TV Drama

Monday 2nd November 2020

Long Form TV Drama

L/O: to explore the content of the unit.

Key Terms:

Media Language:

How TV Drama communicates meaning through codes and conventions and technical and narrative techniques.

Representations:

How events, issues, individuals and social groups are portrayed in TV Drama.

Industry:

How the TV industry processes of production, distribution & circulation work.

Audiences:

How TV Dramas target, reach and address audiences and how audiences interpret and respond to them.

Context:

The economic, social and cultural contexts surrounding specific TV dramas. 

How am I examined?

There will be two exam essay questions:

  1.  A longer, comparative 30 mark question where you will have to apply academic concepts to your two case studies.
  2. A shorter 10 mark question where you will have to connect your case studies to a particular theory you've studied.
What is the genre of TV drama?
Lasts around an hour (with adverts) which last over many episodes

Flexi-narrative:
Represents a complex story telling form with the following features:
  • Central characters whose motives  develop with them.
  • A main storyline with interwoven subplots.
  • A combination of complex characters that are ambiguous or enigmatic, creating tension and questions for the audience.
His Dark Materials:
Lyra- Throughout his dark materials (season 1) Lyra's motive begins to be known from the start but its not until later on in the series where you find out that she's going to go through with them and find out about dust. Throughout his dark materials there are parts where Lyra seems very strong and her curiosity leads her; to escape from Mrs Coulter, to go to the North, escape from Bolvangar. There are also times where lyra can be weaker and more emotional e.g. at the end when she finds out what has happened to Rodger but continues on because of her curiosity and the reason she went to the North. 

Research Task:

Which TV network developed the show and which corporation are they subsidiary of?
Showtime- CBS Corporation

Which Studio Produced the series? 
Fox 21 Television Studios 

What award did the first season win?
2011 Golden globe award for best TV Drama  

Episode 1 was released in October 2011. What key global events prior to this impacted its development?


How was Episode 1, 'Pilot', released differently to normal in the US? How many viewers did it have in the US and then in the UK on C4?
The first episode was available online for more than 2 weeks before the television broadcast with viewers having to complete game tasks to gain access.
2.78 million viewers including additional broadcasts and on demand.
World wide and was distributed in Canada, Ireland, India and Pakistan. 

What genre is it? 
Homeland is a spy thriller.

Find an overview of the storyline of season 1:
The first season follows Carrie Mathison, a Central Intelligence Agency operations officer who, after conducting an unauthorized operation in Iraq, is put on probation and reassigned to the CIA's Counterterrorism Center in Langley, Virginia. In Iraq, Carrie was warned by an asset that an American prisoner of war had been turned by al-Qaeda. Carrie has also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a fact that she conceals from the CIA. She surreptitiously receives medication for the disorder from her sister.

Carrie's job grows complicated when her boss, Director of the Counterterrorism Center David Estes, calls Carrie and her colleagues in for an emergency briefing. Carrie learns that Nicholas Brody, a U.S. Marine Sergeant who had been reported as missing in action since 2003, has been rescued during a Delta Force raid on a compound belonging to terrorist Abu Nazir. Carrie comes to believe that Brody is the American prisoner of war whom her asset in Iraq was talking about. However, the federal government and her superiors at the CIA consider Brody a war hero. Later, another Marine captured at the same time, Tom Walker, is also found to be still alive, casting doubt on which of the Marines is the suspected spy.

Realising it would be nearly impossible to convince her boss to place Brody under surveillance, Carrie approaches the only other person she can trust, her mentor, Saul Berenson. The two must now work together to investigate Brody and prevent another terrorist attack on American soil. Eventually, Brody plans to assassinate the Vice President with a suicide vest but falters at the last moment after an emotional conversation with his daughter Dana. Carrie becomes more paranoid that Brody plans to carry out a terroristic act.

Character profiles:
Carrie: 



Monday 9th November 2020
Homeland
L/O: to explore the narrative, theme and characters in set episode
Season 1, Episode 1, October 2011

Narrative:
Main Narrative
Brody returns home
Individual/minor character narratives 
Carrie- has a mental illness
Enigma code
Is Brody a terrorist?
What happens with the family?
What happens to Carrie and her illness?
Narratology: Todorov
Equilibrium > Disruption > Resolved > New Equilibrium 
Limitations:
Was not designed for long form serial narratives 
Does not help to understand televisions tendency towards segmentation rather than linearity.
Does not help to understand Narrative strands that do not add to the narrative drive towards resolution but establish characterisation. (Individual/minor character narratives).

Genre Theory: Neale
Generic codes and conventions are shown via repetition. 
Generic conventions evolve to hybrids (spy thriller, mental illness, female protagonist)

Wednesday 11th November 2020
Homeland: industry and context
L/O: To explore the production, social and political context of set products.

Industry Context:
TV Video on demand (VOD) systems can either stream content through a set top box, allowing viewers in real time, or download it to a device such as a computer. 
Showtime, as a cable TV-based television provider offers both VOD streaming and free content. 
Homeland is a great example of VOD

Political Context:
9/11- 11th September 2001
Targeting symbolic locations in America (Symbols of political power)
  • Twin Towers
  • Pentagon
  • The White House
The loss of life and physical scaring of the city and the realisation that the city is not untouchable had a devastating effect on the western culture.
Made everywhere feel vulnerable
9/11's impacts-
Impact on individuals and their lives
Security legislation (internal and international)
Declaration by America of a 'war on terror'
Feeling of fear and unease caused by the attack
Religious/cultural- racism and religious intolerance 

Post 9/11 era: the media-
The media, mostly films and tv series, is one way people use as a distraction from the world and although they include a lot about current affairs they try to avoid including to much of it. Most films and TV series such as spiderman that was released in 2002 and Friends avoided containing any mention of 9/11 to appeal more to the audience as they may want to use these as a distraction but can't use films and TV series if they include to many details that will trigger individuals. Although some shows may not have introduced any events of 9/11 but made the show as if the peoples lives had gotten worse but through situations of their own

How has Homeland tapped into post 9/11 themes and anxieties 10 years on?
Homeland has tapped into post 9/11 themes and anxieties as they add in small references as to when 9/11 happened and what some of the characters feel they could have done or should have known it was coming even though it was an unforeseen attack. Some of the character could relate to some of the types of people who would have been involved in the 9/11 attack e.g. who had come up and caused the attack/ situation they are in.

How important is the 9/11 context to homeland as a media text?
The 9/11 context to homeland is important as it shows how similar homeland is to the event of 9/11. 9/11 effected everyone and if it could have been prevented it most likely would have. Homeland in episode one is showing how Carrie and the CIA are trying to find out and understand whether Abu Nazir is going to attack and how to try to prevent it. With this they follow Nick Brody as they have suspicions that he's a terrorist and that he's working with Abu Nazir and be in the plan to attack America. The 9/11 context would be important to know as it will help to understand what type of fear Carrie and the other CIA members face to protect America at all costs of an attack as especially Carries feels some type of pain or guilt over not being able to sense the 9/11 attack. 

Semiology: Barthes
The study of signs- consist of a signifier such as a word, image or sound and its meaning.
The denotation of a sign is its literal meaning. Which signifies its connotation
Denotations and connotations are organised into myths - the ideological meaning.

Structuralism: Levi Strauss
Structuralism, the study of hidden rules that govern a structure.
Developed the idea of 'binary opposition' - the system of myths and fables was ruled by a structure of opposing terms. e.g. hot - cold

Gilroy: Ethnicity and post-colonialism
  • Gilroy draws attention to the continuing role of colonial ideology- of the superiority of white Western Culture- across a range of representations.

Monday 16th November 2020
Homeland: Characters
L/O: To explore the narrative and characterisation in set products.

How is she first represented to us?
Carrie: 
Intelligent- Following up intel - sees the possibilities. 
Rouge- Doesn't listen to authority- phone/prison
Determined- Challenges authority + men
Fearless- prison + on the phone
How have they constructed a sense of the post 9/11 fear and anxiety?

Outline what happens in the scene
How is carrie first represented? Stereotype/counter type?  Media language choices? (shot type, sound, MES, editing) 
How are the middle east & middle eastern people represented? Media language choices? 

Discuss the representation of Carrie and the Middle East in the opening scene of Homeland S1 E1. Refer to post 9/11 context in your answer.

In the opening scene of Homeland Carrie is represented to be fearless. This has been shown through her not following instructions and going into the prison as well as her shouting down the phone to someone higher up than her, known as David. This can be shown through the use of sound when we hear Carrie on the phone to David where she is refusing to give up trying with the case and finding out about the attack. Talking to someone higher up than her like David could cost her, her job and her career as for a start she's a women and second of all she treating someone with more authority as lower and disrespecting his orders. Her refusal to give up could hint and point us in the direction of her acting out of fear that was due to 9/11 as the unforeseen attack if there's a chance and a possibility that they can prevent it. 

In the opening scene of Homeland Carrie is represented as fearless. This has been show through her following instructions and going into the prison suggests this. Carrie is also seen shouting down the phone to someone of a higher authority, David. This is shown when she isn't following the instructions she's been given by David. When on the phone to David Carrie is presented through a low angle shot. The low angle shot presents her as strong and fearless as she is not letting her fear control her of what could happen by her reacting in this way. This could link to 9/11 as they are trying to gain knowledge of an attack, Carrie is trying all she can to gain this knowledge of an attack that could happen as she doesn't want anything similar to happen again. Carrie is still paranoid of the world and what could happen say theres another attack.
Carrie Mathison: Analysis Points-
  • Carrie represents a non-coventional and highly flawed hero.
  • Not only is she a female who represents authority, a role usually taken by a male, she is also fiercely independent and has grit, determination and is happy to ignore the chain of command. She is a maverick who is her own worst enemy
  • This alienates her from authority male figures within the CIA.
  • Carrie alienates herself further by refusing to follow procedure and lying to her mentor, all in the name of her pursuit of the truth
  • She had an obsessive attention to detail
  • In addition she is psychologically damaged.
  • Carrie makes several decisions within the narrative that cause the audience to question her judgement.
  • As a women she is represented as highly emotional.
  • She uses her sexuality as a tool
Van Zoonen: Feminist theory-
  • Ideas of femininity and masculinity are constructed in our performance of these roles.
  • 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.
Van Zoonen: Feminist theory and Homeland-
  • 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.
  • Carrie although strong and in a masculine role of leadership, has several flaws that makes her unstable as a leader and strong women, thus showing the power of patriarchy reinforcing subtly the inferiority of women to men in positions of power.
Feminist theory: Bell Hooks-
  • Intersectionality refers to the coming together of gender, race, class and sexuality to create a white supremacist capitalist patriarchy which dominates media representations.
  • Women should develop an oppositional gaze that refuses to identify with character that reinforce patriarchal ideology and politicises the case.
Bell Hooks: Feminist theory and Homeland
  • The representation of the men in power fit with those suggested by Bell Hooks.
  • Carrie embodies the oppositional gaze that refuses to conform to the expectations of women and provides a character to identify with that challenges the patriarchal ideologies.
Monday 23rd November 2020
Homeland: characters
L/O: To explore the narrative and characterisation in set products.

What mise-en-scene choices have been made to look like a POW- (Prisoner of war)?

Military uniform- people out finding him.
Scruffy, long hair- untamed, natural, uncared for.
dry lips- uncared for.
These make him look like prisoner of war because he wouldn't be able to look after his appearance.

  • Outline what happens in the scene
    • Brody returns home
    • Brody sees his family
    • Gets welcomed by the Vice President
    • Brody makes a speech type thing
  • How is family represented in the reunion scene? how does Brody react?

  • How is the vice president represented?
    • Political
    • business like
    • focused on personal gain
    • confident
    • arrogant
How is Brody represented in the scene where he lands home?

In the scene where Brody returns home he is represented to be nervous. This is seen through the way that Brody waits for his family to show affection towards him and waits for their approval of what type of welcoming they want, whether that be through a hug or a hand shake. While waiting for his family to show there affection he stands their straight and formally as he's nervous of what could have changed, between the family, while he had been gone for so long. 

Wednesday 25th November 2020
Homeland: characters (Brody P2)

Nicholas Brody: War Hero (add in slide/ edit the text in colour)
  • Fits the traditional role of hero 
  • Carrie rejects this view, while the audience see him as heroic in episode 1
  • Audience have to reject the reassurance a conventional hero can provide
  • Shown certain viewpoints and given enough information to see him from a specific perspective
Brody represented as a Hero
Im an american - captive scene - close up on face
An american hero is coming home 
Physical damage to the 'hero'

Brody represented as a Villain 
Looks like a villain/ un-human when cutting hair/beard

Carrie- doubt- represented
edited- asking questions 
Leaving during celebrations 
Saul's questioning her by questioning her logic and having no proof
Rushed speaking- making sure she gets everything down 
out of the question- doubt 

How does the surveillance set up by carrie allow the audience to identify and sympathise with her character and the circumstances on a more human level?
Seeing what he's like throughout the episode as a whole and not just how he wants to be seen as its the knowing whats going on behind closed doors that could be the part where they become themselves and feel like nobody's watching them where they show their true colours.
Where Brody acts like he's being tortured which wouldn't be seen outside and only be seen behind closed doors. 
How does it position the audience? What value's and ideologies does this act of surveillance represent?
This positions the audience to know how much the government can spy on someone just from suspition of what they will do. The value would suggest they are trying to look after the country but by doing this the surveillance makes it seem wrong.

Do you think Brody is difficult to like? What values and ideologies does he represent?
I think that Brody is difficult to like as he changes a lot throughout the episode and at the start he seems more likeable. E.g. when returning home feeling more sorry for him, his scars. But as the episode progresses and his personality changes its a lot more obvious that he will be a little harder to like. E.g. lying shown through a flashback of what actually happened.

Why are flashbacks used in episode 1 and how do they attempt to manipulate the audience into thinking a certain way about Brody?
Flashbacks in episode 1 are used to show what Brody was like and how he was treated or how lying is a big part of what his character is like.

What mise-en-scene choices are key? Lighting?
Low lighting 
formal- business like
see the interrogation is about hims
Lighting effects background when going between carrie and Brody (Shot reverse shot) - Makes characters the main subject of the shot. 

What shot types are used?
Midshot- Brody -less pressure more control equal
Mid-shot - Carrie - Less pressure presented as equal 
Close up - Brody - show emotion, facial expression, pressure.
Mid-shot- Carrie - less pressure, less emotion, more interrogation happening more question asked, nothing being to directed at her. 
OTS/ Wide-shot- of carrie 
Shot directed on file 
Closer on Carries face- Intensity of questions and fraustration
Mid-shot of Brody- he's gaining control, more powerful than Carrie
Zoom close up - after flashback realising he's lying
Close up- Carries face- shock, unbelievible

How do they use flashbacks to give information to the audience?
Flashbacks were used to show when he was lying while looking at the file and saying he doesn't know who the person in the pictures were - this makes the audience know that he's lying and hiding information of the attack. 

How is Carrie represented?
Powerful

How is Brody represented?


Sound emphasises tension

Discuss the techniques used to represent Nicholas Brody in Episode 1 of Homeland?

In episode 1 we see Brody represented in contrasting lights, initially we see him represented as a hero. This is shown through the scene where the CIA says an american hero is coming home. 

This fits Gauntletts theory that there are diverse and contradictory messages in identity representation. In the episode Brody being a war hero is present and how they are still serving their country however the pain and suffering the war heroes still face are not shown. 























Monday 30th November 2020
Homeland: Representation
L/O: To explore the representation in set products.

How is Carries mental health represented in this clip? What is she doing? Why? How does she try to control herself?
Carries mental health is negative.
Mental health controls her life.
Obsessive.
Controls her actions.
She trys to control herself by listening to calming music and trying to forget things but it ends up irritating her.
She feels 9/11 was caused by her.

Carries actions make her lie and panic and become angry at what was said. As well as becomes emotional. 





























Positive: Carrie's Mental Illness
  • Assists in work 
  • Reaches answers
  • Her work is her life
Negative: Carrie's Mental Illness
  • Poor sense of judgement
  • Questions herself
  • Lack of respect due to her inappropriate behaviours and humorous outbursts
  • Obsession over steps the rules - installing cameras, breaking the law
How is Carrie's mental illness represented as part of her identity?
Links to Gauntletts theory as her identity is complex to understand and because of her mental illness being very contradictory as to whether her mental health is a positive or negative thing. 

Dominant reading- 
Mental health is bad/ negative.
Negotiated reading- 
Mental health is good for work but also bad as how it controls her actions e.g. breaking the law, installing cameras.
Oppositional reading- 
Mental health is bad and is not good for her social life.

Area 7: Muslims & Post 9/11 climate 10 years on in Homeland -
Starting points:
  • Starting scene
  • Mise-en-scene
  • Fear created by 9/11
Muslims 
Baghdad - opening scene:

Camera Angles & Shot Types + Framing:

Establishing shot -













  • Baghdad Skyline
    • Gives an insight as to where the scene starts and the overall living conditions of the people living in Baghdad and the structure of Baghdad (construction)
Crowded shot -













  • People living in Baghdad who are walking the streets
    • Only males in the street
    • Male dominant - patriarchal society
    • Wearing typical Muslim style clothing
Two shot - 













  • Clearly see two people, and many more but not in focus, wearing kufi hats
    • Typical Islamic Muslim headwear worn by males to symbolise their status as wise elders, religious people or family patriarchs. 
High angle shot -














  • Looking down on children and a women, no longer focused on a busy street.
    • From what I can tell it looks like a women and boys.
      • Seen from the outfits the people are wearing. 
Camera Movement:
For camera movement I cant really screen shot anything for and its basically just how nearly all of the clips have been filmed using a handheld camera. The handheld camera movement gives it a shaky look which could mean that living in Baghdad can be unstable and it could give it a more realistic effect as within the situations that the people in Baghdad are experiencing. Like being on a crowded street you wouldn't be able to set up a tripod and film the street and even if you could it wouldn't be realistic enough and may even make you believe the street isn't busy. 

Sound:
At the start of the opening scene, where we see the establishing shot of the Baghdad skyline, we can hear a man singing some prayers and a large amount of indistinct conversation. The singing of the prayers shows the religious aspect of Baghdad where as the indistinct talking doesn't show or suggest anything and we only know a lot about Baghdad and its religion through the visual aspects of the clothing the people around, in the street, are wearing. The singing of the prayers does not only occur once but twice which leads me to believe that religion is a large part of people from Baghdad's culture. 

Mise-en-scene:

Location: A street in Baghdad















This image here shows a clear idea of the type of location that Baghdad is. Here we can see:
  • Cars & Vans
  • Houses
  • Shops
  • People
  • Religious building
Baghdad as a place looks very run down and looks to have a poor construction but has cars and vans. Cars and Vans are normally a symbol of money and wealth and looking at Baghdad it doesn't look to contain wealthy people and as a whole with the poor construction makes it look even less wealthy. 

Location: Prison in Baghdad















Things about the location and about Muslims and Baghdad:
  • Barbed wire
  • Gallows
  • Prison officers/guards
  • run down looking walls
Here Baghdad is presented through the prison. From this you can see the prison walls looking very run down and barbed wire running over the walls. The barbed wire doesn't provide much of a sense of security and if anything suggests that Baghdad is not a wealthy place. Although prisons aren't meant to look nice they should still look a little less run down as by it looking run down would suggest a lack of care and security. Another thing that can be seen in this location is the gallows, behind prison walls. This would allow us to know that the death sentence still exists in Baghdad but it isn't a public execution.

Clothing:

Males:
























Many people wearing kufi hats, which are typical Islamic Muslim headwear, worn by males, to symbolise their status as 
  • wise elders
  • religious people
  • family patriarchs
Seem to wear 'normal' clothing or clothing which reflect their religion. Although a Muslim can also be wearing plain or 'normal' clothing. Some of the males are wearing the typical Muslim 'dress' called a thawb. 

Women & Children:














Muslim women seen wearing hijabs and long, loose clothing to cover the majority of the skin.
Muslim children where similar clothes that men and women wear depending on their gender so a boy would wear a thawb while a girl would wear a hijab and cover most of their skin. 

Post 9/11 climate 10 years on
Anything to do with 9/11 is either seen or heard through actions or words, the majority is through sound and speech that causes certain actions. 
When Carrie is talking to Saul at the start she mentions what the prisoner from Baghdad had whispered in her ear, that being "An American prisoner of war has turned" While Carrie says this we see a flashback of when Carrie is at the prison and when the prisoner whispers something into her ear. In the opening scene we don't hear what he whispers in her ear and it leaves us guessing. This could hint to a threat of an attack. This is important as it helps us see that Carrie is focused on finding a way to stop an attack on US soil. From what the prisoner had said it had lead Carrie to set up camera's and security all over Brody's house when he returns home after being held captive for 8 years. This led Carrie to break 12 federal laws because of planting the cameras in Brody's house.
Later on in the episode Carrie and Saul are having a conversation over at Carries this is when Saul finds out that Carrie had gone behind his back and set up the camera's and security systems. Carrie says to Saul, hesitantly, "I- I'm just making sure we don't get hit again" Although she may feel shes doing the best things shes making things worse for herself. She also then continues this time acting as if shes guilty for the 9/11 attack by saying to Saul "I missed something once before. I wont... I can't let it happen again". This implies that 9/11, even though it was 10 years ago, is still impacting many peoples lives causing them fear especially Carrie working for the CIA. We know that this is all about 9/11 because Saul says "It was 10 years ago. Everyone missed something that day". This would suggest that he's trying to get Carrie to understand and admit that 9/11 wasn't just down to her and that no one had seen the attack coming. 
Although their may not have been the most amount of mention of 9/11 and it wasn't shown but suggested it shows how in 2011 it still affects people life's and still causes them fear and guilt, even if it wasn't their fault.  






09/12/2020
Postmodernism: Baudrillard 
  • The idea that society has moved beyond modernism.
  • As modern societies were organised around production of goods, postmodern society is organised around simulation. (Beyond modernism)
  • Hyperreality- disney land- simulation of place and character
  • Beyond modernism - Based on production of goods now based on simulation 
  • Social distinction - imploded - now simulations where individuals create identity. 
Postmodernism: In Homeland
Homeland is set in a real world where its in present day. It tackles real world events like 9/11 and local politics as well as mental health. It does however link in terms of characters because Carrie is a women protagonist which wouldn't have been how it was done years back as well as linking to Brody with him not being in power. 

Wednesday 9th December 2020
Homeland: Review and DIRT
L/O: to reflect on and improve analysis.
Discuss the representation of Carrie and the Middle East in the opening scene of Homeland S1 E1. Refer to post 9/11 context in your answer.

In the opening scene of Homeland Carrie is represented to be fearless. This has been shown through her not following instructions and going into the prison as well as her shouting down the phone to someone higher up than her, known as David. This can be shown through the use of sound when we hear Carrie on the phone to David where she is refusing to give up trying with the case and finding out about the attack. Talking to someone higher up than her like David could cost her, her job and her career as for a start she's a women and second of all she treating someone with more authority as lower and disrespecting his orders. Her refusal to give up could hint and point us in the direction of her acting out of fear that was due to 9/11 as the unforeseen attack if there's a chance and a possibility that they can prevent it. 

In episode 1 of Homeland we see Carrie in contrasting representations. We see her as Fearless as well as her being intelligent. 
In the opening scene of Homeland Carrie is represented as fearless. This has been show through her not following instructions and going into the prison suggests this. Carrie is also seen shouting down the phone to someone of a higher authority, David. This is shown when she isn't following the instructions she's been given by David. When on the phone to David Carrie is presented through a low angle shot. The low angle shot presents her as strong and fearless as she is not letting her fear control her of what could happen by her reacting in this way. This could link to 9/11 as they are trying to gain knowledge of an attack, Carrie is trying all she can to gain this knowledge of an attack that could happen as she doesn't want anything similar to happen again. Carrie is still paranoid of the world and what could happen say theres another attack.
Another way that Carrie has been represented is through her being intelligent. She see's the possibilities and if theres a way for her to get information on an attack that will happen on America then she wants to try to stop it all she can. In the prison scene when Carrie is trying to get information from the prisoner soon to be killed you see carrie through a high angle although that suggests she's weak and uncertain about what she's said and whether she'll get the information. The uncertainty helps and makes her fight for the information. She's using her intelligence to think what would make the prisoner give up information and the way she essentially does this is through her black mailing the prisoner in saying she would help his family get to safety. Carrie is trying all she can to get this information as she still fears an attack and would blame herself more for an attack that can be stopped where she could from 9/11. The fears of 9/11 still impact her life significantly. 


Carrie Mathison: Analysis Points-
  • Carrie represents a non-coventional and highly flawed hero.
  • Not only is she a female who represents authority, a role usually taken by a male, she is also fiercely independent and has gritdetermination and is happy to ignore the chain of command. She is a maverick who is her own worst enemy
  • This alienates her from authority male figures within the CIA.
  • Carrie alienates herself further by refusing to follow procedure and lying to her mentor, all in the name of her pursuit of the truth
  • She had an obsessive attention to detail
  • In addition she is psychologically damaged.
  • Carrie makes several decisions within the narrative that cause the audience to question her judgement.
  • As a women she is represented as highly emotional.
  • She uses her sexuality as a tool

























Monday 14th December 2020
The Killing
L/O: To explore the narrative, theme and characters in set episode.

Research task (Homework):

Who created the series?
SĆøren Sveistrup 

Which two studios produced the series?
1. DR
2. ZDF Enterprises 

What award did the series win?
2011 BAFTA television awards - ā€˜best international’ category

Episode 1 was released in 2007. What Danish channel was it shown on and how is this channel similar to the BBC?
Channel DR1, like the BBC, has a public service remit to follow. 

It was shown in the UK on BBC four. how many viewers did it have in Denmark and then in the UK on BBC 4?
Audience figure in Denmark were 1.7 million and the UK 500,000 viewers per episode.

What did Netflix do with the series in 2014?
Netflix did a remake produced by Fox TV Studios for the US dominated market which was distributed globally.

Wednesday 6th January 2021
The Killing P2
L/O: To explore the narratives, themes and characters in set episode.

Narratives-

Main Narrative Quest/ Conflict Set Up :

Enigma Codes:

Individual Character Narratives:


Monday 11th January 2021
The Killing: Industry and Context
L/O: To explore the production, social & political context of set products.

Industry Context-
  • The killing is a great example of European LFTVD produced under the grown out of a strong public service remit. It shares the conventions of the commercial form (Homeland etc...) but is also concerned with the wider social, political and moral issues.
  • Each 50 minute episode covers 24 hours of the investigation, with the first series consisting of 20 episodes. It shows the economic context of a small, publicly-owned national broadcaster that can only finance one LFTVD per season, and this only in co-operation with other European TV producers. (Only 5% of Danish drama is financed by the Danish license fee)
  • DVD box set sales and a number of international co-producers (the BBC being one) and distribution agreements have added the success of Danish dramas. 
  • By 2013, Danish Drama had become very popular as content on multi-platform online media like Netflix - recognition of its quality and significance.

Genre-
  • Nordic Noir is an umbrella term to describe Scandinavian crime fiction,  a genre that has become very popular in the last few years. 
  • 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 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 and distinctive look.
Other successful Nordic Noir series:
  • Trapped
  • The Valhalla Murders 
  • Borgen
Nordic Noir: Conventions-
  • Partly because of its PSB remit, Danish TV drama consciously incorporates inot its storytelling a cause and effect narrative, covering crime and broader socio-political contexts in this case.
  • Part of the conventions is to weave intricate characters and plots that converge and diversify to encourage audience interpretation and reading of events.
  • This linking of compelling storytelling to relevant discourses in society is described as double storytelling. It layers a text with meaning about Danish society, and also primes the show to appeal to international markets.

Media Language: Title Sequence-
The series is noted for its plot twists and dark tone and for giving equal emphasis to the stories of the victims family and the effect in political circles of the murder and police investigation. 
Task: Watch the episode 1 title sequence again. Analyse how media language is used to create suspense and signify the genre. 
Things to comment on:
  • Style
  • Lighting
  • Camerawork
  • Sound
  • Editing
Genre Theory: Neale -
Draws attention to the process of difference with repetition and hybridity (mixing of genres)

Audience expectations are that of twisting and enigmatic narratives that have been developed.

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

The Killing: Context-
The killing is set in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.
Copenhagen is the cultural and political centres of the country and the series is the product of the Danish public broadcasting network DR (their version of the BBC), which dominates Danish programming. 

Task: Compare: where is majority of Homeland set in episode 1?

Danish society is renowned for being a rational and civilised society. The murder of Nanna Birk Larsen is framed as shocking anomaly to this.

Task: Compare: how is American society usually represented in Homeland?

Contexts-
  • Historical: How LFTVD are influenced through historical contexts through intertextual references. Societal influences and significant social historical events. Reflects a period of time in that location and region.
  • Economic:  How LFTVD reflects their economic contexts through production, financial and technological opportunities and constraint. Budget size, commercial vs public service, marketing distribution and use of stars in productions. Ownership and budgets. The Killing was PSB production with a small budget, but aims to sell a home product to a global market - Killing was remade in the US by FOX. The Killing collaboration with the BBC. 
  • Political: How LFTVD can facilitate political developments through media language and messages created for events or issues. Political perspective, representations of national identity vs global perspective, ideas of national identity. Ideology constructed of dominant, hegemonic and oppositional values. US versus European versions of democracy. Verisimilitude (the appearance of being true or real) in The Killing.
  • Social:
  • Cultural: 















Monday 18th January 2021
The Killing: Characters 
L/O: To explore the narrative and characterisation in set products.

Starter Task:
Many layers suggests cold weather 
There's a purpose 
Determined
Minimal make up
Blurred background 
Professional

Opening Scene- 
The opening scene and title sequence sets the tone and pace of the whole series. The series starts off with a dramatic wild chase of what appears to be a 'mad man' after a young partially dressed girl. 

Task: review the opening scene again (Time = 0.00-1.57)
What media language choices have been made to represent this crime to the audience?
What first impression does it give us about the content of the programme?

Throughout the opening scene sound is both diegetic as well as non-diegetic. The first bit of diegetic sound heard is not sound from the girl but in fact sound from the person with the torch following behind the girl, you can hear the noise of the ground underfoot. The diegetic sound from the girl is things such as the girl breathing and screaming as well as the noise of her walking through the river. Another time diegetic sound is used is when you see the aeroplane fly overhead when you see the girl sat down panting after running. Whereas for non-diegetic there is a constant piece of sound playing throughout and only stops when the aeroplane flies overhead and can be heard.

Another way that media language has been used to represent this crime to the audience is through mise-en-scene. The lighting and location for the killing especially in the opening scene suggests to you that crime would most likely be common. 


Wednesday 20th January 2021
The Killing: Context
L/O: To explore the social issues represented, specifically gender. 

Starter Task-

Sarah Lund:
  • Costume
    • Casual, everyday clothes, practical for her job as an investigator.
  • Hair
    • Tied back, out of the way, not styled.
  • Make up
    • Natural, naturalistic look. 
Carrie Mathison:
  • Costume
    • Smart suit, businesslike clothing, low cut little revealing for business attire.
  • Hair
    • Styled, down, not tied up out of the way.
  • Make up
    • Eye make up as well as some lipstick.

Reflecting Social Attitudes-
Task: Article and Scene 4 analysis (Time = 6.44-7.19)

1. Read 'Reflecting Social Attitudes 2' about the historical/recent issues between Denmark and Sweden. 
2. Watch scene 4 from 6.44 - 7.19. How does dialogue ans mise-en-scene choices reflect the relationship between Denmark & Sweden?

Reflecting social Attitudes 2- 
  • Denmark has always been seen as internationally progressive in terms of gender equality.
  • In 2007, (date of first series) they were ranked 8th in the world for this (Sweden was 1st).
  • In 2020, they rank 14th in the world (Sweden 4th).
  • In 2011, the United States was ranked in 17th place. 
  • In 2020, the United States is ranked in 53rd place.
Task: Is the way that Sarah Lund is treated in the workplace different to the way Carrie Mathison is treated in the workplace in Homeland? How does this link to the different countries stance on gender equality?

Gender Issues-
  • Lund's professionalism reflects societal issues surrounding the sexes.
  • Nadia






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

The lead protagonists in Homeland and The Killing are used to reflect societal issues which can be seen in the way Carrie is treated in the work place compared to Sarah.

In Homeland Carrie is not treated as equally as the males as where she's a women. This can be seen the whole way through when they challenge her intelligence. She is a hard character to get along with but it is still seen that they treated her unequal to the males. In 2011 when the first episode of Homeland was released the United States were ranked 17th place for gender equality but over the years gender equality in the Unite States has changed dramatically. In 2011 where the United States were ranked in 17th place by 2020 they ended up in 53rd which would suggest that the first episode would have been since with so much better gender equality but can still be seen with many issues. 

In The Killing Sarah is treated a lot more equally than Carrie but there are certain characters who have different ideas. Denmark in 2007, which was when The Killing's first episode was released, was ranked 8th for gender equality. Sarah was treated as equal with everyone in her work place other than when she meets Jan. Jan as a character seems like one who believes that gender equality shouldn't exist and that when he got to Sarah's office and saw Sarah he was shock to see a women. Denmark's rank on gender equality changed from 8th in 2007 to 14th in 2020. This would yet again reflect societal issues where gender equality is involved.

Monday 25th January 2021
The Killing: Analysis
L/O: To analyse a variety of scenes using accurate terminology.

Scene 1: 7.20-9.34:
Sarah meets Jan Meyer
  • How is Sarah represented at the start of the scene? What is she doing? How is she acting?
    • Confident, focused, unaware of anything other than her packing and her boyfriend on the phone.
    • Medium long shot - When she takes something off of her office door, shuts the door not realising anyone was there. 
    • Sarah is packing up her office getting ready to move.
  • When we meet Jan - how is he represented? How are gender roles represented in this scene?
    • When we meet Jan he gives off a 'men are more superior than women' type of personality.
    • Medium close up - when he's in her office while she's packing when they meet as well as looking over all of her stuff. 
  • Does Sarah's demeanour change when he arrives?
    • When Jan arrives Sarah becomes less confident and more aware about her surroundings and especially with Jan around.
Structuralism: Levi-Strauss

Scene 2: 9.35-11.58:
First time we see Sarah out investigating
  • What shots are used to represent her instinct as a detective?
    • Close up of the evidence from the scene - shows us what shes looking at in the same level of detail she would see through her own eyes. 
    • Long shot of the investigation scene where shes with Jan and another worker. Shows the location of whats around.
    • Wide shot while shes asking questions. It shows us her movements while investigating the scene and could look like someones watching them evaluate the scene from a distance.
    • Over the shoulder shot while Sarah's evaluating the location as a whole and it circles around with her to show her moving. Shows maybe shes considering the bigger picture of where the incident may have occurred. Focus pull during this to show that our attention should be focusing on the back of the location instead of on her and this is where her mind may be thinking everything happened.
    • Medium close up of Sarah after she finishes circling the location shows shes straight to the point in asking if they have searched the whole area. 
  • How is sound used to represent her instinct as a detective?
    • Sound has been used to represent her instinct as a detective as we have dialogue between the characters, diegetic sound, as well as natural sounds your most likely to hear everyday such as aeroplane noises. There is also some non diegetic sound while Sarah is turning around which sound quite mysterious which can represent her instinct as a detective as she doesn't know exactly what has happened so is a mystery to her that needs to be solved. 
  • How does the way she directs others on the team reflect Danish society?
    • She directs others by asking many questions, asking whether they've done this or whether they've done that as well as trying to gain as much information as she can. As well as leading off ahead of Jan making her the leader and directing Jan to the scene. She is also free to do whatever she wants to do, so picking up the bags with the evidence in and not paying as much attention to the questions she had asked as well as having the ability to ask so many questions as a women. This reflects on Danish society as it shows how much more free Sarah as a women is and how much control and power she has.
  • Can you make and comparisons to Homeland?

Semiology: Barthes


Scene 3: 11.59 - 15.45:
Introduction to the Larsen family
  • How are they represented as a family?
    • The family have been represented in this scene as a family by the way that they value each other. Theis was off at work but went back home the second his wife had contacted him meaning that family is more important than work. 
  • How are economic issues represented?
    • Theis fixes the dishwasher with duct tape, which then comes off which breaks the dishwasher covering the floor with water. Rather than getting a plumber out to fix it he try's to fix it himself suggesting that the family may not have enough money to get a plumber in to fix it. 
  • How does Theis fit gender stereotypes?
    • Theis is a male, who acts as though he can fix everything and can do the 'handy work'.
  • How is their home represented? Mise-en-scene?
    • ?
  • Can you make any comparisons to Homeland?
    • ?
(Got a little stuck here so I'm not sure on the rest and if what I put is right)

Semiology: Barthes

Scene 4: (15.47 - 21.10)
Troells Hartmann gains ground
  • How are local politics represented?
    • ?
  • How is Troells represented? how is his team represented?
    • ?
  • Is politics represented as a game? Dirty tactics? Tripping each other (the opposition) up?
    • ?
  • Can you make any comparisons to Homeland?
    • ?
Audience theory: Gerber: Cultivation theory

Scene 5: (21.11 - 23.04)
Sarah & Jan meet the Larsens
  • How does this scene represent Sarah as a detective?
    • This scene represents Sarah as a detective because of the way that she handles the situation calmly and shows respect towards the dead girls mother unlike Jan who practically jumps straight to conclusions. This scene also represents Sarah as a detective because of the way that shes looking around the space trying to understand what their family life is like and whether the evidence found of the video card could have been because of the girl being their daughter or something to do with their family.
  • What shot types are used to support this representation?

  • What are the differences between Sarah and Jan? Can you link this to gender stereotypes?
    • The differences between Sarah and Jan is that their approach to talking to the dead girls mother is different. Jan wants to speak to Theis because he believes that other than being the girls father, which at the tome he didn't know, he had something to do with the investigation of the the young girl with all the evidence found. However Sarah talks to the girls mother a lot more calm and trying to understand certain things by asking questions about where as Jan went straight in asking without considering that maybe Theis might not be the one who had done anything wrong 
  • Can you make any comparisons to Homeland?
Van Zoonen: Feminist theory
Monday 1st February 2021
The Killing: Analysis
L/O: To analyse a variety of scenes using accurate terminology.

Scene 6: 35.24-36.26:
Larsen's begin to panic
  • How is tension built up in this scene?
    • Tension is built up in this scene through the way the Larsen's voices become louder and their actions become quicker e.g. When Theis finishes his drink quickly and slams his cup down suggests an increase in speed and adds tension as we don't know what will happen next. The slamming of the cup also suggests anger/worry from him as Nanna's father which suggests his panic rising causing more tension. 
  • How is sound used?
    • Sound has bee used to add tension through what they are thinking and speaking to each other. you hear very clearly the diegetic sounds, such as, the slamming of putting the cup down, the speaking between the two character, the rustling of clothing as well as the rushing of their foot steps, these are all used to add tension to what is going on to understand more clearly their panic by rushing around to do as much as they can.
  • How are facial expressions used to convey meaning?
    • ?
  • How does the scene position the audience?
    • ?
  • How are gender stereotypes represented in this scene?
    • Gender stereotypes are used here when Theis tells pernille to stay home and wait to see if Nanna returns home. With Theis being the male we can tell that gender stereotypes have been used because of the way in which the male goes out to do the searching or the things outside of the family home. While Pernille has to stay home. Not only that but also the way in which the characters react. Theis acts a lot more calm and not as panicked as Pernille. With Theis showing manly strong continuous strength and continuation while Pernille is not deemed strong through everything and presented as weak and desperate.
  • Can you make any comparisons to Homeland?

Theory

Scene 7: (36.27 - 37.51)
Sarah & her son car scene
  • Why was this scene shot in a car? Why not set this scene in a family home?
    • The scene was set in a car as the family were moving to Sweden as well as suggesting that Sarah values her job more than her family.
  • What does the car represent?
    • The car represents that her job takes up most of her time as she is dropping him of with other family members.
  • How does the dialogue represent the relationship between mother and son?
    • The dialogue between Sarah and her son suggest a very uncommon relationship between mother and son. It suggests that the relationship between them isn't the most functional and that work is her bigger priority. 
  • How does the scene reflect societal issues in Denmark and in general?
    • ?
  • Can you make any comparisons to Homeland?
    • ?
Theory

Scene 8: (37.52 - 39.45)
Investigation & Search continues
  • How is Sarah represented in this scene?
    • Sarah is represented in the scene as determined. This is seen through the way that she doesn't give up no matter what anyone says to her. 
  • There are tensions between her and Jan - What does this represent? Power struggle?
    • There are struggles between her and Jan.  Jan struggles to accept that she may be correct in thinking that going over it again may benefit them and may find something else while Jan disagrees. 
  • Her expertise is highlighted - how? Shot types? Mise-en-scene? Dialogue?
  • Her instincts are correct - how is this shown?
    • Her instincts are correct when she is shown listening and talking to another officer on the radio saying more traces had been found.
  • Can you make any comparisons to Homeland?
Theory

Scene 9: (45.58 - 48.19)
Sarah's instinct
  • What shots are used to represent her instinct as a detective?
  • How is sound used to represent her instinct as a detective?
  • How does the way she directs others on the team reflect Danish society and their stance around gender equality?
  • Can you make any comparisons to Homeland?
Theory

Scene 10: (49.17 - 52.20)
Discovery of the body
  • How is this scene filmed?
  • How is tension built up? How is mise-en-scene used to build tension?
  • How does the director position the audience? What do they allow us to see?
  • How is cross cutting used to provoke an emotional response from the audience? E.g. Cut from car, to Theis, to Pernille on the other end of the phone.
Audience Theory: Hall
Wednesday 3rd February 2021
The Killing: Analysis
L/O: To analyse key areas of the set products.

Starter Task-
Narrative Structure: Three plot structure - three damaged characters - a detective, a mayoral candidate and the family of a murdered girl are caught up in a murder investigation. 
Explain how these three narratives develop and merge over episode 1. 

A detective - Sarah Lund:

A mayoral figure - Troels Hartmann:

The family of a murdered girl - The Larsens:

Merge over the episode:
The three narratives develop and merge over the episode when the detective finds out about there being evidence to a crime scene. She attends the crime scene and finds a video card which belongs to the father of the daughter, which by the end of the episode we find out shes been murdered. This links the detective and the family of the murdered girl together. By the end of the first episode we find out how the mayoral candidate is involved. When finding out who the vehicle belongs to, they identify it to belong to Troels Hartmann's campaign office. 

Viewpoints and ideologies (Unsure)
How are the following ideologies represented in the killing?
Individualism:
The ideology that assumes people are essentially individuals.

Consumerism:
The ideology that we should judge ourselves and others on our material possessions, that our lifestyles should define our individual identities.

Patriarchy:
The system and ideology of male power described by feminism.

Ethnocentrism:
Belief that your own culture is normal and natural and that other cultures are inferior and strange.

Monday 8th February 2021
Catch up lesson

Monday 14th February 2021
LFTVD: Exam Practise 1
L/O: To plan and write an effective comparative essay.




















Research: Examples of fan culture surrounding the killing. Can that link in with Jenkins or Shirky? 

Practise Question
Why do long form TV dramas represent social groups differently? In your answer you must:
  • Consider the context in which LFTVD's representations can be understood.
  • Explain how media contexts may have influenced representations in the set episodes of the two media set texts.
  • Refer to a theorist that supports your points about the representations in the two texts.
  • Make judgements and reach conclusions about the reasons for the differences in representations between the two episodes.
Plan:
Gender- specifically women. 
Characters: Sarah & Carrie
Carrie- somewhat powerful, not respected, confident, not trustworthy & determined.
Sarah- Powerful, respected, confident, trustworthy & determined.
Social context- gender equality - Denmark 8th place in 2007 for gender equality as well as Sweden in 1st place. In 2020 Denmark was 14th place & Sweden 4th place. - America 17th place in 2011, 53rd place in 2020.
Scenes - The Killing - Sarah using her authority to make people search again despite Jan disagreeing when he suggests that there is no point looking again. Homeland - When Carrie talks to Saul and Saul doubts Carries intelligence. 
Van Zoonen/Butler/Bell Hooks 

Mental Illness 
Characters: compare lead protagonist Carrie who suffers with mental illness & Sarah who doesn't suffer with mental illness.
Carrie- Unstable, not dependable, committed & determined.
Sarah- Stable, dependable, committed & determined.
Context - Unsure
Scenes - Unsure at the minute
Theory - Unsure 

Written Answer:


Long form TV dramas represent social groups differently. The killing and homeland represents the two main female protagonists very differently from each other. Maybe because of the way that one is Danish while the other is American or because of where each character is to be represented differently because of the circumstances within the episode and their characters characteristics.

Homeland and The Killing differ from the way that they represent their female protagonists. Carrie, from Homeland, is represented to be somewhat powerful, but not respected or trustworthy. However she can also be confident and determined. Sarah is represented to be powerful, respected, confident, trustworthy and determined. Thinking about how Sarah is respected and Carrie isn't allows us to see that social context plays a huge part in how each character is represented. Denmark, where the killing is set, in 2007 was ranked 8th place for gender equality and Sweden 1st. Sarah was going to be moving to Sweden at the start of the first episode so she was going to be moving to a place that respects women and gender equality a lot more. America on the other hand was ranked 17th place in 2011 when the first episode was released. This helps us to understand why the two female protagonists were treated so differently and why one is a lot more respected than the other. To show that Carrie is not as well respected as Sarah we see her being doubted by Saul towards the start of the episode when Carrie finds out about a prisoner of war returning home after being captured for nearly 10 years. She turns to Saul to share her ideas however he cannot take her seriously and doubts her intelligence. Whereas Sarah is very well respected, particularly when she can use her authority. Where she's able to give orders shows you her superiority especially while Jan is doubting her ideas. We see this when they are in the woods searching for any evidence they can find. Jan try's to say that there is no point in looking again when something comes through the radio to say that more evidence had been found.
Theory missing - unsure of how and what to write.
Time so far 22 minutes and 19 seconds.

Wednesday 24th February 2021
LFTVD: Practise question 1
L/O: To plan and write an effective comparative essay.

Written answer corrections:
Targets: 
C - Use media terminology and cover media language areas.
E - Link in a theory that supports your original point.

Long form TV dramas represent social groups differently. The killing and homeland represents the two main female protagonists very differently from each other. Maybe because of the way that one is Danish while the other is American or because of where each character is to be represented differently because of the circumstances within the episode and their characters characteristics. 

Homeland and The Killing differ from the way that they represent their female protagonists. Carrie, from Homeland, is represented to be somewhat powerful, but not respected or trustworthy. However she can also be confident and determined. Sarah is represented to be powerful, respected, confident, trustworthy and determined. Thinking about how Sarah is respected and Carrie isn't allows us to see that social context plays a huge part in how each character is represented. Denmark, where the killing is set, in 2007 was ranked 8th place for gender equality and Sweden 1st. Sarah was going to be moving to Sweden at the start of the first episode so she was going to be moving to a place that respects women and gender equality a lot more. America on the other hand was ranked 17th place in 2011 when the first episode was released. This helps us to understand why the two female protagonists were treated so differently and why one is a lot more respected than the other. To show that Carrie is not as well respected as Sarah we see her being doubted by Saul towards the start of the episode when Carrie finds out about a prisoner of war returning home after being captured for nearly 10 years. We see this through a mid shot, when we can see that carrie is directing her attention to saul through her looking towards him, but saul is not looking towards carrie and not looking towards her. This could suggest a lack of respect after she turns to Saul to share her ideas however he cannot take her seriously and doubts her intelligence. Whereas Sarah is very well respected, particularly when she can use her authority. Where she's able to give orders shows you her superiority especially while Jan is doubting her ideas. We see this, through many mid shots, when they are in the woods searching for any evidence they can find. Jan try's to say that there is no point in looking again when something comes through the radio to say that more evidence had been found, here the mid shots are used to emphasis both of the characters, with Jan being important because of his actions before more information coming in through the radio and Sarah having control emphasising her power and having some gender equality and more freedom than Jan controlling her.

Theory missing - unsure of how and what to write.
Time so far 22 minutes and 19 seconds.

Homeland and The Killing represent family, in different ways. In homeland you see a lack of love and a lack of a family relationship. Whereas in The Killing we see more of a love and respect for family and more of a relationship between the characters within that family. In Homeland Jess and Nicholas' family is represented as non functional and not a 'typical family' basically allowing us to believe the family and the family's relationship is broken. In the Killing however... 

Monday 1st March 2021
LFTVD: Theory Intro
L/O: to explore media language theories within LFTVD.

Theories either written in own words and coloured or copied and coloured as I didn't know how to rewrite it.




































































































































































Wednesday 10th March 2021
LFTVD: Theory Intro
L/O: To explore industry theories within LFTVD.


Monday 22nd March 2021
LFTVD: Theory
L/O: To explore audience theories within LFTVD.































































Wednesday 24th March 2021
The Killing: Industry and Context
L/O: to explore the production, social and political context of set products. 

Which genre conventions are seen in the first 20 minutes in the killing:
Which genres?
crime - dark, loud music, sound effects, locations where things happen. Solving a mystery when leaving to move to Sweden. 
Political - talking of elections, politicians 
What media language is used to show the genre?
Sound:
Sound in general - fast paced 
Sound effects - running, heavy breathing, water splashing - mysterious
non-diegetic sound - running throughout the opening scene when some young girl is running through the woods. 
Sound shows attention to location e.g. water, river.
Mise-en-scene:
Dark atmosphere and cool tones, nothing bright and cheerful especially not when at the woods.
Location - Woods

Find examples of the genres and give specific media language used to create these representations in the opening 20 minutes.

Crime/thriller -
  • fast-paced sound
  • lack of lighting / absence of bright lighting
  • dark locations with many places to hide
  • loud suspenseful sound
Watch the episode 1 title sequence again. Answer the question:
Analyse how media language is used to create suspense and signify the genre?

Media language has been used to signify the genre by using loud music with a mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. Diegetic sound has been used when the young girls is being chased by a man through the woods. We hear the girls heaving breathing, splashing through the river and other natural background noise. The background noise gives a sense of realism to what is happening and helps us to know whats going on in the scene when the scene is very dark. The non-diegetic sound helps with the speed and pacing of the scene it adds more tension to the scene with what it going on and this is a very big genre convention within the crime genre and helps with the suspense. 

Where is the majority of homeland set in episode 1?
The majority of Homeland is set in America, but are many other places, wheres the killing is set in Copenhagen. 

How is American society usually represented in Homeland?
American society is usually represented by being a place with large numbers of death and a lot of terrorism.


How is social context represented in The Killing?
Family - 

Monday 29th March 2021
LFTVD: Theory
L/O: To explore representation theories within LFTVD.










































Monday 19th April 2021
LFTVD: Theory
L/O: To explore industry theories within LFTVD.

































Wednesday 21st April 2021
The Killing: Characters
L/O: To explore the narrative and characterisation in set products.

Task: scene 2 analysis (1.15 - 4.08)
How is she first represented to us?
Confident - isn't fussed when the lights turn off, Professional - wheres gloves to make sure she's not contaminating the 'evidence': close up, Assured - , Determined - 
Is she sexualised in any way?

What do we think of her?


Sarah Lund is presented as professional and confident when she is investigating a 'crime scene'. We see this through a close up of Sarah wearing a glove investigating the evidence. We can see she is confident through the mise-en-scene, with the change in atmosphere and lighting, when the lights are turned off and the room is dark. She is startled but then gains back the control and uses the resources she has which shows her confidence. 

The Crime Scene
Task: 

How is Sarah Lund represented to the audience?

Notes from scene analysis:
Scene 1
  • Confident, focused, unaware of anything other than her packing and her boyfriend on the phone.
  • Medium long shot - When she takes something off of her office door, shuts the door not realising anyone was there. 
  • Sarah is packing up her office getting ready to move.
Scene 2
What shots are used to represent her instinct as a detective?
    • Close up of the evidence from the scene - shows us what she's looking at in the same level of detail she would see through her own eyes. 
    • Long shot of the investigation scene where she's with Jan and another worker. Shows the location of whats around.
    • Wide shot while she's asking questions. It shows us her movements while investigating the scene and could look like someones watching them evaluate the scene from a distance.
    • Over the shoulder shot while Sarah's evaluating the location as a whole and it circles around with her to show her moving. Shows maybe she's considering the bigger picture of where the incident may have occurred. Focus pull during this to show that our attention should be focusing on the back of the location instead of on her and this is where her mind may be thinking everything happened.
    • Medium close up of Sarah after she finishes circling the location shows she's straight to the point in asking if they have searched the whole area. 
Sarah Lund has been presented in 2 different ways to the audience, She has been presented to value her family as well as valuing her job and being professional and taking control. We see that she values her family when she is on the phone to her boyfriend, through the use of sound you can tell how much she values her family. However when she's out investigating although its her last day, she's paying attention and helping as much as she can during the investigation. We can see this when she is out at the crime scene and there is a close up shot of the evidence that they've found. This would suggest that she's focused and determined to do her job. Within the crime scene we see that Sarah takes control of the situation, she leads the males featured in the investigation, this suggests that women in Denmark can take control of the males due to them having more gender equality than most other places particularly since they were only 8th place for gender equality in 2007, when the episode was released. This can link to Van Zoonen's Feminist theory because we can see the ideas of femininity where Sarah is presented to value her family life as well as her job. This gives the audience ideas that Sarah values her family as well as her job. 

Monday 26th April 2021
The Killing: Analysis 
L/O: To analyse a variety of scenes using accurate terminology.

Scene 1: 7.20-9.34:
Sarah meets Jan Meyer
  • How is Sarah represented at the start of the scene? What is she doing? How is she acting?
    • Confident, focused, unaware of anything other than her packing and her boyfriend on the phone.
    • Medium long shot - When she takes something off of her office door, shuts the door not realising anyone was there. 
    • Sarah is packing up her office getting ready to move.
    • Calm, considerate, taking care while packing her things up
  • When we meet Jan - how is he represented? How are gender roles represented in this scene?
    • When we meet Jan he gives off a 'men are more superior than women' type of personality.
    • Medium close up - when he's in her office while she's packing when they meet as well as looking over all of her stuff. 
    • Not respectful, overpowering, dominant, confident. He's smoking, basket ball - plays a shot, confidence, lack of care, Jan is male behaviour. focussed on sports, smoking and lack of concern for others.
  • Does Sarah's demeanour change when he arrives?
    • When Jan arrives Sarah becomes less confident and more aware about her surroundings and especially with Jan around.
Structuralism: Levi-Strauss

In the killing Jan is seen as one who supports and believes male dominance whoo overlooks the women. We see this through a medium close up when Jan is in Sarah's office and he is looking over all of Sarah's things. We can link this to levi strauss' structuralism, we see this through the oppositions of gender, we see Jan being presented as the more dominant of the two. This would also link to context where male and females are not seen as equal. Denmark however has a lot more gender equality then many other places.

Scene 2: 9.35-11.58:
First time we see Sarah out investigating
  • What shots are used to represent her instinct as a detective?
    • Close up of the evidence from the scene - shows us what shes looking at in the same level of detail she would see through her own eyes. 
    • Long shot of the investigation scene where shes with Jan and another worker. Shows the location of whats around.
    • Wide shot while shes asking questions. It shows us her movements while investigating the scene and could look like someones watching them evaluate the scene from a distance.
    • Over the shoulder shot while Sarah's evaluating the location as a whole and it circles around with her to show her moving. Shows maybe shes considering the bigger picture of where the incident may have occurred. Focus pull during this to show that our attention should be focusing on the back of the location instead of on her and this is where her mind may be thinking everything happened.
    • Medium close up of Sarah after she finishes circling the location shows shes straight to the point in asking if they have searched the whole area. 
  • How is sound used to represent her instinct as a detective?
    • Sound has been used to represent her instinct as a detective as we have dialogue between the characters, diegetic sound, as well as natural sounds your most likely to hear everyday such as aeroplane noises. There is also some non diegetic sound while Sarah is turning around which sound quite mysterious which can represent her instinct as a detective as she doesn't know exactly what has happened so is a mystery to her that needs to be solved. 
  • How does the way she directs others on the team reflect Danish society?
    • She directs others by asking many questions, asking whether they've done this or whether they've done that as well as trying to gain as much information as she can. As well as leading off ahead of Jan making her the leader and directing Jan to the scene. She is also free to do whatever she wants to do, so picking up the bags with the evidence in and not paying as much attention to the questions she had asked as well as having the ability to ask so many questions as a women. This reflects on Danish society as it shows how much more free Sarah as a women is and how much control and power she has.
  • Can you make and comparisons to Homeland?

Semiology: Barthes


Scene 3: 11.59 - 15.45:
Introduction to the Larsen family
  • How are they represented as a family?
    • The family have been represented in this scene as a family by the way that they value each other. Theis was off at work but went back home the second his wife had contacted him meaning that family is more important than work. 
    • Happy, positive, optimistic
  • How are economic issues represented?
    • Theis fixes the dishwasher with duct tape, which then comes off which breaks the dishwasher covering the floor with water. Rather than getting a plumber out to fix it he try's to fix it himself suggesting that the family may not have enough money to get a plumber in to fix it. 
  • How does Theis fit gender stereotypes?
    • Theis is a male, who acts as though he can fix everything and can do the 'handy work'.
    • Male hero, saves the day, fixes things, funny.
  • How is their home represented? Mise-en-scene?
    • Family orientated, caring, warm, welcoming.
  • Can you make any comparisons to Homeland?
    • Homeland is cold (cold home life), not welcoming
Family life in Denmark is all about family.
(Got a little stuck here so I'm not sure on the rest and if what I put is right)

Semiology: Barthes

Photos suggest love, care and family at the centre
Physical labour clothes - class, work ethic, reinforces his stereotypes of a male who can fix things.

Scene 4: (15.47 - 21.10)
Troells Hartmann gains ground
  • How are local politics represented?
    • corrupt - shows talking about tactics behind the scene
  • How is Troells represented? how is his team represented?
    • Leader - wanting to get as far as he can Sly -  
  • Is politics represented as a game? Dirty tactics? Tripping each other (the opposition) up?
    • it is competitive and each person wants to win, wanting someone whos running to wait 4 more years till the other person retires.
  • Can you make any comparisons to Homeland?

Audience theory: Gerber: Cultivation theory

Scene 5: (21.11 - 23.04)
Sarah & Jan meet the Larsens
  • How does this scene represent Sarah as a detective?
    • This scene represents Sarah as a detective because of the way that she handles the situation calmly and shows respect towards the dead girls mother unlike Jan who practically jumps straight to conclusions. This scene also represents Sarah as a detective because of the way that shes looking around the space trying to understand what their family life is like and whether the evidence found of the video card could have been because of the girl being their daughter or something to do with their family.
  • What shot types are used to support this representation?

  • What are the differences between Sarah and Jan? Can you link this to gender stereotypes?
    • The differences between Sarah and Jan is that their approach to talking to the dead girls mother is different. Jan wants to speak to Theis because he believes that other than being the girls father, which at the tome he didn't know, he had something to do with the investigation of the the young girl with all the evidence found. However Sarah talks to the girls mother a lot more calm and trying to understand certain things by asking questions about where as Jan went straight in asking without considering that maybe Theis might not be the one who had done anything wrong 
  • Can you make any comparisons to Homeland?
Van Zoonen: Feminist theory

Wednesday 5th May 2021
The Killing: Analysis
L/O: To analyse key areas of the set products.

Explain how these three narratives develop and merge over episode 1. 

A detective - Sarah Lund:
Sarah starts of by packing to move away to Sweden. She starts off investing a case and changes her mind of moving and wanting to work on this case.
A mayoral candidate - Troels Hartmann:

The family of a murdered girl - The Larsens:

Merge over the episode:
The three narratives develop and merge over the episode when the detective finds out about there being evidence to a crime scene. She attends the crime scene and finds a video card which belongs to the father of the daughter, which by the end of the episode we find out she's been murdered. This links the detective and the family of the murdered girl together. By the end of the first episode we find out how the mayoral candidate is involved. When finding out who the vehicle belongs to, they identify it to belong to Troels Hartmann's campaign office. 

Viewpoints and ideologies 
How are the following ideologies represented in the killing?
Individualism:
The ideology that assumes people are essentially individuals.

Consumerism:
The ideology that we should judge ourselves and others on our material possessions, that our lifestyles should define our individual identities.

Patriarchy:
The system and ideology of male power described by feminism.
Jan very much tries to control and gain power over Sarah. His posture and the way he treats Sarah suggests male dominance. 
Ethnocentrism:
Belief that your own culture is normal and natural and that other cultures are inferior and strange.
Racism at a shop where Vagn gets into a fight with someone from Pakistan he also kills Nanna because of who her boyfriend was and where they came from.
There is also scenes where Sweden is presented in stereotypes based in Sweden, blonde hair, the leaving party type thing after Sarah has completed the fake investigation.

Sarah Lund
Explain how this is conveyed in episode 1
1. She doesn't use her sexuality to get what she wants because she has confidence in her intuition and ability.
She does use her sexuality because she is confident and respected and she has no reason to have to use her sexuality.
2. Her female sexuality is not focused on.
With her job role and how high up she is it doesn't make any difference.
3. She is presented to us as a maternal figure.
She has a son who she checks on but she doesn't have much other connection with her son.
4. As Lund becomes involved in the murder investigation, her professional life takes precedence.
When Lund is involved in the murder investigation we see her professional life takes over, she doesn't move to Sweden because of the investigation and she drops her son of at another family members house. 

Stereotypes
How are stereotypes used in The Killing?
  • Victim
    • prostitute, young women.
  • Politicians
    • tactics, corrupt, betrayal.
  • Police
    • respected, serious
  • Swedish Nationality
    • viking hat, blonde hair
  • Family Unit
    • family orientated house
  • Racism
Bandura:
The media influence people directly
The media can influence directly or indirectly through related platforms such as social media so we can become influence by the media without being exposed to them.

Realism
How is realism constructed in The Killing?
  • Events
    • daily struggles 
  • Characters
    • characters struggles
  • Ideology

  • Narrative
OCR WEBSITE - EXAMPLE ANSWERS 

Wednesday 23rd June 2021
Evaluate the usefulness of the following theories in understanding long form television drama:
Barthes theories about semiotics
(10 marks)

Barthes theory of semiology talks about the study of signs, which consists of a signifier and its meaning. This means that any image or language can be used to tease out denotations, its literal meaning, which helps to form it connotation, which is its associated meaning. 
Barthes semiology talked a lot about images and sounds teasing out denotations which then help form the connotations. In Homeland we see any hand held shots in Baghdad, we can tell they are hand held shots.

Wednesday 7th July 2021
Jenkins - theory of fandom
community of fans - social media
Active consumers - consume products differently - growing influence on the media. 
Fandom - creative output - e.g. fan art, fan fiction. People wanting to dress like the characters.

Homeland - Blogs, podcasts, wiki fandom pages

The killing - Clothing and wanting to dress like the characters

Neale's genre theory
Genres change overtime. Has to have difference to make people carry on watching the genre to keep them engage. 

Useful 
Can apply to lftvd
lftvd conform to neales ideas and shared codes and conventions between audiences and producers.

Limitations
lftvd descriptors such as 'nordic noir' arose after the screening of some programmes. Thus suggesting this was not a 'shared code' with the audience.
lftvd do not rely on 'repetition and difference' for success. High production values, star system, tone, exoticism rather than genre market themselves, emphasising individual differences rather than genetic similarity.

The Killing - Barthes theory

Wednesday 14th July 2021

Binary Oppositions - Levi Strauss
Examples of binary oppositions
Homeland
Middle East - America/ East - West  
Al Qaeda - CIA
Brody - Carrie
Terrorist - Agent
Outsiders - Insiders 

The killing 
Selfishness - Duty 
Corruption - Honestly
Good - Evil
Racism - Inclusivity

Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
Can be applied to any cultural product.
Works well with LFTVD due to the inside/outside nature of the narratives. 
Can be used when analysing representations, by establishing which side of an opposition the narrative value.
Weaknesses
Does not explain anything specific to LFTVD as this is a theory about culture in general. 
Does not tell us anything about ownership and control of television.

Evaluate the usefulness of the following theories in understanding long form television drama:
Barthes theories about semiotics
(10 marks)

Barthes theory of semiology talks about the study of signs, which consists of a signifier and its meaning. This means that any image or language can be used to tease out denotations, its literal meaning, which helps to form it connotation, which is its associated meaning. 

Barthes semiology talked a lot about images and sounds teasing out denotations which then help form the connotations. In Homeland we see any hand held shots in Baghdad, we can tell they are hand held shots from the way that they look. The hand held camera can suggest that Baghdad is unsettled and are not stable living conditions. Using the hand held camera we can see that it suggests realism and what its actually like to live in Baghdad. This allows us to tease out the connotations that Baghdad is unsettled and does not have stable living conditions from the amount of movement there is.

Barthes semiology talks about the study of signs. Applying that to The Killing we see the darkened settings and low lighting states. The dark lighting and atmosphere in The Killing would suggest that whatever is going to happen in The Killing might not be good or positive. The lighting suggests some kind of crime or something mysterious is going to happen as it makes it difficult to see exactly what is going on. The Killing teases out these connotations from what is going on by suggesting the mystery and suspense in The Killing. 

Barthes semiology can be useful but at the same time can be limited. Bathes semiology can be useful in understanding long form television dramas because it can signify certain signs to allow the connotations and help with the understanding of certain small things, however Barthes theory isn't useful in understanding the narrative and genres of long form television dramas. Overall the theory can be useful because of explaining or allowing us to tease out the connotations of the small things. 

TV Drama exam:
Question 3 - 30 marks
1 - make a statement
2 - explain the text 
3 - detail from media language and theatrical framework
4 - theory 
5 - context

Media Language - 
Camera work
Editing 
Mise-en-scene
Sound

Theatrical framework - 
Media language
Representation
Audience 
Industry

Social groups (to answer a question on social groups) - 
Gender 
Age 
Race 
Ethnicity
Class

Should take around 50 minutes and needs a plan.

Question 4 - 10 marks
Evaluate the theory uses - limitations
Show knowledge of the theory - summaries and explain the theory
Apply to Homeland and The Killing
Covered the uses of the theory
Cover the limitations to LFTVD (could be in general)
The uses and limitations showing your knowledge as well as your understanding

Comments

  1. 18/11/20
    Very thorough notes here and a clear understanding of the topics covered and context, well done.
    Target for your analysis paragraph is 3, 4,5 and 6. Excellent understanding of the scene, you need to zoom in on the textual detail and give specific scenes, then explain what they reveal, try to link these to post 9/11 context and then theory if you can.

    ReplyDelete
  2. 9/12/20
    Target: 7- Specific media terminology and media language used in analysis in the second paragraph. Scene specifics rather than describing the action.
    4 -Conclusion needed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 13/1/21- Missing notes,.
    Target: You must complete all the tasks that were set for this lesson, I need you to analyse the opening scene, make notes after each slide to show your understanding, research the other Nordic Noir series. Answer the questions that compare to Homeland through context economic and social, then to complete the final task.

    ReplyDelete
  4. 18/1/2021- Good start to your notes here, well done. Try to get all the tasks done so that you have thorough understanding and can refer back to.

    ReplyDelete
  5. 20/1/21- You are missing the written work for this lesson, please complete the tasks set for the lesson, if you require any help then please contact me.

    ReplyDelete
  6. 25/1/21- Good notes here Rebekah well done, don't forget to include media terms such as camera shots to back up your points.

    ReplyDelete
  7. 1/2/21- fantastic analytical notes here, you focus on the actions and the impact linking this to the gender roles and also to the sound and tension. Excellent. I would now like to see you link this to theory in some way, maybe Van Zoonen or Butler and performance of gender roles would fit nicely.

    ReplyDelete
  8. 3/2/21- Please complete the work for this lesson, if you have any problems please get in touch and I can support you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 8/2/21- You have started to add to your notes, however you need to make sure you have each of the scenes analysed from the lessons 12, 12b and the notes from lesson 13.

    ReplyDelete
  10. 22/2/21- Brilliant response so far, your target areas are to include textual detail with media language terminology used (C) also try to think about what theory supports what you are saying, Van Zoonen and Butler would work here (E).

    ReplyDelete
  11. 24/2/21- Good use of mid shots, you need to say how these emphasise, what do the highlight and how? In terms of theory you need to go back to your original representations of women that you have asserted and look which theory supports that, then comment on how this theory links with what you have noticed about the representations present of women in the episode.

    ReplyDelete
  12. 1/3/21- Please ensure that you complete the theory table for this lesson..

    ReplyDelete
  13. DIRT FEEDBACK FOR MONDAY 15TH MARCH LESSON:
    I would like you to go through each media language theory and where you have highlighted the slides, can you add a sentence or two under each theory of where you see these strengths or limitations in the Killing or in Homeland- ideally both. e.g. Todorov- we see the element of disruption to equilibrium in the Killing when we discover the body and Lund realises that she will not be moving to Sweden that evening. We see this in Homeland when we see the return of Brody and that this is then taken further when we see his flashbacks which indicate that there is something he is keeping a secret. However we also see the limitations as nothing is resolved in the episode and therefore the end of Todorov's theory is not proven until the end of the series. We also see some continuation of the narrative to lead us into the next series with a cliff hanger or an enigma code.

    If you could also do this for the Industries lesson 16 theories from Wednesday 10th March that would be great.

    ReplyDelete
  14. 24/3/21- Excellent notes and analysis paragraph here, well done. If you aren't sure on context, please ask, either me or Mr Varley or via teams chat if you wish.

    ReplyDelete
  15. 21/4/21- Good structure of analysis here, I would like to see you explain how Van Zoonen applies, how her performance of her role fits with the gender expectations of the country. This would also allow you to bring in context a little more smoothly. To strengthen your argument you would now need to find another example of how Sarah is represented, Media Language to back this up, link to a theorist and explain how this representation reveals context. You have a very strong answer here Rebekah and in good time, we just want to make the structure a little smoother.

    ReplyDelete
  16. 26/4/21- Excellent notes and analysis her Rebekah, you really are coming into your own with analysis at the moment. Please keep it up and don't waver wondering if you are correct or not- You are correct!
    The one that you were stuck on in the family scene you have your notes perfectly collated and cover all parts of the scene. You could add some camera work for analysis on the scene when he is fixing the dishwasher so that you have specific media language analysis. All you would need to do to make this a full response is add your notes together with full sentences and a little more explanation if so desired to ensure it is coherent, flows and makes sense.

    ReplyDelete

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