A semiologically analytical take on

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A semiologically analytical take on
By Tyler Smeltekop
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What does Spike TV air?

• Their daily line-up includes
• UFC Unleashed
• CSI Crime Scene Investigation
• Maximum Exposure
• MacGuyver
• Horsepower TV
• And at least five hours of Star Trek The Next
  Generation
  
• Some movies shown in the last week
• Bloodfist III through VIII
• Ghostbusters II
• The Hitman
• The Shawshank Redemption

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Promotional Commercials

• Are used to draw viewers attention to
  upcoming programs by using clips
  
• Make use of network logos to establish a
  connection between the program and the station

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Demographics

• Its quite clear that they are most interested
  in males 18-30 based on the selection of
  programs
  
• So, what are the promotional commercials doing
  to try to attract guys like

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Clips from the Program

• Used judiciously, they provide an appealing
  synopsis of what a viewer will get by tuning in
  
• Style of presentation varies between a promo
  for a movie and a TV program

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Clips for Movies on Spike

• To promote movies, clips are used heavily to
  give the viewer an idea of exactly what were
  going to get by tuning in
  
• If its a drama, we see a lot of the leading
  male character looking mean, troubled, or
  serious.
  
• A promo for The Firm, starring Tom Cruise, is
  dominated by clip after clip of him being sworn
  in (serious face), in court (serious face),
  standing in the rain (mean face)
• Action movies follow a pattern
• Leading man jumps through air / explosion /
  leading man fires gun / people fall down / ect

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Spike in Movies

• During these promos, the Spike logo is seen
  usually at the end.
  
• The Firm promo is led with For the first time, a
  world premiere
  
• The color and texture scheme used in the promo is
  similar to the movies own unique logo feel and
  typography
  
• Spike TV uses the brand identity of a movie in
  the logo of the movie, along with using the same
  design for its own logo

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What does this mean?

• Spike TV seems to think were either attracted
  to strong male roles, or wellshit that gets
  blown up.
  
• Spike TV is fusing the identity presented in a
  movie with its own
  
• It provides a connection between the program and
  the network

For example
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Clips Promoting TV

• Clips are rapid-fire, and often less
  substantial in terms of factual content
  
• Clips promoting TV shows seem to assume
  knowledge of the show
  
• Highlight regular characters
• Show only the most pertinent plot information for
  an episode

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Spike in TV Programs

• The yellow-and-black road stripe, as seen in
  the margins here, fly across the screen as a cut
  is made from one clip to the next, branding the
  Spike motif on the episode
• In addition, the Spike logo is displayed at
  the beginning and the end

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What does this mean?

• Spike is creating an insider appeal by making
  the viewer feel like they should know whos who
  in these shows
  
• By plastering promos with their logo and
  motifs, they are branding the show with their
  identity, rather than using the shows identity
  to sell itself

For example
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So, whats the big deal?

• Is false consciousness at work here?
• Is Spike, by claiming to be the first network
  for men, creating an identity for men that
  doesnt actually reflect us?

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Hegemony

• Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci discussed the
  idea of dominant hegemony as the accepted
  common sense ideology.
  
• Spike TV presents the hegemonic view of the
  White Western Man.

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Hegemony, continued

• Clearly, Spike TV is saying that the average
  man likes three things strong and assertive
  leading characters, women, and high casualty
  counts
• This is a stereotype, and its the most common
  one that gets applied to men

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BUT!

• As stereotypes go, theyre pretty accurate and
  their tactics to get us male viewers to
  interpolate ourselves into their manufactured
  identity works pretty well

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So whats the bottom line?

• Basically, Spike TV is using a common,
  hegemonic stereotype as a basis for creating a
  wide appeal within the male audience
  
• By using this identity, they can flexibly
  apply it to programs and movies that have their
  own brand, and create a completely new one!