TARGET AUDIENCE RESEARCH Remy Hamilton

REASONS WHY PEOPLE LIKE DYSTOPIAN FILMS: Higher Stakes Dystopian films like ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Divergent’ deal with futuristic societies that are oppressed or are in life-and-death situations daily. For example: The Hunger Games tells the story of a 16-year-old girl who falls into deathly battles with people her age or even younger. Maze Runner centres on a group of teenage boys who run for their lives while trying to escape a maze filled with lethal creatures. Divergent tells the story of a restricted social order heavily suppressed by the government. Since these settings deal with life-and-death situations, corrupted government and war scenarios, the stakes are higher and the hero fights against all odds. The film becomes an adrenaline rush that is more of a thrill than typical action/adventure movies.

Resonate with Suppression Also known as "teenage rebellion“. The teenage characters in these films are heavily oppressed and monitored, which ultimately leads to a rebellion against order. Teenage audiences echo the lack of freedom and oppression. As characters start a rebellion in a dystopian order, the circumstances justifies the action and conveniently feeds to the audiences' want for independence. In the Hunger Games, this sign is the creator and inspiration for the rebellion. It gives people hope and courage to stand up against those in power.

Individualism Although dystopian films have depressing settings, these films keep audiences on the edge of their seats with the idea of hope. Hope that a person can make a difference in the world. The concept of individualism not only answers to the target audiences' desire for independence, it also encourages the idea of heroism that is portrayed in superhero franchises like the Marvel series. However, rather than personifying the ideals into a super-human, dystopian novels make a normal, average teenager into a hero or heroine. This easily allows audiences to relate and put themselves into the shoes of our teenage protagonist.

Curiosity about the Future It's not surprising that teenagers or even adults become curious about what the future will be like. Target audiences begin to have a pessimistic outlook on their futures and become curious of what our age will tell about the future. This drives audiences to see on the big screen what exactly their futures might turn out to be - a society separated by fractions based on traits? A post-apocalyptic lab enclosed in a maze? Or a nation divided into 12 districts with a yearly televised fight-to-survive combat? There will always be a chance that some aspects of these dystopia can be found in our future societies.