P2: TV Drama

 Tuesday 29th November 2022                        Long Form TV Drama

LO:to explore the content of the unit. 

section B of paper 2 looks at long form TV drama

it is 60% of the paper - worth more marks 

learn and apply academic ideas

compare 2 tv dramas - one US drama (homeland) and one European drama (the killing)

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.

Flexi-narrative represents a complex story-telling form with the following features:

• central character whose motives develop with them 
• a main storyline with interwoven subplots.
• a combination of complex characters that are ambiguous and enigmatic, creating tension and questions for the audience. 

Game Of Thrones: 

central characters:

blonde woman 

john snow 

main storylines:

realm - power struggle

living and the dead 

subplots:

battle

watch

characters (enigmatic):

ice bloke 

young girl

Gilmore Girls:

Central characters:

Rory Gilmore -  show is about her life - daughter to Lorelei

Lorelei Gilmore  -  show is about her 

Luke Danes - owns the diner that Rory and Lorelei go to everyday-  ends up dating Lorelei 

Dean Forrester - Rory's first love interest - obsessive - cheats on his wife with her 

Main Storylines:

Rory's education - going to private school and an ivy league college 

Lorelei running her own business- buys an Inn with Sookie 

Subplots:

Rory and Lorelei's love lives- 

Rory's love interests- Dean, Tristan, Jess, Logan

Lorelei's love interests- Max, Luke, Christopher, Jason

Characters (enigmatic):

Kirk - weird dude 30 years old and lives with his mother, named his cat after himself,  has night terrors and runs around naked.

Paris Geller - very confident and loud kind of annoying- goes to school with Rory 

Emily Gilmore - Lorelei's mother - rich 

Jess Mariano - one of Rory's boyfriends - 'badboy' stereotype

Taylor - Town selectman very annoying 

Sookie St James - chef - Loreleis best friend 

Babette - lives next door to Lorelei - likes gnomes and cats 

1: a) Showtime

    b)

2: Fox 21 Television Studios 

3: Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding Drama Series 

4:  9/11 terrorist attack in New York

    Osama Bin Laden was killed 5/11

5: 

6: drama/thriller/mystery/spy fiction 

Tuesday 6th December 2022                        LO: to explore the narrative theme & characters in set                                                                                 episode.

Notes:

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?

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?

Brody's flashbacks

editing to establish enigma

Brody keeps lying

Individual character narratives:

(separate to main narrative) how are these set up/introduced and what are they?

Brody's best friend, mike, started relationship with his wife 

• How representation of mental illness is shown in 2011 compared to how it is seen today.
• reference to 9/11
• 
  

Characters:

Brody - returning hero/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/Mikes love interest, mum, housewife, attractive, sexual object

Carrie - protagonist, CIA agent, female, disliked , strong career, confrontational, driven and focused but lacks compassion, hyper fixated on doing the right thing, mental health issues, sexual role

Saul - Carries mentor, Carries confident, reliable, sensible, in control, only one with faith in Carrie

David - deputy director of the CIA, boss, criticises Carrie, political in his moves, relationship with Carrie

Abu Nasir - Main antagonist

Narrative and Subplots: 

Brody - terrorist, possible attack, Carrie fighting to prevent the attack and reveal Brody as a terrorist 

Jess and Mike affair 

Carries mental health disorder 

Dana and Chris kids -  rebellious narrative, stereotype, 

Jess and Brody - the relationship breakdown 

Enigma Codes:

Why did Brody kill Tom Walker and why is he lying about it?
Why was he focused on the Whitehouse?
Why is he lying about meeting Abu Nasir ?
Why did he lie to his wife?
What is the attack?
Will Carrie find him out?
Will Carrie get sent to prison?

Tuesday 10th January 2023                    Characters and Carrie

LO: to explore the narrative and characterism in set products.

Theory table:

Carrie:

the lead protagonist

CIA agent

first encounter is in Baghdad 

Representations:

• determined - pays money to get into the prison- close up on the money 
• 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 
• reckless - going into the prison, going against her boss 
• manipulative - talks to the prisoner, bargaining using the prisoners family to threaten him

Post 9/11 fear:

• mis en scene - sets up the post 9/11 fear in the opening- over the shoulder shot from the prisoner with the noose and gallows being set up for the hanging - sets out barbaric savage nature of the culture- levi strauss (east against civilised west) editing further reinforces this- go from run down Baghdad to the Glitzy Washington.
• 
  

the representations of Carrie and the Middle East in the opening scenes are presented as contrasting, Carrie is shown to be manipulative and dedicated when she pays her way into the prison a close up shot of the money is used to show her manipulative nature. 

Carrie scene 2 in Washington:

non diegetic fast paced music - chaotic 
dim lit apartment decorated with crime scene photos - obsessive 
late to her meeting 

breaks traditional ideas of feminine behaviour - does not worry about her appearance 

Compare and contrast the techniques used to represent Carrie Matheson in episode 1 of Homeland.

The initial representations of Carrie in the text are that she is manipulative and determined, this is seen with a close up shot of the money she paid to get into the prison, establishing that she will go to questionable lengths in order to get the job done. Here we can see the text supports Van Zoonens feminist theory because manipulation is stereotypically more masculine behaviour so she is completely disregarding her personal values to do her job which shows her determination because not many people would do this. We can see how she is converting traditional female stereotypes in Baghdad as women were not supposed to leave the house without a male present, so not only is she breaking this normality she is also using typically masculine behaviour to get her way. 

Tuesday 17th January 2023                Brody Analysis

anti-hero : main character who lacks conventional heroic qualities (Carrie)

antagonist: person who actively opposes someone or something. 

• hair and beard unkept and matted - neglected 
• scars on his face 
• hidden in a small dark room
• still wearing his military uniform 
• malnourished 
• POW - victim - audience sympathise with him

2nd scene: arrives home

• Outline what happens in the scene 
• How is family represented in the reunion scene? How does Brody react?
• How is the vice president represented?

David - CIA strategic lead 

political context - CIA and vice president don't care about Brody and just want a hero for publicity.

Army care about Brody and have sympathy for him.

Brody looks awkward and distant towards his family. - use of silence 

Jess presented as loving thoughtful wife - reinforces traditional family roles 

Wife makes first move to hug him

family is emotional 

shot reverse shot of meeting his son for first time lack of emotion and love - link to impact of war. under roles in society and expectations.

Brody looks annoyed and bothered towards the people and publicity. - close up 

death of Brody's mum - he doesn't emotionally react - impact of war - he is desensitised to death

missed out on family life - the death of his mum, watching his kids grow up

isn't following cultural expectations of missing his family and being emotional.

Gender roles via brody - hero- brave/male, reinforces tradition - dialogue, men in the audience of soldiers, sound of traditional army band, flags to show the nationalism patriotism. backdrop of army/airforce, planes etc. female as the wife/mother an addition to the male hero role.

Brody - sickness - fear of return to family- steadicam footage reveals unstable mental state he is in.

Brody is initially represented to the audience as a victim. This is shown in the scene where he is in the plane to Washington, he is seen vomiting in the bathroom while one of the men are on the phone to David. The scene uses steadicam footage to reveal his unstable mental state as a victim of war making the audience sympathise with him. The shot reverse shot of David on the phone with the military man  shows how differently they are viewing Brody and his situation, the dialogue of David showing how the vice president is not interested in his mental state, only wanting a hero for positive publicity, however on the other side the military person is sympathising with Brody and his sickness after 8 years of captivity. This highlights the social context in the scene as it draws the audience's focus to the impact of war on the individual and their trauma when returning to civilian life, this also exemplifies the political context of the war on terror and the consequences that such political decisions have had on everyday american soldiers and their families.  Here we can see that Van Zoonen's theory can be applied here, when Brody is represented as a male hero, his performance for the cameras and straight face can be seen as stereotypical masculine behaviour.

DIRT target 4 & 5

Tuesday 24th January 2023        LO: to explore the narrative and characterisation                                                                         in set products.

Carrie meets Brody:

• What mise en scene choices are key? lighting?
• What shot types are used?
• How do they use flashbacks to give information to the audience?
• How is Carrie re[presented?
• How is Brody represented?

Low-key lighting 

sparse room with table and chairs - we can focus on the characters and narrative development.

lighting focused on centre table

shot reverse shot - narrative flow 

several over the shoulder shot - conversation 

move to close ups and zoom to show her focus on the pressure Brody is feeling and his heightened emotions.

The flashbacks highlight that he is lying and are followed by a close up that shows a darker side to his emotions through his stern or confrontational glare. 

Compare and contrast the representations of Nicholas Brody in Episode 1 of Homeland.

The representations of Brody in the text change to indicate that he is not actually a victim and rather a villain. This is seen when he is looking at the photo of Abu Nazir and there is a zooming in shot to emphasise his feelings and emotions whilst looking at the picture, his expression and response seem suspicious like he is lying, this feeling is confirmed when the camera goes into a flashback showing Brody in a bad physical state on the floor looking up at Abu Nazir, the state that he is in indicates that he is a victim however this is contradicted when we see Nazir enter the shot. 

Tuesday 31st January 2023               Homeland: Representation

LO: to explore the representation and theory in set products.

scene: 41.33 - 44.35:

Carrie:

tries to seduce Saul

gets hysterical

resorts to medication 

indecisive 

touching her hair constantly

fidgeting 

Post modernism:

irony

parody or homage

bricolage

intertextual references

fragmented narrative

self reflexivity

common themes - what if?

loss of reality

lack of verisimilitude 

Postmodern society is organised around simulation.

Gauntlett and identity:

Media representations portray a wide range of different and contradictory messages about identity, which can be used by audiences to think through their own identities.

carrie - crazy, irrational, out of control VS brilliant, successful, provocative, sexualised

Tuesday 7th February 2023

Hall Audience Theory:

Gender:
dominant reading - female is capable of brilliance 

negotiated reading - always intelligent and capable but not listened to or supported.

oppositional reading - Carrie was always capable but rejected because she was female and unreliable.

Middle East:

Mental Illness:

Bandura:

Media influences peoples behaviour - TV needs to be regulated 

Homeland - Patriarchy:

• David in charge - humiliates Carrie when she is late.
• When she questions him about Thomas Walker - his response is offhand, dismisses her.
• Saul supposed to be mentor/friend - doesn't believe her or support her she is left pleading.

Industry Theory :

Curran and Seaton : power and media industries.

Patterns in  ownership & control are important in how the media functions.

Media industries are capitalist & aim to increase concentration of ownership; leads to narrowing of opinions represented, affecting plurality.

Owners pursue profit at the expense of quality or creativity.

Media ownership is the most significant factor in how media industries work.

The concentration of media ownership means the industry is dominated by a small number of conglomerates- limits the viewpoints.

Despite the development of online media the established major media organisations continue to be dominant.

Homeland:

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

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

Hesmondhalgh: Cultural industries.

Cultural industries follow a capitalist pattern of increasing concentration and integration so production is owned and controlled by a few conglomerates. 

Risk is seen in terms of loss of money. Risk is high because production costs are high. 

Homeland:

Draws attention to the ownership and control purposes, such as American commercial- Homeland, compared to the European Public service ethos.

In homeland the risk of profitability is seen in the high budgets that then minimise the risk via formatting and the star system and co-production deals for the smaller European broadcasters.

Homeland we see famous actors alongside genre of crime/conspiracy that is successful in America. We do not see this in The Killing as there is not a high budget. 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.

Livingstone and Lunt: Regulation.

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.

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.

Homeland:

LFTVD produced by European service broadcasters may be regulated in the interest of citizens. The Killing 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 

Tuesday 21st February 2023                 THE KILLING

LO: to explore the narrative, theme and characters in set episode.

Research task:

who created the series?

Soren Sveistrup
which two studios produced the series?

DR and ZDF Enterprises 
what award did the series win?

BAFTA Award 
episode one was released in 2007. What Danish channel was it shown on and how is this channel similar to the BBC?

DR1. It is a public service broadcast like the BBC
it was shown in the UK on BBC Four. How many viewers did it have in Denmark and then in the UK on BBC4?

Denmark = 1.7 million  UK = 500,000

what did Netflix do with the series in 2014?

Made an American version 

Overview narrative of season 1:

Main narrative quest/conflict set up:

 Nanna Birk Larsen is missing and her body is found, find out how she was murdered, who did it.

Enigma codes:

Individual character narratives:

Oliver - her ex boyfriend 

Sarah Lund - Boss and is leaving her job, moving to Sweden with her partner. Prioritises her job over partner and son.

Troels Hartman - politician - has a rat/leak in his campaign- someone spying on him.         Relationship with his secretary - is suggested to to be a bit dodgy. corrupt politics as a theme.

Pernille and Theis - parents, explore their lives, working class lives but respectable and hard working.

Tuesday 28th February 2023                     The Killing: Industry & Context 

LO: to explore the production, social and political context of set products.

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.

• rain in opening outdoor scene reflects dark reality 
• low key muted lighting - internal investigation in building 
• Establishing shot - bleak grey sky 
• using the light to make it look forlorn and bleak instead of beautiful 
• use of torches 

Multiculturalism:

racism - linked to white working class - immature, uneducated males, suspicious and questionable morals.

Class:

working class- home- lack of funds for home upkeep - maintenance 

Family:

Fun family, love, carefree, prioritise family- Theis goes home when asked 

zoom in on family photo with children to emphasise the love in their family.

Sound:

Intense, fast paced non diegetic music- dramatic

sound of mud squelching and breathing - diegetic 

Mise en Scene:

Muted lighting - we can only see shadows and shapes of trees 

Open space in trees - deserted 

Camerawork:

handheld camera- unsteady

Editing:

Genre Theory - Neale 

closing scene finding the car- links the crime, the family, the politician and the detective 

the Killing is set only in Copenahagen 

Homeland is set in both America and Baghdad 

Social context: 

Crime - is one of a number of indicators of social decay or, at best, decline.

In Forbrydelsen, the impact on Denmark of the recent financial crisis was raging as the writer/director scripted the programme; a stressed social context in which, as he perceived it, people reacted by looking after number one.

Tuesday 7th March 2023                The Killing Characters: Sarah Lund
LO: to explore the narrative and characterisation in set products.

MISSING LESSON:

What does this shot and MES suggest about Sarah Lund? 

costume: 

raincoat

hair tied back

simplistic - reality

layers- practical - not sexualised

setting: 

outdoors

bleak, grey weather -nordic noir

woods

on the scene not put off by the weather or location

lighting:

low-key dark lighting - reality

props: 

map in plastic wallet - looking - active/practical - sensible, realistic 

Normal mother - close up on her face when looking lovingly towards her sleeping son. 

                            over the shoulder shot of the bedroom.

partner to fiancee - long shot of embrace. 
                               MES in costume choice to reveal a shot of her underwear - Why? - relaxed in her                                   home. - she is comfortable around him - sexual but comfortable relationship.

Van Zoonen Feminist theory:

Ideas of femininity and masculinity are constructed in our performance of these roles.

Women are objectified in media representations.

Gender is what we do rather than who we are and changes meaning depending on cultural and historical contexts.

The concept of patriarchy may be applied to the ownership and control of television, the recruitment and ethos of television professionals and the representation of gender. 

Representation theory: Butler: Gender performativity:

Gender is created in how we perform our gender roles - there is no essential gender identity behind these roles, it is created in the performance.

Performativity is a repetition and a ritual which becomes naturalised within the body.

Any feminism concerned only with masculinity and femininity excludes other forms of gender and sexuality. This creates 'gender trouble' for those that do not fit the heterosexual norms. 

Butler has influenced queer theory - theory which deconstructs and aims to destabilise apparently fixed identities based on gender and sexualities. 

leader - dialogue- queations

focused - overhead shot - crime scene

brave - lighting, torch, close up on evidence

fearless - close up on blood, hands and face 

strong - follows evidence along, sound -tension 

fun/laid back - close up on sign and her face

                        MES- party

dedicated - MES- rain 

respected - dialogue, speech. MES - party  

Carrie and Sarah- both fearless and strong 

Sarah - more respected and fun 

Both living in male dominated world 

Both dedicated 

In the first episode of The Killing we notice some similarities in the way that Sarah is represented compared to how Carrie is represented in Homeland. In The Killing, the opening shot of Sarah at the fake crime scene, mise en scene is used to show the rainy weather, showing that she is not put off by the miserable weather and dedicated to doing her job. This representation of Sarah is similar to Carrie, when she pays money to get into the prison, showing her determination to get the job done even when it could put her in danger. The similar representations created here subvert stereotypical representations of female characters in TV dramas, Van Zoonen's feminist theory applies here because both Sarah and Carrie are in a more typically masculine job role, they refuse to conform with expectations of women, challenging patriarchal ideologies.  

Monday 14th March 2023                        The Killing: Context
LO: to explore the social issues represented, specifically gender.

Costume, hair and make-up connotations: 

Carrie:

low cut shirt- revealing

minimal make-up - eyeliner, lipstick

hair worn down , dyed, blow-dryed- gender roles created through performance.

smart suit - cares what others think of her - feels the need to prove herself as professional

Sarah:
high cut sweater, layers- 

no visible face make-up- possible eye make-up

hair tied back- minimal effort, no styling 

casual - comfortable, laid back - confident in herself and her ability 

practical - job focused 

Denmark & Sweden: 

From 1448 to 1790 they went to war against each other at every opportunity.
Fought 11 wars.
Kalmer war - the war between Denmark and Sweden for control of the Norwegian coast and hinterland. 

Moved past bitter rivalry - banter between the two countries.

Cultural Attitudes:

Props - viking hat, long hair-blonde stereotypical historical viking image.

'In the hands of the enemy' - refers to police force - historical war rivalry.

'If decomposed herring and light beer are your thing' - friendly/competitive rivalry.

Props - gift of skis - is cultural focus for Sweden 

Props - flag difference reflects differences in culture.

Social Attitudes:

Denmark - seen as internationally progressive in terms of gender equality.

2007 (date of first series) - Denmark ranked 8th in world for gender equality (Sweden was 1st).

2011 (date of Homeland) - USA 17th place

2020 - Denmark 14th, Sweden 4th, USA 53rd

Treated in the workplace:

Carrie:

Not respected - meeting scene she is targeted 

Context - reflects USA idea that gender is not equal and women are inferior.

When Saul doesn't take her ideas seriously about Brody signing code - says she is crazy and overthinking it - undermines her.

Sarah:

Respected - asserts her position to continue search

Context - gender should be equal reflected in her role 

Party thrown in her honour - centre of attention - lots of effort gone into making her last days at the force good. - well respected by her subordinates.

Forbrydelson questions many traditional female characteristics with its lead Sarah Lund. Society has changed and there is no longer the demand or desire for depictions of domesticated women.

There is more desire for career driven women who struggle with the traditional demands expected of them. Character like Lund become more layered and complex and they resist any attempts to shoe-box their roles.

Van Zoonen:
Gender roles change based on performance 

Historical and cultural context

In media representations females are often objectified - Carrie 

Sarah - respected - reflects cultural context

Stereotypically masculine and feminine traits.

Gauntlett: 

Identity - different messages about identity in the media they are varied more now than the past.

- pick to form our identity

Sarah - career focused, not just a mother - she can do both

Tuesday 21st March 2023                          LO: to explore the social issues represented, especially                                                                                 gender.

Van Zoonen - feminist theory saying females are objectified in media. Stereotypes are based on performance of gender roles. Culture and time impact the performance.

Gauntlett - identity and the meaning created about identity through the media. We pick to form our identities. Today identity is much less fixed than it was such as gender and sexuality.

Representations of gender in The Killing: 

Sarah Lund: 

• not sexualised, wearing no makeup and not dressing for the male gaze, dresses practically 
• created her own life, hardworking and strong - dedicated and involved in the case.
• she is not the stereotypical woman presented within the media, prioritises work over family.
• separated from family - divorced 
• middle class - educated in the field of work

Theis:

• working class father - focuses on the family 
• tries fixing the pipes in the house 
• calm, collected and reasonable - tells off Vagn but not in a confrontational manner 

Pernille: 

• mother - cares for her children, opposes Sarah as her family is priority to her, stereotypical woman
• secretarial role in the family business - has an important job, managerial and responsible but family comes first.
• stable family 
• working class

Sarah's Boss:

• respects Sarah and has fun 

Meyer:

• smokes when he is not supposed to  - stereotypical, middle class bus comes across as working class. - unprofessional 
• unorganised - boxes filled with gun posters, toys

Troel Hartmann: 

• corrupt
• upper class, well dressed and in charge 
• older and well respected - people do things for him 
• new youthful mindset is what we need to progress 

Hall- Stereotypes are used by those in power to try and fix representations to one preferred reading. we need to pull apart stereotypes and find out what the different meanings are and what they tell us about ideology.

Public Service - has to reflect the values of society and educate the public. Nothing is just one dimensional, we can be many things. they are showing what society should aim to be.

Social issues in The Killing in relation to the lead protagonist: 

• Career driven woman
• Split families - lack of priority of family 
• Gender equality - she is not better than the men but an equal 

Social issues in Homeland in relation to the lead protagonist: 

• Strong hardworking female 
• lack of family 
• ignored by the men in the workplace - lack of gender equality in the USA 
• she needs flaws and to not be trusted to make the show successful 
• she shouldn't be trusted because she is unreliable 
• females including her are sexualised 
• struggles with her mental health, it has a negative affect on her. She hides it from the CIA because she wouldn't be accepted. In 2011 mental health should be hidden whereas today there is support around mental health in the workplace

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

In both Homeland and The Killing, there are a range of societal issues represented by the two lead protagonists. For example, in Homeland, Carrie is seen to be a hardworking, accomplished female, however we notice that she is not respected by her male co-workers simply because she is a woman. In the scene where Carrie discovers that Brody is communicating in Morse code, and tries to convince Saul of her findings, he does not believe her and questions her thinking which we can assume is because she is a woman. Hall states that stereotypes are used by those in power to try and fix representations to one preferred meaning, this theory can be applied here because the USA's views that women are inferior are being represented here, in 2011 the US was officially ranked 17th for gender equality in the world which is considered low for a country of their size and dominance. 

Tuesday 28th March 2023                        The Killing: Analysis
LO: to analyse a variety of scenes using accurate terminology

Scene 1 - Sarah meets Jan Meyer

Sarah- hectic packing, upbeat 

Professional when Meyer enters, chat about her move 

Close up of her sons photograph,  same shot edited picture replaced with Jan's gun poster.

Opposite gender roles - Sarah focus on family which is stereotypical of women, whilst the guns are stereotypically male and violent.

Opposite- cigarette vs gun 

Jan brings toy police car, kids basketball net - comes across as childish 

Turns on radio- diegetic sound - lack of respect fro Sarah 

LEVI STRAUSS - STRUCTURALISM 

Structuralism - study of hidden rules governing structure

Strauss thought the mind could be investigated by studying structure underlying myths and fables.

idea of binary oppositions , system of myths and fables ruled by opposing terms - hot-cold, male-female etc.

writers analysed media products using this idea - sees system as ideology rather than human consciousness.

The Killing - selfishness v duty, violence v nurturing, racism v inclusivity

Scene 2 - Sarah investigating 

diegetic sound - dialogue , Sarah shuts down Meyers personal attack on her career. Directs back to the investigation.

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

Respectful - asks questions - long shot and mid shot 

reveal her control at the scene 

BARTHES - SEMIOLOGY - signs signify things 

The Killing -

non diegetic sound - professionalism 

highlights her thought processes 

focus on the investigation 

Scene 3 - Larsen family introduction 

loving family - friendly, fun 

close up of Theis and Pernille

non diegetic sound - emphasise upbeat nature during flood 

Economic - tight , duct tape on dishwasher - cant afford new or repairs - context reflects 2007-08  - mise en scene - props dishwasher, water 

Theis masculine- tries to fix things - gender stereotype 

Mise en scene - costume 

photo of family reinforces importance of family - happy 

Children's drawing on fridge - mise en scene - close family 

BELL HOOKS - FEMINISM - intersectionality 

coming together of gender, race, class, sexuality

Pernille- female, working class - dependant on Theis, works for Theis - housewife

Carrie/Sarah - female, middle class - independent - high rank but work for men - not a housewife, career driven.

Tuesday 27th April 2023                    The Killing: Analysis
LO: to analyse a variety of scenes using accurate terminology.

Todorov:

The Killing:

• Equilibrium - Sarah in a relationship - committed , respected at work
• Disruption - missing person 
• Recognition of disruption - Sarah visiting Larsen's home - asks about daughter 
• Attempt to solve - Sarah - searching - changes her plans remains in Denmark.

• New equilibrium - no new equilibrium in episode 1 - disruption not solved 

Homeland: 

• Equilibrium - Carrie at CIA - criticised at work
• Disruption - Brody returning home 
• Recognition of disruption - confides in Saul her suspicions of Brody
• Attempt to solve - illegal surveillance on Brody and recognises the message 

• New equilibrium - 

Scene 6 - Larsens begin to panic 35.24 - 36.26

How is tension built up in this scene?

Dialogue, close camerawork

Tension and worry through shots, lack of focus

How is sound used?

How are facial expressions used to convey meaning?

Facial expressions reflect seriousness and worried emotions - close ups 

How does the scene position the audience?

How are gender stereotypes represented in this scene? 

Husband is taking lead to find his daughter asks wife to stay home. - reinforces traditional gender stereotypes.

Theis - volatile regarding Oliver- overprotective father  Pernille - tries to reason with him make excuses

Van Zoonen- performance of gender roles - not who we are but what we do.

Scene 7 - Sarah and her son car scene: 36.27 - 37.51

Why was this scene shot in the car? why not set in family home?

What does the car represent?
Car - tense, reflecting busy life, constantly moving, Sarah driving - control of situation 

Control in most scenes 

How does the dialogue represent the relationship between mother and son?

Highlights that she is not a very good mum - prioritises work over her son - doesn't remember his sports team name 

Distance because of work - lack of time and interest in her son.

How does the scene reflect societal issues in Denmark and in general?

Bigger focus on money and career than family in Denmark - similar to Homeland and Carrie.

Working women - dual burden of work and family - one then suffers 

Gauntlett - two elements to her identity
Bell Hooks - main character and a female 

Butler

Barthes - car being a sign/symbol for something else 

Scene 8 - investigation and search continues: 37.52 - 39.45

How is Sarah represented in this scene? 

In control - leader - doesn't listen to Jan - sure of herself 

There are tensions between her and Jan - what does this represent? power struggle?

power struggle between gender - jan continues to ask her questions - she ignores him 

Her expertise is highlighted- how? shot types? mise en scene? dialogue?

close up on face, establishing shot of police officers 

cut to her in woods directing even more officers 

her instincts are correct - how is this shown? 

change in music - zoom in facial expression 

Scene 9 - Sarah's instinct: 45.58 - 48.19

What shots are used to represent her instinct as a detective?

How is sound used to represent her instinct as a detective?

dialogue - talking to boyfriend - tells him she cant make the flight - she is sure she is right is prepared to miss her flight.

Music builds as camera focuses on her facial expression 

How does the way she directs others on the team reflect Danish society and their stance around gender equality?

Scene 10 - discovery of body: 49.17 - 52.20

How is this scene filmed?

How is the tension built up? MES? 

Non diegetic music builds tension and emotion

The leg hanging out of the car - reveals narrative - tension - prior knowledge as audience

Adds mystery via filming

Editing between Theis, Pernille and body 

low key lighting, night 

How does the director position the audience? What can we see?

How is cross cutting used to provoke an emotional response to the audience?

Todorov - returning 

Tuesday 9th May 2023                The Killing: Analysis
LO: to analyse key areas of the set products 

ideologies: set of ideas/ideals that characterise a particular culture.

viewpoint: a persons opinion or point of view.

Sarah:

Detective

moving to Sweden 

has a family - child 

middle class

Troells Hartmann:

candidate for mayor - campaign, dead wife - equilibrium

mole in party - disruption

mayors actions + reporting on him - recognition 

resolution and new equilibrium are not reached 

sleeping with his secretary 

cares about public opinion 

Birk Larsens:

3 children

family business 

working class

missing daughter 

Sarah is assigned the missing persons case of the Birk Larsens daughter, they first meet when Sarah and Jan visit Pernille about a video store card belonging to her husband. Later on Nanna is found in a river tied in a car belonging to Troells Hartmann.

How stories fit together to make a whole - 3 or 5 stages of narrative - Todorov

How is patriarchy represented in The Killing?

The idea of patriarchy is seen in the killing in the scene with a close up on the campaign posters for the mayoral candidates, we can see that the candidates are all men including the current mayor. This creates an ideology that men rule over society reinforcing patriarchal values.

Individualism:

The way Sarah brushes off Mayer whenever he presents Sarah with an idea to do with the investigation shows individualism in the killing, we also see that she comes up with her own ideas/solutions to solve the investigation. We see this specifically in the scene where Sarah and mayer are standing in the middle of a field, we are given a close up shot of Sarah with Mayer looking over her shoulder and almost feeding her ideas on how to go about his investigation but she ignores him and walks off the screen. We later see that this is the right thing to do and that she was right to do her own thing which therefore shows individualism in The Killing. 

Consumerism:

Theis goes home to help with the dishwasher and is insistent on using duct tape and family friends to fix it rather than Pernille'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, Troells Hartmann's Campaign Officer likes his new shoes and within dialogue describes at length the individual features of the shoes.

Ethnocentrism: 

Vagn-Vagn makes a racist comment to a man from Pakistan, treating him as inferior.

Police Department- The Danish police department jokingly refer to Sweden as below them, they joke about their inferiority and how much of a downgrade it is going to be for Sarah to move there during her leaving party scene. They make fun of the Swedish culture such as with the skis and the helmets. They say to her: 'If decomposed herring and light beer are your thing, then you're welcome to it.' As they use the two  insults, it shows their discrimination.

Gilroy: Ethnicity and Post-Colonialism

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 they inherent superiority of white western civilisations.

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

 

1: tells her team to check the river - shot of boys going down that path on bikes, cuts to her realisation with change in non diegetic music signifies her though process - something is at the river

2: during the investigation she's wearing appropriate clothing - jumper, raincoat, high-neck, no make-up or hair done. - mise en scene 

3: realises Pernille's daughter is missing - feels responsible as a mother to find her. presses Pernille for information - close up on photo of Nanna and cuts to Sarah's expression.

4: tells her fiancee to catch the flight without her - her dialogue is short and blunt - lack of emotion shows her prioritising her work

Tuesday 16th May 2023        

Stereotypes:

Victim: female, young and vulnerable - Nanna - victim of sexual abuse, kidnapping 

Politicians: Serious, manipulative, middle aged - Troells Hartmann - male dominated 

Police: positively represented - big search party, successful, sympathetic towards family. Male dominant police force.

Swedish nationality: vikings, rivalry between Sweden and Denmark 

Family unit: Birk Larsens - typical, loving family. - man taking charge, stereotypical husband and wife

                    Sarah's family - atypical, lack of emotions and care 

Racism: Vagn racist towards man from Pakistan - normal reaction , racism shown as a normal view 

                Racism shown as an unintelligent view - Theis belittles Vagn by calling him dumb 

Bandura: Audience theory

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

Realism - real life representations

Events: Nanna running away

             Pernille gets her sister to babysit her kids 

             Student debate at school

             Cut funding for schools - social issue

Characters: Theis-responsibility-family-provider - dishwasher not working 

                    Jan - realistic - complains a lot, has flaws

Ideology: - set of ideas/ideals - consumerism - dishwasher, big house

Narrative: Sarah moving away- sons life disrupted

                Nanna lying to her parents - they think they know where she is but they're wrong 

                Troells affair with secretary

Baudrillard: post-modernism

verisimilitude - realistic - subjects very similar to real life 

Postmodernism-

intertextual references - reference to other media texts.

irony - when the exact opposite of what you think will happen happens.

postmodern society organised around simulation.

fragmented narrative 

parody

we used to have in the media and in real life a sense of reality, we are now in a world of artificial realities - society starts evolving 

reality - orange 

heightened reality - still links to reality - orange juice 

simulacra - artificial copies - a copy of reality - orange fanta

hyperreality - simulacra become hard to tell apart from reality - terry's chocolate orange 

audiences often prefer simulacra to real life

How does Baudrillard apply to Homeland/The Killing?

Baudrillard applies to Homeland through hyperreality, the CIA represented in Homeland is not accurate to the real CIA as it is a film set however we cannot tell the difference as we have never been to the CIA and seen it in real life. 

Tuesday 6th June 2023                         

Jenkins: Audience theory: Fandom

Participatory culture:

the idea that the development of new media allows the audience to be active and creative participants rather than simply passive consumers.

Textual poachers:

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.

Shirky: End of an audience 

TV drama provides value to each other by using websites to offer, comments, parodies, merchandise etc.

Technological developments have changed the relationship between media producers and audiences.

In the past media producers created content for audiences, now content can be created by audiences.

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. (e.g. 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.

Question 3: Synoptic

How far = judgement must be made.

Context influence needs to be explored, all of them: historical, political, economic, social and cultural.

Analysis of the texts and theory applied.

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

[30 marks] - 55 minutes 

Social groups: women, men, race, class, age, religion

Introduction:

Some groups are different and some are the same.

From looking at The Killing - produced by DR on a low budget- PSB. From Denmark but successful on the BBC.

From looking at Homeland - big budget, featured stars, on location filming - made by Showtime , big production. very successful - USA 

Industry and economics are different which is why we see different representations of social groups 

Paragraph 1:

Homeland:

Gender- female- Carrie- some power, not respected, confident, not trustworthy, determined.

Context - lack of respect for women, reflects USA and their stance on gender equality 

Example - Bench with Saul, not listened to, pushed to find evidence so that she is beleived.

Theorists- Van Zoonen- gender roles, men in charge and women in lower roles.

                Bell Hooks, Butler 

Different because of contexts, strong woman but we see weaknesses as a woman 

The Killing:

Gender- female- Sarah- powerful, respected, confident, trustworthy, determined.

Context- gender equality is much more of a priority in Denmark - ranked highly

Example- scene in the forest, asserts her authority to search again 

Theorists- Butler- performance of the role

Different context of gender, Sarah's strength lies in her role as a woman 

Tuesday 13th June 2023                     Theory

To what extent do long form TV dramas represent social groups differently?

In Homeland some groups are represented differently to others. The Killing was produced by DR on a low budget, despite being a Danish TV drama it was very successful on the BBC. Whereas Homeland was a big Showtime production with a big budget and featuring film stars. The industry and economic situations were different which is why we see such different representations of social groups.

In Homeland gender is represented through Carrie, being a female in a male dominant workplace she was not very respected by her co-workers and was quite often humiliated despite her role which gave her some power. The lack of respect from the men in her life reflects USA at the time and their stance on gender equality when they were ranked fairly low on the spectrum. We can see this in the scene where she is sat on a bench with Saul and she is trying to tell him about a new lead in their investigation but she is not believed by him, leaving her to find more evidence and prove herself correct. Van Zoonens theory on gender roles can be applied 

Question 4 - evaluating a theory to LFTVD

Break every theory down into 3 main points

Representation theories : Hall, Gauntlett, Bell Hooks, Van Zoonen, Butler, Gilroy

10 Marks - 17 minutes 

P1: Define the theory - briefly explain key aspects of theory

P2: First reason why its relevant to the text

P3: Second reason why its useful/ relevant to the text

P4: Third reason why its useful/ relevant tot the text

P5: State any possible limitations of theory - interrogate weaknesses of theory

P6: Briefly conclude - evaluate overall usefulness of theory

Narratology:

5 steps: equilibrium, disruption, recognition, attempt to solve, new equilibrium

Homeland:

Equilibrium - Carrie at work, being rogue

Disruption - Brody's return

Recognition - Carrie recognises his link to terrorism

Attempt to solve - Wires Brody's house  

New Equilibrium - None - its a tv series

The Killing:

Equilibrium - Sarah is leaving 

Disruption - Nanna goes missing 

Recognition - unable to locate Nanna , finds body

Attempt to solve - investigating missing person - missing turns to murder 

New Equilibrium - None - its a tv series 

VAN ZOONEN:

Homeland:

Even though Carrie is strong and has a masculine role within the series of leadership, she has 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 with expectations of women and provides a character to identify with that challenges the patriarchal ideologies.

Carrie often sexualised in her outfit choices.

She is often humilaited and mocked by her male co workers

The Killing:

-The only scene where Sarah is objectified is in the first scene where the long shot in her underwear is shown. She was the one who answered the phone which suggests that she is a mother but she is taking on her work while her partner is making her a coffee showing the equality in the relationship.

-Sarah is respected which reflects the cultural context about gender.

-Forebrydelsen challenges traditional gender roles by depicting the parenting skills of a woman driven by her professional codes. Sarah Lund is motivated by a juxtaposition of male and female traits.

Victim- female, young, vulnerable, victim of sexual abuse, kidnapping and murder- Nana

-Politicians- Serious, manipulative and corrupt, middle aged, game-playing, male dominated- Troells

-Police- More male police officers, stereotype of males being dominant in the police force, Sarah is the only female. Meyer- immature. Positive- they are focused and dedicated and successful in their search for Nana.

Van Zoonen emphasises the importance of gender being seen as socially and culturally constructed, as a result gender can vary depending on cultural and historical contexts 

Usefulness:

Patriarchy may be applied to the ownership and control of television

Limitations:

Doesn't explain specifics of LFTVD as its a general theory of patriarchy

underestimates the influence of social consensus on representations 

Tuesday 4th July 2023

Question 3:

1. context
2. conventions viewpoints and ideologies 
3. theorists
4. LIAR

Homeland:

conventions-

Spy thriller - CIA - american based, well known agency

                   - secrecy in Brody narrative, lies in his interrogation, shown through ML 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- wars on the political agenda- can be seen to influence reflects that sense.

Do the conventions reflect the country of production?

In long from tv dramas such as Homeland we can see that that the dominant conventions of America are always incorporated. Homeland is a spy thriller and we can tell this through shots of the CIA, an American based agency which is very well known. Themes of secrecy are shown through Brody's narrative in his interrogation, media language is used through editing of flashbacks to tell the audience that he is lying. Carrie is very suspicious of Brody from the beginning, linking to 

Question 4: Gauntlett

 
November PPE:

QUESTION 4:

define the theory- briefly explain key aspects of the theory

first reason why its useful - what does it help us to understand? link to set product

second reason why its useful - exemplify this by linking to set product

third reason why its useful - exemplify this by linking to set product

state any possible limitations of the theory - interrogate weaknesses of the theory

briefly conclude - evaluate overall usefulness of theory

 Evaluate the usefulness of one of the following theories in understanding long form television drama:

Either 

• Hesmondhalgh's theories about cultural industries
• Butler's theories about gender performativity

 

Butler states that gender is created in response to our performance of gender roles, performativity of these roles causes 'gender trouble'  for those that do not fit the heterosexual norms. Butler argues that the binary systems alienate those who do not fit to masculinity and femininity

This use of gender performance can be seen in Carrie - she challenges typical feminine roles as she is rebellious and stands up to authority figures who are male. She rejects expectations of marriage and children.