C2 TV

 Tuesday 7th January 2025

Do now:

1. 2 exams 

2. 1 hour and 30 mins

3. Genre is a type of a media form that involves a certain set of characteristics

4. Older middle class people, white British women

5. Educate, inform, entertain

Component 2 - understanding media forms and products

Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes

60 marks

Crime Drama:

Genre - A type of media form that involves a certain set of characteristics

Sub genre -A category that is a subdivision of a larger genre

Hybrid genre - A combination of two or more genres that share conventions from different categories

Responder:

Narrative - police man who seems depressed

Setting - Office, Liverpool

Characters - White man, police officer, wife and child

Mis en scene - Dim lighting, police uniform, sirens, medication

Happy Valley:

Narrative - Man at park who has fire and a lighter with too much to drink 

Setting - shop, park

Characters - 2 police officers, drunk man 

Mis en scene - police car and uniform, alcohol

Line of duty

Narrative - Officers shoot innocent man who's holding a baby. Wrong person.  

Setting - run down apartments

Characters - multiple police officers

Mis en scene - police cars, sirens, radios, guns, uniform

Similarities - Police officers, run down places, sirens, lowkey lighting, areal views, starting with a problem every time. 

The typical codes and conventions of TV drama are urban areas, police officers, crime, guns, mostly men but some women, tends to start with a crime that is being committed but not usually the main crime, normally a victim, protagonist tends to be a detective or police man, antagonist is often intelligent and craft always being 1 step ahead, handful of suspects with reasonable opportunity of them being linked to the crime, there are many clues and red herrings to keep he audience thinking, narrative ark that unfold over many episodes, often in city or urban area, you get usually a villain hero and helper,

representations of characters and themes are difficult which makes it difficult to guess, lowkey lighting, gritty, realistic, handheld camerawork, fast paced and diegetic sounds. 

The impact of these conventions keeps the audience intrigued and guessing as the representations aren't clear and they cause lots of tensions through mis en scene. The villain isn't clear as there is many suspects which keep the audience intrigued a they will guess who it is.

Friday 10th January 2025

Do now:

1. Hybrid genre - A combination of two or more genres that share conventions from different categories

2. The Sweeney and Luther

3. Lowkey lighting

4. Diegetic sounds

5. Tension

Watershed - The time of the day after which programming with content deemed suitable for only mature or adult audiences 

Peak Time - Includes the best programming the broadcaster has to offer to capture the largest possible audience

Prime Time - The period during the day when the media is most active

According to OFCOM it is a high quality content made for the public benefit.

BBC earned 3.8bn from TV licences annually. Inform educate and entertain. 9 national TV channels, 10 radio stations and more so its a very large corporation.

Tuesday 14th January 2025

Do now:

1.

2. Luther and The Sweeney

3. Police 

4. Diegetic sounds

5. Tension

The Sweeney

LO: To explore the context of the set text.

Friday 17th January 2024

Do now:

1. London

2. 9pm weekdays

3. The time when TV shows stuff for mature adults

4. Introduced many new elements

5. Regan and Carter

• Produced by BBC
• Written by Neil cross who had previously written shows like spooks
• First aired at 9pm on Tuesday 2010
• 5 series since then
• Its takes its title from the main protagonist
• The writer drew on different sub genres, mystery/detective and psychological thriller

Tuesday 21st January 2025

Do now:

1. John Luther

2. BBC

3.9pm on Tuesday

4. Mystery detective and psychological thriller

5. Police, detectives, murder, guns, non-diegetic music, lowkey lighting, urban area

Luther Characters

Propp's character functions - Vladimir Propp he was a folklorist researcher, he looked at old folk tales like cinderella and snow white to try and find out more about the characters and stories. He found that all stories have exactly the same characters. 

1. The hero who leads the narrative or on a quest Luther

2. The villain who has a conflict with the hero to try to stop them from succeeding Alice Morgan

3. The donor which helps the hero with a power or information to help complete there quest Justin, Rose

4. The princess is usually the prize or reward for the hero Zoe

5. The helper who is the heroes sidekick/best friend but often a difference between the two Justin

6. The princess father who offers a reward to the hero for completing the quest Luther

7. The false hero who takes credit for the heroes actions tries to marry the princess Mark

8. The dispatcher early role who sets the quest in motions and often combined with other roles Henry

I think that rose fulfils the Propps role of the dispatcher who sets the story in motion as she fives Luther his job back at the beginning of the series.

Friday 24th January 2025

Do now:

1. 8

2. Princess, princess father and the false hero

3. He has obvious flaws and weakness/ dubious morality

4. Giving a clue to the hero and helping them

5. Justin Ripley

Luther: Genre and Narrative

LO: To explore the genre and narrative of the set text.

Theory: Steve Neale

Genre - repetition and differences

• genres are dominated by codes and conventions, they have a system of expectation
• genres change, develop and vary overtime
• genres borrow from and overlap with one another, this creates a hybrid 

Luther genre:

• many elements hybridised from other genres - thriller genre in visual and audio codes - lowkey lighting, intense non-diegetic music and dramatic cross cutting
• References to horror genre - graphics shots and jump scares 

Luther - "maverick detective"

• extremely intelligent able to solve crimes and understand clues which no one else can
• Not afraid to break the rules if it means catching the criminal
• Often emotionally damaged but good on the job

Evidence of Luther being a maverick detective is when he boots down the door at his home. Can tell Alice murdered them by yawning and breaking into Alice's hows and taking her dogs ashes.

Alice - "The psychopathic killer"

• Capable of horrific crimes
• Enjoy playing mind games with detectives
• Deceitful characters who pretend to be normal

Evidence of Alice being the psychopathic killer is when she murders her mum and dad and kills the dog. Another is when she stuffs the gun into her dog to hide the evidence and last is when she completely changes and stops crying and starts her mind games on Luther. Calls in the crime to make the evidence not be laid on her so mind game. Taunts Luther and does research on his history and family and uses it against him.

Alice "The femme fatale"

• A mysterious and dangerous female character
• Uses her sexuality to exert power over male characters
• A character more often seen in Film Noir

• Backstory - the pre title sequence summarises the previous case
• Inverted narrative - we know who the murderer is and that Luther will catch her but we don't know how so its to engage the audience 
• Crime - The murder of Alice's parents
• Narrative strands - neither the crime nor john personal life are neatly solved

Tuesday 28th January 2025

Do now:

1. Codes and conventions

2. Unique selling point

3. Maverick detective

4. Stock character - typical characters you would find in particular genres

5. Psychopathic killer and femme fatal

Luther: representation

LO: To explore the representations constructed in the set text.

Representations - the way in which people places, issues and events are portrayed in the media.

1. Is the representation positive or negative

2. Are there aspects which conform to traditional stereotypes in that area

3. Are there aspects which challenge to traditional stereotypes in that area?

4. What evidence can i use to support my case.

Luther:      

• Ambitious, intelligent, ambiguous, complex and highly regarded by his fellow officers
• Traditional masculine stereotypes as he wears a very formal suit, anger and physical force
• He challenges masculinity as he feels very sympathetic towards people and we see him cry. Mentally ill, not in complete control of his life which is a more modern thing as it is now seen okay for a man to be upset.

Hegemonic masculinity:

• In western society, the dominant form pf masculinity or the cultural ideal of manhood was primarily reflective of white, heterosexual, largely middle class males.
• The ideals of manhood adopted by the dominant masculinity suggested a number of characteristics that en are encouraged to be or use.
• These characteristics include violence and aggression, stoicism, courage, toughness, physical strength, athleticism, risk-taking. 

In the opening scene Luther is represented as confident as he chases after the guy but isn't running as if he already knows he has outsmarted him. He also goes in on his own. He shown his aggression when he is on the bridge.   

Luther is aggressive towards Alice and is tough. He also takes risks as she has a knife towards him but he still throws the earn into the Thames. 

Friday 31st January 2025

Do now:

1. Hegemonic masculinity

2. Risk taking, aggressive and competitive

3.The way in which people, places, issues and events are portrayed in the media.

4. Lots of empty space around him

5. Being the first black detective

Explain how Luther is a representation of a hegemonic masculinity:

In the programme Luther, the eponymous hero is a representation of hegemonic masculinity. Initially in the opening scene Luther is represented as risk-taking and aggressive. This can be seen through what he states when he shouts at Henry demanding answers about the girl and her whereabouts which shows he is aggressive. We can also see him taking risks in the same scene when he lets Henry hang off the bridge risking his job and freedom but also Henry's life. Furthermore at the climax of the episode Luther is represented as competitive and we can see this when his and Alice Morgan are going head to head on the bridge and and she holds a knife towards him which also shows him as risk-taking again. They have a battle of intelligence while on the bridge and Luther wins the battle against Alice and overall shows his great intellect. 

Alice Morgan:

• Antagonist and femme fatal
• Considerable power and agency
• Many traits stereotypically known as masculine

Zoe Luther:

• Zoe is a less conventional character for crime drama
• She is indicative of the social context of the programme Luther
• Her representation is quite complex

Rose Teller:

• Rose is woman of authority in a male dominated sector
• She works hard and follows the rules
• They mention her family - a modern mother
• She shows strength of character by believing in Luther when others doubt him

How far are the characters in Luther typical of the genre:

Tuesday 4th February 2025

Do now:

1. Alice Morgan

2. Risk-taking, confidence and aggressive

3. Stoicism (emotional restraint)

4. Alice Morgan

5. The show named after the main character (eponymous)

Industry and Audience

LO: To explore industry and audience response in the two set texts. 

• Produced by BBC
• Shown on BBC primary channel and aims to appeal a very wide audience
• BBC 1 remit is to create a high proportion and reflect the diversity of the UK
• 2016-2017 BBC 1 aimed to exhibit some or all of the following; high-quality, originality, challenging and engaging
• Important features of BBC include; talk-ability, topicality and relevance to audience and Britishness while reflecting the diversity of life in Britain

We can see these elements in Luther with its diverse characterisation as he is the first black detective in a BBC drama. We also see challenging as they go against many stereotypes like men should be in charge but a women is and that men are very intelligent but he gets outsmarted by Alice which shows that it challenges stereotypes. Another to do with Alice is that she is the main antagonist and she is a criminal when its stereotypically seen that men are criminals and women are meant to be nice which as shown clearly isn't the case. It represents British life as its in the capital of England, London.

Distribution and scheduling:

• Series one was broadcasted in May 2010
• It was recommissioned following the first series
• In 2012 following the success of the first two series, BBC America started co-producing
• Luther is now broadcasted on BBC America
• BBC America is part of BBC studios
• Crime Drama brings in large parts of BBC studios revenue and Luther has been distributed to many parts of Europe, Africa and Asia
• It is also available on Prime video and as a DVD box set 

Luthers: audience appeal

• The marketing of series one was important seeking range of audiences
• A trailer was released on April 16th 2010 on BBC's youtube channel
• A longer preview was shown at the end of April showing the scene where Luther met Ripley
• Additional footage and behind the scenes footage for each episode were released on the website (like with DVD extras) giving exclusive insights
• An inside look video was produced for BBC America when launched in the US

Programme appeals

• Genre: Crime drama is popular and it includes familiar conventions, along with its interesting hybridisation
• Star appeal: Idris Elba
• Narrative: The Morgan murders
• Representations: Range of complex male and female characters

Audience response: Sweeney 

• The Sweeney was extremely successful 
• Led to Euston developing many more TV dramas and two spin-offs
• Available on prime
• DVD box set released in 2004
• Re-runs have been broadcast several times over year. 2017 ITV 4 broadcasted all episodes 
• Can be seen to have influenced many other police dramas

Friday 7th February 2025

Do now:

1. Originality and high-quality

2. BBC America

3. They marketed Luther with interviews, trailers and youtube channels

4. Genre and star appeal

5. Stereotypes, lack of diversity with characters and violence 

Context

LO: To explore the context and its impact in the two set texts.

Streaming has made a massive difference to the industry. In the 70's during the broadcast of the Sweeney, you had to be there when it was on else you would miss much information from the previous episode and may lead onto the next as there would be now re-runs back then. Modern services such as BBC iPlayer, where Luther is shown, allow audiences to watch on demand. This has changed how we watch television, with viewers now able to binge watch. Smart phones, laptops and tablets have further enabled this as you can now access streaming devices of your device and watch it from anywhere. This had led to far more open narratives in crime dramas, this allows for more complex storytelling character development. Contemporary audiences can also be riled upon to have a greater knowledge of a programme.  

Historical context: 1970's

• Less gender equality - reflected in the structure of the police force, One female police officer in the show.
• Britain was becoming more radically diverse and multicultural, but racial discrimination was high and minority ethnic groups were underrepresented The entire cast is white there is no diversity.
• The Sweeney was based on the real flying squad which had been involved in a highly publicised corruption scandal They threatened to frame him if they didn't give them what they wanted to know.

Contemporary context:

• Luther displays improved gender equality with a lot more predominant female characters, even Luthers boss being a women representing women's authority. 
• Luthers name might stand some relevance to people, as it subtly reminds audiences of MLK '
• Racial equality has clearly changed since 197, as the protagonist is a black male and the rest of the cast is pretty diverse
• How is London represented: lots of ariel shots of landmarks, representing it as a cosmopolitan/ financial/ modern city 

Representations of gender:

• Sweeney reflects 1970's values in relation to gender especially gender in the workplace: the flying squad is male dominated, patriarchal and characterised by a stereotypically macho culture of drinking, violence etc.
• This reflects gender roles within society at the time particularly within the police force where women in the UK police fore had a different rank structure to men 
• However the females are not all represented positively or being totally independent - Alice is a narcissistic murderer

Explain how crime dramas reflect the tie in which they are made.

In the 1970's Britain had very little diverse ethnicities compared to now. In particular London was partly multicultural but has lots of racial communications. The minority of ethnic groups were misrepresented in the media and they ha almost no screen time.

Tuesday 11th February 2025

Do now:

1. Media language can be split into 4 areas which are camerawork, sound, editing and mis en sen

2. Close up, mid shot and long shot, angle and movement

3. A sound that can be heard by audience and characters

4. Cross-cutting is where the editing cuts between two scenes happening simultaneously

5. Framing is how a shot is composed; decision about where to place a subject in a shot

Extract analysis

LO: To revise audio-visual codes and how they create meaning.

1. Big close up 

2. Mid shot low angle 

3. Extreme close up

4. Canted angle

Friday 14th February 2025

Do now:

1. Camerawork, sound, editing and mis en sen

2. Movement

3. A sound which the audience can hear but not the characters

4. Where the editing cuts from someone looking at something t what they are looking at

5. An camera angle which is tilted to the side

Media language

LO: To practice analysing extracts for media language and representation.

Tuesday 25th February 2025

Do now:

1. Medium long shot

2. Camera movement

3. Mise en sen

4. In a conversation between two people

5. A shot that is tilted to a side

Extract analysis: representation

LO: To practice analysing extracts for media language and representations.

A computer which states she is doing her work 

A desk full of paperwork which shows she is committed to her job and is hardworking

Bunch of chairs which implies she holds meetings so high up in her job

• Set in a psychiatric hospital
• Luther is set very relaxed but Ian seems on edge which shows he seems scared of Luther
• Luther is scratching his head which shows he is thinking about something else
• Luther doesn't say one word in the while scene which shows he is not at full health
• After Ian leaves he changes how he's sat and look as if he was faking something

Gender:

                                                                                                   

Male - aggressive, strong, fighting, all police officers were male

Female - scared, needs protecting by a man, upset

Ethnicity:

Stereotypes - more white police officers and the only black one hidden behind Luther making him invisible, aggressive

Anti stereotypes - higher power than other police officers

Friday 28th February 2025

Do now:

1. Stereotypes and anti stereotypes

2. Costumes, setting and props

3. Twice

4. 2

5. 3-4 paragraphs

Extract analysis: Exam style question

LO: To analyse extracts for media language and representations.

1A: costumes

• Main detective wearing a suit shows him as professional, wealthy
• Alice in disguise shows her going far limits to get what she wants, attacking Luthers family to get in his head
• Rose in a suit showing her as professional but is stereotypically a mans job so they do this to show her a more masculine side along with her short hair 
• Luther once back at the station looks enraged with his top button undone and tie loose which shows there is something playing on his mind and he is not quite focused.

1B: location

• Police station, stereotypical
• In an urban area (city) stereotypical
• Ariel shot in the corner to show Alice attacking Zoe to show a more confined, intimidating space
• Luther office shows his role, importance

1a) In this extract costumes create meaning through multiple uses of characters. Starting with Luther we can see two sides to him one where he is presented as very professional and another where he is represented as enraged and unfocused. We can see his represented as professional where he is wearing a suit and tie. This not only shows him as professional but shows hi as masculine and wealthy. It's. stereotypical for the antagonist to be shown as wealthy and masculine in a crime drama so this is why he's presented in this way. He is also represented as run down and angry. We can see this when his top button on his shirt is undone and his tie is loose. He is no longer wearing his tux either which could imply he is hot from overthinking or angry. Him having a loose tie and frantically pacing around shows him as angry as Zoe was attacked by Alice.

Another character who's costume creates meaning is Alice Morgans. She dresses very unorthodoxly s she looks completely different. Alice is now wearing long black clothes along with a wig and makeup to try and hide her identity from any surrounding witnesses, cameras or Zoe. The connotations of black are power and darkness which Alice is both shown during this extract. Her costume creates meaning as she has significant power over Zoe but she also has a dark side towards her character during this extract as she makes up lies about Luther to make Zoe stay away from him. The BBC do this to show Alice power and dark side through the connotations of black. They also do this to show Alice going to drastic measures to get what she wants showing that psychotic killer attribute to her. 

Finally we can see Rose Teller dressed in a very masculine way through her outfit. She is seen wearing a suit with a waistcoat which is stereotypically what a mean would wear when trying to look professional. This creates meaning as they are trying to show that as the antagonists boss in a police force which is stereotypically a male they are trying to show a male side to her which follows stereotypes but going against them at the same time. Rose also has a shorter haircut like a man stereotypically would and the BBC do this to show multiple sides of her masculine traits. 

1b) In this extract the locations are typically seen as stereotypical for a crime drama. We can see a high ariel shot in a dark corner to show Alice attacking Zoe. The BBC do this to make the seen more intimidating along with non-diegetic sounds making the scene more intense. Ariel shots are stereotypically used in crime dramas to show a wider view of the film world and we can see from the ariel shot a large city in an urban area which is stereotypical for a crime drama. They also use this type of shot to make Zoe seems smaller in this situation and vulnerable making the audience feel sympathy towards her. These dark corners are stereotypically used by crime drama series to show tension between characters and a place away from society allowing a crime/murder to take place.

Anther location which is stereotypically found in crime drama is a police station. They are in almost every crime drama to show interrogations or common conversations between all the characters. In this extract they were used in the main office including most of the characters to show Luther and Rose conversation about Alice and we can see this affect Luther highly. The BBC do this to show tension between the two characters and lead onto a next scene. In that very next scene we can see Luther is his own personal office which is very stereotypical for the antagonist and main detective as he can get on with his work and figure out crimes. It shows his importance within the police force of that area as he has his own space along with a few others where as everyone else lower than him is in a shared area. The BBC do this to how his importance amongst the group and his role model skills.

Finally, the last location which is seen as stereotypical would be a large urban area. This large urban area is very stereotypical as there are higher crime rates within the large space allowing more exciting scenes and more chances for the antagonist to gain an audience on his side. 

Unfinished but almost done.