Les Revenants- audience + Themes

 cult tv- niche who it appeals to, underground 

what makes a cult show?

les revenants is a highly atypical tv program targeting a niche audience. in terms of genre it could b described as supernatural drama, horror, zombie, avante-garde, mystery, or even a paranormal romance. however, les revs is frankly a completely different to zombie shows such as the walking dead and paranormal romance films like twilight. it also breaks the rules of the mystery genre, by presenting many hermaneutic codes to the audience, yet rarely answering any questions.

clearly something so niche and potentially frustrating is only going to appeal to a small audience. Yet the small number of people who get this show  are going to love it, and probably wont be able to not talk about it. this is the essence of a cult show.

A cult audience is a small yet dedicated audience that absolutely love the media product. if people criticise it, they will defend it. if it gets cancelled, they will beg for it to be brought back. cult shows will divide opinion. they will put most people off but through a process of audience negotiation and active textual poaching, audiences can pick out the things that they really like about it.however cult tv shows have growing audiences thanks to digital streaming platfoems such as  netflix, canal+, 4od, ITVhub, hulu. younger audiences are less likely to view live television.

why do producers create cult TV shows if the only reason for a media product is to make momey? this is interesting as big cut shows dont oftern make much money in comparison, however there are benefits to creating a cult show.

• cheap to make
• attract a stable, small audience.
• through word of mouth, they increase respect for the producer.
• often have a long shelf life.

what is an audience?

Audience refers to the group of people who use and consume a media product previously it was believed that audiences were passive and would always side with the prefered reading. however now there is an understanding that audiences are active consumers who interact with the products.

David Gauntlett

audiences are not passive, and media products allow the audience to construct their own identities. Audiences ca pick and mix which ideologies suit them, and completely ignore the elements of the product which they do not agree with in a process of negotiation similar to the one suggested by Stuart Hall.

Les revenants provides the niche target audience many opportunities to construct their own identities- offering the audience opportunities to "pick and mix ideological perspectives". Les Revenants lacks a definitive preferred reading, instead asking the audience to construct their own interpretation of the narrative. This is achieved through providing with a range of hermeneutic codes. this is the pleasure that audiences can draw from the text.

key scene analysis

to what extent can the audiences of les revenants use this show to construct their identity.

(ending montage = sex scene)

• heraneutic codes- how/why Lena an Camille are connected the way they are, seems surreal and supernatural camille can feel lena having sex. links to the "twin thing" where they might be psychic, telepathic, and can feel eachothers bodies. supernatural, leaves lots of unanswered questions.

social issues

• xenophobia
• religions
• sexuality/ finding yourself
• immigration/ migrants

can link to stuart hall- people being othered, pushed into groups through representations