Text 1- sex and the city
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en8VQCuDSLo

Form: opening credits
Function: set the tone of the show

M:
Natural lightening to make it seem realistic but at the same time has this surreal aspect to it at there is no dialogue just music playing.

I: HBO- subscription channel in America

G:
American text
Sitcom with soap opera storylines
Conventional with the name of people who appear in the show. However, not each character is introduced.

R:
New York- glamorous
Sarah Jessica parker- nassarcisitic as she has poster of her on the bus, has lots of close up shots of her to emphasises the show is about her and how she is the main protagonist

No men

A:
Aspirers
Predominantly females
Women who read cosmopolitan as that magazine talks about how women can pleasure from sex which is similar to the sex and city show where women want pleasure from sex

I:
Post feminist text

N:
Follow Carrie around

Text 2 – Hollyoaks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJbzgrQCChI

Form: opening credits
Function: set the tone of the show

M:
Jazzy music
Close up of the blue eye

I:
C4- public service broadcaster

G:
British text
Soap

R:
No Asians
More glamorous less realistic
Women are objectified more then men- mulvey
Men objectified- female gaze

A:
Adolescents/young adults this is established through the characters they choose to portray in the title sequence. No representation of old people.

I:
Post feminist text

N:
Characters being introduced- no text to state the name of the character or actor/actress this suggests the show relies on a committed audience who regularly consume the show.
Character have serious faces which suggests the show discuss some serious issues


Wider context: computer graphics used in the background for most of the scenes to reflect the development of technology. This is linked to the typography used as it is written half in pink and the other half in blue. The colour blue connotes boys and the colour pink connotes girls. Boys and girls are clear binary opposites- Strauss. Additionally, holly is the word written in pink which is a typical girl’s name.

Similarities:
Both texts have no Asians in them
Both post-feminist
Both broadcasted on C4 in the UK

Differences:
Text1- one main character in contrast to text 2 where there are several characters that appear.
Text1- has names of actresses/actors who appear in the show
Text1-american text up to some extent the title sequence is going for more of a realistic look where text 2 is more glamorous as all the character are posing or trying to impress the audience.
Text 1- no men
Text1- aimed at more of an older audience as it is on a subscription channel. Furthermore, in the UK it is shown on C4 after the watershed.

Issues and debates:
Uses and gratification theory suggest people may consume this show as a diversion from everyday problems and routine.
Adolescents watching text 2 can form personal identity with the characters they are watching as they some of them are around the same ages as them.
Both shows can be watched as entertainment.

Feminism women are more sexually liberated