Introduction.

‘All crime dramas have the same genre conventions, regardless of other factors'. To what extent is this true in relation to the Danish crime drama 'The Killing' and British crime drama 'Broadchurch'?

Crime drama is an extremely popular genre in today’s contemporary media. Producers of this genre have created hundreds of texts that have been very successful both in television and film. In this investigation I will research the specific genre conventions found within crime drama texts and analyse whether other factors may affect certain features. To do this I have chosen two contrasting crime drama texts. The first being Danish crime drama ‘Forbrydelsen’ translated as ‘The Killing’, broadcast on Danish national TV channel DR1 and four years later in Britain on BBC4. My second text is British crime drama ‘Broadchurch’ which broadcast on ITV.

I have three aims for my investigation, which are as follows:

·         To analyse whether my chosen texts have typical crime drama conventions, and if not how do they differ.

·         To investigate which narrative and audience theories can be applied to crime drama genres.

·         To discuss the similarities and differences between my two texts relating to the representation of female protagonists in crime dramas.

To achieve these aims I will, respectively:

·         Research typical crime drama conventions with relation to character types, narrative structure, setting and technical codes. I will study my two texts closely and analyse which conventions do and do not appear, and if they differ in any way. Some conventions may feature in my texts but only to a certain extent. I will take into account whether the different regions affect conventions and if there are similar or different techniques used between the Danish and British production of crime drama.

·         Use a prior knowledge of narrative and audience theories when viewing my texts and attempt to apply some, or all, of them to my chosen crime dramas. I predict many narrative and audience theories will appear within the crime drama genre; especially the Enigma Code by Roland Barthes to generate interest and suspicion and also the Uses and Gratifications theory by Jay Blulmer and Elihu Katz through the use of an ensemble cast. I will conduct primary research, predominantly from viewing figures statistics, to discover the type of audience my texts appeal to.

·         Apply the theories of female representation to the protagonists of my texts. Detective Inspector Sarah Lund, portrayed by Sofie Gråbøl in The Killing and Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller, portrayed by Olivia Colman in Broadchurch are both strong, female leads in my chosen crime dramas and I will investigate the representation of these two women and whether it is positive or negative. The Male Gaze theory by Laura Mulvey will assist me in this analysis.

Series crime dramas’ conventions can include, a non-linear structure that features flashbacks and recounting, often to reveal a big secret, and low-key lighting to create the feeling of gloom and fear. There are always prominent character types in crime dramas and they make up the iconography of the text. There is usually police officers with different levels of qualification and power, a grieving family of the victim after the crime has occurred and the criminal. Setting forms one of the conventions and often sets the mood for the scene, for example in a police station, laboratory or back alley.

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Viewing Figures.

The Killing had 1550000 viewers of it's first episode on channel DR1. It had 2107000 viewers of it's last episode.

The first episode was watched by 26% of the country.

Source: TNS Gallup

When The Killing premiered in the UK it had 472000 viewers of it's first episode and 599000 of it's last. 

The first episode was watched by merely 0.74% of the UK.

Source: BARB

Broadchurch had 7430000 viewers of it's first episode on channel ITV. It had 8630000 viewers of it's final episode.

The first episode was watched by 11% of the country.

Source: BARB

Percentages Source: Me

Coursework Question.

'All crime dramas have the same genre conventions, regardless of other factors'. To what extent is this true in relation to the Danish crime drama 'The Killing' and British crime drama 'Broadchurch'?

Crime Drama Conventions.

Genre.

Broadchurch is described as a:

• crime drama

Whereas The Killing is described as a:

• crime drama
• psychological thriller
• drama
• mystery

Narrative Theories relating to Broadchurch (Ep.1)

Character Types by Vladimir Propp:

• Hero - Ellie Miller and Alec Hardy
• Villain - Karen White & Olly Stevens
• Dispatcher - Elaine Jenkinson/ Len Danvers
• Helper - Unknown
• False Hero - Unknown
• Donor - Unknown
• Princess - Unknown

Binary Oppositions by Claude Levi-Strauss

• Light vs Dark
• Order vs Chaos
• Good vs Bad
• Male vs Female

Equilibrium by  Tzvetan Todorov

• Equilibrium - Latimer Family
• Equilibrium Disrupted - Danny Latimer murdered
• Recognition - DS Miller & Hardy are on the case
• Repair - Has began
• Equilibrium Restored - Not yet

Enigma Code by Roland Barthes

• Who killed Danny Latimer?

Coursework: Broadchurch Episode 1 Notes

Watch the episode on Youtube.

Notes from Episode 1:

What is the significance of the power cut/focus on the young girl hula hooping in slow motion/traffic?
-Power cut suggest a lifeline has ended. A circuit has broke. Connotations of family heartbreak.
-Hula hoop slowly falls to the ground, ends the circular motion and represents the slow collapse of normality.
-Traffic shows the chaos and congestion of Danny's murder. Shows the huge impact it has on the small, quiet town.

Editing: Slow motion running as Beth Latimer has a sudden realisation. Focus on heavy breathing (similar to Fish Tank).

Body discovered and shot in high key, natural lighting - a stark contrast to the gloomy, dark events that have just occurred.

Beth is screaming/crying and the non-diegetic music progressively louder until it drowns out and diegetic speech. Represents pain/anguish taking over the lives of the cast.

Iconography: police tape/white forensic suits/latex gloves

Typical representations of women present:
-DS Ellie Miller goes away for 3 weeks and has been replaced/lost out on a promotion by a man. 

Contrasts to stereotypical representations of women:
-The female protagonist drives the male protagonist on multiple occasions.
-Reporter Olly is docile and under the command of older reporter Maggie. The female takes charge and puts the male to shame.
-DS Miller is the only earner. She is the breadwinner while he husband stays at home and cares for the children. Role reversal.

Male stereotypes present:
-Mr. Latimer is a plumber, typical manual tradesman job. Only cries when he is away from his family, and focuses on reassuring his family when they are crying.

Long camera shot of family in their home, to create the illusion of observing from a distance. Giving privacy to the family during this hard time, but still peering in.

Camera hides behind grass and watches/spies on Mark Latimer.

DS Miller is humorous despite the events that have occurred. To DS Hardy: "I told him not to publish anything. He's a little shit"

Tom Miller (Ellie's son) deletes text messages and computer files - creates suspicion.

Reporter Karen removes a toy in memorial of Danny from the beach - she is so far, the only "villain" (referring to Vladimir Propp's character types theory) because we cannot speculate who is the killer yet. Character type could alter.

Episode ends with DS Hardy giving a television broadcast. The camera pans to show every cast member watching, via TV/computer/mobile, and Hardy's voice is loud and powerful. The message addresses everyone and lists the possible suspects for the audience.

No 'what happens next time' clip at the end. Even a bigger enigma code (Roland Barthes) because the audience has no insight into what will happen next and will be forced to watch again to find out.

Music over end credits is soothing and sinister. First time music has lyrics.

Coursework.

Coursework titles?

How can the narrative theories be applied to the Danish crime drama 'The Killing' and the British crime drama 'Broadchurch', and in what way do they differ?

How typical are the codes and conventions of crime dramas in Denmark ('The Killing') and in Britain ('Broadchurch'), and it what way are they similar and different?

Genre Theory.

Genre theory from HeworthMedia

Crime Drama.

3. Who Watches Crime Dramas and Why? from latymermedia

Sin City.

• How typical is Sin City to its genres?
• Identify the genre conventions.
• Question if they are diluted or not.
• Link and discuss!

Sin City is a combination of Film Noir and Comic Book genres. The film opens with a scene of mistrust and betrayal, which are typical codes of a film noir genre. A man reassures a woman in red that he will protect her and keep her safe. After convincing her she hugs him, only to be shot with a gun silencer so to not draw any attention. This is incredibly deceptive and the audience is left wondering his motives for killing this, supposedly, innocent woman. She is wearing a long red dress and red lipstick, and although the film is predominantly in black and white, the red colour is vibrant and eye catching. The red creates connotations of blood shed and when the woman is lying dead on the ground, the camera pans upwards to give a long shot of the roof top where the murder has just taken place. From a distance the red dress spreads out across the roof top and this represents the death that has just occurred. Similarly, the protagonist Marv portrayed by Mickey Rourke, shows conventions of both film noir and comic book genres. During a fight scene with three hitmen, Marv uses the head of one man to dent a brick wall, something that is virtually impossible. It exaggerates the strength of Marv and the audience are aware of his somewhat 'supernatural powers', relating to the fictional stories in comic books. Also, he has film noir characteristics because he has a mental illness that causes him hindrance throughout the film, and he is also constantly in self-doubt, despite being the protagonist. He says things such as: "Giving a two time loser the time of my life" and "sure as hell wasn't my looks" in narration when he doubts why a woman like Goldie would spend the night with him. This contrasts the typical protagonist role whereby they are usually confident, if a little cocky, and it is no surprise if they succeed in various ways throughout the film. The film noir genre frequently features manipulative femme fatales who aim to use their looks to get their own way. However in this text, this genre convention appears to be a little diluted. The females in this film that act as the sex appeal, including Wendy portrayed by Jaime King, do not use their appearance to succeed over other people, especially not men. In fact, women are represented as very weak and incapable in this film. In one particular scene, Lucille (Marv's parole officer) portrayed by Carla Gugino, attempts to take charge and even knocks Marv unconscious in an attempt to support herself against the police. She fails and is killed, immediately.

Classwork 8/10/13

To what extent are your chosen texts typical of their genre?

The 2009 film Fish Tank has the social realism genre. This text is typical of this genre due to various aspects. Firstly, the majority of the cast are virtually unknown, especially the protagonist Mia who is portrayed by Katie Jarvis. Jarvis had never acted before and she was discovered in public. This creates social realism because the audience do not view the actors as portraying characters, but instead as real, genuine people, almost as if they are watching a documentary. The audience will not know about the actors and so cannot question what the actors are portraying as false, therefore making the audience somewhat passive. They take in everything they see as real life. If it were a well known famous star (regardless of their acting ability) the audience would know it was all fake and would be unable to ignore what they knew about the identity of the actor. For example, Brad Pitt portraying someone in poverty would be difficult to believe because we know he is very wealthy. The lighting is all natural and creates social realism. The audience can get a genuine understanding of the scenes because they understand the time it was set. During the day the scenes are bright, but only by the day light. They aren't excessively bright and nothing is exaggerated. This is typical of the social realism genre, and it shows pathetic fallacy. The weather is dull and dreary and so are the lives and futures of the characters. Another scene, where Connor is chasing Mia across a field after she kidnapped, and then returned his daughter, it is very dark and Connor is obscured throughout the whole scene, so much so that the audience aren't completely sure it is even him. Mia's face is slightly lit up by the moon to show her emotions. There is no non-diegetic sound, nor are there any special effects. The film looks very home made and features hardly any editing, showing the reality of it. The diegetic sound featured, for example from the speakers attached to Mia's Walkman, shows real life and makes the audience feel that she is dancing live in front of them. When the music stops, she stops. Also, heavy breathing is sometimes focussed on throughout the film and this creates tension and suspense. The focus on heavy breathing forces the audience to think of similar situations when they would also be so out of breath. For example, exercise, fear or sadness. The social realism genre represents people who are rarely seen. Mia, her family, friends and situations are extremely unrepresented. Mia and her family are under class and it is not often this class features in films, mainly just hard-hitting, thought provoking documentaries. Similarly, the situation Mia is in regarding her confusing feelings towards her Mum's boyfriend Connor is something that is unnatural and rarely seen.

Fish Tank: Social Realism

Fish Tank - A Social Realism Film

Find two scenes that show the genre of social realism

 

 

Mia dances in an old, run down bedroom, believed to be in an empty flat in her apartment block. Mia is portrayed by Katie Jarvis, and unknown actress. This is the first feature of the social realism genre. She can easily portray a "normal" person that the audience can relate to, because that is what she is. She wears scruffy black tracksuit bottoms and a small tracksuit jacket, both of which create the connotations of being working class, despite the fact she is dancing! The room she is in is very old and run down. The wall paper is peeling and old-fashioned, showing Mia's lack of space to practice and lack of opportunities to achieve her dreams. This is relatable because in modern day society wealth determines the accessibility to resources for activities, etc. The music she dances to is diegetic and comes from the small speakers she plugs into a Walkman. This film was filmed in, and based in, 2009 and to still have a Walkman is extremely outdated, and again shows her lack of money. The music she dances to represents her as "chavvy". It is not classical, nor does it have any lyrics. Mia is dancing to try and improve her skills and also to become better than a group of girls that she knows of. In modern day society youths are constantly trying to impress and outdo each other and this is a perfect example or trying to be good at something because you feel like you must, and not because you necessarily want to. Mia doesn't show much passion or talent for dancing, and when she sees an advertisement for dancers she removes it from the shop window to prevent any competition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coursework.

Danish Crime Drama 'The Killing'

vs

British Crime Drama 'Broadchurch'

Comparing how narrative theories can be applied and how they are similar and different between Danish and British crime dramas.