict with her mother when she tries to throw Miranda a pride and prejudice themed party in order to set her up with a man. Her Mother forces her to come and the whole time Miranda is trying to find an excuse not to go. 

Another narrative strand that makes audiences relate to her is her trouble love life. To explain: Miranda often finds herself embarrassing herself in front of love interest Gary. Gary is a normal, down to earth guy and but it is still very much accepting of Miranda's behaviour. She says things in the moment which are silly and random and this often results in men staring at her in a strange way, for example in the holiday episode she asks the room service man to have dinner with her and he looks awkward and tries to run away. 

Each episode also features predictable running gags such as, for example, Miranda always somehow ends up half naked in public by anciently. She also often falls over and into things such as cars, Coat Racks, people and tables. Stevie always does her Heather Small impression and Tilly always says 'bear with' when she answers a text. 
Miranda always manages to lose her clothing, such as in the episode when Stevie and Miranda are at the park walking their dogs to try an impress a man they both refuse to leave which escalates to the park being closed. They have to climb through the gate and Stevie easily slides through but Miranda gets stuck. In an attempt to fit through she takes her jumper off so she is left in her bra and then coincidently, Gary walks past and finds her in this embarrassing state. 
Stevie and Miranda always compete for boyfriends, such as the episode when a man leaves his wallet in the joke shop, they find a self defence card in his wallet and so they both turn up to the class the next day, the man isn't there but Miranda still manages to make a fool out of herself. 
Miranda always embarrasses her friends socially, such as when she attends a french class she realises the teacher is her old french teacher from 20 years ago and she tries to get up and leave but the chair is stuck to her, the french teacher sees her and she says 'wrong room, on my way out' in a french accent. She then runs out into the corridor and falls flat on her face. 

The sitcom addresses audience’s lifestyles, concerns, hopes about relationships. Miranda always fails to explain her true feelings for Gary, such as when Gary is offered a job abroad and Clive says that he has been waiting for someone to tell him not to go Miranda tells us: "it was terrifyingly good acting" after she says she is pleased for Gary. 
She competes with, quarrels and makes up with Stevie, for example, a man leaves his wallet at the shop and his wallet has a picture of his dog so both of them go out to buy dogs and they both go to the park in hope to find the man. They argue over who has the 'allure' but in the end they both agree it was silly.
She gets scolded by her mother, such as in the episode when she asks her mother if she is ashamed of her and she replies with  "yes of course i am, ridiculous question"  

In most sitcoms, the audience is passive consumer but this show is filmed before a live studio audience. In addition, Miranda establishes a relationship with her audience by breaking the fourth wall, when she says or does something stupid she turns to the audience and makes a face or says something and at the beginning of every episode she talks to the camera very casually like your her friend, this is very rare for a sitcom. She confides in us, the audience her feelings, saying:  "I never really had an obvious career path" she talks to the audience very informally and tells us things she wouldn't tell anyone else so it feels personal and more involved. 

For Blumler and Katz, audiences use media to gratify needs (the uses and gratifications model of audience behaviour). Miranda offers the pleasure of entertainment, escapism and diversion by making us laugh. In particular, both slapstick humour and verbal humour entertain us. Examples of these include (three examples minimum) Miranda uses escapism because its easy humour, you don't have to concentrate intently to get the joke, its easy to watch and easy to lose yourself in an episode as there is always a lot of characters and different scenarios so it doesn't become boring easily. An example of entertainment is when Miranda falls over, most people find this funny and its typical humour, most episodes will provide entertainment and after a long day its common for people to sit down and watch something like Miranda. An example of diversion is when Miranda talks personally to the audience this makes you feel like you are having a coffee with a friend and it feels very natural. 

Audiences also like to relate to the characters in programmes;  I have shown that Miranda offers many points of recognition in its characters. It s also important that Miranda is a likeable character who does not hold grudges. For example, Even though it's clear her mother only wants for her to get married and doesn't care anything about her happiness or well-being, she still loves her and can accept her ways. She never gets angry and despite Stevie putting her down occasionally she is never upset. 
Audiences pick programmes with actors that they know and like. It is also significant that Miranda Hart is a well-known stand up comedian as well as having her own show. She has two books and a live show and appears on many comedy talk shows as a guest. 

Audiences tend to favour programmes that support their values and their sense of their own identity. Part of our sense of self is informed by making judgements about all sorts of people and things. This is also true of judgements we make about TV and film characters, and celebrities. The shows we watch, the stars we like can be an expression of our identities. One aspect of this type of gratification is known as value reinforcement. This is where we choose television programmes or newspapers that have similar beliefs to those we hold. Therefore, equally important is the upbeat, comic atmosphere of the show. Despite  set-backs such as being called sir often, for example, She makes it clear she is comfortable in her own skin and even though people say rude things about her, she is able to make jokes as well and not be sensitive. You never see her being unhappy or depressed about her current life she still displays a very excitable and happy attitude to everything despite her lack of social skills, she still has fun. 

Finally, audiences like to know what is going on in the world (surveillance). This relates to Maslow’s need for security. By keeping up to date with news about local and international events we feel we have the knowledge to avoid or deal with dangers. In a sitcom, the characters face all sorts of situations that we can experience vicariously, some of which are challenging, such as going on dates, going to the gym, finding jobs, and becoming an adult and being expected to be interested in getting married and having children. 

In conclusion, Miranda has a wide range of audience pleasures and people ranging from ages 15-70 can watch it and relate to one of the characters somehow. Miranda's traditional slapstick humour has been laughed at for years now and its a very popular show. The breaking of the fourth wall element, makes the audience feel that little bit more connected and that's what makes Miranda so enjoyable to watch.