Conclusions

This chapter provides a conclusion to the book by highlighting the questions of value that were present throughout the study’s development and data collection. The chapter begins with a reflection on the value of audience research data, arguing that even relatively small samples can provide usefully indicative data and point the way towards further areas of exploration. Highlighting the key findings around genre reception, the chapter argues for the need for a more nuanced understanding of how genre interacts with other aspects in the formation of audience opinions. With regards to the significance of collective viewing practices, the chapter observes that there is scope for this to be factored into future audience research in a more systematic and integral way, which allows for the key influence it was shown to have in this study. The discussion here also draws attention to the key findings in relation to the period drama genre and audience reception in general, bringing to the fore the complex ways in which the participants responded to the films and television episodes as representations of the past, but also used them as a forum in which their own contemporary values could be interrogated. Finally, the chapter returns to the central argument of the book, suggesting that both period dramas and young people are overly generalised and stigmatised, and that a less judgemental and more nuanced understanding of each is not only possible, but highly desirable.