P2: TV Drama

Tuesday 29th November 2022

Long Form TV Dramas
L/O: to explore the content of the unit

Exam Stuff:
Section B of Evolving Media (Paper 2) is Long-Form TV Drama
It is 60% of the paper, is worth more than the Media Language and Representation unit.
WILL need to learn and apply academic ideas to this unit.
Compare TWO TV Dramas: one US drama and one European Drama.

Need to know:
Media Language: how TV Drama communicates meaning through codes and conventions
Representations: how events, issues, individuals and social groups are represented
Industry: how the TV industry processes of production, distribution & circulation work
Audiences: how TV Dramas target, reach and address audiences and how audiences interpret and respond to them
Context: the economic, social and cultural contexts surrounding specific TV Dramas0

More Exam Stuff:
1. A longer, comparative 30 mark question where you will have to apply academic concepts to your two case studies.
2. A shorter 10 mark question where you will have to connect your case studies to a particular theory you've studied. 

The Genre
Long-form TV drama is normally characterised by in-depth, lengthy narratives.
The story unfolds over approximately 10 episodes, allowing for plot and character development.
"Long Form Drama is a term coined to describe the recent shift of interest towards television series of high quality that many consider to have replaced the cinema as a locus of serious adult entertainment. Unfolding over multiple episodes, hours, and even years, these TV shows are seen to provide a content, often dark and difficult, and an innovative style that strain against the conventions of cinema as well as network television. It now attracts some of the best and most innovative writers, directors, and even actors." 

The inception of this form has emphasised cinematic qualities and complex flexi-narratives.
Flexi-narrative represents a complex storytelling form with the following features:
Central characters whose motives develop with them
Main storyline with interwoven subplots
A combination of complex characters that are ambiguous or enigmatic, creating tension and questions for the audience

Central Characters: Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip
Main Storyline: Turbulence of marriage following Elizabeth becoming Queen and political stuff surrounding that. Elizabeth needs to do her job excellently or risk losing the monarchy. 
Subplot: World is uneasy, World War II.
Enigmatic Characters: Winston Churchill  

Homeland: Research Task
Which TV network developed the show and which corporation are they a subsidiary of? Cable channel Showtime which is owned by Paramount.

Which studio produced the series? Fox 21

What awards did the first season win? The Golden Globe and an Emmy

Episode 1 was released in October 2011. What key global events prior this impacted its development? Osama Bin Laden was killed

Homeland
Main Narrative Quest/Conflict Set Up: how is the main narrative introduced and what sets up the initial conflict/problem that will drive the rest of the series? Sgt Brody returns home and Carrie suspects that he is a sleeper agent who has been turned due to information she was given in Iraq 10 months before.n 

Enigma Codes: what questions are created that the audience will want to discover the answers to and will have to keep watching to find out?:
Why did Brody kill Tom Walker? Why is he lying about it?
Why was he focused on the White House at the end of the episode?
Why is he lying about meeting Abu-Nazir?
Why did he lie to Jess about meeting with Tom's Wife?
What is the attack?
Will Carrie find him out? Will Carrie get sent to prison?

Individual Character Narratives: (separate to main narrative) how are these set up/introduced and what are they?:
Brody - Returning Hero or Terrorist - Family Man, Soldier, White, Male, Middle Class, Heterosexual.
Mike - Best friend of Brody/Love Interest of Jess, traditional representation, beer/football games, helped Jess around the house. 
Jess - Brody's wife/Mike's love interest, mum, housewife, attractive, sexual object.
Carrie - Protagonist, CIA agent, female, strong career, disliked, confrontational,, driven and focused but lacks compassion. Hyperfixated on doing the right thing, mental health issues. Sexual role.
Saul - Her mentor, her confidant, reliable, sensible, in control, only one with faith in Carrie
David - Boss Deputy Director of the CIA, criticises Carrie a lot, had a relationship with her, Political in his moves. 

Tuesday 13th December 2022

Narratology: Todorov
Narratology is the study of narrative; in this case, of narrative structure - how the parts fit together to make a whole.

Equilibrium - Carrie works at CIA, no threat to security, power with the east as US don't suspect. Carrie is unstable, not trustworthy.
Disruption - Brody's release/discovery initiates the suspicion in Carrie. Positions men as higher in power than women. 
Recognition of disruption - Confides in Saul, positions men as higher in power than women.
Attempt to resolve - Spies illegally on him, positions her as unstable crazy, not trusted, not reliable.
New equilibrium - No as it is a long form TV Drama. 

Todorov

Genre Theory: Neale

Genre Theory is about what genres are, and about how and why they are created, change, endure or decline.

Neale argues that genre is a process by which generic codes and conventions are shared by producers and audiences through repetition in Media products.

This means that genres are not fixed, but constantly evolve with each new addition to the generic corpus (the body of products in a genre), often playing with genre codes and conventions or becoming hybrids with other genres. 

Generic codes and conventions are not just established in media products but in products that refer to these products such as critical writings or advertising and marketing material, what Neale referred to as the intertextual relay.

Genre and Homeland

Thriller/espionage/drama - hybrid of genres, uses codes and conventions from all 3 genres.

As a genre become more popular over recent years, as a result of 9/11 the spies genre has re-emerged in popularity.

Homeland: Industry and Context

L/O; to explore the production, social and political contexts of set products

9/11: The Impact

Impact on individual lives
Internal and international security legislation
Declaration by America of a 'war on terror'
Subsequent conflicts in the Middle East
Feeling of fear and unease caused by the unforeseen attack
Religious/cultural dimensions including racism, religious intolerance and fear of outsiders/others

"The September 11th terrorist attacks have changed the world dramatically, that nothing will be the same as the world enters into a new and frightening 'age of terror'." - Noah Chomsky (American Philosopher)

Post 9/11 Era: The Media
At first, apart from on the news, American media tended to ignore the event and several mainstream media texts set in New York show this.

The producers of Spiderman (2002) withdrew a promotional trailer as it featured the Twin Towers.
The biggest sitcom of the day F.R.I.E.N.D.S (1994-2014), made an active decision not to include references to the event. 

Sex in the City depicted a no repercussions, wild lifestyle lived by four women in New York, after 2001 bad things happened to the characters.

24 (2001-2010) was a complex thriller that dealt with internal threats to America as well as global political issues. Reinforced the values of the 'war on terror' and justified torture as a means to fight that war. Reflected President Bush in prioritising the war on terror. Human rights suspended for the 'greater good'. 

Post 9/11 the city of New York was usually presented positively. The big budget The Day After Tomorrow showed New York with its culture and its history under attack but the film's use of the Statue of Liberty in the promotional material shows the city representing hope after devestation. 

Midway through the decade, there were attempts to deal with the events of 9/11 itself in films such as United 93 (2006) and World Trade Center (2006) where 9/11 drove the narrative of the films. 
Then I Am Legend (2007) and Cloverfield (2008) showed New York as a post-apocalyptic location.

Bagdad 

Barthes - Signs: Steady Cam shows chaos in the situation and location. Gallows, noose to hang someone, barbed wire, run down prison, military guards with guns. Barbaric and violent, US is seen as upper class, suits, women dress sexy, attractive attire, sophisticated culture. 

Men - Lots of men in traditional, cultural, religious dress, focus on religious building and the call to prayer. 

Levi Strauss - Opposite, setting, backdrop includes mosque, and shack, old cars, busy. Military run down prison. 

Gilroy - White superiority. 

Tuesday 10th January 2023

Homeland: Carrie Analysis
L/O: to explore the narrative and characterisation in set products
Carrie Mathison
Representations:
Reckless - Going into the prison regardless of orders
Determined - Pays money to go into prison, close up on money, American dollars valuable in Bagdhad (World Reserve Currency)
Demanding - Shouting over the phone at her boss - editing
Powerful - Residing the guard in the prison
Fearless - Dragged by the guards clinging on to retrieve the answers.
Dedicated - Persuasive nature of the conversation with the prisoner,
Manipulative

Post 9/11 Fear:
Mise-en-scene - Sets up the post 9/11 fear via the over the shoulder from the prisoner with the noose and gallows being set up for the hanging of the prisoner, barbaric savage nature of the culture and positions the East against the civilised west.
Editing - Further reinforces this, goes from run down Baghdad to the Glitzy Washington 

Discuss the representation of Carrie and the Middle East in the opening scene of Homeland S1 E1.

Carrie and the Middle East are both represented fairly negatively within the opening scene of Homeland S1 E1, this is due to Carrie's characterisation as manipulative and the Middle East's depiction as savage and uncivilised. Carrie's manipulative nature is shown in the scene when she is talking to the prisoner, she manipulates him by telling him that she will not protect his family if he doesn't give up the information he has, the dialogue in this scene characterises her as a manipulative person.

Carrie, although strong and in a masculine role of leadership, she as several flaws that make her unstable as a leader and strong woman, thus showing the power of patriarchy reinforcing subtly the inferiority of women to men in positions of power.

Carrie embodies the oppositional gaze that refuses to conform to the expectations of women and provides a character to identify with that challenges the patriarchal ideologies. However, Carrie does not fit into other oppressed groups as she is white, heterosexual and in a position of power/prestigious job (CIA Agent).

Compare and contrast the techniques used to represent Carrie Mathison in Episode 1 of Homeland
Carrie Mathison is represented negatively within the first episode of Homeland. This is first seen in the prison scene where Carrie is characterised as manipulative. The dialogue within the scene shows Carrie emotionally manipulating the prisoner by suggesting that she will guarantee the safety of his family,  it creates the impression to the audience that Carrie will use questionable methods to achieve her goals which characterises her negatively. This questionable moral compass shows that Carrie embodies a strong woman with several flaws which suggests she is inferior to her male coworkers, this fits with Van Zoonen's theory of patriarchal representations in the media, by portraying women as inferior to men it reinforces the positive nature of traditional gender roles while portraying characters who break those norms in a negative manner. This negative representation could also link to the post 9/11 fear that the show represents as it is a production made by an American company, so it reinforces pro-American ideologies while portraying middle-eastern cultures as negative, as Carrie's need for manipulation reinforces a representation of the middle east as barbaric and lawless through the shots of the barbed wire and run down prison earlier in the episode.

Carrie is also represented as masculine within the first episode of Homeland. Carrie is characterised as a determined woman who will do anything to protect her country, this is seen outside of the prison early in the episode where she bribes a guard in order to get into the prison with a large amount of money, the shot prominently features the money in focus to show the sum of money that Carrie has given the guard in order to get inside of the prison. This shows her determination, a stereotypically masculine trait within media representations. Her determination is further reinforced by the mise-en-scene in her apartment, her apartment features a board on which prominent figures of the terrorist organisation she is chasing are pinned on. This shows her dedication to her work and protecting her country no matter the cost to her personal life. This is reinforced by Van Zoonen's theory that gender roles are performed repeatably by members of society and as such become norms, due to the fact that Carrie acts masculine and therefore she fits the stereotypical traits of a man far more than the stereotypical traits of a woman. 

 

Tuesday 17th January 2023

Homeland: Brody Analysis

L/O: to explore the narrative and characterisation in set products

Anti-Hero - A main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality.

Antagonist - A person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.

Nicholas Brody

Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody is the lead antagonist in Homeland. Brody is clearly disturbed by his experiences as a prisoner of war and the programme parallels his struggles in setting back into a normal family life.

When he is found he has overgrown matted hair and struggles to speak, he's kept in padlocked room, black and white body camera makes it look gritty and serious, the grain making details hard to pick out. His face is dirty and his look compared with David emphasises his weakness and powerlessness. 

Brody is vomiting due to malnourishment, the army correspondent to David has sympathy for Brody, where as David and the Vice President treat Brody as political and patriotic tool. David wants to be the Director of the CIA though acts as if he does not. Brody acts anxious around his family because he has not seen them for so long, his mother is dead but he doesn't react much suggesting that he desensitised to it due to his experiences in the army, he doesn't have a relationship with his son as his son doesn't remember him. Family time is interrupted by political "necessity", negative representation of politics as there is a lack of empathy for a prisoner of war. Same event shown through TV News and on the ground which represents the scale of the event.

How is Brody represented as a hero in S1 E1 of Homeland?

The representations of Brody in the text initially are a traumatised victim, and tool for politicians. This is first seen in the scene where Brody is vomiting, the editing cuts to David arguing on the phone with an army official who is on the plane with Brody, it cuts back and forth on a mid shot of David, which suggests his coldness and distance, and a close up of the army official which suggests he is empathetic towards Brody's situation. David is shown to treat Brody as a political tool and "hero" rather than a victim of war by ignoring his trauma by saying that he "needs him smiling and waving like it's the Macy's Day parade", it shows that the politicians lack empathy for Brody and that they see him as a means to an end rather than a person. This causes the audience to empathise with Brody as he is not given the time and help that a traumatised prisoner of war would need, and makes them question those in authority. The Vice President and David both fit Van Zoonen's idea of gender roles being performed as they both do not show emotion towards Brody, a vulnerable and unwell man, which is a stereotypical masculine trait, it also highlights that both men are career driven and focused on the politics rather than the emotions of another person. The treatment of Brody also reflects the political context of a post 9/11 America, as soldiers were uprooted from normality and sent to fight in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, unsure if they would return because of political motives beyond them, and politicians did not care about the individual soldier. 

Gauntlett

The media have an important but complex relationship with identities. In the modern world, it is now an expectation that individuals make choices about their identity and lifestyle. Even in the traditional media, there are many diverse and contradictory media messages that individuals can use to think through their identities and ways of expressing themselves. For example, the success of 'popular feminism' and increasing representation of different sexualities created a world where the meaning of gender, sexuality and identity is increasingly open. The online media offer people a route to self-expression, and therefore a stronger sense of self and participating in the world by making and exchanging These media are places of conversation, exchange and transformation: 'a fantastically messy set of networks filled with millions of sparks - some igniting new meanings, ideas and passions and some just fading away'. People still build identities, but through everyday, creative practise However, this practise would be improved by better platforms for creativity.

Homeland offers diverse and contradictory representations that audience can use to think through their identity as they have the time and resources to develop implied representations through Carrie and Brody.

Homeland offers local representations that resonate with international audiences. Middle East and US representations. This increases the diversity of representations to reach an international audience, Homeland was successful in several international locations as a series.

This assumes the power of the audience as active agents so may underestimate the power of media conglomerates in shaping culture and identity.

Hall

Representation is not about whether the media reflects or distorts reality, as this implies that there can be one 'true' meaning, but the many meanings a representation can generate. Meaning is constituted by representation, by what is present, what is absent, and what is different. Thus, meaning can be contested. A representation implicates the audience in creating its meaning. Power - through ideology or by stereotyping tries to fix the meaning of a representation in a 'preferred meaning'. To create deliberate anti-stereotypes is still to attempt to fix the meaning (albeit in a different way). A more effective strategy is to go inside the stereotype and open it up from within, to deconstruct the work of representation.

Homeland attempts to create a dominant meaning through the use of ideology of East vs West to support the preferred reading of those in power (US) 

Looking at Carrie, her representation is created through a lack of elements in her characterisation, closeness, compassion, success outside of her job.

Looking at the stereotypes of Carrie and the Middle East that are created, what does this tell us about the ideology that is created within the programme and wider industry. 

Carrie Meets Brody

Several shot-reverse shots, several mid shots, several OTS shots

Dark room, low-key lighting, bare apart from tables and chairs, dull

Flashbacks create suspicion as they prove Brody is lying

Carrie is represented as obsessed whereas Brody is represented as suspicious

Brody Analysis

However, later in the episode representations of Brody shift to where he shifts from vulnerable and abused to suspicious and untrustworthy, this is achieved through the utilisation of flashbacks in the scene where Carrie meets Brody. Brody's dialogue contradicts the mise-en-scene's use of flashbacks, when he says he hasn't met Abu Nazir the scene cuts to a flashback in which Abu Nazir is stood over him. It creates suspicion in the audience for two reasons, one reason is that Brody has lied and the other is the social context of a post 9/11 America encourages suspicion as the audience would wonder why an American hero would lie about meeting a prominent terrorist leader. This contributes to Hall's idea of dominant and preferred readings, as the preferred reading is that Brody has reason to be suspected while also promoting an anti-east ideology through the idea that it is a breeding ground for terrorism.

These varying representations both contribute to Gauntlett's idea of diverse representations and create Brody's complex character for audiences to interpret as innocent or guilty as they wish. 

Tuesday 31st January 2023

Homeland: Representations

L/O: to explore the representation and theory in set products

Themes: Mental Illness

Carrie's mental illness, BPD, makes her amazing at investigating. She obsesses over details so much that she gets to the heart of the matter every time. She knows before everyone else does!

This was/is a growing trend in dramas - using mental health as a link to investigative brilliance (BBC's Sherlock)
Carrie's illness manifests itself in obsessive attention to detail, inappropriate sexual relationships and frequent hysterical outbursts.
Mise-en-scene: Extremely wide open eyes, quivering lip, screwed up face and raking her hand through her hair to express her frustration with her inability to fully protect the US homeland
Carrie represents a familiar construction of a professional woman whose personal trauma underpins her role as a truth seeker and law enforcer.

The audience understand relatively early that Carrie is right to be suspicious of Brody, but the show withholds diegetic recognition; indeed, her interest in pursuit of Brody, which merges personal obsession and professional responsibility, begins to undermine her status as a trustworthy protagonist.

Initially, the show uses Carrie's illness to question her reliability - to her family, her profession and even to herself. The combination of being certain and then being proven wrong is what drives Carrie to seek electroshock therapy, as the closing sequence of season 1 ends. But the audience know - she is not wrong.

Mise-en-scene: Carrie acts indecisive, unable to make up her mind on what to wear, she grasps her hair a lot to express frustration

Mental Illness is represented as negative in Homeland through the utilisation of Carrie's character. She is depicted as someone who struggles to make decisions when choosing her outfit, she is shown to not think her actions through when she tries to convince Saul not to report her by immediately moving for a sexual favour, and she grasps her hair a lot to express her frustrations. 

Baudrillard: Postmodernism

Postmodernism is the idea that society has moved beyond modernism - either modernism in art and culture (early 20th century) or modernism in the sense of a belief in progress, which dates back much further.

Baudrillard argued that as modern societies were organised around production of goods, postmodern society is organised around 'simulation' - the play of images and signs.

Previously important social distinctions suffer 'implosion' as differences of gender, class, politics and culture dissolve in a world of simulation in which individuals construct their identities. 

The new world of 'hyperreality' - media simulations, for example, Disneyland and amusement parks, malls and consumer fantasy lands - is more real than the 'real' and controls how we think and behave.

Postmodernism: Baudrillard and Homeland

Can be applied to any cultural product
The theory may be celebrated in Long Form TV Dramas that refuse any simple identification of 'the real' in the fictional world (e.g. Mr Robot).

Homeland grounds it's narrative in real world events: 9/11, local politics, mental health, little intertextuality. 

Simulations

No defining features, colours bland, formal table, hyperrealistic version of an interview room. Formal dialogue, multiple agents in the same room asking one person a question, all agents depicted in formal attire. Folders are stereotypical of "Top Secret" depictions of the CIA. Simulation of torture room is dirty, he's hung up by chains, he's beaten and bruised.

Representation theory: Gauntlett and Identity

Media representations portray a wide range of different and contradictory messages about identity, which can be used by the audience to think through their own identities. Identities including gender and sexuality are now seen as less fixed than they were in the past. Online media allow people to express and explore their identities. 

Gauntlett and Homeland

Homeland offers diverse and contradictory representations that audience can use to think through their identity as they have the time and resources to develop implied representations through Carrie and her links to mental illness.

Homeland offers local representations that resonate with international audiences. Middle East and US representations. This increases the diversity of representations to reach an international audience, Homeland was successful in several international locations as a series.

This assumes the power of the audience as active agents so may underestimate the power of media conglomerates in shaping culture.

At points Carrie's mental illness is represented negatively and at other points her mental illness is represented as a strength.

Representation Theory: Hall

Those in power try to fix the meaning of a representation to a preferred reading through stereotyping and ideology. 

Encoding/Decoding Model

1. Dominant Reading - Accepts the preferred meaning and ideological meaning.

2. Negotiated Reading - Some of the decoded message is accepted but the audience disagrees with parts of it and so changes it to fit their experience and values.
3. Oppositional Reading - Both the preferred meaning and any ideological assumptions encoded in the product are rejected

Hall: Gender in Homeland
Preferred reading is that female is capable of brilliance, negotiated reading is that she was always capable of brilliance. Oppositional reading is that Carrie was always capable but she was rejected because she was a woman. 

Audience Theory: Bandura: Media Effects

1. The media influence people directly
2. The media can influence directly or indirectly through related platforms such as social media so we can become influenced by the media without being exposed to them.

Bandura believes that the media can have a direct influence on the values and behaviour of audience members. The media can also have an indirect influence through social networks.
He argues that audiences may imitate behaviours they see represented in the media.

Media representations can directly and indirectly influence audience values and behaviours.

Bandura and Homeland

May apply to a wide range of media products, including LFTVDs

Draws attention to the need to investigate the direct effects on individuals who consume LFTVDs.

Supports the arguments of those who think TV should be regulated to avoid public harm.

The complex and nuanced representations common to LFTVDs are less likely to cause a direct effect on audiences.
Prioritising the effects of the media on the audience may mean that the effects of the audience on the media are underestimated.

Behaviour imitating patriarchal society:
- Estees in charge.
- Humiliates Carrie when she's late.
- Responds offhand to her comments about Brody's partner
- Saul - Mentor/Friend. He doesn't believe her, doesn't support her. Left pleading for help.

Curran and Seaton: Power and media industries
Media ownership is the most significant factor in the way media industries work.

The concentration of media ownership means the media industry is dominated by a small number of conglomerates, which limits the viewpoints represented.
Despite the development of online media the established major media organisations continue to be dominant. 

The issue of ownership and control, the working practices of creators and the risk and profitability vs critical appeal in TV drama depending who is funding the production.

There is an international dominance of American Streaming services - Netflix, in distributing many LFTV dramas, this can limit the representations that are created through the ownership and control of the productions. Homeland is a Showtime production, sold to Channel 4 and then Netflix.

Studying television as an industry draws attention to issues such as: forms and effects of ownership and control, the working practices of creators, and issues of risk and profitability.
Applies particularly to the international dominance of the American streaming services distributing many LFTVDs.

However:
In prioritising the effects of ownership and control on the content of television this theory may not aid in understanding how ideologies, audience choice or media language conventions may determine media content. 

Hesmondhalgh: Cultural Industries

1. Cultural industries follow a capitalist pattern of increasing concentration and integration so production is owned and controlled by a few conglomerates.
2. Risk is seen in terms of loss of money. Risk is high because production costs are high. 

Similarly to Curran and Seaton, Hesmondhalgh sees media industries as being dominated by a small number of conglomerates. The high production costs and ease of reproduction and sharing of media products means media industries use a number of methods to reduce risk. These include vertical integration, and the reliance on established genres, stars and narratives. 
Media industries are dominated by a small number of media conglomerates, who rely on the repetition of popular genres, stars and narratives to reduce risk.

Livingstone and Lunt

1. Consumers are individuals who seek private benefits from the media and require regulation to protect them. Citizens are social, seek public or social benefits from the media and require regulation to promote public interest. 

Livingstone and Lunt studied four case studies of the work of Ofcom. Ofcom is serving an audience who may be seen as consumers and/or citizens, with consequences for regulation: consumers have wants, are individuals, seek private benefits from the media, use the language of choice and require regulation to protect against detriment; citizens have needs, are social, seek public or social benefits from the media, use the language of rights, and require regulation to promote the public interest.

Traditional regulation is being put at risk by: increasingly globalised media industries, the rise of the digital media, and media convergence.

Media regulation serves a variety of purposes and must balance a range of consumer/citizen needs.

Regulation is needed to make sure the media promotes public interests.

Traditional forms of media regulation are being challenged by the online and globalised media culture resulting from technological developments such as the internet.

Media regulation is necessary to protect consumers and make sure media industries act in the pubic interest, however this is being undermined by the development of a global online media culture.

Livingstone and Lunt: Homeland

LFTVD produced by European public service broadcasters may be regulated in the interest of citizens. The Killing but not Homeland.

LFTVD produced by American cable and streaming services are lightly regulated to avoid harm as they treat their audiences as consumers. Homeland focused on making money and the audience to consume the ideologies presented in their representations. 

Shows the challenges of globalised TV industries on traditional regulation. In the UK you can put in a formal complaint to Ofcom who will pursue, however this only applies to a national market or British TV drama not international streaming services e.g. Homeland.

The Killing

L/O: to explore the narrative, theme and characters in the set episode

Research Task

Who created the series? - Soren Sveistrup
Which two studios produced the series? - DR and ZDF

What award did the series win? - Best International Show in 2011, BAFTA

What Danish channel was it shown on and how is this channel similar to the BBC? - DR1
It was shown in the UK on BBC Four. How many viewers did it in Denmark and then in the UK on BBC4? - Denmark: 1,550,000 UK: 472,000
What did Netflix do with the series in 2014? - Remade it, America, whey.

Main Narrative:
Nanna Birk Larsen gone missing, father and mother looking for her alongside police, eventually they find her body.

Enigma Codes:
Politics, corrupt office, Hartmann's car is where they find the body
Individual Character Narratives:
Troels Hartmann - Politician, has a rat/leak in his campaign, relationship with his secretary, is suggested to be a bit dodgy, corrupt politics as a theme
Sarah Lund - Respected DCI, leaving her job and moving to Sweden with her partner. Prioritises her job over partner and son.
Pernille/Theis - Parents of murder victim, working class lives, respectable and hard working

Tuesday 28th February 2023

The Killing: Industry and Context
L/O: to explore the production, social and political context of set products.

Production and Distribution

The series was created by Soren Sveistrup and co-produced by DR (The Danish Broadcasting Corporation) & ZDF Enterprises - it was first broadcast on DR1 (equivalent of BBC1) DR, like the BBC, have a Public Service Remit to follow.

Regular audience figures in Denmark were 1.7 million, and in the UK were approx. 500,000 viewers per episode.
Season 1 won the BAFTA for Best International Drama Series
It was so successful globally that Netflix did an American remake produced by Fox 21 TV Studios for the US domestic market which was then distributed globally. 

Industry Context

The Killing (Forbrydelsen) is a great example of European LFTVD produced under and grown out of a strong public service remit. It shares the conventions of the commercial form (Homeland etc.) but it is also concerned with the wider social, political and moral issues.

Each episode covers 24 hours of the investigation with the first series consisting of 20 episodes. 
Economic context of a small, publicly-owned national broadcaster that can only finance one LFTVD per season, and this is only in cooperation with other European TV producers. (Only 5% of Danish drama is financed by the Danish license fee).

DVD box set sales and a number of international co-producers (the BBC being one) and distribution agreements have aided the success of Danish dramas.

By 2013, Danish Drama had become very popular as content on multi-platform online media like Netflix - recognition of its quality and significance. 

Genre
Nordic Noir is an umbrella term to describe Scandinavian crime fiction, a genre that has become very popular.

It is a hybrid police procedural drama with elements of family drama and melodrama. This mix was intended to attract both male and female audiences.

The term defines the stylistic and narrative elements that the genre employed.

The Killing has a visual style that relies on open, forlorn spaces where it is often cloudy or raining, and interior shots with muted lighting and monochrome colour design, creating a distinctive look.

The Killing utilises darkness and lowkey lighting in the opening scene, with an emphasis on shadow. The rain reflects dark reality. Establishing shot of the field is bleak, with grey skies and a desaturated colour palette.

Multiculturalism - Racism by working class, immature, uneducated, Theis makes fun of Vagn after his racist comments. Vagn is also a bit suspicious with a questionable moral compass.
Class - Theis is working class, working class struggle of broken dishwasher and trying to save money.
Family - Fun and carefree, happy. Family over all else - Theis goes home immediately when asked. 

Opening Sequence

Block capital font, interspersed with footage of a girl running away with eerie music and diegetic sound of breathing and running. When opening titles end a flashlight is seen which creates tension as someone is searching for the girl. 

Genre Theory: Neale
Neale argues that genre is a process of codes and conventions being repeated and shared by producers and audiences through repetition in media products.

This means that genres are not fixed, but constantly evolve through iteration of the generic corpus.

Generic codes and conventions aren't only established in media products but in products that refer to these products such as critical writings or advertising and marketing material, what Neale referred to as 'the intertextual relay'.

The Killing a crime drama, thriller with elements of social realism. 
Audience expectations are that of twisting and enigmatic narratives that have been developed. This is evidenced in the Killing with the 3 narrative strands.
The Killing doesn't rely on high production values and the star system in order to succeed. 
The Killing weaves 3 generically different narrative strands and then combines into fourth: 'whodunnit'

Closing Scene brings together all 3 strands of melodrama, crime thriller and politics when the car is found.

The Killing: Context

The Killing is set in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.
Copenhagen is cultural and political centre of the country and the series is the product of the Danish public broadcasting network DR (their version of the BBC), which dominates Danish programming.
This is opposed to Homeland, which is set in Washington and on location in Bagdhad.
Danish society is renowned for being a rational and civilised society. The murder of Nanna Birk Larsen is framed as a shocking anomaly to this. 

Social Context:
Crime seen as an indicator of social decay/decline
The impact of the recent financial crisis was raging in Denmark as Forbrydelsen was being written.
Lund was written to not acknowledge the impact of the crisis at first due to her background and well paying job.

Long Form TV Drama: The Killing
L/O: to explore the social issues represented, specifically gender
Starter Task:
Sarah's outfit is far more conservative than Carrie's which suggests that she is experienced as opposed to Carrie, her hair is tied back which connotes her focus on the task at hand. Carrie's smart suit connotes that she wants to prove herself in her work environment, where as Sarah's outfit is far more casual and laid back.

Denmark & Sweden
Historically both countries have been at war with each other, though the rivalry between them has become more banter-based and both countries re culturally close. 
Viking hat and the blonde long hair emphasise the stereotypical historical Viking image. 
'In the hands of the enemy' refers to the Stockholm Police Force and references the friendly rivalry between Sweden and Denmark.

'If decomposed herring and light beer are your thing' further jokey insults towards Sweden, competitive but friendly rivalry reinforced.

Gift of skis, cultural focus of Sweden. 

Carrie and Sarah
Carrie isn't respected or trusted by her colleagues, Saul doesn't allow her to put in precautions on a hunch. 
Sarah on the otherhand is respected and trusted by her colleagues, her boss tells her that she'll be an asset to the Stockholm Police Force and they'll miss her.

Van Zoonen, gender roles change, performance
Historical + Cultural Context
In media representation females are 'objectified'
Gauntlett: Identity - Different messages about identity in the media - varied more than the past. Forms our identity.

The Killing: Context

L/O: to explore the social issues represented, specifically gender.
Representations of Gender in The Killing
Sarah is career driven, focused and good at her job. She also isn't sexualised.
Pernielle is family driven, works for the family business, working class, also not sexualised.
Theis is stereotypical working class father, works extremely hard but also challenges norms by resolving conflict with words and reason. 

Hall

Stereotypes in media are fixed by those in power in order to create a preferred reading which suggests there is one true meaning. 

Meaning is created by a representation but it's what's present and also absent and different that creates the representation. 

Stereotypes and how they're constructed should be pulled apart and deconstructed to identify what they tell us about ideology.

How are the lead protagonists in Homeland and The Killing used to reflect societal issues?

Both lead protagonists are utilised to represent contrasting ideas of gender equality. In The Killing, Sarah Lund is represented as a respected, well-liked member of her police force and community. She is treated as "one of the boys" in the squad, shown to be laughing and joking after a prank is pulled on her last day. The mise-en-scene of her in a mock viking helmet and laughing, with jabs against the country which she's moving to like "light beer and decomposed herring are more to your liking". It is further reinforced by the expensive gift of skis that is given to her, it shows that she is truly considered a friend and equal regardless of her gender, and challenges Van Zoonen's theory that women in the media are oversexualised. It also reflects the context of Denmark at the time as being a country that is renowned for it's advances in gender equality, which is reflected through Sarah's character. 

This is in stark contrast to the representations constructed by Carrie Mathison in Homeland. Carrie is represented as the stereotypical 'femme fatale', a fixed representation of sexualised women which demonises them as manipulative of men. This is shown in multiple instances throughout the opening episode, for example, in dialogue, David reveals that trusting Carrie means "I don't see my kids anymore", suggesting that he had an affair with Carrie and that is partly the reason for their conflict. However, it also shows that David is at fault, as he was the one in a relationship and that he should have said no. In Hall's view, media fixes representations in order to create a preferred meaning, and in Van Zoonen's view, women within the media are oversexualised. Carrie's costume design supports Van Zoonen's theory, as she is sexualised by wearing fairly revealing clothing throughout the entire episodes, and even unbuttons her shirt in front of Saul when she is going to be reported for her crimes. Carrie's stereotype as the 'femme fatale', a woman who uses her body to get what she wants and manipulate men (Use of wedding ring to weed out men looking for commitments, affair with Estes, interaction with Saul). This demonisation of Carrie represents the United States' lower reputation for gender equality than a country like Denmark.

Tuesday 28th March 2023

The Killing: Analysis
L/O: to analyse a variety of scenes using accurate terminology

Scene 1: Sarah meets Jan Meyer
Sarah - Hectic packing, upbeat, professional when Meyer enters. 

Close up OTS shot of her son. Same shot edited with the Jan's gun poster on the wall instead.
Opposite Gender Roles established - Sarah caring of family, Jan violence

Jan enters the scene smoking a cigarette and Sarah is later shown to be taking nicotine gum, shows the conflicting personalities - Jan is rash and reckless, where as Sarah is more responsible. 

Props within the scene associated with Jan establish him as childish (Toy car, toy basketball net)

Diegetic sound of the radio connotes that he has a lack of respect for his predecessor

Structuralism: Levi Strauss
Structuralism is the study of the hidden rules that govern a structure.
Levi Strauss thought that the human mind could be investigated by studying the fundamental structure underlying myths and fables from around the world (which he saw as one unitary system). He developed the idea of the 'binary opposition' - that the system of myths and fables was ruled by a structure of opposing terms, e.g. hot and cold, male and female, culture and nature, raw and cooked.

Many righters have analysed media products using the idea of the binary opposition, but seeing the overall system as 'ideology' rather than 'human consciousness'. 
KILLING: Selfishness v Duty; Violence v Nurturing; Racism v Inclusivity 

Scene 2: Sarah and Jan investigate the field

Diegetic Sound - Dialogue: Sarah shuts down Meyes personal attack on her career. "Let's take a look" shows Sarah's professionalism as she focuses the conversation back on the investigation without being rude or abrasive.

Professionalism - remains calm and in control, she agrees to investigate.

Respectful - asks questions, long shot and mid shots reveal her control over the scene

Barthes - Non-diegetic sound of piano - Professionalism. It highlights her thought process and focus on the investigation. 

Scene 3: Introduction to the Larsen Family

Loving family - Friendly, fun
Close up of Theis/Pernielle - Love each other very much
Non-diegetic sound emphasises the upbeat nature

Economic - Money is tight, Theis tries to fix the dishwasher with duct tape to save money. 

Reflects the economic crash of 2008

Theis masculine - fixes it/tries to fix it, gender stereotypes

Close up shot of family - frames importance of family, all of them are happy

bell hooks - Pernielle - Intersectionality: Pernielle is a working class woman, compared to Carrie/Sarah she seems less independent than Sarah/Carrie though does seem a lot happier. 

Todorov: The Killing

Equilibrium - Sarah Lund is about to move to Stockholm, all is well.
Disruption - Evidence of a crime is found in a field
Recognition of Disruption - Nanna Berk Larsen is missing
Attempt to solve - Crime solving, a search to find Nanna, 
New Equilibrium - 

Todorov: Homeland

Equilibrium - CIA stuff, Carrie is going to work as usual, she is not respected by her colleagues
Disruption - Sgt. Nicholas Brody is found as a POW in Afghanistan 
Recognition of Disruption - Carrie is told about a POW being turned earlier, but doesn't connect it until Nicholas is found.
Attempt to resolve - Cameras placed in Brody's home illegally to gather evidence. Recognises that he is attempting to send a message on TV. 

Scene 6: Larsens begin to panic

Tension - Music is tense, claustrophobic OTS shots are used to emphasise the serious impact this conversation has on their family and personal lives. Camera lingers focus on Pernielle rather than Theis, suggests disconnect between the two. 

Gender - Pernielle is passive and told to stay at home by Theis, she also tries to reason with Theis but he doesn't listen. Theis is stereotypical, volatile, protective father. Van Zoonen - Performance of gender roles, not who are but what we do. 

Scene 7: Sarah and her son in the car

Claustrophobia and Sarah is driving, she is in control of their lives. Allegory for them halting their move to Sweden. Reflects the busy life of constantly moving. 

Sarah is constantly working and as such her son suffers, she forgets the name of his hockey team, and when he tries to correct her she's on call with someone else from work.

Scene 8: The Investigation & Search Continues

Sarah Lund is shown to be in control of the situation as the leader of the search. 
She is also shown to be quite arrogant as she doesn't listen to Jan, she is focused with a close up with deafened audio.
Establishing shot of police officers that Sarah has control over.

Levi Strauss - Binary Oppositions: Sarah is in power, Jan is not.

Scene 9: Sarah's Instinct

Sarah sees cyclists move in the opposite direction of the investigation and asks what's over there. When she realises there's a waterway she commands the search to move there. 

Scene 10: Discovery of the body 

Lighting is dark, cold temperature colours reinforce the theme of last death

Majority of the shots in the opening are closeups, full body is obscured by either framing or other objects i.e car. Allows imagination to do the work regarding bodily damage which is more effective.

Cross cutting is utilised to show the full impact that Nanna's death has had on her parents, with Perneille screaming and crying where as Theis has a somber facial expression of grief. 

Neale - Genre: Murder has happened to a young woman, typical of detective dramas. Van Zoonen - Parents perform stereotypical gender roles, Theis reacts with anger where as Pernielle breaks down crying. 

Ideologies - Someone's ideas and values.

Viewpoints - Someone's opinion on an idea or values.

Forbrydelsen: Analysis

L/O: To analyse key areas of the set products

Sarah Lund is a police officer/detective for the Copenhagen Police Force. It is her last day before she moves away to Stockholm. She then gets called out for one 

Theis and Pernielle Birk Larsen are a family who own a moving company. They have a daughter called Nanna Birk Larsen, who dies, but they don't know that yet. Theis is characterised as a man with good morals who can be misguided (keeps Vaughn around even though he's a bit racist, goes to beat up a boy who has nothing to do with the disappearance of his daughter) whereas Pernielle 

Troels Hartmann is a politician whose wife died years ago, he is having an affair with his secretary and he is caught up in a struggle against the current mayor.

Todorov - Narrative is movement from one state of equilibrium to another, new equilibrium and it transforms something within the narrative itself.

Consumerism

Individualism

Patriarchy

Ethnocentrism

Consumerism: The Killing

Theis goes home to help with the dishwasher and is insistent on using duct tape and family friends to fix it rather than Pernielle's viewpoint that they should get it fixed properly by a plumber. We later find out through an establishing shot of a grand house followed by dialogue that Theis saves money in order to buy big house that he does not need. The grandness of the house supports the consumerist ideology.

Also, Troels Hartmann's Campaign Officer likes his new shoes and within dialogue describes at length the individual features of the shoes.

Gilroy: Ethnicity and Post-Colonialism 

Gilroy: 

• The black atlantic is a transatlantic culture that is simultaneously African, America, Caribbean and British.
• Britain has failed to mourn its loss of empire, creating post-colonial melancholia, leading to a version of British Colonial history that criminalises immigrants.
• Representations support a belief in the inherent superiority of white western civilisations.

Gilroy draws attention to the continuing role of colonial ideology - of the superiority of white Western culture - across a range of representations.

Sarah Lund

1. She doesn't use her sexuality to get what she wants because she has confidence in her intuition and ability.

2. Her female sexuality is not focused on. - She's treated as one of the boys by her police squad, recieves gifts, laughter, mention of a leaving do. Barthes: Mise-en-scene - Blow up doll is not a traditional present for a female boss, signifies that she is one of the boys. 

3. She is presented to us as a maternal figure. - 

4. As Lund becomes involved in a murder investigation, her professional life takes precedence. - Dialogue, puts the phone down on her partner after casually saying she'll miss her flight.

Stereotypes

Victim - Usually young women who are usually victims of sexual abuse or violence, reproduced through Nanna.

Politicians - Corrupt older men.

Police - Respected, liked, goes against stereotype as there is a strong female as the lead rather than a male.

Swedish nationality - Depicted as "the enemy" and poked fun at. 

Family unit - Stereotypical family is represented through the Birk Larsen family with  the father taking on protective/working role while mother takes on caring/domestic role. Anti-stereotype shown through the Lund family as Sarah is a working mum who is relatively unattentive to her child.

Racism - Racist represented through Vaughn, he is deemed unintelligent by Theis for his backwards views ('You can't spell Falafel')

Audience Theory: Bandura

Bandura theorised that the media influenced people directly and it can influence directly or indirectly through related platforms such as social media so we become influenced by the media without being exposed to them.

Realism

LFTVD often leans towards social realism, constructing a coherent fictional world that the audience can recognise and relate to with a sense of addressing real-world social issues and the everyday concerns of normal people.

How is Realism constructed in the Killing

Events: Pernielle gets her sister to watch the other children. Student debate at school. 

Characters: Theis - Responsibility to provide for his family.

Ideologies: Ideas/ideals. Consumerism - Dishwasher, bigger house for the Birk Larsen. 

Narrative: Theis accuses Nanna's ex-boyfriend of being involved with her disappearance, an ex-boyfriend he already doesn't like. Reflects parents' overprotectiveness regarding their children's relationships.

Postmodernism: Baudrillard

Texts that feature hyperreality, lack of verisimilitude, what if scenarios, parody or homage, intertextuality, bricolage (A collage but for AV texts), some level of awareness that it is a simulation. 

Baudrillard says that we used to have a sense of reality in both the media and life. We have lost this sense of reality.

There's stages of reality:

- Reality
- Heightened Reality

- Artificial Reality - Simulacrum

- Hyperreality - Unable to tell the difference between the real and fake

Baudrillard applies to the Killing as the Killing is filmed in Copenhagen but aspects such as the Police Station are constructed in studios.

Baudrillard applies to Homeland as the CIA and the Middle East are constructed realities based off stereotypes. 

Audience Theory: Jenkins

The development of 'new' media has accelerated participatory culture, in which audiences are active and creative participants rather than passive consumers. Audience members become textual poachers taking aspects from media texts to create their own content. Convergence culture: Media is shared, adapted, and consumed constantly on a range of different platforms. Spreadable media: Content that is adapted by audience members for their own purpose and shared with others.

Audience Theory: Shirky

In the 'new' media, every consumer is now a producer. 

Prosumers have different motivations to professional media producers.
This can create cognitive surplus, where potentially large numbers of people give their time and expertise to create something (Wikipedia.

Audiences can no longer be seen as a single mass of people. Audiences engage differently with media products across different platforms, with some audience members now creating or adapting media products themselves.

Paper 2 Question 3

30 marks
50 mins

Judgment made
Contextual influence needs to be explored, all: Historical, political, economic, social, cultural.

Analysis of the texts and theory applied

Refer to all the theoretical framework, media language, audience, representation, industry.

Within Homeland and The Killing, social groups are represented differently. An example of this is gender representation, which in both texts is reflective of the context of their production. In Homeland, this is shown through the character of Carrie Matheson, who is represented as unreliable and not respected within her field. This is shown through the disrespectful dialogue directed at her throughout the first episode ('Out of everyone in this building how come you're the only one who is unable to get to a meeting on time'),

Paper 2 Question 4

10 marks, 17 mins to plan and write

Evaluate an academic theory in relation to The Killing and Homeland
You don't need to know each theory in major detail, just enough to explain how useful it is to understand The Killing and Homeland

P1: Define the theory
P2: First reason why it's useful
P3: Second reason why it's useful
P4: Third reason why it's useful
P5: State any limitations of the theory
P6: Conclude and evaluate the overall usefulness of the theory.

AO1 - Contexts (10 marks)
AO2 - Theoretical Framework + Conclusions (20 marks)
Context
Conventions Viewpoints and Ideologies - Contexts
Theory
Judgement
Theoretical framework LIAR

Conventions

Big budget blockbuster that's shot on location, typical of American Cable Shows
CIA: Convention of the American Spy Thriller
Secrecy in Brody narrative, lies in his interrogation, shown through the editing use of flashbacks. Ideologies link - through suspicion hidden enemy. Links to the fear in society of the enemy within, stemming from the cold war ideas of the 1960s.

Ideologies

Fear of terrorism and the need to fight it. Carrie's desperation to save the USA and protect it from Brody. Hidden threat. Baghdad scene close up shots of Carrie to show her desperation of the need to protect the country from terrorism. Link to social context - fears in society. Link to Historical context - 9/11, Political context. 

DIRT Q3

The conventions utilised within Homeland are reflective of the dominant culture of America. American Cable Shows are often big budget blockbusters, and the budget of Homeland is reflected through the fact that most scenes are shot on location, which is expensive as equipment and the cast have to be transported to a different country and maintained. It also reflects the conventions of a spy thriller, as it's based within an agency (The CIA), the choice of Agency is important as it is an iconic aspect of american culture. The use of conventions also reflects the dominant ideology of the US as it negatively represents the East. This is shown through Brody, who the viewer doubts as he has been changed by his experiences in the Middle East. This is seen through Secrecy, as Brody lies in his interrogation, as seen through the editing which cuts to flashbacks conflicting what he has done. It also links to the fear of the enemy within which has scarred America due to the events of the cold war throughout the late 20th century. These genre conventions are repeated if they are successful, as stated by Neale. 

Homeland Notes

Women
American think women bad

52nd for gender equality

The Killing Notes