Fiske and The Inbetweeners:

Idea 1 – Formal Conventions.

In episode 2 – The Gig and the Girlfriend, we get a lot of representation about it being a series, this means that the characters within it live beyond the episode as opposed to a film where we don't have such an emotional connection to the characters because once it's over the character is over too. The constant showing of the characters and actors together make us think of them as the same person in real life, because they're playing the role over and over again. For example the actor playing Simon also appears in 'Fresh Meat', however, I still see him as Simon from The Inbetweeners and I cant shake that identity from him.

The idea of camera shots showing relationships from the characters positions is very strong in this episode as we constantly see the four boys huddled together tightly and fit into one frame often, this shows how close they are to each other and almost makes them into one person.

Idea 2 – Audience relationship with the text

Within both episodes we notice a repetition of character, it's all about the same group of boys and recurring extras who have a relationship to them, such as parents and school mates. This creates a sense of 'real-time' and allows us as the audience to follow the plot and the characters, which also makes it seem like they're growing with us, this gives us a bond towards them and makes us like them more and care about them. The idea of past, present and future is very apparent in all episodes of the show, this is evident when we get a character mentioning Will's events in the first series of the show, in which he excretes himself in an exam, this creates a past for the character which even the audience can identify with because most likely they would've seen it. This also makes us know the character more and have a bonding to them. We are also invited to relate to them as the target audience are teenagers the same age as the characters, this puts them in situations the audience would be in and allows us to think about what we would do in the same situation, it also lets us feel for the characters because we know what they're going through and can laugh at their horrible mistakes. The example of doing drugs, in The Gig and the Girlfriend, at this age is very good, because it shows that they are trying them for the first time which would be the same for many teens their age therefore we can relate to them in the sense of starting in the same place.

Idea 3 – Writers and Producers

Idea 4 – Polysemic Reading

With TV shows it's hard to target at one person because the viewers are so diverse and have different viewpoints, this is dealt with by having four very different characters in terms of personality, but keeping them all neutrally important within the show. This makes the viewers be able to relate to at least one of them whether it being similar personal traits or of that of a friends. It also allows us to imagine ourselves in the same positions as the characters if we feel like we're the same as them.

The audience for TV shows judge characters by how real they seem because we want a connection to them and we want to be a part of their world and story seeming as we're following along it every week. This realism is very important to keep the viewers engaged with the story and character development. In the episode 'Thorpe Park' we get a good sense of realism because the basic school trip or activity for teens is to go to a theme park and go on roller coasters. As the viewers watch this and the characters actions they create their own viewpoint of them and what’s going on, therefore they aren’t being a subject to the dominant ideology because they interpret the message in their own way.