tv DRAMA

 EXAM THINGS

Section B of paper 2 looks at long form TV drama

It is worth 60% of the marks in the paper

Applying academic ideas is essential to the paper

Important things to know about the texts 

Knowing all of these and using them + context is how you get the good marks

Long form tv drama typically have complex flexi-narrative, a complex staory that has central developing characters who change noticeably, a main storyline that incorporates its subplots. and

a combinations of intriguing, questionable and compelling characters. 

The targerian, Winter is coming,  rival kingdoms, winterfel, Cold guy and the long night

The Crown

It has central Characters that being the queen and Phillip as the whole trailer focusses on their life, The main storylines are the new queen coming after many who didn't take their role seriously and she needs to figure out show to rule properly as it could lead to the fall of England and the marriage of Phillip and Elizabeth and how they need to learn how to live with each other . It has a subplot of the on going war and their children. There are some characters who make you ask questions like the advisors talking to Phillip and winston. 

HomeLand

Was created by the tv network showtime which is a subsidiary of paramount and produced by fox 21.  The first season won a golden globe and an Emmy for outstanding tv drama. The first episode was released in October 2011, The killing of Osama Bin ladin impacted it's development 

6/11/22  HomeLand  

Main Narrative quest/conflict set up:

Sargent broady comes home everyone thinks he is a hero but carrie suspects he is

a turned terrorist.

Enigma Codes:

Brody's flashbacks reveal what happened in his captivity 

Why did Brody kill Tom

Why is lying about Abu-Nasir

What is the attack

Will Carrie succeed

 

Individual Character Narratives:

jess and mikes affair

Abu nazir as a topic

Carries mental health

Dana and Chris kids- rebellious narrative 

Jess and Brody's failing marriage

Brody- the hero returned/ potential terrorist a family man, stereotypical american ( white,straight,man)

Mike- best friend of mike, lover of jess. represents traditional american male values talks about football and beer

jess- wife of Brody, having affair with mike, Mum, housewife, attarctive, sexual object

Carrie- Protagonist, CIA agent, strong carrier however is disliked, very confrontational, Driven and foucesed but has no empathy or compassion, has mental health issues, potentially some sort of predator

Saul- Mentor to carrie, reliable, sensible, in control. only person who believes in carrie

David- Deputy director of the CIA, Doesn't like carrie, had a relationship with carrie, political in his moves.

10/1/23  Homeland:characters:carrie 

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

Carrie:

Represented as:

reckless

selfish

corrupt protector

Determined-pays to get into prison-close up of money paid to get into prison

Demanding-shouts over the phone at her boss- editing-

Powerful-resisting the guards advice

fearless-Dragged away by the guards but still clinging on for an answer

Manipulative-talking to the prisoner, barging information with his family- the

obsessive 

Post 9/11 fear:

The soliders setting up the nuses- mise en scene- sets up post 9/11  fear vai the over the shoulder 

shot of the soliders setting up the the nooses- this savage nature of the culture positions the east against the civilised nature of the west- this is further reinforced by the editing as it cuts from the run down bagdad to the the fancy party in Washington-

The representation of carrie and the middle east are that Carrie is determined.We can see this when she pays money to get access to the prison for 2 minutes. The close up shot on the money

The representations of Carrie in the text initially are that Carrie is powerful. This is seen when Carrie is shouting over the phone at her boss the dialogue in this scene shows this as Carrie tells her boss what he can can can't do when he tells her he can't do anything. The representations in this section establish that Carrie isn't a traditional representation of women as she holds power in the conversation demanding despite being of a lower rank to her boss.Here we can see that the texts supports what Van zoonen says about gender roles and that gender is how roles are preformed rathe than being a predetermined concept as Carrie in the conversation is assertive and dominant which are not traditional female traits. 

Carrie is also initially in the text represented as being fearless. This is seen when Carrie enters the prison, the use of mise-en-sene in scenes before show us this as a over the shoulder shot is used to show us nooses and gallows which tells us that people are hung and killed in this prison.The representations then establish that Carrie is a fearless operative who obiously knows what goes on in this prison but chooses to find a way in so she can protect her country, so she is not only represented as fearless but heroic also.This supports Van Zoonen's theory gender roles only exists as we preform them. Looking at the cultural context of the time this would of been different to most representations of women at the time they didn't normally take on a traditional masculine role like this due to differing views about what women should be like for example, caring and co-dependant. 

 

 

17/1/23   Characters:Brody   

antihero-Flawed hero that sometimes acts or behaves un-hero like for example, Carrie is an antihero because of her flawed personality, she is trying to save the country but is also manipulative and a lier

Antagonist- someone who acts against the hero or anti hero

Marine Sargent Nicholas Brody 

Overgrown matted hair neglaected, can barely speak, in a locked room, the black and white body camera make it look serious, His face is dirty. his expression is pained

the comparison to David emphasises his weakness,

1. POW- he is a victim- known due to ML- makes the audience sympathise

Brody throws up, The higher up soldier emphasises with Brody's pain which makes the army look better, the Sd and vice president don't care and only care about politics, his face looks worn and stressed, The family look in awe, Brody is awkward and apprehensive at first and almost remembers how to react, Brody quickly moves away from the topic of his 'Trip', He doesn't look to bothered about the death of his mum Cultural context soldiers miss out on life, struggles to look at them in the eye, the mother moves first This reenforces traditional gender roles as she is a loving and caring mother, He has a negative reaction to all of the lights of the cameras, The shot reverse shot makes carrie seem wrong,

Brody- sickness- His face is back to cultural normal with all the marks or signs of his POW time hidden could relate to the fact that mental and physical repercussions of war are glossed over.

2.The arrival

How is Brody is represented has a hero

Brody is represented as a hero through the use of mise-en-sene. This can be seen when Brody is told about his mothers passing and his reaction solum, giving a small nod and thats it. This makes the audience empathise with Brody as the affects of war has made him so desensitised to death to the point that his mothers passing doesn't cause him any visible emotional turmoil, which then gives the idea that Brody is a hero as he has lost some of his emotions to protect his country. This then applies to Van Zoonen's theory that Gender ideals exist through the performance of gender as Brody's trauma and desensitisation are the typical thoughts of a male hero soldier who comes home seeming to be ok but as seen in other scenes he heavily affected by war and through this performance the idea of a male solider is created in the audience. . This then links into societal context as many soldiers are sent to and from war and are expected to fit in normally but they can't the effects of going to war are so drastic. Brody showcases this as he struggles to socialise with his family being away from them for so long.

social context- discussions and awareness in society around PTSD and the impact of war, how these soldiers are damaged and then not helped in their return to their families and civilian life.

political context- mention the war of terror, what this has meant for the American people, soldiers etc....  not met his son,  

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24/1/2023    Characters: Brody part 2 

Gauntlett's Identity therory

In todays world the expectation is the individuals make their own choices about their

lifestyle an identity. In traditional media their are many different and contradictory messages that people can use to identify with. Online media gives people an avenue to explore themselves in many different ways and people are able to find their sense of self easier.

Homeland has diverse and contradictory representations in the form of Carrie ,who is the hero of the story but does morraly questionable things, and Brody, The perfect war hero but has secrets

Hall

Using Sterotyping and Ideology those in power of the media use these to try and make a fixed representation, suggesting that their is 1 true meaning.

Hall says that sterotypes should be pulled apart to identify what they tell us about ideology.

Mise-sen-sene lighting

low key lighting

empty room, only table,chairs and people to draw foucus onto the characters

the cuts to the others show their disbelief in carrie  

his facial expression changes to a more serious look when ask about abu nazir

shot types

mid shot, reverse shots, over the shoulder

the close up used shows that the pressure is building on brody

closer up

How are flashbacks

Flashbacks are used to create suspicion into brody as the audience are told that he is lying about abu nazir and that carrie is right

Carrie rep

Carrie starts off as a crazy woman who keeps asking brody the hero questions but then goes to being the soul hope of the country as the flashback shows us she is right

Brody rep

How is brody represented as a villan

The representations of Brody change in episode 1 from a hero to a villan. The camera work in the interrogation scene make the audience start to question Brody as Carrie asks more and more questions the over the shoulder shots stop, which indicates that they no longer both hold power in the conversation and Carrie is starting to ask the right questions, and then camera starts to zoom in on Brody which shows that pressure is building on Brody for some reason. This makes the audience suspicious as if Brody had nothing to hide why change the camera shot.The lighting also adds to mystery of Brody as it's low key and the whole room isn't illuminated which suggests to the audience that not everything has been revealed

31/1/23        representation Themes 

Baudrillard 

Society has moved beyond modernism into postmodernism. in both art and cultre and in the sense of a belief in progress.

baud said that modern societies where build around the production of goods, whereas a post modern society is made around simulation - the play of images and signs to make you belief in what isn't

previously important social distinctions suffer implosion as differences in gender, class, politics and culture dissolve in a postmodern world of simulation the people construct their own identities. 

The blank walls, formal table, dark lighting, give an idea of what we expect an interogation rooom to look like,

The formal attire, we expect such a high up group to be in suits and formal attire. The files add to the simulation of the interrogation room.

Brody is strung up naked, the lighting is now a yellow, its barbaric, all of these simulate what americans would think a totrure scene to look like.

Gauntlett and identity

In todays world the expectation is the individuals make their own choices about their

lifestyle an identity. In traditional media their are many different and contradictory messages that people can use to identify with and ideas like gender and sexuality are less fixed than the past allowing for more ways to see your self. Online media gives people an avenue to explore themselves in many different ways and people are able to find their sense of self easier.

Homeland has diverse and contradictory representations for the audience to analyse and use to think through their identity. 

some examples are the representations of Carries mental illness

West vs east- People can relate to the western life but also to the idea of the idea east being different 

Carrie is an anti stereotype in many ways. She is show as being crazy and sportatic and unkempt but then she is shown as being amazingly insightful and intellectual which gives contrasting representaions of mental illness 

Rep: mental illness

Carrie has bi-polar, which makers her amazing at her job and investigating. 

Having some sort of mental disorder was a growing trend in dramas to show brilliance.

Her mental illness manifests itself in her having obsessive attention to detail, engaging in inappropriate sexual relationships and her hysterical outbursts.

Mise-en-scene: touches her hair a lot, goes from sporadic to on the floor breathing, she is indecisive.

The camerawork focuses on the fingers of the band which shows her hyper attention to detail in a way that makes her seem amazingly smart and not negatively. 

Initially in homeland mental illness is represented negatively.   

THE Killing  

21/2/23 

the killing is a danish Tv drama make by Søren Sveistrup and produced by the companies DR and ZDF enterprises and in 2011 won the bafta best international show. It was first Shown on DR which is a danish Public service broadcast similar to the BBC.  It had 1,550,000 viewers in Denmark and 472,000 in the uk when it was shown on BBC 4. Netflix saw this success and made an american version produced by fox 21

Main Narrative

Nanna Birk larson has gone missing/ has been murded and the police are trying to find her and who did it.

Enigma Codes

who is the murderer?

where is Nanna?

Who is leaking information on Hartman?

Is Sarah going to leave?

What will happen to Pernille and Theis?

Individual Characters Narratives

Sarah Lund - the boss who is leaving for Sweden with her partner and son. She doesn't end up leaving because she prioritises her job over all. This is also seen when she mistakes facts about her sons life.

Troels Hartman-politician- Has a Rat in his party leaking his strategies, he is having a relationship with his secretary- who is suggested to be the rat potentially, His story carrys a corrupt politics theme

Pernille and Theis- Parents of the missing/victim girl, working class but on the up, respectable and hard working.

28/2/23     Industry and context  

Industry and context 

the episodes are 50 minutes each and their are 20 episodes, this shows the economic context of a small publicly owned broadcasting company, as they can only afford 1 LFTVD per season so they make it last as long as they can. we can also see this as all the the filming is is done in Copenhagen, where DR is based so it shows they don't have budget to do tones of on site filming.

 

Genre

It is a Nordic Noir which i an umbrella term that encompasses scandinavian crime fiction, it is a hybrid of a police procedural drama combined with family and melodrama, this attracts both male and female audiences

Genre conventions in the killing 

Nordic noir is made to look depressing and realistic, using low-key lighting and drab colour pallets.

very dark low-key lighting-to ad the to the tension of the investigation ,establishing shot shows the bleak marsh fields,brown,green, grey sky Rain in the opening scene reflects the dark reality. the muted lighting makes the trees look sad and unpleasing. the grass is a horrible brown colour.

Multiculturalism, class and family 

Working class white danish people are represented as racist in the mini-mart scene but it is then pinned on Vagn's poor education and lack of culture.

The working class home is represented as the broken dishwasher shows the fact they can't afford proper up-keep and theis wanting vagn to fix it shows they can't afford a Plummer.

The working class family is represented as being loving and fun in the scene with Pernille and Theis, we also see that family is a high priority as Theis leaves his work when Pernille calls him to come home.

 

 Media language to convey Nordic Noir

Very Dark lighting the torchlight illuminating Nanna shows that she is being followed, the music adds suspense,the whoshing sound affects give an ominous feeling, the sound of the mud squelching her breathing ad to the suspense of the scene, deserted open space give a feeling of there is no one to help.

Genre theory: Neale

Genres come to be when producers share generic codes and conventions and repeat them in other media products after some time these codes and conventions are recognised as genres. This means that genres are not fixed but can ever evolve with each new addition to the Generic corpus. These codes and conventions and apply to other media products like ads.

In the end the Finding of the Car and the daughter, the body and discovering that Troels Hartman's campaign owns the Car combines the 3 narratives 

Social Context

Sarah-  as a single middle class mother can't balance her work and home life and ends up with

a band relationship with her son, possible commentary on single parent families, but also the contrast of Sarah who is middle class and has a bad family life and Theis who is working class and has a great family life could be a commentary of the lifes of the middle and working class   

7/3/23  characters; Sarah

Sarah's costume is very casual and doesn't stand out from everyone else which suggests that she 

doesn't care to much about how she looks and is more focused on other things like her job.

The setting is a wide open, drab looking field which suggests that she is lost and cant seem to find an answer or the loneliness of the field could represent how she pushes others away to focus on her job like her son. She is out doors in a marsh field which shows that she is proactive and tries to get things done herself an dosen't care about getting dirty.

The lighting is low key which grounds  the show in reality

She is holding a map 

Opening sequence in sarah's house

The close up on sarah's face as she lovingly smiles at her son shows that she a mother and cares for her son. The over the shoulder shpt of her switching off the tv also shows that she tends to and cares for him.

Then there is a long shot of Sarah and her Fiancee hugging which shows that not only is she a mother but also a partner, The choice of having her in her underwear while this happens could show that she is comfortable around him and that they have a good relationship.

Van-zoonen Gender roles are created through their performance in media products and changes due to historical an cultural contexts

Also says that women are objectified in the media

Butler:Gender roles Are created through their performance, The creation of gender roles (traditional heterosexual norms in our society) Creates problems for people who do not fit in one or the other and want to take attributes from both, Butler calls this 'gender trouble'

Scene

She is taken to an underground crime scene

she touches some blood on the ground, shows that she doesn't care at all about 'gross' stuff

Uncovered the 'body' without thinking twice

Very dark lighing still goes on, mise-en-sene her having a party for her leave shows that she is respected and liked a lot, the close up shot of her touching the blood into the mise-en-sene of her face un phase shows that she is fearless, Brave- mise en sene- she is alone in the dark crime scene and desides to go on

Comparision of Carrie and Sarah

Sarah is first represented as being respected by her fellow workers. We can see this in the mise-en-sene of one of the beginning scene where on the doll in the fake crime scene there is a not saying "thanks for the great 7 years boss- they boys" This note shows us she is respected as in a male dominated field she is so revered by her colleagues that they all personally thanked her for just being there and doing her job. This then creates representation that Sarah is someone who is liked,loved and respected by the people around her. the mise-en-sene of the net scene reinforces this because it cuts to most the police force celebrating Sarah and her departure. Carrie on the other hand is first represented as being un-trusted and lacking respect. We can see this when carrie goes to tell her mentor saul about what she knows, Through the mise-en-sene we see that saul is un interested as he hardly looks carrie in the eyes as she tries to convince him, which shows the audience that he does not trust her and writes off everything she says.We can then apply Van Zoonen's theory that gender roles are created through their  performance as in these two shows we get 2 completely different ideologies of women. In the killing Sarah Lund represents women being trusted, competent and on the same level if not higher than her male peers however in homeland Carrie Portrays women as being untrustworthy, incompetent and less than her male counterparts, these 2 Contrasting representations of women show us that gender roles of women do not stay the same from text to text, and tell us about context of the country of production and atitudes towards women As in the american show we see woman as inferior and in the danish show they are equal which could suggest that danish society is more inclusive than american society.

Sarah is made to looks more serious than carrie, because she has no make up which makes her look more focused as she hasn't wasted time with aesthetics and shows that she thinks about things and what she should wear practically . she is wearing layers to keep her warm which shows that she is more focused with practicality than looks. Her hair is tied back so it doesn't get in the way.

Carrie by contrast is wearing make up, has put effort into her outfit and her hair is made to look nice, it is blow dried and dyed to be blond which shows she is trying to keep up and appearance which all suggests that she cares about her appearance just as much as her job.   

Carries outfit is a suit with a low cut top which isn't practical like Sarah's outfit.

 

Denmark and Sweden

Historically both countries have fought against each other but now their rivalry is now friendly 

and are culturally close.

This is shown in the killing 

the props in the form of the stereotypical viking hat with the long blond hair to represent the Swedish.

The boss says "in the hands of the enemy" refers to the Swedish police force as the enemy, which references that age old rivalry which is now a joke.

'If decomposed herring and light beer are your thing'- making fun of what the Swedish like which again shows their rivalry 

The gift of skis because Sweden has mountains and likes to ski

Carrie is not respected in the workplace as when she is later her boss singles her out and embarrasses her in front of all her peers which shows the context of america's views points of women being inferior as Carrie is late because of her night out, which represents women as being unreliable, she is also chastised in front of all of her peers which then represents that as being ok in american society

Meanwhile in The killing Sarah asserts her position of power when she decides to continue the search which shows that in Denmark women are equal to men.  

In homeland, when Carrie is found out by Saul he is not hesitant in telling the court and getting carrie thrown into jail as by this point Carrie is seen as a liability and removing her is a good thing. This shows an american idea of gender and that women in positions of power are a liability

When compared to Carrie, Her place of work do not want her to leave and celebrate her leaving with a party and presents. This then shows Denmark's idea towards gender that women can be a valuable asset to a team.

Van zoonen- Gender roles change depending of how they are performed and change depending of cultural and historical context. In the media women are objectified.

Butler- There are many different messages about identity in the media and now they are more varied than they were in the past and we can pick and chose these messages and add them to our identity.   

21/3/23  Context  

Van Zoonen- Gender roles are not set in stone and change depending on how they are preformed this performance can changed depending on culture and historical context. also said that women are objectified in the media.

Gauntlet- there are many different messages in the media that people can take and make part of their identity. also said that people who don;t fit into traditional gender identity go through 'gender trouble' 

Representations of gender

male representation

there are many representations of men in the killing depending on who you look at, foucusing on theis we get an idea of men being loving to their family, supportive, hard working and a little bit stubborn. and is calm collected and reasonable as seen in the scene at the shop. However if we look at the mayor of the town we get a completely different idea of men being corrupt, cheating and lacking of a moral compas. Theis is working class as seen by is blue collar job and the mayor is higher or middle class seen by how he is dressed and how he talks to people. Gauntlet applys here as the working class man is better than the higher class man.

Female

Sarah is a hard working respected female

however she lacks a priority of her family which is unconventional for women.

the representation we get from Pernielle opposes this as she has the important job of managing the finances for the family business but her family comes first. This also shows differing ideas of family between working and middle class people. 

Hall

Those in power try to fix meanings of representations by using stereotypes so people 

get a preferred reading and suggest their is only one true meaning.

Stereotypes and anti-stereotypes should be deconstructed to identify what they tell us about ideology

How are the lead protagonists in homeland & The killing used to reflect societal issues 

In Homeland, Carrie is used to reflect the social inequalities of women. We can see this in the dialogue in the beginning scene when Carrie is late as David says, "how is it that every other analysts can make it to a briefing on time but you" David reprimands carrie in front of everyone and no one says anything. Here we can apply Van Zoonen's theory that Gender roles don't exist in one form but constantly change depending on how they are preformed and historical and cultural context, As David talking to Carrrie like this shows that in america this inequality is seen as a normal idea of what a man can do which then reveals social and cultural ideas of how women are seen in america.

In The Killing, Sarah is used to show the troubles of balancing a Carrier and a family. Is is seen when comparing parts of Sarah's life, In the beginning we can see that Sarah is hard working and dedicated by looking at the mise-en-sene, as her co-workers have organised her a party and most of the workforce their. This tells us that she is good at her job and respected to the point that people celebrate her leaving. Comparing this to the scene in the car's dialogue, Sarah gets the name of her son's hockey team wrong. This tells us that Sarah isn't as invested in her family as she is her job. From here we can apply Gauntlet theory of identity and that in the media there are are wide range of messages to apply to our identity, Sarah gives us a complex ideas of women both progressive, as a Succesful Carrier driven woman, but also a semi degressive idea of women not being focused on their family. This can tell us about the cultural context of Denmark and determine that gender equality is much less of a problem than it is the US, as their representation of women through the killings main character is more positive than in American shows like homeland. 

28/3/23  Scenes Analysis  

Scene 1: Sarah Meets Jan Meyer

Sarah- hectic,packinging, upbeat. Turns professional when jan comes in then they chat.

Camerawork, over the sholder shot of the photo of her son, then in the same shot jan puts up his gun poster. This portrays the difference between Sarah and jan, Sarah is a caring female, meanwhile jan is a violence loving male  

mise-en-sene: jan is smoking while sarah has nictotine gum. this makes her look more sensible than him, gender roles: the female is made to look more sensible than the man.

Jan's toy car and kids basket ball net make him come across as childish.

Diagetic sound- jans radio without asking shows that he potentially lacks respect for Sarah.

Levi Strauss

Structuralism- The study into hidden laws that govern a structure.

Levis strauss developed the idea of binary opposites through analysing myths and fables as he saw they thye worked on a structure of opposites like good and evil and night and day.

When using it to analyse media writers instead of the opposites be concepts and things they are ideologies, like femininity and masculinity

Scene 2:

wide shot

Jan is eating

Diagetic sound - dialogue, Sarah shuts down Mayers subtle criticism on her Career move. She focuses on the investigation to shut him up. 

When Mayers is goading her into going to she Theis she gives in to stop an argument from happening which shows her Professionalism.

She is respectful when asking questions

Barthes- Non diegetic sound- Sarah's professionalism is highlighted through the phasing out of the diegetic and phasing in of the non-diegetic piano which shows that she is foucus

Scene 3: Introduction to the Larsen Family

Loving family- Friendly, Fun

Close up shot of Theis and pernielle at the end, ND sound emphasises the fun nature despite of the flood.

Economic situation- tight, cant afford plummer or new washer so have to use duck tape, refelects the 2008 economic situation. mise-en-scene the broken washer

Theis is shown as masculine, he is the one who tries to fix it, Stereotypical 

mise-en-sene, thies is outfit is very stereotypicaly masuline

camerawork close up shot on the picture shows the importance of family.

Bell hooks

Intersectionality- Gender isn't the only thing that create inequality but it's a culimnation of many different ideas and things Gender,class, race and sexuality. These can come together to cause someone to be more oppressed. e.g a poor women is more oppressed than a rich woman.

She then goes on to say that the representations we see in the media create a White supremacists capitalist patriarchy.

25/4/23  The killing: analysis  

Todrorov- Narrative Theory 

There are 5 stages to a narrative

Equilibrium:All is fine. Sarah is going to leave Denmark{sarah is respected at work}, the Larsens are happy 

Disruption: Nana is kidnapped, 

Recognition of disruption : Sarah visits the Larsens and asks about the daughter {Sarah realises that Nana is the victim  

attempt to solve: A Large scale search is lead by Sarah and she doesn't leave denmark

New equilibrium: Nana is found dead

Homeland

Equilibrium: Carrie  is a CIA agent who isn't respected at work

Disruption: Brody is found and arrives and carrie suspects him to be terrorism

Recognition of disruption: Carrie talks to sual about her suspicions , saul does not believe carrie

Attempt to solve: carrie illegally sets up surveillance equipment in Brody's home, She finds out that he is sending a message through the broadcasts.

Scene 6:

As the scene goes on the space that they are both in gets smaller, going from the wide dining room to the claustrophobic door way which conveys the feeling of pressure closing in.

The dialogue and camerawork also build tension. The lack of focus in the camerawork could reflect the feeling of panic

the facial expressions are serious and worried and the close up shots on the parents reinforce this.

Perneil and Theis reinforce gender stereotypes. She has a very passive voice when talking about the ec while Theis is violent which frames his as a stereotypical protective father.

We could apply van Zoonen here as they preform traditional gender roles in this scene

Scene 7: The scene is in a car to represent that Sarah has sole control of the car and their lives

the dialogue represents that Sarah doesn't care about her son. doesn't remember anything about her sons life.

Sarah represents an idea that to be good really good at her job she must sacrifice her family relations.

and tells us that there is more focus on having a carrier than having family in Denmark and in wider society which is leading to poor family life.

We can then draw the pararell between Carrie and Sarah who both foucus so hard on their jobs that they push away anyone around them

Scene 8

Sarah here is represented as powerful, having the commanding word over her male counter part

The tensions between her and jan are that she doesn't take in anything that jan says, almost frames her as her being arrogant and thinking that she is better than Jan. however jan isn't changing anything about how he is speaking to try and come across to her.

The establishing shots of the police officers and then cutting to the woods tells us she has lots of power and can arrange large scale missions like this. 

Here we can apply hall as sarahs power over jan is an anti-stereotype which from this we can assertain the reading that men and women are equal in danish society and that this is the ideology that the danish public service broadcast have constucted through media language to perhaps spread this message.

Scene 9

There are 2 main Camera shots that show Sarahs abilities are the over the shoulder which shows her analysing the scene around her and the extreme close up almost shows her thinking.

The non diegetic sound in of a piano which is an instrument that is associated with more sophistcated music which then shows Sarash abilities as being more sophisticated or supior.

Here we can apply Barthes theory of semiology as the extreme close up on sarah is a signifier of her ability as she is the only thing on screen, showing that she has cut out all distractions to focus

Scene 10

Tension is built up by use of sound, specifically the lack of it, aside from some dialogue there is almost no sound which leaves the audience with not much to understand what is happening.

we as an audience are positioned as an observer or someone watching from a distance, this is done through a range of long shots that distance us from the action.

    

Theis orders Perneil to stay at home.

9/5/23 Ideologies and viewpoints 

Ideologie- and ideology is a set of beliefs that shape how you think about certain topics

Sarah Lund is a detective who is moving to Sweden soon however on this day before a some bloodied video rental card and some clothing is found and Sarah leads the investigation going to The Birk larsons house as the name on the card was Theis Birk Larsen. The Birk Larsens are a Happy working class family that Comprise of Theis and Perniell the parents, and 3 children the oldest in called Nana and the other 2 are irrelevant. They found out their daughter has gone missing when Sarah And jan visit and ask them where their daughter is and they don't know, they then try to find Nana on their own accord but find nothing until the end of the episode where Nana's body in a Car which is registered to Trolles Hartman's campaign.

Trolles is a politician who is running for mayor of Denmark.

Todorov- Narratology- Narratives can be seen as a series of events that moves us from the established equilibrium in the beginning to a disruption then to the recognition which then there is an attempt to solve and finally the new equilibrium.

Consumerism-  A societal need to buy and consume based on want and not need.

An example of consumerism in the Killing is Theis refuses to buy the washing machine, what they need, because he is saving up for something he wants, the new house,  The camerawork when the house is shown presents the house as a grand achievement as a low angle shot is used to frame it which supports this consumerist ideology.

 

 

Gilroy-  The loss of the empire was not morned by Britain (it kinda just happened) and because of this a post colonial culture was created that causes immigrants to be criminalizes in the media. Basically they were never came to terms with it so they take it out on anyone who comes into their country.

Sarahs female sexuality isn't focused on in the beginning as she is celebrated and treated as if she was one of the boys we can see this through the Mise-en-sene of the blow up doll with the note on it, Applying Barthes here the Doll acts as the signifier of how she is seen by her colleges and that her gender isn't a factor as stereotypically the doll would be an outrageous gift for a woman.

Sarah is also presented as a maternal figure  

16/5/23 stereotypes

Stereotypes in the killing,

There is a re-produced stereotype of Swedish nationality, this is seen if we analyse the mise-en-scene of Sarah's leaving party as she is given a 'viking hat' with horns and yellow braided hair and a pair of skis. These are both things that people are synonymous to most people when they think of Sweden and create a stereotype of Swedish nationality as skiing vikings.

The victim is very stereotypical as victims in shows and media tend to be woman rather than men, which is due to another stereotype that women are weaker than men. This is pushed further if we look at how Nana is presented to us in the beginning as she is wearing bloodied torn clothing that suggests that she has had to struggle hard to get away.

Bandura-audience theory 

Media can influence the people both directly through people consuming content through things like Tv and Social media and indirectly though other people being influenced, which can also be through social media.

Banura applies to Stereotypes in the killing as the audience will see this depictions in the killing and it will shape their views on the topic especially if it's something they are not familiar with, for example politicians most people know nothing about the world of politics and may see the corrupt nature of it in the killing and think it to be real.

Realism, How is it created in the killing.

Jan's character creates realism through his dialogue mainly through his complaining. Sarah to the audience is obviously very skilled as it is comunicated to us though things like mise-en-sene, however in the world of the killing these elements are not present and Jan acts understandably when Sarah blanks him by complaining. 

Theis: hard working man that has responsibilities that he tends to but also cares for his family. 

Events: Pernielle gets her sister to watch the other kids adds 3 dimensionality to the character. The student debate at the school adds depth to the world. Cuts for school funding- having a social issue being brought up makes everything feel more realistic.

Consumerism in the show adds a level of realism as Theis and Pernielle have dishwashers and buy a new house even though they don't need them which is similar to real life.

Narrative: Trolles mourning his wife adds realism as many people can relate to losing a loved one.

Baudrillard- In real life and the media, we used to have a sense of reality, Now we have hightened reality with is similar to ours but more extreme, Simulacra which is a copy of reality meaning it copies our world but it is not what we live, when simulacra become hard to tell aprt from reality is becomes hyperreality. 

Postmodernism- the idea that we have moved past making things and now are focused on creating simulations, features of postmodernism are things that are either to unlikly to happen or are outside of our reality, example disney land is postmodern as is simulates a world that is not our own. This can also be called lacking verisimilitude, also referencing other media texts in any form in post-modern.

The killing is a simulacra of Danish society because it is all meticuously planned out which life is not. 

Verisimilitude - how similar something is to real life.

 6/6/23  Theory 

Jenkins: Audience Theory

The audience are an intergral part of a media text  as they are what make it popular and take it and make it more than the product it's self, an example of this is when fans make their own products based around a text for others to consume which then expands the amount of content.

For an example to homeland, their are many sites, facebook groups that are dedicated towards talking about or reading about the show. They are fan made and it creates more content for them to consume 

Participatory culture is an idea that states that with the development of new media the audience is allowed to be creative and active rather than just simple consumers.

They then become Textual Poachers that take aspects from other media texts to make their own media text.

Convergence Culture- On many different platforms media is adapted, shared and consumed

Shared media- Content that has been adapted by audience members for their own purpose and then shared to others

Shirky: End of an audience

Due to technological developments the relationship of the producer and the audience have changed. In the old media producers would make content for the audience to consume usually for the guise of making money. However due to new technologies the audience can now make their own media and without the purpose of money and for passion. 

An example of this would be wikapida that does not generate a profit and yet still exsists q

Question 3: 30 marks 50 minuets 

Need to make a judgement at the end
must establish a line of resoning using an into and examples 
need to apply relevant theory
Refere to the theoretical framework

Intro

In Long form Tv dramas Some social groups are represented differently and some are represented the same across long form tv drama. I have come to this conclusion by looking at the show 'The killing' a  show produced by Danmark radio on a public service broadcast that had a low budget but did find success in both Denmark and on the BBC later. Which i then compared to another long form tv drama 'Homeland' created by the american company Showtime, the show had a massive budget which featured stars and on location filming in 2 different countrys this leads to more representations being possible than in the killing.

For an example of social groups being represented differently we can look at women. In The Killing Women are represented as being equal to men. We can see this by looking at the dialogue in the party scene as the cheif is talking to Sarah and he says things like 'You will be missed by everyone' This tells the audience that Sarah is a valuable part of the force and her absence is going to affect them which then creates the representation that women are as competent at their jobs as men and in some cases maybe even more competent. Here we can apply Gauntlets identity theory as Sarah's character send out a message that,while common now, was uncommon a couple of years ago that women can be career driven and focused and then women can understand this message and apply it to their personality. Alternatively, Looking at Homeland we can see that women are represented as being lesser than men. This is seen in Homelands opening scene's dialogue where our main character Carrie is late and is asked by her superior "how is it that every other analyst can get here on time but you" This question is condesending and demeaning but also from it we can infer that this is not the only time she has been late. This then creates a representation of women of being late, untrustworthy and perhaps cannot balance having a job and a life. From here can can apply Van zoonen's theory  of gender performance as when we compare the performance of Sarah, who is a loved career driven women known for being good at her job, to the performance of Carrie, who is untrust worthy and known for being unreliable and late, we can see that gender roles do not exists in one form but they change depending on their performance.

Next i want to compare the representation of mental health and mental conditions in long form TV drama. In HomeLand People with mental conditions are represented as haing to struggle to do siple things. We can see this by analysing the narrative in the scene where Carrie is getting ready to go out. In this scene Carrie is sporadic throwing clothes everywhere unable to chose anything and then out of know where has a breakdown on the ground only to chose something and be fine. This then creates a negative representation of people this mental conditions being unstable and able to function which then can go on to  relate to the audience. To explain why we can apply Barthes theory of semiology, carries actions are a signifier of which the denotaition is that she has a mental condition and audience members who see this may understand that and either relate or feel validated as they might of gone through a similar experience. Similarly, in the killing Sarah is implied to have some sort of mental condition and with this in mind

13/6/23    Q4  

Evaluate a theorist

4 easy steps

Intro: every theorist has 3 main points, summarise them in short 

1: explain point 1 and apply theory to TK and HL 

2: explain point 2 and apply to TK and HL

3: apply to TK and HL

Conc: explain how it does and doesen't apply to LFTVD

Gaunttlet

There are many representations in the media

4/6/23  Q3 Dirt    

What does Q3 need

Context, conevntions,viewpoints and ideologies, theory, a judgement and the theoretical framework.   Language, audience, industry and representation

Conventions of america and spy thrillers in homeland: CIA, fear of the east, patriotism, suburbia, solider comes home, BBQ, Espionage, secrets-Brodys narrative- he lies in his integ this is shown through ML of editing use of flashbacks links to the fear in society of the enemy within which stems from the cold war of the 1960s, terrorism, war,

Ideologies: Fear of terrorism and the need to fight it off- seen though carries desperation to find out Brody- seen in bagdad close ups, camera shots emphasise carrie's desperation to fight terrorism- links social context to fears of terrorism in society due to 911,Political context

The conventions used in homeland reflect those found in the country of production. This can be seen in homeland where the character Brody lies in his Interrogation. We know this through the use of editing in the form of flashbacks which tells the audience that what he says is not the truth and he is hiding it for some reason. This sets up enigma codes which are a convention of spy thrillers like homeland and also links to the societal fear of the 'enemy within' that lies in american culture that came about due to events like the cold war back in the 60s and 911 in 2011 which can done by people living in america. Here we can apply Neale's genre theory that we as an audience expect certain genre conventions like enigma codes in spy Thrillers as they are succesful in making us watch more, for example knowing that Brody is lying makes us want to know why and continue watching.

Q4- Gauntlet- There are a diverse and contradictory  messages in the media- an examples of this are Sarah and Carrie as they are progressive in the terms of they are both successful in their jobs and Sarah is respected however their personal lives fall short as Carrie as no family relations and Sarah has a poor relationship with her son.

LFTVD attempt to reach international audiences with Characters that can relate to a wide amount of people with characters like the Birk Larsens who are Parents that have had a child gone missing. Almost any parent anywhere could empathise with their situation. 

8/1/23 

The killing

Danish people are not used to 

multiculturalism we can see this in the killing in the scene where theis lectures Vaughn. In this scene we see the only non white person in the show who owns the shop. This gives the impression that Denmark lacks a diverse population which here we can apply Gilroy who says that representations in the media inherently support the superiority of white western societies as the lack of anyone brown supports the superiority of the whites. This reflects the ideas of the dansish people as The Killing is a PSB production meaning that the views of the Danish public.

WE CAN ALSO SEE THIS POU=INT IN HOMELAND WHEN LOOKING AT THE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE WEST VS THE EAST.

iN THE BEGINNING OF THE EPISODE THROUGH THE USE OF EDITING.

WE SEE A GLAMOUROURS PARTY IN AMERICA.