TV: Introduction to TV Drama

Our TV Drama CSPs are BBC 'state of the nation' drama Capital and critically acclaimed German cold war spy thriller Deutschland 83. 

We need to make sure we are experts in television drama for this major section of Media Paper 2 - conventions, media language, notable successes and historical context.

TV Drama: key notes

Television drama is a hugely popular genre and a staple across schedules and streaming services. ‘Binge-watching’ is a relatively recent phenomenon while other dramas have built hugely loyal fanbases (e.g. Doctor Who, Game of Thrones).

There are many sub-genres and hybrid genres in TV drama from the costume drama to the hospital drama. 

Setting

TV dramas tend to take place in recognisable settings with regular locations that characters can inhabit.

Most dramas are defined by their location and the iconography (mise-en-scene) is vital for communicating the sub-genre and narrative expectations to the audience.

Even science-fiction family dramas such as Doctor Who feature regular settings such as the Tardis.


Character

Most TV dramas have a large ensemble cast – a range of characters. These characters are often stereotypical – communicating a lot to the audience quickly.

Often recognisable and relatable – giving audiences the pleasure of identification and an ongoing ‘relationship’: we keep watching to find out what happens to them. 

Characters often reflect the sub-genre (think police, hospital or period costume drama stock characters).


Narrative 

Most TV dramas have multi-strand narratives telling a range of interconnected storylines. An overall narrative arc often goes over the whole season or series. Others feature episodic narratives with storylines resolved in one episode. Flashbacks can also feature.

Many TV dramas now employ a ‘cold opening’ – the opening scene taking place before credits/titles – designed to create enigma and draw the audience in. Ultimately, it is the sub-genre of the TV drama that will help set narrative expectations for the audience.

Note: If you missed the initial lesson on TV Drama, we analysed a series of TV drama opening scenes to explore how the setting, character and narrative is established using technical codes (e.g. camerawork/editing/mise-en-scene) and audio codes (dialogue/voiceover/diegetic and non-diegetic sound). One of the opening sequences is (currently) available on YouTube:

Introduction to TV Drama: Blog tasks

Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or on Google Drive here (you'll need your Greenford Google login) to find Media Factsheet #164 on Television Serial Drama. 

Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions to show your comprehensive knowledge of the television drama genre:

1) What is serial television drama? Write your own definition.

2) List five of the TV dramas discussed in the history of the genre on page 1 of the factsheet. How has the genre evolved over time?

3) List the sub-genres of TV drama featured in the factsheet. Come up with your own example of an existing TV dramas to fit each category.

4) Why is setting so important for TV drama?

5) How do TV dramas typically use character? What audience pleasures can be linked to character in TV drama? (Hint: Uses & Gratifications theory!)

6) What is a multi-strand narrative? Give an example of a TV drama that features a multi-strand narrative.

7) What is a cold opening?

8) How can Todorov's theory of equilibrium be applied to TV drama serials?

9) What is the typical form for TV dramas and how are the programmes typically distributed to an audience?

10) How have subscription channels (such as HBO) and streaming services (such as Netflix and Amazon Prime) changed the form and content of TV dramas?

11) Choose a TV drama and do your own analysis of it using the SETTING / CHARACTERS / NARRATIVE / FORM headings as featured on page 3 of the factsheet.

12) How might the TV drama genre evolve in future?


A/A* extension task: TV Drama v Film

Building on question 12 above, read this fascinating extended article comparing TV drama to film. It will also help to bridge the gap between our work on the film industry and our new topic of TV drama. Where do you stand on the debate? Is TV drama the key medium of storytelling or will cinema always be king?

Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

Film Industry: Final index

We have completed our first CSP for A Level Media: the Film Industry and Blinded By The Light. We now need to complete a short index to ensure we haven't missed any vital notes or research.  

As we've established now, keeping an index of all your work is extremely good practice from a revision perspective. This keeps the vital CSP information fresh in your mind and also highlights if you've missed anything through absence or any other reason. 

Film Industry: Blinded By The Light index

Your final Film Industry index should include the following:

1) British Film Industry factsheets #132 & #100
2) Blinded By The Light case study research 
3) Regulation - BBFC research and tasks

For your index, it needs to link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work and revision notes quickly and easily. This also means that if you have missed anything you can now catch up with the work/notes and won't underperform in future assessments/exams due to gaps in your knowledge.

Important: your index needs to be completed during the lesson. Any missing work MUST be caught up by next lesson.

MIGRAIN: Introduction to feminism

Discussing feminism and learning a range of feminist theories is an essential part of A Level Media Studies.

Are we living in a post-feminist state? Do you agree there is still a need for feminism? To what extent does the media contribute to the identity created for women in popular culture? These are some of the questions we need to consider when studying representation in A Level Media.

There is a current debate regarding whether feminism is still required in the 21st century (the idea that we are now in a 'post-feminist' state) against the view that the use of new and digital media to further feminist campaigns constitutes a new fourth wave of feminism.

Key notes

Waves of feminism
First wave: early 20th century, suffragette movement (right to vote).
Second wave: 1960s – 1990s, reproductive rights (pill), abortion, equal pay.
Third wave: 1990s – present, empowerment, reclaiming of femininity (high heels, sexuality etc. See Angela McRobbie's work on women's magazines).
Fourth wave? 2010 – ongoing, use of new technology and digital media (e.g. Twitter) for activism.

Fourth wave?
Many commentators argue that the internet itself has enabled a shift from ‘third-wave’ to ‘fourth-wave’ feminism. What is certain is that the internet has created a ‘call-out’ culture, in which sexism or misogyny can be ‘called out’ and challenged. 

This culture is indicative of the continuing influence of the third wave, with its focus on challenging sexism and misogyny in advertising, film, television and the media. 

Key quote: “power users of social media”
The internet has facilitated the creation of a global community of feminists who use the internet both for discussion and activism. 

According to #FemFuture: Online Feminism, a report recently published by Columbia University’s Barnard Center for Research on Women, females aged between 18 and 29 are the ‘power users of social networking’.

(Source: Political Studies Association. Read more about this: http://www.psa.ac.uk/insight-plus/feminism-fourth-wave)

Critics of online feminism
Critics of online feminist movements suggest that petitions and pressure from Twitter campaigns is simply a witchhunt orchestrated by privileged middle-class white women.

They ask: are ‘trolls’ the danger they are portrayed to be?

Case study: Everyday Sexism

Watch this TEDx talk by Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates:

 

Introduction to feminism: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Introduction to Feminism' and complete the following tasks.

Everyday Sexism

Watch the Everyday Sexism TED talk from Laura Bates (linked above) and answer the following questions:

1) Why did Laura Bates start the Everyday Sexism project?

2) How does the Everyday Sexism project link to the concept of post-feminism? Is feminism still required in western societies?

3) Why was new technology essential to the success of the Everyday Sexism project?

4) Will there be a point in the future when the Everyday Sexism project is not required? What is YOUR view on the future of feminism?


Media Magazine: The fourth wave?

Read the article: The Fourth Wave? Feminism in the Digital Age in MM55 (p64). You'll find the article in our Media Magazine archive here.

1) Summarise the questions in the first two sub-headings: What is networked feminism? Why is it a problem?

2) What are the four waves of feminism? Do you agree that we are in a fourth wave of ‘networked feminism’? 

3) Focus on the examples in the article. Write a short summary of EACH of the following: Everyday Sexism, HeForShe, FCKH8 campaign, This Girl Can.

4) What is your opinion with regards to feminism and new/digital media? Do you agree with the concept of a 'fourth wave' of feminism post-2010 or are recent developments like the Everyday Sexism project merely an extension of the third wave of feminism from the 1990s?

Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

Film Industry: BBFC film regulation

In our work on the British film industry, we need to consider the role of the BBFC, why Blinded By The Light was rated 12A and what the future holds for film regulation in a digital world.

Film certification in the UK is the job of the BBFC - the British Board of Film Classification.

Watch this (slightly old) video outlining how videos are classified at the BBFC:

Film regulation and the BBFC - blog tasks:

1) Research the BBFC in more detail: what is the institution responsible for? How is it funded? What link does it have to government? This history of the BBFC page may help.

2) Read this BBFC guide to how films are rated. Summarise the process in 50 words.

3) Read this BBFC section on landmark decisions. Why did The Dark Knight generate a large amount of media coverage regarding its certificate? Do you agree with the 12A certificate The Dark Knight was awarded?

4) What are the guidelines for a 12A certificate - Blinded By The Light's cinema certificate (it was rated 12 for its home video release)?

5) The BBFC website offers an explanation of every classification it makes and detailed case studies on selected titles. Look at the rating for Blinded By The Light and explain why it was given a 12A certificate for cinema release.

Complete this for homework: due date on Google Classroom.

Film Industry: Blinded By The Light case study

Our first close-study product is low-medium budget British film Blinded By The Light (Gurinder Chadha, 2019). We need to know how the film was funded, produced, distributed and promoted.

The key notes from the lesson are here:

Funding
Blinded By The Light cost around $15m to make. Key points:

• Bend It Films developed the film with support from Levantine Films and Ingenious Media.
• Levantine Films is an independent production company that had a major success with Hidden Figures in 2016 which grossed $230m at the worldwide box office.
• The Ingenious Group is an investment company that invests money in projects that have the potential to deliver future profits.

Production
Key points for making Blinded By The Light:

• Adapted from a book called Greetings From Bury Park by Sarfraz Manzoor (a play on 'Greetings From Asbury Park' - a Bruce Springsteen album). The memoir outlined his experiences growing up in Luton in the 1980s and discovering the music of Springsteen.
• Co-written and directed by Gurinder Chadha who had a smash hit in 2002 with her film Bend It Like Beckham (Bend It Like Beckham made over $100m at the worldwide box office).

Distribution

Blinded By The Light was picked up by New Line Cinema at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival after a bidding war with various other major film distributors. The film had been well received by audiences at the film festival. 

• The all-night auction following the world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019 guaranteed the film a major global cinema release which many films never achieve.
• Previously offered for sale at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival but did not attract a buyer at that point although UK distribution was secured by eOne Entertainment, a Canadian media company.
• New Line Cinema are an American production studio owned by Warner Brothers Pictures Group.
• The film was released in cinemas worldwide in August 2019. The DVD release followed in December 2019 distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment - a Viacom company.
• Deal with Amazon Prime secured in early 2020 for streaming in the UK.

Reception and box office

• Positive word-of-mouth marketing but poor box office figures – just $18.1m box office against a $15m budget which means the film almost certainly lost money when factoring in the global marketing campaign.
• Rival studios argued that Warner Bros. should have begun with a limited release to build audience interest, and that the film's August date was too close to that of Yesterday, a film with some surface similarities. [Source: Deadline Hollywood].

Promotion and marketing

Blinded By The Light was backed by a major international marketing campaign: 

• Traditional marketing: trailer, film poster with review quotes etc.
• Premieres - London, Luton and Asbury Park, New Jersey (attended by Bruce Springsteen).
• Heavy social media presence – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube.
• Interviews with writer, director and stars across TV, radio, newspapers and magazines (see below).

Blinded By The Light: case study blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to build a detailed case study for Blinded By The Light. This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question on the film industry.

Read the following interviews and features on Blinded By The Light:

Writer Sarfraz Manzoor on the story behind the film - Guardian
Manzoor again on the promotion of the film and audience reaction
Variety feature on the best films from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival

Watch the trailer for Blinded By The Light:

Watch the film being promoted on The One Show (BBC1): 

Watch writer Sarfraz Manzoor talking about 1980s nostalgia and British-Asian identity:

Watch this 'fans dream' featurette produced by Bend It Networks:

Funding and industry contexts

1) What was the budget for Blinded By The Light and which companies contributed to the production budget?

2) Research the Bend It Networks website. What other films and projects has the company been involved with?

3) Research Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema on the Warners website here. Summarise the history of New Line Cinema in a short paragraph.

4) Read this Variety interview with director Gurinder Chadha explaining how the project came about - including budget details. How did she manage to get the film made? 

5) What attracted Gurinder Chadha to the project?


Production and distribution

Read this Deadline feature on the distribution deal for Blinded By The Light and answer the following questions: 

1) Which company won the distribution rights after the all-night auction and for how much?

2) Which other companies were rumoured to be bidding for the distribution rights?

3) According to the article, what was the 'allure' of Blinded By The Light?

4) What does the article suggest about the significance of Bruce Springsteen's role in the production and promotion of the film?

5) UK distribution was secured by eOne Entertainment. Visit the eOne About Us page on their website - what do they claim to offer under the heading 'Passion meets possibility?'


Promotion and reception

Note: some of these pages may be blocked if you working in school - you will need to complete those particular questions at home.

1) What does the trailer suggest regarding genre and the potential audience pleasures of Blinded By The Light?

2) What did film posters for Blinded By The Light feature and where did they appear?

3) What TV shows and websites did interviews with writer, director and stars of Blinded By The Light? Give as many examples as you can.

4) Why are interviews with newspapers, TV shows and websites a good way to promote a new film release?

5) How does the Blinded By The Light Twitter account create and maintain interest in the film?

6) How does the Blinded By The Light Facebook page use images and video content to promote the film?

7) Why do you think the Blinded By The Light Facebook page contains posts supporting the Black Lives Matter movement?

8) Select three posts from the Blinded By The Light Instagram page and explain how they promote the film.

9) Go to the Bend It Networks YouTube channel. How does Gurinder Chadha introduce the channel?  What other content is on the Bend It Networks YouTube channel?

10) Look at the box office figures for Blinded By The Light from The Numbers website. How much did it make at the box office and why do you think it was largely unsuccessful?

Due date: on Google Classroom

MIGRAIN: Introduction to Representation

Representation is a crucial key concept in A Level Media. Here we explore how the media represents different people, social groups, places and events - and discuss the impact on society and individuals.

We also need to study a range of media theories that help us to understand the effect that media representations can have on people and society. 

The key notes on representation:

• Representation is the process by which the media presents the ‘real world’ to an audience.
• Media texts are artificial, constructed versions of reality
• Even factual media – such as news – goes through processes of selection, organisation and editing that shapes its content
• How are particular people and groups represented in the media? How and why are stereotypes created?
• Why are certain social groups – in both a national and global context – under-represented or misrepresented?

Social and cultural contexts

Representation in the media is a particularly good way to explore questions of social and cultural context. These are words that regularly appear in AQA exam questions so we need to be confident responding to them. Key definitions:

Social contexts: How do media products influence or affect people in society?

Cultural contexts: How does the media reflect the typical ideas, opinions and beliefs in British society or the culture they were created in? 

Historical contexts: How has society (and representation in media products) changed over time?

Mediation

Media texts are a construction of reality, and play an important role in the way we view the world. 

Reality is therefore subject to mediation which is the process that takes place when a media text’s meaning is created.

When mediation takes place, an institution, individual or even technology comes between the actual event and the audience.

Levi-Strauss: representation theory

Claude Levi-Strauss suggests that representations in the media are informed by ideology: the set of beliefs and values of the producer of the text.

Some things are included and others are left out to create a dominant or preferred representation. This links to Hall’s work on Reception theory.

Stereotypes

Media messages have to be communicated quickly which often means relying on stereotypes. Stereotypes work as a kind of shorthand where a word, image or sound will stand for a lot more.

A stereotype is a standardised, usually oversimplified mental picture or attitude towards a person, group, place or event.

Stereotypes act like codes that give audiences a quick, common understanding of a person or group of people—usually relating to their gender, class, ethnicity or race, sexual orientation, social role or occupation.

Representation: dominant or alternative?

A representation in the media will either reinforce or challenge the stereotype.

If it reinforces the stereotype, it is a dominant representation.

If it challenges the stereotype, it is an alternative representation.

Representation theories

Mulvey: the male gaze

Laura Mulvey suggests that the dominant view in the media is masculine and created for the benefit of men. Women are presented for men to look at, hence the ‘male gaze’. This links to the idea of ‘sex sells’ and women being represented as sex objects.

More recently, the idea of the ‘female gaze’ has been suggested. Rosalind Gill suggests the objectified male is an example of post-feminist media culture in modern Britain. Task: write down an example for each.

Linked to Mulvey...

Berger: ‘Ways of seeing’

An additional representation theory that influenced Mulvey:

John Berger (1972) stated that: “Men act and women appear”

“Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at.”

Richard Dyer: Stereotyping and power
Richard Dyer's theory suggests that the complexity and variety of a group is reduced to a few key characteristics. An exaggerated version of these characteristics is then applied to everyone in the group. 

He states that those with power stereotype those with less power. 

Therefore, we have stereotypes of non-white people, poor people and women... but not so many of white, middle class men.


Medhurst: shorthand that carries value judgements
Andy Medhurst suggests stereotyping is shorthand for identification. This means we use stereotypes to tell audiences a lot in a short space of time.

However, this can carry value judgements and therefore be very negative for the representation of minority groups. Medhurst gave the example of the representation of gay men: 

"The image of the screaming queen does not just mean 'all gay men are like that', it means 'all gay men are like that and aren't they awful', which in turn means 'and they are awful because they are not like us'."

Perkins: stereotypes can be positive or partly true

Tessa Perkins suggests some stereotypes can be positive and are often true.

Specifically, she stated that stereotypes are...

• Not always negative (the French are good cooks)
• Not always about the less powerful (Politicians are corrupt)
• Can be about our own social groups (Students are lazy)
• Not always false (The Scottish wear kilts)
• Can change over time (A typical British holiday was in Blackpool; now it is Spain)

Representation: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Representation blog tasks'. 

Read the Media Magazine feature 'Representation old and new'. This is in MM51 on page 6 - go to our Media Magazine archive to find the article. Complete the following tasks:

1) Why is representation an important concept in Media Studies?

2) How does the example of Kate Middleton show the way different meanings can be created in the media?

3) Summarise the section 'The how, who and why of media representation' in 50 words.

4) How does Stuart Hall's theory of preferred and oppositional readings fit with representation?

5) How has new technology changed the way representations are created in the media?

6) What example is provided of how national identity is represented in Britain - and how some audiences use social media to challenge this?

Watch the clip from Luther that we studied in class (Season 1, Episode 1 - minute 7.40-10.00 - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access the clip). Now answer these final two questions:

7) Write a paragraph analysing the dominant and alternative representations you can find in the clip from Luther.

8) Write a paragraph applying a selection of our representation theories to the clip from Luther. Our summary of each theory may help you here:

Levi-Strauss: representation and ideology

Mulvey: the male gaze

Dyer: stereotyping and power
Medhurst: value judgements
Perkins: some stereotypes can be positive or true

Complete for homework: due date on Google Classroom

MIGRAIN: Industries - Regulation

Like most industries, the media is regulated - overseen by government to make sure the market is fair and the content appropriate for the audience.

Regulation is an important aspect of the industries key concept. How much influence should governments have over the ownership and consumption of media products? How powerful is the media? Key media theorists for this area are:

• David Hesmondhalgh: the Cultural Industries
• James Curran and Jean Seaton: Power Without Responsibility
• Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt: Media Regulation

Two key terms for regulation:

Statutory regulation is when the regulator is backed by law (government legislation) and the regulator has real power. Example: Ofcom.

Voluntary regulation is when the industry regulates itself and governments are not involved. The newspaper and videogames industries are good examples.

Different media industries are regulated in different ways and by different organisations. For example:

• Broadcasting (including the BBC): Ofcom
• Newspapers: IPSO 
• Film: BBFC
• Videogames: PEGI

Regulating the internet

One of the major challenges facing governments and regulators is the fact so much of the cultural industries is now on the internet – and the internet is global.

The global nature of the internet means it is difficult for one government to regulate – and tech giants like Google or Amazon are now more powerful than individual countries.

This BBC Newsnight feature explores the challenge of regulating the internet:




Media regulation: blog tasks

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 128: Contemporary Media Regulation. Our Media Factsheet archive can be found at M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. You can find it online here - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login. 

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) What is regulation and why do media industries need to be regulated?

2) What is OFCOM responsible for?

3) Look at the section on the OFCOM broadcasting code. Which do you think are the three most important sections of the broadcasting code and why?

4) Do you agree with OFCOM that Channel 4 was wrong to broadcast 'Wolverine' at 6.55pm on a Sunday evening? Why?

5) List five of the sections in the old Press Complaints Commission's Code of Practice. 

6) Why was the Press Complaints Commission criticised?

7) What was the Leveson enquiry and why was it set up?

8) What was the PCC replaced with in 2014?

9) What is your opinion on press regulation? Is a free press an important part of living in a democracy or should newspapers face statutory regulation like TV and radio?

10) Why is the internet so difficult to regulate?

Complete this for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

Film Industry: British film industry factsheets

Our first Close Study Product is from the film industry - Blinded By The Light (2019) directed by Gurinder Chadha.

This low-mid budget production ($15m) co-funded by New Line Cinema (an American production studio owned by Warner Brothers Pictures Group) is a great example of how the British film industry often relies on American money to make movies. Here's the trailer:

We're starting the unit with a focus on the history of the British film industry. There will be clips in class and then two factsheets on British film for homework.

The British film industry: blog tasks 

Factsheet #132: British Film

Use our brilliant Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #132 on British Film. You can find it online here - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British.

2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film?

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?

4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?

5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in.

6) What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film?

Factsheet #100: British film industry

To complete our introduction to the British film industry, we need a little more background to the industries context.

Find Media Factsheet #100 on the British film industry. You can find it on the same link as above. Read the whole of the Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film counts as British?

2) Complete the task on the Factsheet - choose three of the films listed and research them to work out what they score on the cultural test: The Sweeney (2012), Attack The Block, The King's Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Skyfall.

3) What is the main problem for the British film industry?

4) What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?

5) What are the two options for the future of the British film industry?

6) In your opinion, which of these two options would best safeguard the future of the British film industry?

Due date: on Google Classroom