LFTVD Question 3
'Representations of social, cultural and historical events can vary within long form TV dramas from different countries.' Discuss how and why audiences might respond to and interpret these representations differently. (30)
In your answer you must:
Representations of social, cultural and historical events can vary within long form TV dramas from different countries, which results in audiences responding to and interpreting these representations differently. One producer and distributor of long form TV dramas is the company DR which is a Danish Public Service Broadcaster. During the time that DR created The Killing (2007) the PSB was funded from Danish households paying a license fee of £291 per year which meant that the company had an obligation to satisfy their Danish audience otherwise they would stop paying their license fee and DR would have no budget to produce content. DR was founded in 1925 and is based in Denmark which means that its representations of social, cultural and historical events are formed from Danish views and the history in which it has. The Killing is based in Denmark which is significant as it allows DR to showcase the representations of social, cultural and historical events based upon their views from their origin. Netflix is another producer and distributor of LFTVD. Unlike DR, Netflix is a private company with a global audience as it is available in 190 countries. Netflix produces some of its own original content but also shows films, TV shows and long form TV dramas that have been created by other producers such as Universal Studios and the BBC. By distributing content that has been created from other producers, this means that Netflix showcases LFTVD that have been produced from around the world therefore causing the platform to have a wide range of representations of social, cultural and historical events based on the countries in which the LFTVDs originated from as they are based upon the views and history of producers in the range of countries. DR will showcase different representations of social, cultural and historical events in comparison to Netflix as DR has a niche audience to satisfy and represent whereas Netflix has a mass audience in which in needs to satisfy and represent as representations vary depending on the country which causes audiences to have different interpretations.
The representation of social issues and events can vary within long form TV dramas from different countries and cause audiences to respond to and interpret these representations differently. Denmark's social context surrounding gender representations can be shown throughout The Killing. There is a divide in the representations of men and women throughout episode 1 as male characters are represented as power hungry whilst female characters (especially protagonist Sarah Lund) are represented as ambitious. The male politicians have connotations of being power hungry as they are seen to use corruption against each other, such as the Mayor gaining information about the schools and planning on running this in his campaign when discovering that rival politician Troels Hartmann was going to, therefore resulting in the mayor trying to gain more power over Hartmann. This brutal competition for power amongst these male characters is a contrast to the representation of female character Sarah Lund. Lund is shown as being ambitious as she goes to take on another case just as she is preparing to leave her job and move to Sweden with her boyfriend and son. With this ambitious characteristic, Lund is shown also have power and is represented as possessing more power than the police detective due to take over her job, Jan Meyer. Lund is shown to have more power over Meyer through the actions in which she carries out such as her instructing Meyer to check the woods again when looking for traces of Nanna Birk Larssen. Lund is also represented as being a powerful protagonist through the use of the several close up shots on her and the use of a music motif whenever she makes a discovery. Meyer doesn't have these media language aspects therefore suggesting he has less power than Lund. In addition to power and ambition, Lund is shown to be more professional and mature than male character Meyer as when she takes down a picture of her son from her office, Meyer replaces the space by putting up a basket ball hoop, representing the contrast of maternity and immaturity of the characters.This can also be suggested to showcase Judith Butler's gender performativity theory as Butler believes that gender is constructed through the continuous actions in which we carry out which determine whether or not we believe to be female or masculine. The Killing can be seen to conform to this theory as Lund is not shown to be the stereotypical female as she contributes little effort to her appearance as she wears big jumpers and little makeup which is a big contrast to other female characters such as Rie who works with Hartmann. Meyer can also be shown to conform to this theory by having a basket ball hoop in his office which may suggest that he considers himself to be very masculine. By DR representing the social issues of gender representations in this way, this may represent Denmark challenging patriarchal power and representing their acceptance for women in powerful roles. This shows that social issues and events can vary within long form TV dramas from different countries as The Killing was one of the first LFTVD to have a strong female detective which suggests that other countries don't have this developed acceptance.
Just like Denmark in The Killing, America's social context surrounding gender representations can be shown throughout Stranger Things.There is a big difference in how genders are represented in Stranger Things with the character Joyce Byers representing a strong and passionate single mother in comparison to Ted Wheeler who doesn't appear to be a very 'hands on' father. This may be due to the contrast in the styles of families in which these characters come from. Mr Wheeler and his family represent the ideas of what it meant to be the perfect American family in the 1980s with the idea of 'The American Dream' still being very relevant. They can be shown to be an upper class family due a wide camera shot showcasing the multistory house that they live in as well as the shots throughout the episode showing the valuable items in which they have: sprinklers, TV and skiing equipment. This is a contrast to the Byers who are seen to have a one story house with very little greenery surrounding it. This difference in social lifestyle can be seen to be representing the social contrast of people who were living in America in the 1980s. This highlights how representations of social issues and events in Long form TV dramas can contrast in different countries as this representation of contrasts in wealth isn't focused upon in The Killing in Denmark. Netflix can also be shown to be representing gender relations in America in the 1980s throughout Stranger Things with the character Steve represented as being the stereotypical popular male that all the females fancied. Nancy Wheeler is represented as being different from rebellious Steve as she is shown to be very focused on her studies. Throughout the first episode there is a wide shot in school which shows Nancy, her friend Barbra, Steve and Steve's friends. In the shot it is noticeable that the only people holding books is the girls. This suggests that during the 1980s, America required women to work harder than men suggesting a patriarchal society. This representation is due to the history and views of people in 1980s America as during this time period, women were gaining more power but there were still ideas present about 'being the perfect stay-at-home wife' which were made popular during the 1950s. This shows how representations can vary in Long Form TV dramas from different countries. The 2016 audience of Stranger Things will have understood the social context being represented depending on the country in which they are in as if they are watching the LFTVD in America they will understand these representations as some ideas are still present today whereas if an audience is watching the LFTVD in another country they may respond differently to the representations as other countries may have/had different ideologies such as Denmark's now more accepting thoughts on powerful women.
The representation of cultural issues and events can vary within long form TV dramas from different countries and cause audiences to respond to and interpret these representations differently. The Killing represents a culture in which there's a divide between Denmark and Sweden due to the LFTVD being produced in Denmark. Sarah Lund is moving to Sweden to start a new life with her boyfriend and son and is met with negative comments being made about Sweden which represents the tension between Denmark and its neighbouring country. During the first episode of The Killing, there is also the use of a racist term. This suggests that Denmark has cultural issues surrounding ethnicity as an 'us vs them' atmosphere is created during the LFTVD. Interestingly, Lund is shown to be breaking this atmosphere by moving to the 'rival' country. This suggests that Lund is a very accepting character and may be used as a signifier by DR to encourage its Danish audience to start showing more acceptance. The Danish audience will have understood the references made towards Denmark and Sweden as they were living in that culture.The Killing was shown in Denmark in 2007 but was then distributed to other countries due to its success. It was shown in double-bills on a Saturday night on BBC 4 during spring 2011 in the UK where it was very successful with 500,000 viewers per episode. Audiences outside of Denmark will have had a different response and interpretation to these cultural issues and events as it would have required these outside audiences to be culturally aware and educated to know about the issues between Denmark and Sweden. Most of the UK audience will have been able to understand this cultural context as the majority of viewers were from a highly educated background by being of ABC1 audience profile group as these are the dominant viewers of BBC4. The different audiences will have had different responses to this cultural representation being shown due to the location of the audience in relation to the issues raised throughout The Killing. This shows that the response to the representation of cultural issues and events can vary depending on the country.
The representation of America's cultural issues and events are represented throughout Stranger Things as the 1980s American culture can be seen to be racist as Lucas is called 'midnight' which is a racist term. During the 1980s in America, cultural issues surrounding ethnicity were still very prominent due to the history that America had of the slave trade. Netflix's millienial audience will be able to remember the issues involving race during the 1980s so they will be able to understand the reference. Unfortunately young audiences will still be able to interpret this representation of the American culture as a lot of race issues are still present. Netflix's global audience will be able to respond and interpret these representations as cultural issues involving ethnicity were present all around the globe. The 1980s American culture also showed an increased interest in space travel as space developments were underway. This is represented in Stranger Things through the use of having another dimension included and showcases the exploitative culture that America had during this time period. The 1980s was a big time for cultural changes and developments which is why Stranger Things is shown to be polygeneric. The LFTVD conforms to Steve Neal's Genre Theory as he believes that genres are constantly changing and can hybridise together which is present in Stranger Things as there are many genres including: thriller, crime, coming of age and SCI-FI. This shows that representations of cultural events and issues can differ in Long form TV dramas depending on country as developments of American culture are shown in the American produced LFTVD Stranger Things but different cultural representations are shown in the Danish produced The Killing.
The representation of historical issues and events can vary within long form TV dramas from different countries and cause audiences to respond to and interpret these representations differently. During the creation of DR's The Killing in 2007, Denmark was having an election in which a right-wing co-ollison was formed which was a shock for Denmark as it had previously always been left-wing. This uncertainty in the future of Denmark's politics is represented by the power-hungry and untrustworthy politicians shown in The Killing as the LFTVD also shows an election taking place. This historical event will have been interpreted by Danish audiences with understanding but again audiences outside of Denmark will have needed to be culturally aware of what had happened in order to be able to interpret this representation of the 'shady politicians'. The cultural representation formed of the divide between Denmark and Sweden is formed from the history in which the countries have with each other. By representing history involving Denmark shows that representation of historical issues and events in LFTVD varies depending on the country as it is soley representing Danish history.
The representation of America's issues and events are represented throughout Stranger Things with the narrative featuring elements of scientific testing carried out in America during the 1950s in project MK Ultra. During the project, scientist drugged and tested people to see if they could control them. This historical event is represented through the character Eleven who has been tested and now can control things using her mind. American audiences will be scared to view this representation as it was a scary period of time. The use of the racist cultural representations also stem from the historical contexts of America involving the slave trade which audiences will have been very aware of.
Overall, representations of cultural, historical and social events can vary within long form TV dramas from different countries which results in audiences responding to and interpreting these representations differently. Social issues involving gender are shown in both Stranger Things and The Killing reflecting on the Danish and American societies along with the racist cultural contexts in which they have which have stemmed from the historical backgrounds in which both countries have. Audiences from these countries should be able to understand and interpret these representations whilst other audiences will have to be culturally aware to understand these different interpretations but may form different interpretations of these representations based on the society in which they are from.
In your answer you must:
- consider the contexts in which long form TV dramas are produced and consumed.
- Explain how media contexts may have influenced different aspects of realism and audience response in The Killing and Stranger Things.
- Make judgements and reach conclusions about the differences in realism of social, cultural and historical circumstances between the two set episodes.
The representation of social issues and events can vary within long form TV dramas from different countries and cause audiences to respond to and interpret these representations differently. Denmark's social context surrounding gender representations can be shown throughout The Killing. There is a divide in the representations of men and women throughout episode 1 as male characters are represented as power hungry whilst female characters (especially protagonist Sarah Lund) are represented as ambitious. The male politicians have connotations of being power hungry as they are seen to use corruption against each other, such as the Mayor gaining information about the schools and planning on running this in his campaign when discovering that rival politician Troels Hartmann was going to, therefore resulting in the mayor trying to gain more power over Hartmann. This brutal competition for power amongst these male characters is a contrast to the representation of female character Sarah Lund. Lund is shown as being ambitious as she goes to take on another case just as she is preparing to leave her job and move to Sweden with her boyfriend and son. With this ambitious characteristic, Lund is shown also have power and is represented as possessing more power than the police detective due to take over her job, Jan Meyer. Lund is shown to have more power over Meyer through the actions in which she carries out such as her instructing Meyer to check the woods again when looking for traces of Nanna Birk Larssen. Lund is also represented as being a powerful protagonist through the use of the several close up shots on her and the use of a music motif whenever she makes a discovery. Meyer doesn't have these media language aspects therefore suggesting he has less power than Lund. In addition to power and ambition, Lund is shown to be more professional and mature than male character Meyer as when she takes down a picture of her son from her office, Meyer replaces the space by putting up a basket ball hoop, representing the contrast of maternity and immaturity of the characters.This can also be suggested to showcase Judith Butler's gender performativity theory as Butler believes that gender is constructed through the continuous actions in which we carry out which determine whether or not we believe to be female or masculine. The Killing can be seen to conform to this theory as Lund is not shown to be the stereotypical female as she contributes little effort to her appearance as she wears big jumpers and little makeup which is a big contrast to other female characters such as Rie who works with Hartmann. Meyer can also be shown to conform to this theory by having a basket ball hoop in his office which may suggest that he considers himself to be very masculine. By DR representing the social issues of gender representations in this way, this may represent Denmark challenging patriarchal power and representing their acceptance for women in powerful roles. This shows that social issues and events can vary within long form TV dramas from different countries as The Killing was one of the first LFTVD to have a strong female detective which suggests that other countries don't have this developed acceptance.
Just like Denmark in The Killing, America's social context surrounding gender representations can be shown throughout Stranger Things.There is a big difference in how genders are represented in Stranger Things with the character Joyce Byers representing a strong and passionate single mother in comparison to Ted Wheeler who doesn't appear to be a very 'hands on' father. This may be due to the contrast in the styles of families in which these characters come from. Mr Wheeler and his family represent the ideas of what it meant to be the perfect American family in the 1980s with the idea of 'The American Dream' still being very relevant. They can be shown to be an upper class family due a wide camera shot showcasing the multistory house that they live in as well as the shots throughout the episode showing the valuable items in which they have: sprinklers, TV and skiing equipment. This is a contrast to the Byers who are seen to have a one story house with very little greenery surrounding it. This difference in social lifestyle can be seen to be representing the social contrast of people who were living in America in the 1980s. This highlights how representations of social issues and events in Long form TV dramas can contrast in different countries as this representation of contrasts in wealth isn't focused upon in The Killing in Denmark. Netflix can also be shown to be representing gender relations in America in the 1980s throughout Stranger Things with the character Steve represented as being the stereotypical popular male that all the females fancied. Nancy Wheeler is represented as being different from rebellious Steve as she is shown to be very focused on her studies. Throughout the first episode there is a wide shot in school which shows Nancy, her friend Barbra, Steve and Steve's friends. In the shot it is noticeable that the only people holding books is the girls. This suggests that during the 1980s, America required women to work harder than men suggesting a patriarchal society. This representation is due to the history and views of people in 1980s America as during this time period, women were gaining more power but there were still ideas present about 'being the perfect stay-at-home wife' which were made popular during the 1950s. This shows how representations can vary in Long Form TV dramas from different countries. The 2016 audience of Stranger Things will have understood the social context being represented depending on the country in which they are in as if they are watching the LFTVD in America they will understand these representations as some ideas are still present today whereas if an audience is watching the LFTVD in another country they may respond differently to the representations as other countries may have/had different ideologies such as Denmark's now more accepting thoughts on powerful women.
The representation of cultural issues and events can vary within long form TV dramas from different countries and cause audiences to respond to and interpret these representations differently. The Killing represents a culture in which there's a divide between Denmark and Sweden due to the LFTVD being produced in Denmark. Sarah Lund is moving to Sweden to start a new life with her boyfriend and son and is met with negative comments being made about Sweden which represents the tension between Denmark and its neighbouring country. During the first episode of The Killing, there is also the use of a racist term. This suggests that Denmark has cultural issues surrounding ethnicity as an 'us vs them' atmosphere is created during the LFTVD. Interestingly, Lund is shown to be breaking this atmosphere by moving to the 'rival' country. This suggests that Lund is a very accepting character and may be used as a signifier by DR to encourage its Danish audience to start showing more acceptance. The Danish audience will have understood the references made towards Denmark and Sweden as they were living in that culture.The Killing was shown in Denmark in 2007 but was then distributed to other countries due to its success. It was shown in double-bills on a Saturday night on BBC 4 during spring 2011 in the UK where it was very successful with 500,000 viewers per episode. Audiences outside of Denmark will have had a different response and interpretation to these cultural issues and events as it would have required these outside audiences to be culturally aware and educated to know about the issues between Denmark and Sweden. Most of the UK audience will have been able to understand this cultural context as the majority of viewers were from a highly educated background by being of ABC1 audience profile group as these are the dominant viewers of BBC4. The different audiences will have had different responses to this cultural representation being shown due to the location of the audience in relation to the issues raised throughout The Killing. This shows that the response to the representation of cultural issues and events can vary depending on the country.
The representation of America's cultural issues and events are represented throughout Stranger Things as the 1980s American culture can be seen to be racist as Lucas is called 'midnight' which is a racist term. During the 1980s in America, cultural issues surrounding ethnicity were still very prominent due to the history that America had of the slave trade. Netflix's millienial audience will be able to remember the issues involving race during the 1980s so they will be able to understand the reference. Unfortunately young audiences will still be able to interpret this representation of the American culture as a lot of race issues are still present. Netflix's global audience will be able to respond and interpret these representations as cultural issues involving ethnicity were present all around the globe. The 1980s American culture also showed an increased interest in space travel as space developments were underway. This is represented in Stranger Things through the use of having another dimension included and showcases the exploitative culture that America had during this time period. The 1980s was a big time for cultural changes and developments which is why Stranger Things is shown to be polygeneric. The LFTVD conforms to Steve Neal's Genre Theory as he believes that genres are constantly changing and can hybridise together which is present in Stranger Things as there are many genres including: thriller, crime, coming of age and SCI-FI. This shows that representations of cultural events and issues can differ in Long form TV dramas depending on country as developments of American culture are shown in the American produced LFTVD Stranger Things but different cultural representations are shown in the Danish produced The Killing.
The representation of historical issues and events can vary within long form TV dramas from different countries and cause audiences to respond to and interpret these representations differently. During the creation of DR's The Killing in 2007, Denmark was having an election in which a right-wing co-ollison was formed which was a shock for Denmark as it had previously always been left-wing. This uncertainty in the future of Denmark's politics is represented by the power-hungry and untrustworthy politicians shown in The Killing as the LFTVD also shows an election taking place. This historical event will have been interpreted by Danish audiences with understanding but again audiences outside of Denmark will have needed to be culturally aware of what had happened in order to be able to interpret this representation of the 'shady politicians'. The cultural representation formed of the divide between Denmark and Sweden is formed from the history in which the countries have with each other. By representing history involving Denmark shows that representation of historical issues and events in LFTVD varies depending on the country as it is soley representing Danish history.
The representation of America's issues and events are represented throughout Stranger Things with the narrative featuring elements of scientific testing carried out in America during the 1950s in project MK Ultra. During the project, scientist drugged and tested people to see if they could control them. This historical event is represented through the character Eleven who has been tested and now can control things using her mind. American audiences will be scared to view this representation as it was a scary period of time. The use of the racist cultural representations also stem from the historical contexts of America involving the slave trade which audiences will have been very aware of.
Overall, representations of cultural, historical and social events can vary within long form TV dramas from different countries which results in audiences responding to and interpreting these representations differently. Social issues involving gender are shown in both Stranger Things and The Killing reflecting on the Danish and American societies along with the racist cultural contexts in which they have which have stemmed from the historical backgrounds in which both countries have. Audiences from these countries should be able to understand and interpret these representations whilst other audiences will have to be culturally aware to understand these different interpretations but may form different interpretations of these representations based on the society in which they are from.
Wow, Hattie - this is a fantastic piece fo work for your first time through - well done. Just a quick note to remember to mention the size of Netflix ensuring you are fully hitting the industry bracket. This is really strong, and will only get better - well done.
ReplyDelete22/30