LFTVD - D83 Media Language Flashcards
What characterises a LFTVD?
High production values
How are economic contexts relevant to high production values?
Increasing competition in the TV market, leading to the search for quality drama as flagship programming
What are LFTVD expected to have? (6 things)
- Stars
- sophisticated production design
- Cinematic-style camerawork, lighting and editing
- Through-composed music and sophisticated sound effects
- Complex serial narratives and multiple narrative strands
- Detailed and ambiguous
characterisation
How is institutional power connoted in the opening sequence?
Delicately lit exterior shot of Leonora’s office block plus an unusual high angle shot connoting surveillance. Leonora is stylishly dressed and well lit connoting her powe.
How does the media language fulfill the contextual requirement for high production values?
Period mise-en-scene (meticulous production design), use of German film actors and some cinematic shots.
Does the narrative fit the convention of a LFTVD with a complex narrative?
No but it is morally ambiguous
What was Neale’s theory?
That genre is based on generic codes and conventions (repetition) but that these constantly evolve (difference)
What is the primary genre of D83?
Spy thriller
What other generic elements does it include?
Romance
Political satire - aimed at both the East and West Germans and particularly the Americans
Family drama
Coming of Age
Why is intertextuality so important to D83? (Baudrillard)
It relies on this for scene setting
Give examples of intertextuality
Regan’s speech
Shots from East and West German TV to establish the Cold War tension that forms the real historical context
Reference to German brands that may not resonate with international audiences
Pop music - “99Red Balloons” in East Germany and New Order/Annie Lennox in West
How is individualism portrayed?
Through an individual protagonist but a protagonist who is trapped by social forces beyond his control
How is consumerism portrayed?
It is so important, it’s almost a character in itself!! Explicit stories about the lack of consumer goods in East Germany is contrasted with materiel plenty in the West
What causes the narrative disruption? (Todorov)
The American sabre rattling and escalation of the Cold War arms rest
What is the initial equilibrium? (Todorov)
Martin’s job as a border guard, his relationship with Annett and his mother
Todorov’s theory explains Linear narratives which most LFTVD do not have. Give two examples of non-linear narrative elements.
- The interrogation of the West German students establishes Martin as capable, well educated in socialist principles and happy to bend rules
- sequences that emphasise the difference between East/West eg Martin asking where they hold the parades in the park in Bonn
What are the Binary Opposites? (Levi-Strauss)
East/West
state/family
manipulation/love
danger/safety
Does D83 fit Baudrillard’s theory of postmodernism?
No because it attempts to ground itself in real events
Is the narrative primarily male or female?
It constructs a male perspective (Martin’s) BUT the narrative is driven by female power (Leonora)
Is the narrative siding with east or west
Neither really - it is ambiguous!
Is the programme for or against war?
It suggests a pacifist viewpoint
Does the programme have a multicultural viewpoint?
It is primarily White perspective but with multicultural casting
What is the narrative drive? (Todorov)
Preventing nuclear annihilation
What is the enigma at the end of episode 1 (rather than resolution - Todorov)?
What else will Martin have to do? How will he get home?
