TV industry Luther - Representation

Learning Objectives: To study Luther TV series with consideration given to issues of representation.

Representation of People
Straight, black, Sherlock.

Representation of Places

Waterloo Station

Representation of Events and issues

• Key words: People, Places, Events/issues

Camera Shots/Movements:

The clip begins with an establishing shot, the audience can familiarise themselves with where the scene is set. We see Alice and Luther in a built up urban location, viewers would expect crime to take place here

When the two are on the bridge there is a close up of Alice's bag suggesting this is an important reference. Soon after there are close ups of both of the characters the audience can gage the emotions the characters are showing and find out what the relationship between the two characters are. 

Both characters are framed at eye level but to one side. Alice is framed to the right, without much 'breathing space'. This makes the viewer feel uneasy. This type of unconventional shot is used throughout the sequence.

Alice's apartment is like a studio where astronomy takes place, we see a telescope and some charts. There is not much evidence of family values in the way of photographs or children's drawings.

Outside we can see the geographical marker of St Paul's cathedral.

Alice shows Luther an image of a black hole, perhaps suggesting she is a deep thinker. 

Throughout this scene there are multiple over the shoulder shots to give the audience a unique perspective, they are in the room and listening to the conversation. 

Representation Of Gender

Task 1: Explore the clip and discuss to what extent the representations of gender are stereotypical.

In order to respond to this question thoroughly you should consider the following:

Describe typical stereotypes of men and women in TV crime drama.

What is the difference between stereotypes and representations?

Are Luther and Alice stereotypical?

Are there any underlying ideologies to consider?

Refer to ethnicity, nationality, typical and stereotypical roles.

How are technical and visual codes used to construct the representations?

Theory to apply: Laura Mulvey (Male gaze). Gauntlett (read this, Media, gender and identity).

TV industry Luther - Narrative

Learning Objectives: To study Luther, TV series with consideration given to narrative issues structure, conventions, key codes.

• Key words: Structure, Conventions, Key codes, Binary opposition.

In television crime drama, as with other media texts, there are two types of narrative structures, linear and non-linear (or circular). With linear narrative, the audience is introduced to the hero/heroine and the world in which he/she lives. Then that world is disrupted. Linear narrative was an idea considered by the theorist Todorov; he decided that the narrative progressed through certain chronological stages then finished back at a new equilibrium having learned a lesson. This is how a message can be encoded by the producer.

During the narrative, the characters undergo a transformation as a result of what happens and the equilibrium at the end may be very different from how it was at the beginning. Sometimes the ending produces a closed narrative, but in other examples the main strands are left unresolved resulting in an open narrative. 

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Key narrative in TV terminology: List these terms.

It is important that you recognise the narrative codes that are used within TV Crime drama. 
Here are some key terms that you need to be familiar with:

Flashbacks. These are used to give the audience additional information. They may also involve the audience with a character by seeing some of their past, this helps to understand the narrative. They are also a way to manipulate time and space within the narrative. For example, Life on Mars where most of the narrative takes place in the past.

Apparently impossible positions. Where the camera gives the audience a view of the action from an unusual position., for example in the air or behind a wall. Audiences tend to accept this view if the narrative itself is believable as this makes them feel more involved. In crime dramas you may be watching the crime from above. This will clearly add tension to the scene.

Privileged spectator position. Here the audience are shown parts of the narrative that other characters cannot see. For example, a close up shot showing the audience a character taking a knife out of their pocket. The audience can then anticipate the action that will follow later in the narrative.

Point of view shots. These allow the audience to see the action from different perspectives. The camera may position the audience as the eyes of the murderer or the victim or between the two in order to build tension.

Enigma codes. These are used in both audio visual and print based texts. In television crime drama the camera may only show some of the narrative, leaving the audience with unanswered questions. This is part of the appeal of crime drama, as the audience take pleasure from working out the clues and solving the crime along with the detectives.

Action codes. These are shorthand for moving the narrative along quickly. The packing of a suitcase means a journey, the placing of a gun in a bag suggests action will follow later.

 A jump cut is a cut in film editing in which two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions that vary only slightly. This type of edit gives the effect of jumping forwards in time. It is a manipulation of temporal space using the duration of a single shot, and fracturing the duration to move the audience ahead. This kind of cut abruptly communicates the passing of time as opposed to the more seamless dissolve heavily used in films.

Crossing the line. Scenes are usually blocked for the sake of continuity and keeping the audience focused. This involves the 180 degree rule. When this rule is broken it is usually to make the audience feel uncomfortable or disoriented.

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Task 1: 
Watch the clips of Luther and identify how technical codes help to involve an audience in this crime drama.

Characters in Luther

The BBC’s new crime drama Luther is the first major drama series to have its eponymous hero played by a black actor. DCI John Luther, played by British actor Idris Elba, is familiar from his role as ‘Stringer’ Bell the drug lord with business acumen in The Wire. He was also in the US version of Extras. A dark psychological crime drama star.

In this psychological crime drama the strong man maverick detective John Luther is brought back into the serious crime unit because he is intuitively capable of solving difficult crimes, and his female boss (Saskia Reeves with a terrible London accent) believes in him although he is known as a loose canon. Luther has paid a heavy price for his dedication and has recently suffered a mental breakdown.

On his return to duty, Luther struggles to balance the psychological demands of his work at the same time as trying to save his marriage to his wife, Zoe. Luther is not able to stop himself from being consumed by the darkness of the crimes he deals with and this has pushed his wife away. He wants to get back with his wife, but she is having and on/ off relationship with Mark (Paul McGann).  With Luther, the job always comes first and his dedication makes him both obsessed and obsessive sometimes leading to violent outbursts.

Luther’s first job is to investigate the horrific murder of a family leaving one survivor, the mysterious Alice, wonderfully portrayed by Ruth Wilson.

She was a child prodigy and is an exceptionally clever astrophysicist.  She is attracted to him through the darker more spontaneous sides of both their personalities.

Also in the mix is Luther’s apparent friend DCI Ian Reed an Iago-like figurewho in the last episode turns out to be a self interested, conceited and very dangerous man consumed by envy.

Narrative Conventions in Audio Visual Texts 

Bfi media-conference-2013-tv-drama-stories-audiences from aealey

TV Industry: Luther - Genre

Learning Objective: To study Luther, TV series with consideration given to generic issues, signifiers, conventions, iconography

Key words: signifies, iconography, palette 

Mean world syndrome
a term coined by George Gerbner to describe a phenomenon whereby violence-related content of mass media makes viewers believe that the world is more dangerous than it actually is. Mean world syndrome is one of the main conclusions of cultivation theory.

An antihero or antiheroine is a main character in a story who lacks conventional heroicqualities such as idealism, courage, and morality.

Sleuth: someone whose job is to discover information about crimes andfind out who is responsible for them.

Anxieties (Richard Sparks) 

Luther:
Crime drama series starring Idris Elba as Luther, a near-genius murder detective whose brilliant mind can't always save him from the dangerous violence of his passions.

Luther is a British crime drama series starring Idris Elba as the eponymous character DCI John Luther. Written by Neil Cross, the first series, comprising six one-hour long episodes, premiered on 4 May 2010 and concluded on 8 June 2010. 

Wikipedia introduction to the series.

Conventions of TV Crime drama:

Television crime drama is a sub-genre of the television drama genre and usually focuses on the committing and solving of a crime. Television crime dramas are the fictional recreation of real-life stories. The best television crime dramas engage the audience because we believe in the characters and the worlds they create, even if those worlds and characters are seemingly unbelievable. The defining features of the genre are CHARACTERS, SETTING and NARRATIVE. 

Task 1:
Opening Sequences and Titles
View the opening sequence for BBC TV's Luther, a crime genre programme, answering the following Q's taken from a WJEC handout:

* What information about the programme does the sequence give the audience?
* How do the graphics signify information about the programme that will follow?
* How have music and audio codes been used to reflect the pace and style of the programme that will follow?
* Which characters are introduced? What expectations will the audience have of them from this sequence?
* How have the narrative or specific plot situations been introduced?
* What clues are given about the sub-genre? 

TV industry Life on Mars Representation

• Learning objective: To study Life on Mars with consideration given to representation
• Key words: People, Places, Events/issues

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Synopsis of Life on Mars Episode 4 Series 2

When the body of a young woman is found in wasteland, DCI Gene Hunt fears a serial killer he thought he'd sent down in the late '60s may still be at large. For Sam, the victim, a Beauvoir beauty rep like his own Aunt Heather, triggers vivid recollections of his childhood.

Utilising his knowledge of modern surveillance techniques, Sam is led to middle class suburbia where a local car dealer, Roger Twilling, is throwing private parties employing the poorly paid make-up girls to help out when the lights go down and the wife-swapping begins.

Sam and Annie go undercover as a young swinging couple to infiltrate the world of vol-au-vents, Blue Nun and lava lamps. Never one to miss out on the fun, Gene Hunt storms in uninvited with a female 'friend' posing as his other half.

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Task 1: Watch the episode of Life on Mars

List representations of the police within L o M. Be specific about the shots.

Crime has always been a popular TV drama narrative because:

The good vs evil binary opposite is easily recognisable and dramatic

The disruption (crime) and restoration of equilibrium  (capture and punishment) offers reassurance that the police and the government will keep our society safe

Dominant (hegemonic) ideologies are upheld - crime and lawlessness do not pay, the law prevails

Typical settings for TV Crime Drama

• Often in the city (seen as a dangerous place)

• But sometimes in the countryside…consider the murder rate in Midsomer

• Within this, individual locations often include police stations, law courts, science labs, police cars, detectives’ houses, alleyways, nightclubs, victims’ houses….

Mise-en-scene

• Mise-en-scene refers to what can be seen in a camera shot. Look at this image: 

• What are the characters’ positions (facing the camera? Standing aggressively? Sitting shyly?) What does this tell us about what kind of person they are?

• What are the characters’ facial expressions? (Glaring at the camera? Smiling? Laughing? Winking?) What does this tell us about what kind of person they are?

• What props (things) are there in the shot? (A coffee mug? A new car? A gun? A pencil?) What does this tell us about the person?

• What costume does the character have? ( A suit? Jeans? A flowery dress?) What does this tell us about the person?

• Where is the location or setting? (in a front room? In prison? In an office?) What does this tell us about the person?

• Is the lighting bright or dim? Full-on or from the side? What mood does this give to the image?

Mise en scene analysis

• Describe what you can see in each image:

• Characters posture, position, facial expression

• Costumes

• Location

• Props

• Lighting

• Camera shot type and angle

Typical characters

• Crime dramas usually include three types of character:

The ones who solve the crimes (detectives, private eyes, police officers, forensic scientists).
The ones who commit the crimes (criminals, murderers, thieves).
The victims (the ones who get murdered, attacked, robbed, beaten up, mugged, stolen from, burgled).

Crime and the police

Dominant British ideology says that the law is good and criminals should be punished but Detective Gene Hunt (Phillip Glenister) challenges this through his heavy handed approach. 
In the seventies this approach was accepted as was the sexism and racism that was prevalent at the time. Hunt's dialogue is often politically incorrect. A well known line from LoM is 'What next? Dwarfs?'

The clash between the different historical eras transforms into an abrupt collision between Sam and Gene's outlook on life and their profession, as well as those of the other police officers at the station, with special attention paid to the relationship with the women in the series, in particular, with that of WPC Annie Cartwright - Liz White.

In this respect, Life on Mars engages skilfully in subplots depicting relationships between characters that strengthen and and provide depth to the narrative.
Examples include the romantic relationship between Sam and Annie as well as the confrontations between Sam and the other officers.

Some dominant ideologies about the police:

• Good
• Authoritative
• Powerful
• Male
• Moral
• Upholders of the law

Equally, dominant ideologies about crime and criminals are:

• Bad
• Marginalised groups (the unemployed)
• Must be punished
• Social decay

However, gradual changes in society, coupled with certain events (Hillsborough) have led to a gradual erosion of respect for authority and different perceptions of the police have emerged...

• Incompetent
• Corrupt
• Racist
• Female

TV industry Life on Mars - Narrative

• Learning objectives: To study The Life on Mars with consideration given to narrative issues Structure, Conventions, key codes.
• Key words: Structure, conventions, subplots

Typical characters

• Crime dramas usually include three types of character:

The ones who solve the crimes (detectives, private eyes, police officers, forensic scientists).
The ones who commit the crimes (criminals, murderers, thieves).
The victims (the ones who get murdered, attacked, robbed, beaten up, mugged, stolen from, burgled).

Dominant British ideology says that the law is good and criminals should be punished but Detective Gene Hunt (Phillip Glenister) challenges this through his heavy handed approach. 
In the seventies this approach was accepted as was the sexism and racism that was prevalent at the time. Hunt's dialogue is often politically incorrect. A well known line from LoM is 'What next? Dwarfs?'

The clash between the different historical eras transforms into an abrupt collision between Sam and Gene's outlook on life and their profession, as well as those of the other police officers at the station, with special attention paid to the relationship with the women in the series, in particular, with that of WPC Annie Cartwright - Liz White.

In this respect, Life on Mars engages skilfully in subplots depicting relationships between characters that strengthen and and provide depth to the narrative.
Examples include the romantic relationship between Sam and Annie as well as the confrontations between Sam and the other officers.

Another interesting aspect is the way the narrative structure of the two worlds allows the series to explore the internal conflicts of the characters.

This in particular APPEALS to the audience.
Life on Mars puts aside a mere interest in a particular plot (what happens to Sam Tyler? How will he get back to the present) and engages the audience in other ways.

Task 1: Bullet points - What ways does LoM appeal to audiences?
Consider:
Young and Rubicam 4C's

• 
  

Typical plot / storyline

• The typical plot centres around solving a crime (the murder, attack, burglary)

• The story usually follows those who solve the crime (the detectives, police)

• The crime is not usually solved until the end of the episode or programme.
• 
  

To keep you interested…Plot devices

• One of the pleasures of TV Crime drama is watching the crime get solved. But if it was solved too quickly or easily, it wouldn’t be interesting. So Crime Drama plots usually have:

• A mystery or enigma at the start – a puzzle or mystery – who killed the dead man? And why?

• Lots of suspense – will they catch the killer in time?

• A red herring – will they arrest the wrong person; do the clues point to an innocent person?

• Some personal drama – the detective's marriage is falling apart; the detectives fall out with each other; the detective loses his promotion.

Plot devices

• Discuss: What aspects of the plot devices can you see?

• Mysteries or enigmas?

• Suspense?

• Red herrings?

• Personal drama?
• 
  
• Task 2: Watch LoM and identify specific examples of the above plot devices.
• 
  
• Life on Mars and Narrative

8 episodes in the series. Ashes to Ashes a sequel series (2008 - 2010) was set in the 80's.

Goal oriented - there is a case to be solved in each episode. Fiske talks about the 'male desire' for goals to be set and solved - links to male characters and the audience.

Case to be solved (murder = inciting incident), investigation comprises most of narrative - differing leads and a narrative twist (typical of the detective genre) as the original suspect, Roger Twilling, is not the murderer.

Story arc within each episode - common setting and characters but individual narrative case provides pleasure for both the regular and the one off viewer.

This episode is cyclical in terms of location

Sam's narrative which is continuing begins and ends at his flat with communication from Auntie Heather through the TV.

The murder investigation narrative begins and ends at the scrubland. 
This is a reassuring closure at the end as the murderer is caught.

Binary oppositions: 

Gene vs Sam Often in conflict over police approaches but also side kicks that actually compliment each other.

1973 vs 2006

Older vs younger Set in his ways and open to new ideas

Sexist vs 'New man'

This is an example of a question from a past exam:

‘Most texts today mix genres.’ How true is this of your text? [30]

Postmodernism: 
Hybridising of different genres - offering new pleasures to the modern audience.
Crossing and fusing of different time periods leads to misunderstandings, humour, culture clashes.
Irony. For example; naming assumed identities Tony and Cherie Blair.
Intertextuality-Life on Mars is a song by David Bowie as is Ashes to Ashes.
It has been argued that in 1973, sexism hadn't been invented.

Task 3:

Answer the following question in relation to Life on Mars:

Explore the narrative structure of your text.
Identify political incorrectness within the episode.

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Todorov

• Todorov suggested that most stories follow five stages:

• Equilibrium – everything is normal at the start

• Disruption – something happens: a crime, a mystery

• Recognition – people see something has happened and react to it

• Attempt to repair – people try to put things right, solve the crime, catch the criminal

• Resolution - everything is solved, worked out, fixed, and there is a new equilibrium.

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