shown ; middle aged people usually like routine. Also the adverts in the break are about houses and furniture and the majority of the actors are middle aged. There are actors who are have appeared in programmes with similar targeted audiences because people find pleasurable to recognize actors. The actors are also look realistic to appeal to older people. The Bill episodes have recaps so you can watch any episode and still know what is going on , this appeals to adults as they are often busy and may not have time to watch every episode.
The police officers in 24 are quite stereotypical. Jack Bauer is shown to be busy and important .For example he’s quite involved in the conflict of the president’s life in
danger. When we first see him , he’s serious and calm whilst his wife is worried. This
is another stereotype showing men to be in control and intelligent, where as women are weak and dependent.
The first male officer we see in The Bill is quite different to Jack Bauer. We see
him eating junk food and quite laid back when his female colleague is more focused on the job. For example, the woman knows what she’s supposed to be doing when they get told to go on a job but the man is looking confused.
The Bill has another subverted stereotype by having a middle aged female officer who is intelligent and confident as the main character. Usually men are the focus of attention.If a woman is the main character she usually is seen as a weak, or in a bad limelight. The woman, who is played by June Ackland , speaks with received pronunciation to a man who speaks in slang. Normally women are the ones who are shown to be inarticulate and dumb.
In 24 the majority of the characters are middle class who speak properly. 24 breaks stereotyping by having a criminal who is female and a Hispanic woman in a powerful, well paid job.
There are more male characters and less female in 24; this portrays men to be more dominant and important. . 24 has ordinary issues such as a mother worrying about her daughter, as well unusual issues like a president’s daughter being kidnapped. This is to attract, a wider mainstream audience. It is also more escapist than realistic.
The Bill, on the other hand, has most of its issues realistic such as a handbag being stolen.
24 have a subverted stereotype by having a black president however it does have
black males as criminals, speaking in slang and causing trouble. 24 , again has women worrying and men remaining calm , when the president wife is worried about
his safety .
On The Bill , one of the criminals is a blond woman which breaks the criminal stereotype. However she is a typical blond who is into fashion who is into accessorizing , wears a lot of pink and speaks with an accent.
24 has stereotyped criminals who are young, nonwhite males, into heavy rock music ,
handling drugs and talking in slang . It has stereotypical situations such as young, rich, pretty girls being kidnapped by men and men hitting women.
However, there is a situation when a woman is in control and the man she is talking to panicking and angry.
24 tries to attract the mainstream audience by having different issues such as lesbianism, parents worrying about their children, Jack Bauer having love issues. The Bill does this by having actors speak in different regional accents.
The Bill tries to be multicultural by having a couple of Asian police officers in the background but the majority of the characters are white; this explains why its shown in Itv a very traditional channel. There is, though, an Asian man, with no accent and a proper role who is portrayed as being brave, which is unconventional.
I think the representations of police officers and criminals by the two shows are very different .24’s representations are a lot more stereotypical than The Bill. The representations may be different but their aim, which is to entertain, is the same.
