Question 3 LFTVD part 4
'The differences in the codes and conventions of LFTVD reflect the different values, attitudes and beliefs of the audience that consumes them' How far do you agree with this statement? (30)
The differences in codes and conventions of long form TV drama reflect the different values, attitudes and beliefs of the audience that consumes them as the products need to ensure that audiences can identify themselves in aspects of the TV drama in order for them to be engaged with the product. Netflix has a large audience to entertain and engage therefore it has to include a range of shows that feature a range of codes and conventions to try and entertain their audiences in 190 countries. DR is a public service broadcaster in Denmark therefore it needs to contain codes and conventions that reflect the values, attitudes and beliefs of its audiences as people there need to pay a Danish license fee of £291 per household for the service to run. If the audiences don't identify with the values, attitudes and beliefs of programs produced by DR, they may not pay their license fee, meaning DR's funding will stop therefore showing that their codes and conventions are strongly reflected on its audience.With DR being a PSB, it has more requirements that it needs to fulfil in its codes and conventions than the private company Netflix, but arguably Netflix needs to work harder to ensure the codes and conventions it portrays can appeal to its mass global audience whilst DR has a niche audience of Denmark.
The differences in codes and conventions of long form TV drama reflect the different values, attitudes and beliefs of the audience that consumes them as the products need to ensure that audiences can identify themselves in aspects of the TV drama in order for them to be engaged with the product. Netflix has a large audience to entertain and engage therefore it has to include a range of shows that feature a range of codes and conventions to try and entertain their audiences in 190 countries. DR is a public service broadcaster in Denmark therefore it needs to contain codes and conventions that reflect the values, attitudes and beliefs of its audiences as people there need to pay a Danish license fee of £291 per household for the service to run. If the audiences don't identify with the values, attitudes and beliefs of programs produced by DR, they may not pay their license fee, meaning DR's funding will stop therefore showing that their codes and conventions are strongly reflected on its audience.With DR being a PSB, it has more requirements that it needs to fulfil in its codes and conventions than the private company Netflix, but arguably Netflix needs to work harder to ensure the codes and conventions it portrays can appeal to its mass global audience whilst DR has a niche audience of Denmark.
Both long form TV dramas Stranger Things and The Killing, reflect the different values, attitudes and beliefs of their audience through the codes and conventions in which they use. In 2016, Netflix worked with the Duffer brothers (Matt and Ross) to create Stranger Things. The show is poly-generic to try and appeal to the mass global audience that Netflix has due to approximately 183 million people being subscribed to the service. The show features an array of genres such as: sci-fi, romance, group/buddy, action, horror and coming of age. This has allowed the show to be able to reflect values, attitudes and beliefs of a wide audience as there is something for everyone to identify with. The use of genre hybrids relates to the theory by Steve Neale which states that genres are fluid and are often changing and mixing with each other to create hybrids which are engaging for wide audiences.
In 2007, DR created the long form TV drama The Killing which reflected the values, attitudes and beliefs of its intended Danish audience through the use of reflecting on current social issues which were occurring in the country. This included corrupt politics, racism and conflict between Denmark and Sweden. The show used Nordic Noir conventions which allowed for the audience to relate to the issues mentioned but enjoy viewing them in a dramatised way. The show was very popular in Denmark with an average of 1.7 million viewers per episode and became popular outside of its native country with BBC 4 showing it past watershed on Saturday nights in 2011. This shows that the codes and conventions used in the LFTVD not only reflected the values, attitudes and beliefs of those in Denmark but a larger scale audience.
However, it wasn't just the audience that caused Stranger Things to be poly-generic, but the ownership structure of its producer and distributor Netflix. Netflix is a privately owned company which makes its money through customers paying a monthly subscription of a minimum of £5.99. With Netflix's subscriber count being approximately 183 million, this allows for the budget of the company to be vast and therefore allow for the creators of their shows to have creative freedom and create shows in which they believe that their subscribers would enjoy. The Duffer brothers were given the creative freedom when producing Stranger Things as they subverted elements of David Hesmondhalgh's theory of cultural industries by having new elements that hadn't been tried before (such as having unknown child stars) instead of repeating what had already been tried and tested previously. The format of the show reflects the values, attitudes and beliefs of the audiences due to its industry. Series 1 of Stranger Things consists of 8, 60 minute episodes to allow for Netflix's USP of binge ability to be achieved- the audience can view all of the series in one sitting if they wish which is unique as most shows release episodes weekly or have a large amount of episodes in a series. This binge ability format is designed for Netflix's main generation Z and millennial demographic so that Stranger Things can appeal to them. This shows that the different attitudes, beliefs and values of audiences reflects the codes and conventions used in LFTVD.
In comparison, the ownership structure of DR is very different to Netflix as it is a PSB meaning it has more guidelines to follow and less creative freedom. The company is funded through Danish households paying a licence fee of £291 per year. Because of it only being funded by Denmark, this means it had a narrower budget than Netflix who is funded globally. When creating The Killing, DR had to synergise with ZDF (a German PSB) to have a big enough budget to create the show. With the low budget and niche audience to appeal to, The Killing can be seen to conform to David Hesmondhalgh's theory of cultural industries to ensure success as it can only afford to produce one major LFTVD a year. The show has conformed to Hesmondhalgh's theory by including popular Danish stars to attempt pull marketing to its audience. Conversely, the format of The Killing is that series 1 consists of 20, 50 minute episodes which instead of allowing for a binge ability feature to be achieved, allow for the audience to keep up with the progression of the story line as each episode represents 24 hours. It was shown weekly in Denmark in 2007 and then shown in double bills on a Saturday night in the UK in 2011. This format appealed to a different demographic than Netflix as it was able to appeal to an older target audience and be able to target people of ABC1 occupation groups in the UK by being shown on BBC4. This shows that the different attitudes, beliefs and values of audiences reflects the codes and conventions used in LFTVD.
MY PARAGRAPH ON REPRESENTATION AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Stranger Things can be seen to be reflecting on its audiences' values, attitudes and beliefs through the content in which it produces. The long form TV drama, can be seen to include many intertextual references to popular shows and films from the 1980s such as Poltergeist (when Joyce uses lights to communicate) ET (an unknown supernatural-being joining a group of friends) and Alien (the demogorgan). This time period is relevant as this it is when the program is set and due to Stranger Things having a large millennial audience, the consumers should enjoy the show as they were brought up with these famous shows and films that are being referenced. A younger audience are able to enjoy Stranger Things as they may have been shown these famous films and shows from parents therefore understanding the different representations or are able to witness new narrative patterns making the show exciting. The repetition of these repeated narrative patterns conforms to Hesmondhalgh's theory as he believes that big companies such as Netflix, repeat popular formats to eliminate risk.
The Killing can also be seen to be reflecting on its audiences' values, attitudes and beliefs through the content in which it produces. The narrative features the disappearance and then the murder of Nana Birk Larsen and focuses on the interactions between young and older adults. This may be because the target audience of the show are adults and the age certificate rating being age 15 in Denmark. Stranger Things also features the narrative of a disappearance of a child (Will) but instead of Will being murdered he is found at the end of the series. The show focuses on young children as there are many point of view shots shown from the characters of the children which may be due to the show having a bigger focus on wanting to attract young teens and the age certificate rating varying between age 12 and 15 in the UK and United States. The Killing features many developed adult characters such as the protagonist police detective Sarah Lund. Lund breaks the stereotypical ideologies of police detectives firstly by being female as not many shows before 2007 featuring crime genre showed a female police detective. This allowed for the show to automatically create originality- allowing for audiences to be interested. Lund is represented as hard working by many scenes showing her working throughout the night. She is shown to have dominance over her police partner, Jan Meyer, through the imperatives she uses towards him and the majority of camera shots being close up on her rather than him, along with her possessing the repetition of a sound motif when she thinks. The audiences would have believed that Meyer would have been the dominant police officer due to gender, therefore conforming to Judith Butler's gender performativity theory whilst Meyer and Hopper (in Stranger Things) prove not to be the stereotypical dominant males. Both of the long form TV dramas are set in time periods where there was political uncertainty; Denmark had just had an election where a collision was formed which was surprising as the country had previously dominantly been left-wing, and the 1980s time period of Stranger Things was a time of government scepticism. Both of these political contexts are shown as codes and conventions throughout the shows; uncertainty represented by the demogorgan in Stranger Things and the shady character of politician Troels Hartmann in The Killing.
MY CONCLUSION
Overall, the codes and conventions of the long form TV dramas Stranger Things and The Killing reflects the different values, attitudes and beliefs of the audience that consumes them. Stranger Things has to reflect on a global audience due to the large company Netflix whilst The Killing only has to reflect on a niche audience due to Denmark's small public service broadcaster DR. Stranger Things uses codes and conventions such as genre hybridisation, intertextuality and utilises the format of Netflix's unique selling point- bingeability to try and appeal to its mass audience. The Killing uses codes and conventions such as reflecting on adults, using a serious story line, using well-known Danish stars and forming the genre of Nordic Noir to try and appeal to its niche Danish audience which then became an international audience through the good use of these codes and conventions.
However, it wasn't just the audience that caused Stranger Things to be poly-generic, but the ownership structure of its producer and distributor Netflix. Netflix is a privately owned company which makes its money through customers paying a monthly subscription of a minimum of £5.99. With Netflix's subscriber count being approximately 183 million, this allows for the budget of the company to be vast and therefore allow for the creators of their shows to have creative freedom and create shows in which they believe that their subscribers would enjoy. The Duffer brothers were given the creative freedom when producing Stranger Things as they subverted elements of David Hesmondhalgh's theory of cultural industries by having new elements that hadn't been tried before (such as having unknown child stars) instead of repeating what had already been tried and tested previously. The format of the show reflects the values, attitudes and beliefs of the audiences due to its industry. Series 1 of Stranger Things consists of 8, 60 minute episodes to allow for Netflix's USP of binge ability to be achieved- the audience can view all of the series in one sitting if they wish which is unique as most shows release episodes weekly or have a large amount of episodes in a series. This binge ability format is designed for Netflix's main generation Z and millennial demographic so that Stranger Things can appeal to them. This shows that the different attitudes, beliefs and values of audiences reflects the codes and conventions used in LFTVD.
In comparison, the ownership structure of DR is very different to Netflix as it is a PSB meaning it has more guidelines to follow and less creative freedom. The company is funded through Danish households paying a licence fee of £291 per year. Because of it only being funded by Denmark, this means it had a narrower budget than Netflix who is funded globally. When creating The Killing, DR had to synergise with ZDF (a German PSB) to have a big enough budget to create the show. With the low budget and niche audience to appeal to, The Killing can be seen to conform to David Hesmondhalgh's theory of cultural industries to ensure success as it can only afford to produce one major LFTVD a year. The show has conformed to Hesmondhalgh's theory by including popular Danish stars to attempt pull marketing to its audience. Conversely, the format of The Killing is that series 1 consists of 20, 50 minute episodes which instead of allowing for a binge ability feature to be achieved, allow for the audience to keep up with the progression of the story line as each episode represents 24 hours. It was shown weekly in Denmark in 2007 and then shown in double bills on a Saturday night in the UK in 2011. This format appealed to a different demographic than Netflix as it was able to appeal to an older target audience and be able to target people of ABC1 occupation groups in the UK by being shown on BBC4. This shows that the different attitudes, beliefs and values of audiences reflects the codes and conventions used in LFTVD.
MY PARAGRAPH ON REPRESENTATION AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
Stranger Things can be seen to be reflecting on its audiences' values, attitudes and beliefs through the content in which it produces. The long form TV drama, can be seen to include many intertextual references to popular shows and films from the 1980s such as Poltergeist (when Joyce uses lights to communicate) ET (an unknown supernatural-being joining a group of friends) and Alien (the demogorgan). This time period is relevant as this it is when the program is set and due to Stranger Things having a large millennial audience, the consumers should enjoy the show as they were brought up with these famous shows and films that are being referenced. A younger audience are able to enjoy Stranger Things as they may have been shown these famous films and shows from parents therefore understanding the different representations or are able to witness new narrative patterns making the show exciting. The repetition of these repeated narrative patterns conforms to Hesmondhalgh's theory as he believes that big companies such as Netflix, repeat popular formats to eliminate risk.
The Killing can also be seen to be reflecting on its audiences' values, attitudes and beliefs through the content in which it produces. The narrative features the disappearance and then the murder of Nana Birk Larsen and focuses on the interactions between young and older adults. This may be because the target audience of the show are adults and the age certificate rating being age 15 in Denmark. Stranger Things also features the narrative of a disappearance of a child (Will) but instead of Will being murdered he is found at the end of the series. The show focuses on young children as there are many point of view shots shown from the characters of the children which may be due to the show having a bigger focus on wanting to attract young teens and the age certificate rating varying between age 12 and 15 in the UK and United States. The Killing features many developed adult characters such as the protagonist police detective Sarah Lund. Lund breaks the stereotypical ideologies of police detectives firstly by being female as not many shows before 2007 featuring crime genre showed a female police detective. This allowed for the show to automatically create originality- allowing for audiences to be interested. Lund is represented as hard working by many scenes showing her working throughout the night. She is shown to have dominance over her police partner, Jan Meyer, through the imperatives she uses towards him and the majority of camera shots being close up on her rather than him, along with her possessing the repetition of a sound motif when she thinks. The audiences would have believed that Meyer would have been the dominant police officer due to gender, therefore conforming to Judith Butler's gender performativity theory whilst Meyer and Hopper (in Stranger Things) prove not to be the stereotypical dominant males. Both of the long form TV dramas are set in time periods where there was political uncertainty; Denmark had just had an election where a collision was formed which was surprising as the country had previously dominantly been left-wing, and the 1980s time period of Stranger Things was a time of government scepticism. Both of these political contexts are shown as codes and conventions throughout the shows; uncertainty represented by the demogorgan in Stranger Things and the shady character of politician Troels Hartmann in The Killing.
MY CONCLUSION
Overall, the codes and conventions of the long form TV dramas Stranger Things and The Killing reflects the different values, attitudes and beliefs of the audience that consumes them. Stranger Things has to reflect on a global audience due to the large company Netflix whilst The Killing only has to reflect on a niche audience due to Denmark's small public service broadcaster DR. Stranger Things uses codes and conventions such as genre hybridisation, intertextuality and utilises the format of Netflix's unique selling point- bingeability to try and appeal to its mass audience. The Killing uses codes and conventions such as reflecting on adults, using a serious story line, using well-known Danish stars and forming the genre of Nordic Noir to try and appeal to its niche Danish audience which then became an international audience through the good use of these codes and conventions.
Fitting conclusion on an excellent response, well done, Hattie
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