Audience and Institution Practice Essay

Area: Film

Question: 'Nowadays, everybody consumes media texts in the same way.' Discuss with reference to the media are you have studied.

‘Nowadays, everybody consumes media text in the same way” in the film world this is very much true statement. From the rise of use on social media to the marketing schemes used, people are more likely to see the same things. Or for a more specific group, certain promotions are created differently for different groups to accept or be interested in the film. 

Cross promotion is used massively in this aspect. “Black panther” was based on a hidden city with futuristic elements such as extremely cool cars and vibranium, Lexus later on came out with the Lexus LS 500 while promoting the movie. Viewers now see this as their moment to upgrade their car and live in the moment from the movie. In a way both companies (Walt Disney Pictures Motion Studios and LEXUS) profited off of this moment using the best marketing scheme needed to get their viewers interested in the future. “The LEGO Movie” created by Warner Bros. and Burger King both benefited when “Burger king” sold meals and gave out LEGOLAND coupons. Young consumers were interested in the fact that they were able to be a part of the Lego movie by going to Legoland and eating food at the same time. 

Cross media convergence is used for the audience to understand media text as well. Before “Furious 7” was released we were aware of Paul Walker's death. The song “see you again” was then released with the trailer of the movie. That signifies that the movie was not only about fast cars but also about heartbreak. When the song was released, people instantly got hooked to the song including myself. The song made the trailer more appealing and with the trailer being more appealing, it brought in more viewers. Another soundtrack that brought everyone together was The Lion King Soundtrack by Queen Beyoncé that promoted the new and improved version of the Lion king. Now, many older people love Beyoncé and the youth love The Lion king movie. With the hit song “Spirit”, Beyoncé was able to spread the message that “your destiny is close” as a way for it to correlate with Simba finding himself. 

There are many times in movies, when one does not exactly understand the meaning behind certain text however, cross promotion and cross media convergence brings accessibility. With some of the highest grossing films being connected to other promotion materials, there is a win on both ends. To add on, you are attracting viewers with different techniques to understand the film better.