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Life on Mars
Component 2, section A - Coggle Diagram
Life on Mars
Component 2, section A
representations
representations of ethnicity:
- in the construction of the 1970's world there is an under representation of minority ethnic groups within the police force - representing the situation at the time
- Nelson's (bartender) constructed stereotypically, focused on the accentuated Jamaican accent, bright clothing + jewellery - he is constructed as 'other' and 'exotic'
^^ Gilroy - his role as barman reinforces the cultural power relations which assume his inferiority
- "you catchin' flies brother" - stereotypical Jamaican catchphrase
^^ Hall - stereotypes tend to occurs when there are inequalities of power
- Maya's representation as an Asian women who has risen through the ranks of the police is more positive, reflecting a more equal contemporary society
^^ "sam, what is going on in there?" and "what happened to you?" criticising his inability to figure it out
- however then becomes the damsel in distress (Gauntlett - a diverse representations audiences can interpret)
reps of masculinity
reps of sam tyler (discovering maya has been kidnapped - driving in car before getting hit)
- emotionally isolated / vulnerable - reflection of progressive modern views towards masculinity
- costume - suit, typical expectation of masculine representations
- ^^ however it starts to zoom in, cropping out the last bit of masculinity he is representing - removing any superiority and masculinity
- close ups of tears - vulnerable
- sudden cut of after being hit - powerless and weak position
- camera angle - higher than him / other side of the glass, looking down on him, childlike
- no diagetic sound - he is silenced by the melancholy soundtrack, shows his isolation/powerlessness - when screaming/hitting steering wheel we can't hear him
- music is soft and almost 'feminine' - emotionally vulnerable
- Sam may viewed as the damsel in distress following his time travel - supported by Annie as acting as the typical masculine role as the saviour, needs comforting from a woman
- contrast between Gene and Sam reflects the progressive
- Butler - gender is a social construction through repetition - setting male vulnerability in crime dramas is typically unconventiona
reps of gene hunt (first appearance in office)
- first appearance - central in frame in mid shot, alone - powerful and stand off-ish
- "don't ever waltz into my kingdom acting king of the jungle" - threatening, controlling, aggressive nature as a first impression
- chin raised - placing him above Sam in a dominant position, superior Tyler
- all other employees watching laughing in window - leads us to think they are on Hunt's side
- ^^ also suggests how such violence is normalised, they expected gene to do that - the very fact a modern audience finds his character humorous/amusing acts as a criticism of modern day audience - normalised - complicated on his misogyny
- iconography - props he has in his office (trophies/dart boards/action film poster) stereotypically masculine, indicating success powerful and stands
- over shoulder shots and high angle shots used to present gene as powerful
- animalistic - violence and "kingdom" - stereotypical masculine (hyper masculinity)
- treatment towards women - aggression/disrespect - conforms to extreme patriarchal ideals
representations of femininity:
- Mayas initially presented a strong female - progression in the police force in 2006
- however when acts independently her role is switched to 'damsel in distress' - she becomes the motivator for sam
- during Maya and Sam's conversations maya is the more dominant one physically shown through the camera angles - but sam dominates verbally through interpretation and dismissing her feelings
- Maya's androgynous costume - her shirt is left behind when kidnapped - power taken away from her
- van zoonen - Annie viewed as a spectacle for men to look at, constantly sexualised
- 1973 policing - women segregated from the men - negative view of them as weak and stupid, given demeaning tasks
representations of mental illness:
- Colin Raime's behaviour was influenced by Edward Kramer - when waved at each other in 1970's. role model with a fond relationship of each other,
- mental illness represented as affected individuals from a young age
- Colin Raimes developed Schizophrenia - could be linked to PTSD from childhood
- Colin Raimes represented initially as other and a villain but we perhaps change our views later when we consider why he is this way
- during conversation with hypnotherapist - Sam's face is half lit
^^darkness could be his disengagement with life and lightness could be his desperation to escape and go back to 'good' - sam being the bridge between two worlds
- Gauntlett - LoM constructs masculine emotional vulnerability - a different representation
representations of Britain:
2006 -
- urban setting - establishing long shots of buildings, quick shots of populated built up areas, tracking shots down alleyways
- mise-en-scene - rubbish on streets, run down/impoverished area, normalised violence (children shouting "punch his face in")
- short shot durations create the sense it is a fast paces, busy city
- professional policing - warrant to get into house, bat-ton (as last resort)
- northern accent - established not in London
1973 -
- urban setting - industrial feel (smoke/rubble on floor)
- Sam is immediately out of place - isolated out of place (360 degree pan around him - like he is hallucinating/dreaming)
- focus on poster - indicating change
- for-shadowing unprofessional policing - angry just because he is confused
- 'older' colour palette (warmer tones) - sepia tones
representations of policing:
2006 -
- professional setting through mise-en-scene - tape recorded, evidence bagged, cctv cameras, lawyer, social worker and psychiatrist present (correct procedures)
- all sat down at a table - respecting each others opinion, sense of equality, eye level shots
- not aggressive towards Collin, professional, fact based argument
- dark, grey, cold colour palette - serious environment
- 2006 shows a diverse police force - progressive nature of police force
1973 -
- 2006 has a dedicates room for interviews, whereas 1973 just chooses 'a room with thick walls'
- "mouthy bird" - no equal respect, intimidation, high angle looking down at dora (Dora sat down, all men stood up)
- Sam tries to maintain 2006 professionalism and values - Gene physically dismisses - we are aligned to reject 1970's attitude
^^ Dora asks Sam "are you even a police officer" - assuming he isn't because he looks so professional
- sepia, darker colour palette
- unequal gender balance - 2006, more females than males in interview - 1973, only male police heir-achy
- negative attitudes to police - she is familiar with officers for fighting her dad
- political environment of 1970's - police as workers
social and cultural context:
^^ how the media is influenced by members of society
- how the media reflects the ideas, opinions and beliefs of society
- how genre conventions are socially relative
- the effects of social and cultural context on representations
how we know its based in the 70's:
- costume - flares, trench-coat, hairstyle, patterned shirt, low collars, moustaches
- change of car - music from iPod to cassette - "you were driving a military vehicle"
- unaware of mobile phone when lost
- sign on bridge - "coming soon", one he was first on
- smoking the office - a cultural norm, relaxes policing, unprofessional, drinking at work "stiff ones"
- not knowing what a pc terminal is
- David Bowie song being iconic of the 1970's
- misogynistic views - derogatory comments like "ginger birds arse", "one of the plods will get your stuff", "pc cartwright will kiss it better"
- typewriters used for paper work
theory
Neale:
Believes films of a genre should include feature that are similar, so the audience know its genre, but also include features that are differences, to keep an audiences interested
- repetition - codes and conventions of crime drams throughout
- difference - hybrid police drama with sci-fi elements
^^ Sam travelling from 2006-1973
Gauntlett:
argue our heavy exposure to the media could 'hardly fail to affect our own way of conducting ourselves and our expectations of other people behaviour'
- the media provides audiences and users with the resources to allow them to construct their own identities
applied to LoM:
- wider range of identities between male and female in the modern era compared to the 70's
Todorov:
found narratives tend to move forward in a chronological order with a clear beginning, middle and end
equilibrium: normal day in the office, DCI role, happy with girlfriend in 21st century
disruption: Maya gets kidnapped, Sam gets into car crash and wakes up in 1973
recognition: hears man on tv talking about him being on a coma, "what year is it"
resolution: attempts to resolve the disequilibrium through him about to jump off rooftop
new equilibrium: is there closure? revelation and arrest of killer closes the episode
Baudrillard:
explores the difference between reality and truth - concluded that we have left reality behind, we are in a world of hyper realities and we prefer it
- a simulacrum is a copy of something with very little link to reality - audiences prefer this as it represents hyper reality
- thus media images have come to seem more 'real' than the reality they supposedly represent
examples of hyper reality in 'life on mars':
- Sam Tyler's 21st century world is also hyper-real in that it is based on the audiences cultural perception of the police force that it itself constructed and mediated rather than experienced first hand
- the audience's understanding of the institution is based on what has been seen in other constructed media products
Hesmodhalgh:
- the idea that cultural industry companies try to minimise risk and maximise audience through formatting products (use of stars, genres and series)
- the idea that LoM meets the BBC's five public purposes - same as every other BBC product
- using existing stars such as Gene and Sam's actors - star appeal
Livingstone and Lunt:
the idea that there is an underlying struggle in recent uk regulation policy between the need to further the interests of citizens (by offering protection from harmful material) and the need to further the interests of consumers (by ensuring choice, value for money and market competition)
- broadcasted after 9pm watershed
- variety of potential issues for complaint to ofcom meant post watershed was appropriate
- if it was about recognising how the policing system has changed then maybe more people should see it - before watershed
- BBC public purposes
Bell hooks:
- the underrepresentation of women throughout the episode suggests the extreme struggle of patriarchy in the 70's
- Maya's character was also mixed race, contributed to her discrimination and exploitation of becoming a victim to the killer
Jenkins
fans are responsible for shaping their own meanings, sharing this with others + producing content for this
Fans act as 'textual poachers' - taking elements from media texts to create their own culture
- youtube - 'funniest moments' + 'top 100 LoM quotes"
- fan art - genre based on etsy
- tumbler - blogs
- fan made merch
- fans creating their own narratives (shipping Gene and Sam)
- live watching parties with fans (benefits of personal relationships/escapism, and helps create the shows success)
- online chat forums - 'the railway arms'
- facebook groups / twitter hashtags (LOMforever)
Strauss:
- 1970's vs modern day
- sam vs gene
- reality vs fantasy
Van Zoonen:
- Annie viewed as a spectacle for men to look at, constantly sexualised
- Maya victimised even through the attempt of giving a main contributing role
syndication -
- American, Spanish + Russian spin off
- homogenisation, everything becomes the same
- broadcasted in 14 countries - reaches wider audience, expresses messages to a wide audience
- reflects BBC public purpose of reflecting UK values and culture across the world
- Hesmondalgh - crime drama appeals to wider audience, minimising risk
structuralism:
believes that we make sense of media texts in terms of how they connect to other aspects of our awareness
^^ postmodernism is a collection of observations which are made about media products from the 1950's onwards
- essentially postmodernists argue that nothing in the media is superior to anything else in the media as none of it is real anyway
postmodern texts characterised by:
- parady - making fun of gene
- homage - paying respects to a genre
- bricolage - playing other texts in our own
- intertextuality
- fragmented narratives - broken up narratives (flash backs/forwards)
- loss of reality - lack of verisimilitude
- self reflexivity - an awareness of being in a media product (breaking down of the fourth wall)
context:
- set episode is series 1, episode 1
- broadcasted at 9pm on 9th jan 2006
- set in Manchester in a dual time zone - 2006 + 1973
- produced by Kudos film/TV for BBC wales
- 2 series and 16 episodes total
- spin off series - "Ashes to Ashes"
codes and conventions:
- use of sidekick
- dramatic, suspenseful soundtrack
- detective having flaws
- crime scene / blood
- dim cold colour palette
- set in city
how do reps reflect the context:
- set in Machester - reflecting British working class culture (rubbish on streets, normalised violence "punch his face in", quick paced shots of busy city)
- northern accent - recognisable
- British language/slang/humour - "Ginger birds arse" (girls)
- British crime drama iconography - codes and conventions ^^^ and reference to 'The Sweeney' (socially relevant)
- BBC production - the show fulfilling most public purposes
BBC
why is drama such an important part of the BBC?
- reflects all 5 public purposes
- can be relatable for an audience
- able to inform, entertain and educate (core mission)
- popular genre - draws in a large audience
- high quality - justifies the licence fee
- appropriate for scheduling - varied time slots + formats
why does LoM apply to BBC values?
- reflects 2006 and 1973 culture - appealing to all ages
- Maya reflects diversity in 2006
- set in Manchester - reflecting all of the uk part of their regional initiative
- broadcasted in 14 countries - reflecting uk culture and values all around the world
BBC one remit:
- "BBC one's programmes should exhibit engaging content and nurture Uk talent"
"engaging" - crime as a genre creates enigma codes
"nurture Uk talent" - new actors/directors used (Annie's character) - however Sam's and Gene's actors were more well known (star appeal)
- "appeals to a broad audience, taking creative risks"
"broad audience" - both generations of modern day +the 70's
"creative risks" - hybrid genres
- "reflects the nations regions + communities of the uk" - made in the Manchester, atypical not being in London
why was LoM hybridised?
- by combining genres you can construct the codes and conventions of both, drawing in audiences from both
- increase of creativity/diversity/impartiality for the BBC
- escapism / social interaction / education for an audience
- Baudrillard - hybridity common of postmodern texts
industry
- produced by Kudos films - an independent British production company
- Broadcasted by the BBC and distributed by the BBC worldwide
- won international Emmy for best uk drama series in 2006
- a continuation series 'Ashes to Ashes' was built on the successful formula of LoM as a recognisable brand in 2008
- regulated by Ofcom - with a 9pm airing time post watershed
- with the BBC being a publicly funded organisation, it is funded by a license fee rather than commercials
scheduling:
- aired Monday nights at 9pm - peak viewing time, post watershed, after Eastenders at 8:00, before news at 10pm (two very successful existing programmes to try and retain audiences)
- zoning (programmes of similar genre are broadcasted one after another) of crime genre at this time standard
- stripping (airing the same show at the same time each day) over a number of evenings
- repeated episodes on sundays at 10pm (pre iplayes)
marketing
- interviews with actors
- use of John Simm (Sam Tyler's actor) to draw in sci-fi fans (was once Dr who - intertextual) - star appeal
- posters - in newspapers/magazines (event of second series made front page of tv listing guides)
- BBC guides within other existing playing programmes
- merchandise - slogans
- soundtrack - (Bowie) creates nostalgia attracting older audience
DVD cover
- car used, costume, eutopia tone - trying to construct 1970's world
- rainbow background - moving into another world (hybrid genre)
- sam and gene's costume contrasting - Gene fitting into the 1970's world, Sam sticking out more ( all in black)
- Sam's character on spine (star appeal)
- has lots of testimonials on it from uk based companies - familiar to uk audiences ("a thumpingly enjoyable piece of television" - Telegraph)
audience
- mainstreamers - streamed on BBC 1, popular programme of sci-fi crime genre
- reformers?? - wanting change (of new actors being recognised)
- men - sci-fi appealing, treatment/role of women in the 70's world
- women - can resinate with characters (Annie/Maya) or find Tyler/hunt attractive
- range of 20-40 - an interest of wanting to be educated on both timezones, crime genre (younger audience appealed)
- fans of sci-fi - alternative/niche audience for young males, due to non-linear, surreal narrative and lack of closure
- fans of the period - 1970's (30 yr olds) pleasure through nostalgia - visual codes and iconography (music of period - Bowie, costume)
how are these audience groups reflected in the trailer?
- "what happened?" "why am i here?" - appealing to mainstreamer fans of the crime genre
- quick shot of Annie - looking 1970's glam, high key lighting, hair and make up - appealing to male gaze (van zoonen)
- fans of sci-fi - car transforming (unrealistic)
- fans of the period - visual codes of the 1970's (car, colour palette, costume), - song - Led Zepplin, released in 1972 - popular of the time