P2: TV Drama

9th October 2019
Todorovs theory

Equilibrium Shrek lives alone in the swamp with no friends or worries

Disruption Fairytale creatures appear at Shrek's swamp, after they were kicked out their homes by Lord Farquad.

Recognition of Disruption Shrek is annoyed by the creatures, and sets out to confront Farquad, who is seeking a wife.

Attempt to Fix Disruption Shrek goes on mission to find Farquad a wife.

New Equilibrium Farquad is eaten by the dragon and then Shrek and Fiona get married

Homelands

equilibrium - CIA agent named Carrie Mathison is working undercover in Baghdad

Disruption - Carrie Mathison is Bi-Polar

American Agent Brodie is found alive

MAIN DISRUPTION - an american agent (brodie) has been turned and returned to the US

Brodie's daughter is smoking a bong - stereotypical teens

Narratology is the stufy of narrative and the fuction of purpose of narrative. Todorov's theory of narratology is that there is a specific structure which most films, books and mostly anything with a storyline will use, especially in TV Dramas. Todorov's theory has 5 steps, equilibrium, disruption, recognition of disruption, attempt to fix disruption, and finally the new equilibrium. His theory goes especially well with TV Dramas, as they include use multiple narrative conventions in it. This theory is very useful, however it has it's restrictions in a TV Drama as they usually want the audience to be lead on and thinking about multiple disruptions.

Torodov's theory works in the TV Drama 'Homeland'. The equilibrium here is that there is a CIA Agent by the name of Carrie Mathison doing her job in Baghdad.

11th October 2019
LO - Discuss, explain and evaluate how media context (where the media product was produced and screened) may have influenced representation in the TV drama you have studied

SPECIFIC TERMINOLOGY:

Americanisation
McDonaldisation
Cultural Imperialism
Capitalism
Consumerism
Islamophobia/islamophibic

WE ARE PRISONERS OF AMERICAN CULTURE

American culture is all over the world. For example, mcdonalds is in every country in the world, apart from 5 countries. Even then, there is American technology (i.e computers, macs) all over the world. America own google, one of the biggest media companies in the world. Television also links into the world domination of Americanisation. Even from a very young age, children who were watching SKY TV have been watching American TV, for example Disney channel is shown to children all over the world who's parents pay for SKY. Clothing brands which most people wear is even from America.

DOMINANT IDEOLOGY IN FILMS AND TV:

Gender roles - Male
Race - People of a white culture
Social Grade - C-A
Sexuality - Straight
Religion - Christianity
Politics - Capitalism

"THE PROBLEM WITH THE MEDIA, IT'S CONTROLLED BY MIDDLE CLASS WHITE MALES WHO KEEP THEIR POWER BY KEEPING IT THE NORM" - (Medhurst, 1998) Marxist argument

HOW HOMELANDS FITS CONVENTIONS:

Gender roles - Homelands is breaking stereotypes as the main character is a female actor.
Race - Also breaking stereotypes for race also, as the high up boss is of a black ethnicity.
Social Grade - Homelands sticks to this
Sexuality - Straight
Religion - Christianity
Politics - Capitalism

Overall, Homelands sticks to most of the dominant ideology in films and tv.

Homelands Episode Summary:

Episode 1:

Starts with Carrie in Iraq, going to get information from a prisoner who is about to be killed. This prisoner gives Carrie the intel that 'an American Prisoner of War has been turned'. She then receives information that War Hero Sergeant Brodie is alive.
We find out that Carrie has bipolar disorder.
Brodie beat his colleague to death

Episode 2:

Brodie is starting to show his violence, and that he also has anger issues. (He may have PTSD)
Saudi Prince conversationing with the biggest terrorist.

Which TV network developed the show and which corporation are they a subsidiary of?

Homelands is on the american network SHOWTIME. The network is subsidiary of CBS Corporation, which interests primarily in commercial broadcast

Which studio produced the series?

The big time company FOX-21 produced Homelands

What award did the first season win?

The first season won 'The Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series'.

What key global events prior to the first released episode in October 2011 impacted it's development?

The main impact of the shows development was the death of Bin Laden in May 2011, ending the 10-year manhunt.

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 Channel 4?

In the UK, Channel 4 raked it an approximate 2.8 million viewers during the first episode, while in the US it had 1.08 million viewers.

What genre is it?

It comes under more than one genre.
Serial, Thriller, Drama and Mystery.

Tuesday 21st April
Homeland: Narrative
How is the main narrative introduced and what sets up the initial conflict/problem that will drive the rest of the series?

The main narrative of the series is introduced when Carrie is in Iraq. She was warned by a man that an American prisoner of war had been turned by al-Qaeda. She is also bi-polar, which his her inner conflict.

What questions are created that the audience will want to discover the answers to and will have to keep watching to find out?
The big question which the audience have to keep watching to find out is 'is Brody actually a turned prisoner of war' and 'is Carrie right?'.

What individual character narratives are introduced and what are they?
We find out in episode 1 that Carrie has bi-polar disorder when we see her taking pills.This introduces the individual narrative, as we see her have to battle this throughout the episode.

Tuesday 24th April
What did you think of the episode? Did you like it or not? why?
I enjoyed Homeland season 1 episode 1. Its' introduction of the characters and fast pace at the start dragged me in. The story itself is played out very well - making us feel bad for Brody and then questioning, "should I feel bad for him". It makes you think "is Carrie right" or "is she just being invasive".

What did you think of the characters and narrative?
My thoughts on the narrative is that it is well written and executed. It drags the audience in and creates real though-provoking questions.

Industry Context
TV VIDEO ON DEMAND (VOD) systems can either stream content through a set-top box, allowing viewing 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 how a successful cable TV show has been distributed as VOD using digitally convergent devices, and it illustrates how the internet provides a wider and global reach to online audiences.

Political Context
September 11th 2001 still stands as one of the most shocking, dramatic and traumatic days of recent history.

Attacks were targeting symbolic locations in America (Twin Towers, Pentagon and The White House). They were symbols of political power.

America...and the world... felt vulnerable

9/11: The Impact

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

Post 9/11 era: The Media

At first, with exception to the news, the Americans tended to ignore the event and several mainstream media texts set in New York show this.
The Producers of Spiderman (2002) withdrew a promotional feature as it featured the Twin Towers.
The biggest sitcom of the day, FRIENDS, made an active decision not to reference the event.

I think that these decisions, in a way, was a decent way of going about it. There would have been a lot of people effected by this event, ruining their lives. Going about it this way is respectable and honest. They put the people in front of their hard works.

Sex in the City (1998 - 2014) presented no repercussions of the wild ways and lives of four women carving amazing lives out for themselves in New York. After 2001, the character Samantha dealt with breast cancer, Charlotte found out she could not have a baby and Miranda had a baby which destroyed her career. Basically... bad things had never happened to the character before 2001.
24 (2001-2010) was a complex thriller dealing with internal threats to America as well as global political issues. It reinforced the values of the 'war on terror' and justified torture as a means to fight that war. It also reflected president Bush in prioritising the war on terror. Human rights suspended for the 'greater good'.

Another American blockbuster film affected by 9/11 was "Men in Black II". They included a scene which featured the World Trade Centres. They had to re-shoot the scene to avoid causing uproar and to include a sense of realism to the film.

A Decade on In Homelands
Homelands was based off of an Israeli programme called Prisoners of War, Homeland took the story of the return home of a long term prisoner of war and located it in the Post 9/11 American context. Although Bin Laden had be found and killed earlier that year, it had already been written and filmed.

How has Homeland tapped into post 9/11 themes and anxieties 10 years on?
Homeland has tapped into post 9/11 themes and anxieties by having the concept of a terrorist involved with the Middle-East. This is confirmed when main character, Carrie, starts her quest to find out who Brodie really is as he is linked with the Middle-East.. Brodie was considered dead after fighting in the Middle-East, and when he was found alive, she has her suspicions. This links into the xenophobic anxieties of some Americans. After 9/11, it is safe to say that there has been hatred with America and the Middle-East and vice-versa. Carrie is slightly showing this after being told that "an American Prisoner-of-War has been turned". She is so against the fact that a Prisoner of War that was presumed dead has returned uninfluenced by the Middle-East.

9/11 as a media text is important to Homeland. We see the same way the media dealt with the attack on the WTC in Homeland. When the attack happened, the media (with exception of the news) did not mention the attacks. They simply ignored it. This is the same case in Homeland. Despite the whole series 1 and episode being influenced by the 9/11 attacks, we do not see it mentioned anywhere. It reflects the culture (that resulted from 9/11) of the fear or attack and worries over national security in both the US and around the world.

Tuesday 28th April
L/O - to explore narrative and characterisation in set products.
Explain how this image represents the two main characters:

This image represents the two main characters in different ways. For Brodie, we seem him fading off in the background. This could be a represent him not being himself anymore. His past self has faded away and now he is a new man with new ideologies. He is also looking forward, which could represent him looking onward into this new future. As for Carrie, she is split in two, which could represent her bi-polar disorder. This shows her as being torn apart into two by her inner self. Despite this, she has a confident look to her face. This shows us that despite everything going on, she is still remaining confident in her ability and ready to put up a fight.

In Episode 1, the first three minutes show Carrie, a CIA agent, working in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. She first appears as determined. She is set on getting to a prison in the capital, and on her way she finds herself in a traffic jam. To continue her work, she jumps out of the car and walks to her destination, despite being told by her boss "I told you it's over" about her operation at hand. She goes against her bosses wishes and continues her mission regardless. In the first three minutes, we also see how Homeland has created a sense of the post 9/11 fear and anxiety. They have done this by not only having an American in conflict with Iraq soldiers, but we also see this by finding out what information Carrie was told.

Discuss the representation of Carrie and the Middle East in the opening scene of Homeland S1 E1:
In Season 1 Episode 1 of Homeland, we see Carrie, a CIA agent, making her way through the city of Baghdad in Iraq. She is on the phone with her boss as she drives through the streets on her way to the prison of the city. She ends up in a traffic jam and starts running to the prison. She argues with her boss as he cancels her mission, however she goes against his wishes regardless. She pays to get into the prison and finds the man she needs to talk to. She negotiates and gets the information she needed by confirming the safety of his family. We later find out in the episode that 'an American POW has been turned'.

Carrie is represented in many ways in the first scene of 'Pilot'. Firstly, she is represented as a strong, bold woman and defies stereotypes by doing this. This is shown towards the end of the scene where she goes against the guards wishes. The guard tells her to leave and she says tells him something in Arabic to unhand and go without her. This shows her as a dominant female figure and going against stereotypes as it is stereotypical for the male figure to be the dominant and in charge. She is also represented as strong and bold by the use of camerawork. On her way to the prison, the camera is not stabilised and shakes when she is on screen. This is to keep up with the pace of the episode and shows that there is action. Due to her being in the centre of the action, she is then represented in these ways. Despite this, we can see that she has some uncertainty about her, which could link to the post 9/11 context. She is in a country where the could be many xenophobic people around and people that dislike her just for being American.

As for the Middle East and Middle Eastern people during this scene, they are also represented in many ways. One of them being that the Middle East is overcrowded and a hassle. This is represented through the mise en scene, as we see the streets full of people, traffic jams and rude members of their societies. This is also backed up by the diegetic sound. We hear shouts and car horns and even loud music. Homeland shows Middle Eastern People as lesser off than America, which links to xenophobia and post 9/11 anxieties.

To sum up, Carrie, the Middle East and Middle Eastern people are all represented in different ways using stereotypes/counter-types and media language.

Carrie Mathison Scene 2
In scene 2, she is back in Washington. Her representation subverts the conventional ideas about feminine roles and behaviours. This is shown through her persistence to always get her job done, even when it is a difficult task. Her life is solely based on her job, which subverts gender stereotypes. It is stereotypical for a man to be focused on his job, whilst the woman stays at home. Carrie is always focused on her work. Also, with the quick camera cuts of the editing, it makes the episode fast-paced. Therefore, this shows that Carrie gets no chill out time and is very focused on her job.

Carrie Mathison: Analysis Points

Carrie represents a non-conventional and highly flawed hero. This is shown when we find out she has bi-polar disorder. Her flaw is her mental health.
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. She goes against her bosses order when she is in Baghdad. She almost loses her job in the follow up events after this.
This alienates her from authority male figures within the CIA. Her friendship with Saul starts to fade away throughout the episode.
Carrie alienates herself further by refusing to follow procedure and lying to her mentor, all in the name of her pursuit of the truth. Saul discovers that Carrie has set up cameras in Brody's house, making this point clear.
She has an obsessive attention to detail. This is shown when she notices Brody is tapping, which she thinks is a type of coded message.
In addition she is psychologically damaged. She takes pills to help her bi-polar disorder.
Carrie makes several decisions within the narrative that cause the audience to question her judgement. This is shown when she fires question after question in Brody's conference.
As a woman she is represented as highly emotional. We see this when the Virgil is talking to her about her health. She loses her temper easily.
She uses her sexuality as a tool, she tries to seduce Saul into not exposing her about her private investigation on Brody

Compare and contrast the techniques used to represent Carrie Mathison in Episode 1 of Homeland.

In Homeland, Carrie Mathison is represented in different ways through different techniques in Episode 1, 'Pilot'. It uses different Media Language, Narrative and Stereotypes to do this. In this episode, she returns to the US after a mission in Iraq for the CIA. She starts her investigation on Brodie, who she believes is turned.

To start off with, Carrie is represented subverting gender roles. Throughout the episode, and series, she takes the lead of the narrative. She does this also through media language. She stands up to high authority male figures, for example when in Iraq she disregards her male bosses wishes to stop the investigation; there is diegetic dialogue involved in this. Whilst on the phone, she shouts and demands for him to not hang up. She has an alpha mentality and is a dominant female figure. Another way she subverts gender stereotypes is the use of camera techniques. In Iraq, we see her through a handheld camera, which represents action due to the shake and other properties. This shows Carrie as an action anti-hero, subverting gender stereotypes.

Secondly, Carrie is represented as focused and dedicated in episode 1. She is shown this way through the narrative and media language. She is dedicated to her job. Starting off with narrative, we see her throughout the episode constantly working, hardly ever getting a break. She has very little time to relax and doesn't say no to a task. Her job comes first in her life. As for media language, in a scene where she is rushing for work there is very fast-paced editing. This shows that she is focused as she needs to get started on her job for the day as fast as she can. This also links with stereotypes. It is typical for a male figure to be focused and dedicated on their jobs more than the female. She is subverting these stereotypes.

In conclusion, Carrie Mathison is represented in episode 1 of Homeland in different ways using media language, narrative and stereotypes.

Friday 1st May
L/O - to explre the narrative and characterisation in set products

What is the different between an antagonist and an anti-hero? Who do you think have these two roles in Homeland and why?
Anti-Hero - A central character in a story, film or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes.
Antagonist - A character who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist.

In Homeland, Carrie is represented as an Anti-Hero. This is because she is the protagonist who is trying to be the hero, however her personal qualities are getting in the way, for example her anxiety. Brody is the antagonist, as he is the foe of Carrie. He is the one that is getting in her way and who she is against.

What mise-en-scene choices have been made to make him look like a POW?
There are a few mise-en-scene choices that make Brodie look like a POW. He has been presumed dead for many years, and Homeland have made it look like this through the look of his facial features and his clothes. For example, when we first see him, he has a massive overgrown beard and hair. This makes him look like a POW, as it shows that he has not been treated to good facilities. They are scruffy and unwashed. As for his clothes, he is wearing scruffy, worn out attire, which further backs up that he is not in luxury.

How is Brody represented as a hero and a villain in S1 E1?
Brody is represented as both a hero and villain in Season 1 Episode 1 of Homeland, specifically the reunion scene. In this scene, we see Brodie return home to a crowd and the whole of America behind this great hero coming home. However, we see this scene through Carrie's perspective, so what we see is a villain coming home.

Brodie is represented as a hero and a villain throughout the episode. When we are first introduced to Brody, we see him represented in a positive light. He is a Sergeant who has just be found after being pronounced dead. This hit the news headlines. He is a hero for staying alive and fighting for as long as he did when there was nobody there for him. Despite his scruffy hair, overgrown beard and terrible conditions, he still prevailed the forces of al-Quaeda, presenting him as a hero. He is also represented as a hero when he returns home because of his reaction to seeing his family. He doesn't blank them off, he is happy to see them and this shows that he is a proper family man.

Despite this, we also see Brodie represented as a villain presented through Carrie's perspective. This is due to the narrative, Carrie is determined to find out who Brodie really is. As the audience, we do not know whether to go with Carrie or Brodie's side. He is presented to us as a villain through Carrie's work, for example when Carrie gives the audience the idea of how he is using code as a use of contact then makes us think that he is a villain.

In conclusion, Brodie is represented as a hero and a villain in Season 1 Episode 1 of Homeland.

Nicholas Brody: War Hero
As mentioned, Brody fits the traditional role of hero.

Carrie rejects this view of Brody and whilst the audiences see him as a heroic character in E1, they do see enough of his behaviour to join Carrie in being suspicious

So the audience have to reject the reassurance a conventional hero can provide. As an audience - we are positioned We are shown certain viewpoints and given enough information to see him from a specific perspective. (To understand this, we need to look at the episodes following episode 1)

Sergeant Brody's Islamic 'turn' is represented as a precursor to becoming a terroist. While Islam may provide Brody with therapeutic comfort, he is a Stockholm 0 syndrome convert, coerced into his Islamic faith and its associated terrorist politics.

Homeland exploits the viewers initial surprise associated with seeing a white US Marine worshipping Allah in his garage by anticipating and refuting the stereotypical assumption that Brody's faith is evidence that he is a terrorist.

Of course we learn that he is in fact a terrorist.

How does the trailer create two different representations of Brody as both a possible hero and a possible villain? How does the trailer create doubt in the heroic nature of Carrie's character?
The trailer creates different representations of Brody, a hero and a villain. This sparks the audience determination to find out who he actually is.

First off, the trailer creates a representation of Brody as a hero through mise en scene. We see Brody with an overgrown beard and hair, bruises and a struggle to speak. This shows that Brody has been through trauma and has been treated roughly. For many viewers, simply just for staying alive for as long as he did proves that he's a hero. Viewers can then determine their first view on Brody. Is he going to return to America with any information, or does he not know anything? After this, the use of diegetic dialogue in the trailer gives the audience another thinking point. We hear Carrie say 'An American prisoner-of-war has been turned'. This sparks the audiences' initiative to start thinking that he may not be a hero after all.

The trailer creates doubt in the heroic nature of Carrie's character by her not having much evidence behind the reasoning of her tasks. For example, we see that she is keeping tabs on Brodie in the trailer and sets up cameras in his house to spy on him. The audience are in doubt of her, as the only evidence she has is 'an American POW has been turned'. Also, in the trailer we see her speaking with her higher ups, in which they debunk her theory and say that spying is 'out of the question'. This produces doubt for the audience of Carrie's heroic nature, as we are seeing that if her higher ups are not believing in her, why should we?

1a. How does the surveillance set up by Carrie allow the audience to identify and sympathise with his character and the circumstances on a more human level?
The surveillance on Brodie allows the audience to identify and sympathise with him on a more human level because we see Brodie just going about a normal life with PTSD. At some points in the episode, we see Brodie start trembling and having trouble to adjust to a non POW life again. For example, when we see Brodie making love with his partner, he freaks out when she touches him. This makes the audience sympathise for him, as we can understand his emotions and how hard it must be for him to adapt.

1b. How does it 'position' the audience? What values and ideologies does this act of surveillance represent?
It positions the audience in a battle between which side to take, Brodie or Carrie. The act of surveillance represents the 9/11 attacks and the anxiety surrounding them. After 9/11, America increased surveillance and security to prevent another attack. Some audience members may agree with Carrie, as it links into xenophobia and post 9/11 anxiety.

2. Do you think Brody is difficulty to like? What values & ideologies does he represent?
In my opinion, Brody is very difficulty to like. This is because of the conflict and different representations of his character. He is represented constantly throughout the episode as a hero and a villain. This makes him difficult to like, as it makes it hard for us to judge him and make a confident decision on who we really think he is. Our opinions can always be changing on him as the episode goes on. At the start, we see Brody as a hero by surviving the oppositions forces, however as we learn more about him through Carrie's perspective, we start to have different opinions on the character. He shows values and ideologies of 9/11 anxieties and xenophobia. He is a man that is coming back from a country which Americans have a stereotypical view of all Middle Easterns' are terrorists. Carrie could see it from this viewpoint, thus making the audience see it like this also.

3.Why are flashbacks used in episode 1 and how do they attempt to manipulate the audience into thinking a certain way about Brody?
In episode 1, the use of flashbacks present Brody as a hero, not a villain. We see flashbacks of him being abused and beaten. This presents him as a hero, as he is not giving up throughout these traumatic times. They manipulate the audience into thinking a certain way about Brody, as it presents Brody as more of a hero, the opposite of what the protagonist, Carrie, is trying to paint.

Analyse what information the producers are trying to get across to the audience in this scene (31.08 - 35.04)

The mise-en-scene choices are chosen to add tension, such as dark lighting, formal clothing, the choice of room.
The shot types used are close ups, mainly on Carrie and Brody as this is where the tension is located.
Flashbacks are used to give information to the audience when Brody is lying. It helps give the audience an insight to the truth, which Brody is not telling.
Carrie is represented defying stereotypes in this scene through narrative. She is a female figure questioning a man of high authority. It is stereotypical for the female to be quiet, however Carrie does not do this and wants answers with her harsh questions.
Brody is represented as a villain through the narrative also. We see that he is lying straight to Carrie's face when we are presented with his flashbacks. This makes him an evil figure to the audience.

Compare and contrast the techniques used to represent Nicholas Brody in Episode 1 of Homeland.

In episode 1, Pilot, of Homeland, Sergeant Brody is represented in different ways through a number of techniques. In episode 1, Brody is found in Iraq after being presumed dead for a number of years. He is represented as both a hero and villain throughout the episode, and season as a whole.

To start off, Brody is represented as a hero mostly at the start of the episode when we see American troops find him. The use of mise-en-scene in this scene help present him as a hero. When we first see Brody, he is bruised, beaten and also has overgrown hair and facial hair. He is also in a dark, compact room, which is not at all good conditions. This shows the audience that he is a hero, as he is still alive. It is a miracle that somehow he is not dead. He is a hero for prevailing the terrorists and returning to America.

On the other hand, Brody is also represented as more of a villain through techniques. One of these techniques is the narrative. We see the story presented through Carrie, who sees Brody as the 'turned American POW' she was told about. To her, he is the ultimate villain, and so the audience see the villainous view of Brody more. Also, Brody is represented as a villain by stereotypes. Carrie thinks Brody is a threat to the US coming back from Iraq, and so this links into xenophobic views and post 9/11 anxieties. The audience notice this and are presented with the villainous side of the Sergeant.

To finish off, Brody also represents homecoming soldiers and the struggles for them. Brody returns to America after being a soldier at war. We see in episode 1 that, with the use of editing, he has flashbacks of his time in Iraq. This could link in to returning soldiers having PTSD, and Brody represents this group with his flashbacks of him being tortured and him being on edge most of the time. Brody is psychologically damaged which also links into his PTSD. The use of flashbacks used in Homeland helps add to this representation as it shows his trauma keeps overplaying in his head,

In conclusion, Brody is represented in different ways through different techniques in Episode 1 of Homeland.

Tuesday 5th May
L/O - to explore the representation in set products.
In this scene, Carrie's mental health is represented as a negative impact on her life that provokes her choices, making her uncalm and agitated. This usually happens when she is interacting with another person. For example, in this scene we see her lose her cool with Virgil when he brings up her medication. She argues with him, and as a result of losing her head, storms out of the van to bring herself together. As she gets home, she manages to remain calm in front of Saul, however as soon as he leaves she rushes for her medication.

In my opinion, I agree with the article. Homeland have managed to present Carrie's condition in an accurate fashion. It shows her having some nuisances throughout her days and people can relate to
this.

Rep: Mental Illness

Carrie's mental illness - her bi-polar, makes her amazing at investigating. She obsesses over details so much that she gets to the heart of the matter every time. She knows before everyone else does!
This was/is a growing trend in dramas 0 using mental health as a link to investigative brilliance (BBC's Sherlock and CBS's Elementary).
Carrie's illness manifests itself in obsessive attention to detail, inappropriate sexual relationships and frequent hysterical outburst.
Mise-en-scene: Extremely wide open eyes, quivering lip, screwed up face and raking her hand through her hair to express her frustration with her inability to fully protect the US homeland.
Carrie represents a familiar construction of a professional woman whose personal trauma underpins her role as a truth seeker and law enforcer.
The audience understand relatively early that Carrie is right to be suspicious of Brody, but the show withholds diegetic recognition; indeed, her interest in pursuit of Brody, which merges personal obsession and professional responsibility, begins to undermine her status as a trustworthy protagonist.
Initially, the show uses Carrie's illness to question her reliability - to her family, her profession and even to herself. The combination of being certain and then being proven wrong is what drives Carrie to seek electroshock therapy, as the closing sequence of season 1 ends. But the audience know - she is not wrong

In my opinion, it is not okay to frame mental illness as a professional asset.

Representation
American Family Ideology/The American Dream in Homeland
American Family Ideology in Homeland:

The American Family Ideology
Brody returning home full fills the ideology of having a full, complete family. (Brody was missing, so there was one person gone from having their family complete)
When Brody returns, his family consists of many values and norms that instruct the 'ideal family'.

The American Dream in Homeland:

The American Dream is the set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success.
You could argue that Carrie is living the American Dream. She has a great job working for the CIA and good income, she has great success. She also has taken her opportunities and executed them well.
You could also argue that Brody is living the American Dream. After being tortured and beaten, he has returned to America with a set of ideals and has a lot of freedom with his new life.

Tuesday 15th May
The Killing
L/O - to explore the narrative, theme & characters in set episode
Season 1 Episode 1 - October 2007

Who created the series?
It was created by Soren Sveistrup

Which two studies produced the series?
Produced by DR and co-produced by ZDF Enterprises

What award did the series win?
The award won was the Best International TV Series award

Episode 1 was released in 2007, which Danish channel was it shown on and how is this channel similar to the BBC?
It was first shown on Danish TV Channel DR1, it's similar to the BBC as it's the flagship television channel of Danish broadcasting company DR. It is also similar to the BBC as you do not have to pay for it.

It was shown in the UK on BBC Four. How many viewers did it have in Denmark and then in the UK on BBC Four.
In Denmark it pulled in 1.5 million people. When it was first aired in the UK on BBC 4, 472,000 people watched it.

What did Netflix do with the series in 2014?
They released the fourth season of the American adaptation in 2014.

The Killing: Narrative

Long form TC drama often have a complex narrative structure: a main narrative arc that spans the whole series (continues from episode to episode) and a number of minor narratives that may only last one or two episodes
The main narrative will often have several 'strands' which come together over the course of the series.
While you watch, you need to be looking for how these narrative strands are set up and how the characters are introduced and represented.

The Killing: Narrative
The narrative is based off a killing in which the police need to investigate. The murder is of a young girl who has not been seen for 3 days. The protagonist, Sarah Lund, is on the verge of migrating to Sweden, when the case of a missing girl is reported. The family of the Nanna, the victim, struggle to come to terms that she is dead. The evidence starts pointing towards politician Troels Hartmann.

Enigma Codes
The main question for the audience to make them keep watching is 'who murdered Nanna'. The follow up question to this would be 'why'. Some sub-questions after watching episode 1 could be 'What will happen to the politicians running if evidence gets released', 'Will Sarah pause her migration?',

Individual Character Narratives

Sarah Lund - We first see her narrative at the beginning of episode 1. We hear about her big family move to Sweden with her boyfriend. There is a rock in the road, as she is presented with a new case which she feels the need to complete.
Jan - Jan is first introduced to us moving boxes into Sarah's office, as he is moving in. Him and Sarah then go on to co-lead an investigation.
Troels - He is a politician we hear about before we see. The first time we are presented with a visualisation of Troels is when he is in a graveyard mourning. We learn that he is running for the mayor position, however this is disrupted when people learn he was in cooperation with Nanna's death.

Tuesday 19th May
The Killing: Industry & Context
L/O - to explore the production, social and political context of set products
In my opinion, the episode was grasping. It reeled me in with the narrative. Admittedly, at first I was unsure how I was going to feel about it with it being a Danish show, however it pulled me in, and left me wanting to find out more.

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

Each 50min episode covers 24hrs of investigation, with the first series consisting of 20 episodes! It shows the economic context of a small, publicly-owened 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 aided the success of Danish dramas.

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

Genre
Nordic Noir is an umbrella term to describe Scandinavian crime fiction, a genre that has become VERY poplar 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 the stylistic and narrative elements that the genre employed.

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

Some other successful Nordic Noir TV dramas include Bordertown, Trapped, Marcella and The Bridge.

Nordic Noir: Conventions
Partly because of its PSB remit, Danish TV drama consciously incorporates into its storytelling a cause and effect narrative, covering crime and broader socio-political context 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
This series is noted for its plot twists and dark tone and for giving equal emphasis to the stories of the victim's family and the effect in political circles of the murder and police investigation.

Analyse how media language is used to create suspense and signify the genre in the title sequence.
Many forms of media language is used to create suspense and signify the genre (Nordic Noir) in the title sequence. Three of the media language techniques being mise-en-scene, sound and editing.

To start off, sound helps create suspense and signify the genre in the title sequence due to the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. From the start of the title sequence, we hear non-diegetic music. It starts slow, and as it goes on it gets louder and faster. This is to create tension and suspense. These diegetic sounds are of the murdered girl, Nanna, and her killer, travelling through the woods, stepping on twigs and sounds of them crunching leaves. This helps to signify the genre in some way, as we can tell it is in a non-urbanised setting, which connotes to Nordic Noir.

Another media language technique used to create suspense is mise-en-scene. The lighting of the title sequence is very dark and dim. This creates suspense, as we do not know what will come out of the darkness. It also helps signify the genre as the dark lighting has connotations of Nordic Noir and crime dramas. The surroundings also help to create suspense. We see Nanna running through a dark woodland, where in a crime drama murders are likely to happen.

Lastly, the editing of the title sequence creates tension and suspense. This is because it starts slow, and then it includes quick cuts with long credit slides. It will have an effect of drawing in the audience, as the episode starts with a lot of action. The editing also shows what genre the series is. We see that behind the credits is a graphical picture of a fingerprint. This relates to forensics which is linked to the police and crime, often used in crime dramas.

In conclusion, signifying the genre and suspense is created through media language techniques such as mise-en-scene, sound and editing.

The Killing: Context

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

Compare: Where is majority of Homeland set in E1?

The majority of Homeland is set in Washington DC Virginia and the CIA's Headquarters where Carrie works. This is because it involves the main state in America.

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

Compare: How is American society usually represented in Homeland

American society is represented as xenophobic through the use of Carrie's perspective of the narrative. They are also represented as nationalists and are proud of their country.

Social Context

'Crime is one of a number of indicators of social decay or, at best, decline
In Forbrydelsen, the impact on Denmark of the recent financial crisis was raging as the writer/director scripted the programme; a stressed social context in which, as he perceived it, people reacted by looking after number one.
"When it opens", as Sveistrup put it, "Sarah Lund is actually doing pretty well... not caring about the crisis" and instead "trying to make a life for herself".
But we see how this creates a conflict between her public and private lives.
Even though she begins as a woman who plans to move to Sweden with her fiance and son, she is emotionally and professionally committed to this case, cannot abandon it to her colleague Jan Meyer, and this brings personal sacrifice, which we see when Bengt, her fiance, finally leaves without her.
We also register the economic struggle of the Larsen family which reminds us of the broader societal context. Theis runs a successful business which employs a number of worker but the Larsens still have trouble funding money to fix the dishwasher (Ep 1) and struggle harder one the costs of the funeral are added.
Third is that crime occurs in a notably "familial" setting, distinguished by the "extension of a sense of biological family to other groups".
In Forbyrdelsen we see the 'familial' represented across the different narrative strands, specifically by the Larsen's, by Lund and the reconstituted family that she is neglecting.
The tight political circle around Troels Hartmann (candidate for mayor), acts as an aspiration for 'Uncle' Vagnm who clearly wants to belong to the Larson family, yet whose racist outrage at Nanna's secret love affair with an Asian boy, is so intense that Vahn rapes and kills her.

Context Task:

Write an introductory blog post about The Killing (Forbrydelsen) and its context.

'Forbrydelsen' (otherwise known as 'The Killing') is a Nordic Noir Danish TV series created by Soren Sveistrup and produced by DR. The first episode of the series was released in October of 2007 on Danish TV channel DR1. In its home country, it pulled in 1.5 million viewers when released, however when it first aired on BBC 4 in the UK, it pulled it 4,472,000 viewers. The TV series won the Best International TV Series award in 2011. In later years from its first release, Netflix created an American Adaptation of the crime series.

We follow protagonist Sarah Lund (a police investigator) throughout her final days in Copenhagen, the cultural and political centre of the country, as she is on the verge of moving to Sweden. This is then stumped by a new investigation which she feels the need to complete. Each episode includes a 24-hour overview of the case, with the first series consisting of 20 episodes.

Being Nordic Noir, (Scandinavian crime fiction with rising popularity) 'The Killing' grasps on to the conventions included. Part of the conventions it to weave intricate characters and plots that converge and diversify to encourage audience interpretation and reading of events. It layers a text with meaning about Danish society, and also primes the show to appeal to international markets. The genre includes the point-of-view from the police, with the overall series building suspense, tension and dark features through the uses of media language.

'Forbrydelsen' is scripted whilst the impact on Denmark of the recent financial crisis was raging. We see this introduced in the series not through the protagonist Sarah Lund, but through the Larsen's. For example, the Larsen's struggle to pay for a new dishwasher after it breaks, with Mr Larsen trying to grow his business and focus money on that.

Friday 22nd May
L/O - To explore the narrative and characterisation in set products.
Starter Task
The angle of the shot suggests that Lund is respectful. The camera angle is not low, showing that she does not tower over her colleagues, and it is also not high, showing she is not a minority. With the camera shot at eye level, it presents us, the audience, on the same level as her, which makes us think she is a caring, kind person that sees people in the same light as herself. She appears to be looking into the distance, showing dedication as it would seem she is focused on something with thoughts running through her mind. The location of the image is a marshy woodland, which also shows dedication as she is willing to go to various lengths on uncomfortable land for her job.

Opening Scene
What media language choices have been made to represent this crime to the audience and what first impression does it give us about the content of the programme?
Numerous media language choices have been used to represent crime to the audience in the first 1 minute 57 seconds of 'The Killing'. Some representations being that the crime creates suspense, tension and upset.

One of the main media language techniques used in this scene is sound. The use of sound in this scene represents crime as suspenseful to the audience. During this scene, we hear non-diegetic, fast-paced music. This helps create tension for the audience and give them the 'on the edge of your seat' feeling, along with the thought of 'what will happen?'. Another way of creating suspense which represents crime through sound is the diegetic sound effects of twigs snapping and fast breathing. This gives the audience the effect of tension, as the fast pace of sound and rural area sound effects help create this. Not just sound helps to create the effect of suspense, but also the use of mise-en-scene. The scene is set at night with woodland surroundings in the dark, with Nanna wearing torn clothes with spots of blood. This helps to create suspense and tension with this crime, as we know that she is in trouble and she's also on the verge of something bad happening to her.

The mise-en-scene also helps the crime create an upset for the audience. We see that Nanna is literally running, struggling for breath, in a rural woodland with not much sense of direction. It is dark, she has spots of blood on her and her clothes are ripped and torn. This could be hard for some viewers to watch and also cause upset, as we know that Nanna has a very small chance of making it out alive and we also judge her fate. We see that the murderer is wearing dark clothing, contrasted by a bright torch. We see this dark figure as an enemy who has more power than Nanna, which also could cause upset for the audience.

The first impression of the first 1 minute 57 seconds that the show gives us is that it shows graphic content which may make people uncomfortable and upset along with suspense and tension, however this could drag viewers in. The dark surroundings of the mise-en-scene to the fast-paced non-diegetic music intrigues viewers of the Nordic Noir genre, which presents it as effective.

Sarah Lund
Read the following quotation from John Alberti (2017)
'After the frightening and chilling chase through the woods, we meet our brunette female good cop protagonist.The first shot of her is a medium close up shot and eye level waking up from a disturbed sleep. Tired and worn out, we see of medium shot using a handheld camera following her staggering around the house in her pyjamas, checking on her teenage son who is sleeping in front of a static filled television screen with the diegetic sound of the TV playing white noise. A single mum, we soon meet her Swedish partner with a medium close up shot using a handheld camera of him in his pyjamas and waking up tired and worn out, stumbling through the dark amidst the boxes of her and her son's belongings, all packed and ready to move to Sweden for a new life.

Our protagonist, Sarah Lund smiles warmly as seen in the close up shot when reassured that everything about the move will be okay, but we can see in her relief the fear and vulnerability that she carries with her through the mise-en-scene of her facial expression. Also with this her anxiety and tension, the complexity and disarray of her domestic circumstances. None of it is glamorous, none of what we see establishes her as anything other than a real person who, like everybody else out there, has to deal with the demands of life'.

Sarah Lund is the main protagonist in The Killing (Forbrydelsen).
The saga starts off as Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lund is preparing to withdraw from Copenhagen Police Force and transfer to Sweden to be with her fiance. That soon changes though after the discovery of a raped and murdered body of a nineteen-year-old girl.

How is she first represented to us?

She is first represented as a normal individual, going about her life and checking in on her family. The shot type is at eye level, which presents Lund as an honest, respectable person who does not see herself over others. Whilst being respectful and honest, she also shows to us that family means a lot to her with a close up camera shot of her smiling whilst looking at her son. This shows to the audience that she is a caring person and will work hard to give her son a good life. The diegetic dialogue also presents her as a normal human, as her and her fiance are having talks about their big migration to Sweden. Any normal human will have doubts and fears about moving to a different country, and so as an audience member we see her being represented in this way.

Is she sexualised in any way?
Lund is partly sexualised in this scene. There is a low-angled long-shot where we see Lund hugging her fiance, which shows off her female properties in a long baggy t-shirt. The camera is specifically placed so we can see her doing this.

What do we think of her?
We think of Sarah Lund as being a respectable, normalised human going about her life when we first see her. She starts her usual morning routine and shows her love for her family. She also shows she is a normal human by showing doubts and fear about moving to a different country.

The Crime Scene (4.08 - 6.43)

What happens in the scene?
How is Sarah represented?
Why this scene is significant and effective for the plot in Episode 1?

At the start of the crime scene, we see Sarah Lund walking towards the scene whilst being debriefed by a fellow officer. She goes underground in a lift as she continues to edge closer to the crime scene.

The lights then turn off, and as a result she turns on her torch. In a big room, she finds a bloody axe on the floor near a body which is also covered in blood - which turns out to be a sex doll. This doll had a note on it which reads "Thanks for 7 great years". It then quickly cuts to the next scene in the episode.

Sarah Lund is represented as determined and courageous. Certain uses of media language help represent her as this way. For example, the mise-en-scene shows the sheer determination of Lund, as she is walking into a large, dark murder scene with only a torch. She has a very vague idea of what she is walking in to, whilst walking into the pitch black. It also shows she is courageous as she is not deterred from the darkness and the unknown of the murder scene. Another use of mise-en-scene is the prop of a bloody axe. This helps to show Lund as determined and courageous, as she keeps on searching and investigating the scene. A bloody axe does not scare her off from her objective. The use of sound also presents Sarah Lund in these two ways, as during her investigation the audience can hear non-diegetic, tension building sound effects and diegetic sounds such as creaking. This shows that she is not put off by these sounds, and is prepared to walk into a murder scene unfazed.

This scene is significant and effective for the plot in episode 1, as it shows us the personality of Sarah Lund in a vast introduction which includes her job. Ultimately, we learn more about her as a character.

Compare & contrast the way that Sarah Lund is first represented to the audience to the way Carrie Mathison is first represented to the audience in Homeland & The Killing.

Sarah Lund and Carrie Mathison are both used to represent certain issues in today's world and past problems in different ways that include media language (mise-en-scene, camerawork, sound and editing). Some of these issues include gender inequality and xenophobia.

To start off, both Sarah Lund and Carrie Mathison are used to represent sexism in the two series. In The Killing, at the start of episode one, Lund is sexualised through the use of camerawork. This is included in the first scene, where we see her walking around her house checking on her family. When hugging her fiance, there is a low-angled medium shot where we can see Lund's lower half of her body. This represents gender inequality in a negative light in The Killing, as women are represented as sexual objects than people. Carrie Mathison represents gender inequality in a different way during episode 1. In Homeland, gender inequality and sexism is much more present. The use of diegetic dialogue helps to prove this. We see Carrie Mathison trying to get her point that Brodie could well and truly be a terrorist across to Saul, her colleague. However, he instantly turns her down - this could be down to his sexist views. It takes Carrie a lot of talking and pleading to convince Saul to at the maximum give her two weeks to prove her point, otherwise she is out of the CIA. Despite this, they are also represented subverting typical gender conventions in similar ways. They are both females with lead roles in their series. In films and series, it is stereotypical for the lead role of the narrative to be a male, especially if the series includes action. As a result, Sarah Lund and Carrie Mathison are both used to represent gender inequality, yet also female empowerment.

The two characters also have different representations of past problems. For example, we can see that Carrie Mathsion is effected by post 9/11 anxieties early on into Homeland, which is continued throughout the show. The narrative alone shows this, as she tries to stop a suspected terrorist. We can see that Carrie Mathison is worried about another major terrorist attack and tries to eliminate another at all costs. However, in The Killing, Sarah Lund copes well with past problems. The social context of the show includes the Denmark Economic Crash in the 2000s. Lund does not seem to be effected by this, shown by the narrative. We learn that Lund is on the verge of a big move to Sweden, which shows that she is very financially stable.

To finish off, xenophobia is presented in different ways through Sarah Lund and Carrie Mathison. In Homeland, xenophobia is often represented through Carrie Mathison, particularly in our first representation of her. Through the narrative, we see that she is in Iraq on a CIA mission in the first scene of episode 1. To Carrie, the Middle Eastern people are shown as a hassle to her as they get in her way and stump her mission. Also, the narrative presents Brody as a terrorist after being turned by people in the Middle East. This shows that xenophobia in Homeland links to Carrie's post 9/11 anxieties. This is different compared to The Killing, where there is hardly, if any xenophobia. Sarah Lund is presented as non-xenophobic, as she is on the verge of a move to Sweden with her Swedish fiance.

In conclusion, Sarah Lund and Carrie Mathison are first represented in different and similar ways through the use of narrative and other various media language.

Tuesday 2nd June
The Killing: Context
L/O - to explore the social issues represented, specifically gender
Starter Task:
In the photo, we see that Sarah Lund and Carrie Mathison are styled and portrayed very differently through costume, hair and make-up. Mathison appears to be wearing much more formal clothing, which has connotations of high status, compared to Lund's rural outfitting. Carrie's hair is kept tidy and clean, unlike Sarah's who appears to have untidy hair. This keeps the connotations relating to the clothing, the higher status and formality. Mathison also wears make-up, whereas Lund decides not to.

Reflecting Social Attitudes

People have big misconceptions about the Nordic politics.
They are actually not welcoming, Denmark have been known to seize asylum seekers' cash and valuables. Sweden are preparing mass deportations
Through the 50s and 60s, Sweden took in large numbers of Finnish immigrants looking for industrial work. In the 70s, it began to take in political refugees, at first Kurds and Latin Americans.
Because of this, Sweden starting to look down on their neighbours, just as they looked down on the rest of the world generally. This never caught on in Denmark, but a generosity to refugees became part of Swedish self-image.
The strains first started towards the end of the 80s, when the money ran out for both economies.
The economic crunch overlapped with a great rush of refugees from the Balkan war and the two together led to considerable tensions (riots, a deranged sniper, etc.)

How does the dialogue and mise-en-scene choices reflect the relationship between Denmark & Sweden? (Scene 4 | 6.44-7.19)

The dialogue and mise-en-scene choices reflect the relationship of Denmark & Sweden negatively. Being set in Denmark, there is apparent tension involved in the relationship through dialogue and mise-en-scene.

The mise-en-scene in this scene represents the Denmark Sweden relationship in a negative light. In this scene, the use of a sex doll for a prop presents it as a joke and informal. This shows that her team are not taking her move and next step of her life seriously. The Chief Inspector then hugs this prop to prove this point further. Lund is also wearing a hat with the colours of the Swedish flag, yellow and blue, which the rest of her team find humerous. This shows that they think they are better than their fellow Scandinavian country, which presents the negative light and toxic relationship. They are laughing at the pride of the Swedes represented through Lund, which was built up during the 60s, 70s, and 80s when they started taking in immigrants.

Secondly, the dialogue in this scene also represents the Denmark Sweden relationship negatively. We hear the Chief Inspector say "Sarah the Stockholm force will really benefit from you. Good luck in the lap of the enemy". This alone shows that there is tension between Denmark and Sweden. He refers to the Swedes as "the enemy", which shows that they do not just dislike each other, there is hatred involved. This feud could be because of the 60s, 70s, and 80s when Sweden let in immigrants to work industrially. They started seeing themselves higher than Denmark and therefore caused a negative relationship.

In conclusion, in Scene 4 mise-en-scene and dialogue is used to show the negative light and tensions of Denmark and Sweden.

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 US was ranked in 17th place
In 2020 the US is ranked in 53rd place.

Lund and Mathison are both treated very differently in the workplace. Carrie Mathison's ideas and prompts are usually shut down quickly without anyone giving her any time to reason her thinking. For example, Saul shuts down Carrie's theory of Brody being a terrorist almost straight away. Also, the Chief of the CIA stops her mission in Iraq after her begging him to let her continue and get the information she needs. This could be this way because of the gender equality personalities of the US. They ranked 17th in the world in 2001, whilst Denmark ranked 7th in 2007, only 4 years earlier. Sarah Lund is represented positively, as her team are upset about losing her and she is shown to be liked and listened to by them.

Gender Issues

Lund's professionalism and reflects societal issues surrounding the sexes.
Nadia Reich, head of fiction at DR, states that Scandinavia's recent insight into gender, careers and society are reflected within the stories and characters we see on TV.
She adds: "It means something that women in Denmark were early onto the labour market to carve out careers, and that our children have been looked after in daycare centres. It helps us to tell stories which have both a political dimension and relate to the dilemmas that exist between family and society".
Lund's professionalism comes at a cost and the relentless demands of her job, as well as her patriotic duty, means that she lack the ability to commit fully to relationships - both professionally and personally in a similar way Carrie Mathison.
Forbrydelsen questions many traditional female characteristics with its lead Sarah Lund. Society has changed and there is no longer the demand or desire for depictions of domesticated women.
There is more desire for career driven women who struggle with the traditional demands expected of them. Character's, like Lund, become more layered and complex and they resist any attempts to shoe box their roles.
Forbrydelsen challenges traditional gender roles by depicting the parenting skills of a woman driven by her professional code. Sarah Lund is motivated by a juxtapostion of male and female traits.

What social issues does Homeland reflect in relation to its lead protagonist?

Internalized sexism is shown through Carrie Mathison, the lead protagonist. For example, Saul does not want to listen to her theory on Brody being a terrorist and continues to shut down her ideas and won't even listen to her reasoning. Also, her boss shuts down her operation in Iraq as she is closing in on her information suspect, after continuous begging from Carrie he still stops the investigation.

Mental Health and Ableism is also shown through the lead protagonist in Homeland. We learn in the first episode that Carrie has bipolar disorder. She tends to not be able to control herself often, which involves her lashing out sometimes. Ableism is shown from Virgil to Carrie when he learns about her bipolar disorder. This represents social issues in Homeland.

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 such as inequality and xenophobia in the set countries they live in. They are presented reflecting these societal issues through the use of mise-en-scene, sound, camerawork and editing.

To start off, both Carrie Mathison and Sarah Lund are used to reflect inequality, specifically gender inequality. In Homeland, there are multiple uses of sexism from Mathison's colleagues and friends through the use of sound. For example, the diegetic dialogue of Saul presents this when he instantly turns down her theory of Brody (a male war hero) being a turned soldier. He does not even take the time to consider helping her. Being set in and released in 2011, women are still seen as lesser than men by some people and there are continuing issues (for example the wage gap). This is different compared to The Killing, where there is hardly, if any, sexism and gender inequality. Like Homeland, the protagonist is female, however she has very different experiences of social issues compared to Carrie Mathison. We learn that Sarah Lund is looked up to by her colleagues through the narrative and also camerawork. Throughout episode 1, there are many medium shots and eye level shots. This shows that she is seen as on the same level as her male colleagues and friends, unlike Carrie Mathison.

Secondly, in Homeland we see a great level of xenophobia reflected through Carrie Mathison. The narrative and mise-en-scene in Homeland show this. The narrative is based off of Mathison's xenophobic views of Middle Eastern people and the Middle East as a whole. Brody, who has been in the Middle East for years, returns to the USA along with Carrie's information of an American soldier being turned. Being set in 2011, she has post 9/11 anxieties and fears Brody. Following this, the mise-en-scene presents xenophobia when we see Carrie starts spying on Brody through cameras. This shows her reflects her xenophobic views, as she is keeping a constant watch on a returned soldier from the Middle East. Alternatively, mise-en-scene also shows there is some xenophobia in The Killing. When Sarah Lund is saying her goodbyes to her colleagues, Lund is wearing a hat with the colours of the Swedish flag, yellow and blue, which the rest of her team find humerous. This shows that they think they are better than their fellow Scandinavian country, which presents the negative light and toxic relationship. They are laughing at the pride of the Swedes represented through Lund, which was built up during the 60s, 70s, and 80s when they started taking in immigrants.

TV DRAMA REVISION

What's it all about?

Section B of Evolving Media (Paper 1) looks at the long-form TV drama.
It is 60% of the paper and so is worth more marks than the Media Language & Representation unit.
You WILL need to learn and apply academic ideas to this unit
We have to compare TWO TV Dramas: one US drama and one European drama.

What will I need to know?

Media Language: How TV Drama communicates meaning through codes & 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?

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.

HOMELAND

What is the main narrative of the series?

The main narrative of Homeland is introduced when Carrie is seen in Iraq on a CIA mission. She discovers that an American prisoner of war had been turned by al-Qaeda. Her mission is to find the POW before anything terrible happens.

What are the Enigma Codes?

The audience is drawn in by the fact that Brody could be a terrorist and to see if Carrie is correct with her theories.

What are the Individual Character Narratives?

Carrie - Carrie's narrative is to find out if Brody is a terrorist or not working as a detective. First set up in Iraq
Brody - Brody's main narrative is to live out his life after becoming a war hero. This is seen when he is welcomed back home by his family.
Virgil - Virgil's narrative is to help spy on Brody, first seen when Carrie calls him for help by the use of CCTV cameras.
Saul - Saul's narrative is to overview Carrie, set up when we see him talking about Brody with her.
Jessica - Brody's wife, wants to keep her family.

L/O To explore the narrative, theme & characters in set episode in relation to theory

TODOROV: NARRATOLOGY

Todorov's theory of narratology is that there is set objectives and features in a narrative. For example, an equilibrium, a disruption, recognition of disruption, attempt to fix said disruption and the new equilibrium. It is usually applied to films, however it can be applied to series, such as Homeland.
We see the beginning of this theory in Homeland episode 1, when Carrie's objective is set up. Our equilibrium is that Carrie is a CIA detective doing her job. There is a disruption when she finds out the information of a turned soldier. The recognition of the disruption is shown when she talks to Saul about the issue. Attempting to fix it comes along when we see Carrie spying on Brody. Finally, the new equilibrium is not shown in episode 1.

NEALE: GENRE THEORY

Draws attention to the processes of difference within repetition and hybridity (mixing of genres). Audience expectations are that of twisting narratives that have been developed. This means that genres are not fixed but constantly evolve with each new addition the generic corpus, often playing with genre codes and conventions or becoming hybrids with other genres.
This is seen in Homeland episode 1, as we get a mix of genres through mystery and thriller. This is due to the action at the start when Carrie is seen rushing through a foreign country in an action scene and also because of her detective narrative with wanting to solve the mystery of Brody.
This presents enigma codes of "is Brody a terrorist and against the USA", yet also "is Carrie sane" as we see her taking medication.

ANALYSING THE CONTEXT

Is America seen as strong?

Yes, America is seen as strong, as they have a well-built economy and strong values in a societal and cultural sense. This is shown in Homelands, as Carrie is staying on top of any attack that may pose threat.

Is America seen as vulnerable?

In a way, yes, as they have been hit by a foreign power in the past which has an impact on todays world. They are more concerned as a result.

How is the text choosing to show the contexts of the day?

Homeland presents America as powerful and, in some cases, can be seen as xenophobic towards eastern cultures. This is shown through the presentation of Islam in the series - it is represented negatively due to the narrative. There is a taster of post 9/11 anxieties due to the fear of a similar attack happening again.

How is the media choosing to portray the current political, social, economic, cultural and historical contexts?

Political - September 11th 2001 still stands as one of the most shocking, dramatic and traumatic days of recent history. Attacks were targeting symbolic locations in America (Twin Towers, Pentagon and The White House). They were symbols of political power.
Social - Post 9/11 anxiety is represented through the social context of Homeland due to Carrie wanting to prevent another attack.
Economic - The economic context is shown through the production as it is high value.
Cultural - Religious/cultural dimensions including racism, religious intolerance and fear of outsiders/others.
Historical - Shows historical context through the fear of a terrorist attack.

How has Homeland represented the context of the time in their opening episode?

The context of the time in the opening episode of Homeland is represented through the main character - Carrie. This is due to the social contexts revolving her. For example, it is clear that she has post 9/11 anxieties. She is in fear of another terrorist attack and anything bad happening to her country. This represents the society of America, as they will have had a massive psychological impact from 9/11. To add to this, the cultural contexts of the time are shown through narrative. Homeland shows how great the USA is as it is Americanised. With this comes the views and ideologies of that. These are that they fear outsiders due to the previous attacks - this presents xenophobia in Homeland.

BARTHES: SEMIOLOGY

Study of signs. Signs consist of signifiers. This includes denotations, the literal meaning (e.g. the word 'dog' denotes a mammal that barks). Denotations signify connotations - the associations of that denotation. (e.g. 'dogness' - the thoughts and feelings associated with dogs).
We see this theory in Homeland. For example, Carrie wanting to stop a future attack is a denotation - the literal meaning. However we can also see the connotations of this - post 9/11 anxieties are involved.
Brody's appearance in the footage showing him when he is found signifies that he has not been treated fairly and has been abused. That is the denotation. The connotations of this show that it is this way due to the Americanised culture - fear of outsiders. They present non-Americans in a negative way.

LEVI-STRAUSS: STRUCTURALISM

The study of hidden rules that govern a structure. Levi-Strauss though The human mind could be investigated by studying the fundamental structure underlying myths and fables from around the world. He developed the idea of 'binary opposition' - e.g. east vs west.
In Homeland, this is shown through establishing shot of the middle-eastern prison. It is run down which shows poor security measures, however we then see guards with guns. This represents the barbaric nature of the middle east, presenting Americanised culture. This is similar with the 'East vs West' narrative.
The East/West is represented through mise-en-scene in episode 1 when we see and learn about the mistreatment of Sergeant Brody. We see him presented as rough and uncared for. This presents the East negatively, as it shows they do not care for others.

GILROY: ETHNICITY AND POST-COLONIALISM

Gilroy draws attention to the continuing role of colonial (white western culture ruled) ideology across a range of representations.
This is shown in Homeland due to the negative representation of the eastern cultures. At no point is the white western culture seen as negative - it is always positive.
The West is represented as superior in most scenes - such as Carrie is spying on Brody due to him spending multiple years in the Middle East. It represents Brody in a negative light due to the fact he spent time there.

Wednesday 24th March

L/O - To explore the narrative and characterisation in set products.

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 ownership and control of television, the recruitment and ethos of television professionals and the representation of gender

VAN ZOONEN'S FEMINIST THEORY AND HOMELAND

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

BELL HOOKES: FEMINIST THEORY

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 characters that reinforce patriarchal ideology and politicises the case.

BELL HOOKES FEMINIST THEORY IN HOMELAND

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.

CARRIE MATHISON - 0.00 to 3.06

Carrie is on her way to speak to a prisoner in a middle-eastern country. This prisoner has information which we are not allowed to know as a viewer straight away.
Carrie is represented as an unconventional female - she is the protagonist which is stereotypical to be a male. She is shown as a bold, strong women by going against the stereotypes.
The Middle East and Middle Eastern people are represented as a nuisance. This is shown through mise-en-scene and diegetic sound. The streets are crowded, there are people shouting, car horns and traffic jams, etc.

CARRIE MATHISON - 3.39 to 4.15

Carrie is represented as weak. This is due to her fitting in to the stereotype of females. She is shown as highly flawed, unconventional hero.

How is Carrie Mathison represented?

Carrie Mathison is represented as an unconventional, highly flawed hero. This is shown in the second scene of Homeland. Carrie has just gotten home and is getting ready for work. She is unconventional through narrative, as the protagonist is stereotypically scene as male in films. The flaws enter through the mise-en-scene when we see Carrie taking pills - it shows she is psychologically damaged. Through narrative and mise-en-scene, it shows she is the unconventional, highly flawed hero. Social context can be linked to this, as women were seen as much less than men in society at the time this was released, which is also shown through narrative. This links into Bell Hookes feminist theory, as she embodies the oppositional gaze that refuses to conform to the expectations of women and challenges patriarchal ideologies.

SEARGEANT BRODY

Being a man and a soldier, he would be the most traditional character to play the 'heroic role'. This is not the case.

BRODY - 15.53 to 20.07

Brody is represented as brave, strong and a war hero. This is shown through narrative and mise-en-scene. The respect he gets from other people is the drive for this. This is not the case shown Carrie's perspective.
His reaction to his family is a cold one. He is taken aback and unsure from the meeting of his family and waits for them to make the first move. This shows a different side to Brody - one that is nervous and unsure.

GAUNTLETT: REPRESENTATION

Gauntlett believes that while everyone is an individual, people tend to exist within larger groups who are similar to them. He thinks the media do not create identities, but just reflect them instead.

GAUNTLETT: REPRESENTATION AND HOMELAND

Homeland offers diverse and contradictory representations that audience can use to think through their identity as they have the time and resources to develop implied representations through Carrie and Brody.
Homeland offers local representations that resonate with international audiences. Middle East and US representations. This increases the diversity of representations to reach and international audience, Homeland was successful in server international locations as a series.
This assumes the power of the audience as active agents so may underestimate the power of media conglomerates in shaping culture and identity.

HALL: REPRESENTATION

Through stereotyping and ideology those in power try to fix the meaning of a representation to a preferred reading that suggest their is only one true meaning.
Meaning is created by a representation but it is what is present and also absent and different that create the representation.
Stereotypes and how they are constructed should be pulled apart and deconstructed to identify what they tell us about ideology.

HALL: REPRESENTATION AND HOMELAND

Homeland attempts to create a dominant meaning through the use of ideology of East vs West to support the preferred reading of those in power (US).
The West is shown as more advanced, more humane, etc.
Carrie's representation is created through a lack of elements in her characterisation, closeness and compassion, success outside of her job.

CARRIE MEETS BRODY - 31.08 to 35.04

The lighting is dark apart from on the characters themselves. This brings them out of the background and allows full focus on them. This could also be down due to the bland mise-en-scene, just a grey room with a table.
Lots of close-ups are used to build tension, we are able to see every facial expression clearly.
The use of flashbacks are used to give the audience better understanding of information. Homeland uses flashbacks by showing Brody's mistreatment under captivity. We get a better understanding through the use of mise-en-scene in the flashback. He is chained up and getting beaten.
Carrie is represented as a nuisance in this scene. This comes down to narrative choices - she never stops asking Brody questions.
Brody is represented as brave through narrative as he has shown up to talk about his past, how he was beaten and his troubled experiences.

How is Brody represented in Homeland?

Brody is represented as a brave hero. In this scene, Brody is meeting his family and then goes on to give a speech. The narrative and mise-en-scene used present him this way. To start, Brody is shown as brave due to him being able to speak out about his troubles and staying strong whilst talking about his eight years of hell. The mise-en-scene contributes to this, as he is shown wearing a high-up military costume with medals and honours. This shows that he is a brave hero, as he has been shown bringing up a horrible past, however bravely speaking out about it. This links to the social context of the time, as men were stereotypically seen as brave and strong. We can use Hall's representation theory to support this, as it presents the East as inhumane by mistreating Brody.

Wednesday 29th March

L/O - To explore the representation in set products

BAULDRILLARD: POSTMODERNISM

Postmodernism is the idea that society has moved beyond modernism - either modernism in art and culture or modernism in the sense of a belief in progress, which dates back much further.
Baudrillard argued that, as modern societies were organised around production of goods, postmodern society is organised around 'simulation' - the play of images and signs.
Previously important social distinctions suffer 'implosion' as differences of gender, class, politics and culture dissolve in a world of simulation in which individuals construct their identities.
The new world of 'hyperreality' - media simulations, for example, Disneyland and amusement parks, malls and consumer fantasy lands - is more real than the 'real', and controls how we think and behave.
This theory does not really apply to Homeland, as we do not have a representation of a postmodern society. Homeland is not organised around 'simulation'. Also with Homeland, there is no sense of the new world of 'hyperreality'.

HALL: AUDIENCE THEORY

Each audience can decode in one of 3 ways:

Dominant reading = accepts the preferred meaning and ideological meaning (East vs West, East is superior)
Negotiated reading - some of the decoded message is accepted but the audiences disagrees with parts of it and so changes it to fit their experience and values. (East vs West, can understand with both sides)
Oppositional reading - both the preferred meaning and any ideological assumptions encoded in the product are rejected. (East vs West, East is biased)

HALL: AUDIENCE AND HOMELAND

Draws attention to the possible audience readings of Homeland and the messages it portrays. Shows the power of the audience in questioning Carrie and her representation of mental illness. Also highlights which perceptive those in 'power' perceive representations of mental illness, race and gender.
It also acknowledges the power of the media in creating dominant messages within television messages and values. The conflict of East vs West, Gender inequalities and links o weakness through Carrie and her mental health issues.

CARRIE'S MENTAL HEALTH - 41.33 to 44.35

In this clip, her mental health is represented as poor. This is due to the need of medication to keep her calm and focused. This presents her as unreliable and makes the audience question her judgement. We see her fidgeting and regularly seen as struggling physically. She is a professional women whose personal trauma underpins her role as a truth seeker and law enforcer.

HOW IS MENTAL ILLNESS PRESENTED IN HOMELAND?

Mental Illness is presented as a troubling issue in Homeland. This is due to the constant discomfort of Carrie through the mise-en-scene. We see her fidgeting, grabbing at her hair and overall just unable to remain calm. This shows that mental illness is a troubling issue, as Carrie is unable to go throughout her day without ease and always having something to think about. This brings in social context - we could link this to post 9/11 anxieties. The attack would have left a lot of people scarred and not in the right place - this could have affected Carrie. You could also say that there is political and economic context involved - Carrie buying medication helps the economy, and the government is shown to have little help other than these ways. We can link Gauntlett's representation theory into this, as while everyone is an individual, people tend to exist within larger groups who are similar to them. He thinks the media do not create identities, but just reflect them instead. Carrie is reflecting a group of people, rather than just herself. Overall, mental illness is presented as negative.

We can apply Barthes semiology theory to this. The signifier of the denotation is that Carrie is uncomfortable, however the connotations that come with this is the audience asking themselves whether they trust Carrie's judgement after following her point-of-view for so long. It also connotes that everybody who takes medication is not trusted in a certain sense.

BANDURA: AUDIENCE THEORY

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

CURRAN AND SEATON: POWER AND MEDIA INDUSTRIES

Patters in ownership & control are important in how the media functions.
Media industries are capitalist & aim to increase concentration of ownership; leads to narrowing of opinions represented in the press, affecting plurality.
Owners pursue profit at the expense of quality or creativity.
The issue of ownership and control, the working practices of creators and the risk and profitability vs critical appeal in TV drama depending who is funding the production
There is an international dominance of American Streaming services - Netflix, in distributing many LFTV dramas, this can limit the representations that are created through ownership and control of productions.

HESMONDHALGH: CULTURAL INDUSTRIES

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

HEMONDHALGH: CULTURAL INDUSTRIES AND HOMELAND

Draws attention to the ownership and control purposes, such as American commercial = Homeland, compared to the European Public service ethos.
In Homeland the risk and profitability is scene in the high budgets that then minimise the risk via formatting and the star system. Homeland we see famous actors alongside genre of crime conspiracy that is successful in America. We also see this in the narrative that is directly linked to events from the US - 9/11 and Iraq war.

LIVINGSTONE AND LUNT: REGULATION

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

LIVINGSTONE AND LUNT: REGULATION AND HOMELAND

LFTVD produced by European public service broadcasters may be regulated in the interest of citizens
LFTVD produced by American cable and streaming services are lightly regulated to avoid harm as they treat their audiences as consumers. Homeland focused on making money and the audience to consume the ideologies presented in their representations
Shows the challenges of globalised TV industries on traditional regulation. In the UK you can put in a formal complaint to OFCOM who will pursue, however this only applies to a national market or British TV drama not international streaming services.

How is gender represented in Homeland and how does this reflect social and cultural context?

Gender is represent in Homeland in different ways. To start, it is represented as stereotypical. This is due to the narrative and mise-en-scene. In one scene, Carrie uses her sexuality to try and seduce Saul in an attempt to get him not to share information. The mise-en-scene suggests this due to Carrie opening her clothes and bringing herself closer to Saul. This reinforces the stereotypical nature of Homeland, due to Americans society seeing women as less than men and only as objects. This also shows the culture of America. We also see the same thing when Carrie is seen talking to Brody. The head of the CIA, a male, shuts Carrie down and stops her from talking. We can link Van Zoonen's feminist theory into this; Carrie although strong and a masculine role of leadership, has several flaws that make her unstable as a leader and strong woman, this showing the power of patriarchy reinforcing subtly the inferiority of women to men in positions of power.

Contradicting to this, gender is also represented as unconventional. This is due to Carrie's role of power and being the protagonist in Homeland through the narrative and mise-en-scene. In the debrief scene, she is seen questioning Brody, a powerful figure in Homeland, despite being of the opposite gender. This shows the unconventional side of Homeland, as females are not stereotypically seen this way. We can link the cultural context of America into this; men are presented as having more power than women. This is also shown through economic contexts of 2011 - men getting paid more than women. As a result, we can link Bell Hookes feminist theory into this. She believes women should develop an oppositional gaze that refuses to identify with characters that reinforce patriarchal ideology and politicises the case. 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.

THE KILLING REVISITED

THE KILLING NARRATIVE

MAIN NARRATIVE QUEST/CONFLICT SET UP:

The main narrative is introduced through an action induced scene.
The problem that drives the series is the disappearance of a 19y/o female.

ENIGMA CODES:

Is she dead?
Are her friends hiding something?
Who is the snitch in the political party?

INDIVIDUAL CHARACTER NARRATIVES:

Sarah Lund - determined to conclude the case and move on to her new life.
Birk Larsens - moving house and trying to balance business with family.
Troells Hartman - trying to become mayor
Mayor - trying to stay in power as mayor for years to come, eliminating competition

HOW IS GENERE INTRODUCED IN THE OPENING EPISODE?

Genre is introduced through the main narrative set up of a missing girl, set in Scandinavia. This shows that it is a Nordic-Noir series. There is a lot of detective work seen in this opening episode which links with crime fiction. Shown through mise-en-scene and narrative, the genre is introduced. Sarah Lund and Jan investigate a field with objects from a missing girl, and with them both being police detectives, this sets up the episode and series. Copenhagen is the cultural and political centre of the country. The impact on Denmark of the recent financial crisis was raging as the writer/director scripted the programme; which also links into an increase of crime, which is shown in The Killing. This links to Neale's theory, the main genre that is established is crime/detective; 'to keep an audience interested', there are also elements of suspense and drama. In conclusion, the genre(s) is introduced through media language and can also be linked to theories.

28th April 2021

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.)

THE KILLING: CONTEXT

Set in Copenhagen - the cultural and political centre of the country and the series is the product of the Danish public broadcasting network 'DR' (their BBC), which dominates Danish programming.
Danish society is renowned for being a rational and civilised society. The Murder of Nanna Birk Larsen is framed as a shocking anomaly to this.

SOCIAL CONTEXT:

Crime is one of a number of indicators of social decay or at best, decline.
In Forbyrdelsen, the impact on Denmark of the recent financial crisis was raging as the writer/director scripted the programme; a stressed social context in which, as he perceived it, people reacted by looking after number one.
We also register the economic struggle of the Larsen family which reminds us of the broader societal context. Theis runs a successful business which employs a number of workers but the Larsens still have trouble funding money to fix the dishwasher and struggle harder once the costs of the funeral are added.
Third is that crime occurs in a notably 'familial' setting, distinguished by the "extension of a sense of biological family to other groups", "Uncle Vagn, who clearly wants to belong to the Larson family, yet whose racist outrage at Nanna's secret love affair with an asian boy, is so intense that Vagn rapes and kills her

MEDIA LANGUAGE

BAUDRILLARD: POSTMODERNISM

Postmodernism is the idea that society has moved beyond modernism - either modernism in art and culture (early 20th century) or modernism in the sense of a belief in progress.
Baudrillard argued that as modern societies were organised around production of goods, postmodern society is organised around 'simulation' - the play of images and signs.
Previous important societies suffered 'implosion' as differences of gender, class, politics and culture dissolve in a world of simulation.
Individuals construct their identities.
There is a new world of 'hyperreality' - example being Disney controlling how we think and behave.
SOCIETY IS CREATED BY THE MEDIA

VAN ZOONEN - FEMINISM

Ideas of femininity and masculinity are constructed in our performance of these roles.
Gender is what we do rather than who we are
Patriarchy may be applied to the ownership and control of TV.

BUTLER: GENDER PERFORMATIVITY

Reinforces masculinity.
Where performance of gender is foregrounded, representations of women show the bodies for display.

THE CRIME SCENE (1.15 - 6.43)

What happens?
How is Sarah represented?
Why this scene is effective and significant for the plot in Episode 1
Which theorists apply.

Sarah searches a crime scene after being called in to work on her last day on the job.
She is represented as a hard-working individual who is also determined
This scene is significant for the plot in Episode 1 as it introduces us to the protagonist of the series, whilst also showing the genre and type of series it is.
We can apply Van Zoonen's feminist theory to this; 'Gender is what we do rather than who we are and changes meaning depending on cultural and historical contexts'. The main character is a female, with her being a police officer (a hard going job) - this goes against stereotypes of women, representing them as tougher than what society sees them out to be.

REFLECTING SOCIAL ATTITUDES

Denmark has always been seen as internationally progressive in terms of gender equality. Carrie and Sarah and shown in to very different social contexts.

Task: Is the way 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?How does this link with Van Zoonen and Butler?

Sarah Lund is treated very differently in the workplace to Carrie Mathison. This is shown through narrative - Sarah Lund is shown praise for her work and is even given a leavers do. Carrie is often shouted at and berated for her work and 'annoyance'. This represents the social context at the time; Denmark was 8th in the world in terms of gender equality in 2007 (date of first series of The Killing) and the United States was ranked 17th in 2011 (date of first series of Homeland). This shows the state of gender equality at the given times of airing. This links with Van Zoonen's feminist theory, as Carrie Mathison is going against stereotypes of females. We can also use Butler's theory - Carrie often uses her sexuality and puts her body on display.

BELL HOOKES: FEMINISM

The coming together of gender, race, class and sexuality creates a white supremacist capitalist patriarchy which dominates media representations.
Women should develop and oppositional gaze that refuses to identify with characters that reinforce these patriarchal representations.

GAUNTLETT: REPRESENTATION

The media have a complex relationship with identities.
Individuals can think through their identity and how to express themselves through contradictory messages.

HALL: REPRESENTATION

Those in power try to fix the meaning of a representation to a preferred reading
'There is only on true meaning'
Meaning is created by a representation
Stereotypes and how they are constructed should be pulled apart

man not proffesional 'lets catch villains'

'gets out drivers seat'

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

The lead protagonists in Homeland and The Killing reflect societal issues in similar ways, however also different ways with different messages. This is shown through certain media language.

To start, The Killing is used to reflect societal issues mostly through narrative. This is because we see Sarah Lund, the protagonist, as a determined and brave female, which goes against stereotypes and typical conventions at the time of release. This is shown at the start of The Killing, where we see her walking in to a dark, warehouse-type building. She does not let this bother her, which represents females going against the stereotype that women are feeble and weak. We also see The Killing reflect gender societal issues through camera-work. When entering the building, Sarah is shown through a handheld camera, which gives us a shake. This shows the audience that she is weak and scared, however the narrative is more powerful and overrides this by Sarah entering the building and standing tall. In the second, real crime scene, we see Sarah in power through mise-en-scene by getting out of the driver seat of the car. This presents her as 'in control', which also goes against stereotypical gender conventions. The Killing does not only present females as strong, however men as unprofessional through mise-en-scene and narrative. In the scene where Yan is introduced, he brings in a basketball hoop and ball in his office; he also says "Lets catch some villains" - neither are professional and show men as not being able to take things seriously - showing that females are in the higher seat. We can link Bell Hooke's feminist theory to this, as Sarah has developed an oppositional gaze that refuses to identify with characters that reinforce the patriarchal ideology.

In contrast, Homeland too shows a female protagonist which goes against gender conventions. However, Carrie is mostly represented in a negative light and stays in line with the typical ideologies of a patriarchal society. This is shown through narrative, where Carrie uses her sexuality and body to try and get what she wants. She tries to seduce Saul into letting her continue to work on the case, however he declines. This goes with stereotypical conventions for females - using their body to get what they want. This links with Butler's Gender theory - 'gender is foregrounded, representations of women preparing their bodies for display, reinforcing characters in masculinity', which is clearly scene in this certain scene. Carrie is also seen as incapable of doing her work through mise-en-scene and narrative due to a scene where we see her taking pills to help cope with her mental health. This presents Carrie as untrustworthy and impotent, due to the fact of her needing help to cope. This presents females in this way - which stays in line with the patriarchal ideologies and gender conventions of society at the time of release of Homeland. We can link Gauntlett's representation theory to this - it is showing that the media have a complex relationship with identities with contradictory messages that show Carrie is unable in knowing how to express herself.

In conclusion, the lead protagonists of The Killing and Homeland are used to reflect societal issues through different media language in certain ways, whether that be positive or a negative representation of said societal issues.

WENDESDAY 5th May 2021

BARTHES: SEMIOLOGY

Semiology is the study of signs.
The denotation of a sign is its literal meaning (e.g. the word ' dog denotes a mammal that barks).
Denotations signify connotations - the associations of the denotation (e.g. 'dogness' - the thoughts and feelings associated with dogs).
Denotations and connotations are organised into myths - the ideological meaning. These make ideology seem natural For example, a Bulldog might activate a myth of Britishness.
OVERALL - DENOTATIONS HAVE CONNOTATIONS

Scene 3: (11,59 - 15,45)

Introduction to the Larsen Family

How are they represented as a family? - They are shown to be a family that are very close and happy
How are economic issues represented in the scene? - The issues are represented through a broken dishwasher which Theis fixed with tape, therefore showing their struggling economic status.
How does Theis fit gender stereotypes? - Theis fits gender stereotypes as he is a man who works and wants to get jobs done. He is respected and a 'mans man'The typical male stereotype.
How is their home represented? - Their home is represented as a family home with pictures dotted around and other such things. It is also shown as outdated due to the economic crisis.
Can you make any comparisons to Homeland? - Brody's family seems loving, as does Theis'
How can you apply Barthes to this scene? - There is a dishwasher that is broken and fixed with tape, this has connotations of a poor economic status.
What signs are present in the scene to signify meaning? - The broken dishwasher is a sign that signifies meaning - economic struggle.
What ideologies are present that have become natural to our understanding? -

Viewpoints & Ideologies

Individualism - Sarah's likes to solve everything by herself rather than in the team. As a result of the case, her relationships break down.
Consumerism - Theis buys a house, wants his family to have a nice life.
Patriarchy - This is shown when the man is running for mayor, he is shown to be a wealthy man through mise-en-scene by his fresh suit. Men are shown to be powerful - Theis, Mayor.
Ethnocentrism (your culture is superior) - Represented through narrative. The Pakistani man is shouted at (xenophobia). Danish view the Swedes negatively.

Stereotypes

Victim - It is a female teenager who is the victim and vulnerable. Assumption that she is a prostitute
Politicians - All of the politicians are male. There is also a sense of corruption.
Police - John Mayor was a stereotypical 'bad cop', careless, smokes and obsessed with chasing down criminals. There is also a man at the head of the police force
Swedish nationality - The Danish make fun of the Swedes (a viking hat, blonde, etc.)
Family unit - Theis is the one who works, it seems as though his wife just stays at home. They are a loving family with kids.
Racism - Extremely racist towards the Pakistan man, nobody picks him up on it

JENKINS: FANDOM

Strengths:

Applies to the range and diversity if representations offered by LFTVD to textual poachers who wish to use these products to create their own culture in fan sites.
Many LFTVD achieve cult status adding to their value for fans.

Limitations:

This optimistic view of the power of audiences, underestimates the power of the oligarchy of media conglomerates in shaping and controlling the media produced.

HOMEWORK FANDOM

Can you find examples of fan culture surrounding The Killing?

People started wearing Sarah's 'Classic Jumper' - The character introduced a style
There are fandom websites where people review and talk about Forbrydelsen
There are videos on sites such as Youtube discussing 'what could' and ongoing discussions, etc.

Can you link in Jenkins?

People have made their own sites which include textual poachers who create their own culture about the show
Due to the popular fandom, Netflix made an American adaptation. It was seen as worse than the original.

Comments

Miss MacApril 20, 2020 at 1:54 AM
Darryl, please put subheadings (date, title & LO) so I can work out where you are. You're missing quite a bit of detail in some of your research questions. The genre is NOT just drama. Which type of drama?
Miss MacMay 11, 2020 at 2:12 AM
Hey! You're alive ;-)

TVD1&2 (Genre & Narrative) - good notes, I'm glad you enjoyed the episode. If you have time to watch the rest of season 1, it will help you understand the overall narrative and characters.

TVD3 (Context) Again, great notes. Your analysis is well written and thought out. All I would add is that it reflects the culture (the resulted from 9/11) of the fear or attack and worries over national Security in both the US and around the world.

I look forward to seeing the rest!
Miss MacMay 19, 2020 at 2:41 AM
TVD4 (Carrie): Excellent analysis of the image - well done! Good analysis of the opening scene too, you include ML well. The second analysis needs more ML detail to support your ideas, but the ideas are good. Keep it up!
Miss MacJune 4, 2020 at 2:03 AM
TVD5 (Brodie): Good analysis - you obviously understand the tricky representation of a complex character, however, you need to bring in more media language when analysing specific scenes. What camera shots are used, sounds etc.?

TVD6 (Rep): A bit brief - more detail needed in your answers.

TVD7 (DIRT): some done but I realise I hadn't given you feedback on the previous two lessons - make sure you go back and improve those two.

TVD8 (Killing Narrative): needs completing
Miss MacJune 22, 2020 at 4:57 AM
TVD 8: Good notes, thanks

TVD 9 (Killing Industry): great notes and analysis of the title sequence. I wouldn't forget camerawork in this kind of analysis, but you make sound points and support them well. Your blog post is excellent - well written and showing a good understanding. Fab.

TVD 10 ( Killing Characters): Excellent analysis of the crime scene, the scene introducing Lund and the comparison to Homeland - detailed, accurate, linked to context and makes clear textual reference. Well done.
Bodmin College Media Mrs BusbyMarch 8, 2021 at 1:34 AM
3/3/21- Have you got notes from re-watching the episode that you could add to your blog. Create a new Large title on your blog with the date so that you can see where you have started the work that is revisited.
Bodmin College Media Mrs BusbyMarch 24, 2021 at 8:03 AM
24/3/21- good use of analysis here, clear points and detailed examples, it would help if you gave a more detailed analysis of the theory and examples from the text to back up your analysis points on the theory.
Bodmin College Media Mrs BusbyMarch 31, 2021 at 7:40 AM
31/3/21- You have some clear points here to support your ideas. You must make sure that you use specific terms in your textual detail analysis, include mise en scene-her lack of personal attributes in her apartment identify that her work is obsessive and takes over her life. You have linked this to 9/11, rather than just stating it could mean, you should state what you believe to be true. E.g. her reliance on medication reveals social context in America in the post 9/11 world, where it is acceptable and expected to rely on medication to deal with the aftermath of the attack. You could then link this to audience impact, feeling the aftermath as well and how this reflects the audience needs at the time. In terms of theory you link two different theorists well, just fit these to your original point.
Bodmin College Media Mrs BusbyApril 28, 2021 at 11:26 AM
28/4/21- excellent response here, you have covered all the areas I have asked in detail and linked them perfectly to create a concise argument and support your points. If this were for an extended mark question and timing then you could explore each point you make in a little more detail with media language analysis or you could take more examples from the text to support your points in the same way.

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