Lupin summary Flashcards
What is the lighting like throughout the episode?
Large levels of low key lighting including:
- when he is explaining his real identity signifying his want to stay undercover
- when as a cleaner showing he has to work anti-social hours and making it feel like they are based underground to show they are forgotten about
- when he looks at the necklace in the museum further portraying ideas that the cleaners aren’t treated as people and this is what could help them get away with stealing the necklace
- in the gangs flat to reinforce poverty
What kind of narratives does Lupin conform to?
-Non-linear - lots of analepsis back to his childhood and prolepsis when explaining the plan to the gang. This has a major plot twist at the end where his identity is explained: ‘I am Lupin’. This is known as a climatic revelation or denouement
-cyclical narrative - both at the start and end, we are placed a few weeks before the heist but only at the end is it discovered how the heist was carried out
-Fragmented narrative - the plan isn’t talked about completely in the same time and place and lots of flashforwards and backs
-Dual narrative/multi-stranded as we see Assane as a child visiting his father in prison while the audience has concerns that he could go to prison. One storyline largely helps to explain the other although this is only clear at the end
What codes are used throughout to push the narrative?
Enigma codes, which are then answered at the end. E.g.
- Assane saying he is going to change; what has he done?
- When the gang starts to bang the lockers; what are they doing? Can we trust them?
- When Assane makes the bid at the auction, it shows unexpected confidence; we wonder as to why he suddenly acts like this
What are some of the conventions of heists?
- The motivation to why the heist is occurring is often revealed throughout, so we discover the ‘how’ as well as the ‘why’. This makes us support the heroes as it often makes them seem deserving
- the heroes always steal from the well-off making it seem as if justice is delivered
- starts with the getting together of the gang
- Iconic fight scenes and undercover missions or conning of people which is entertaining to see how it’s carried out in an intelligent way
- fragmented narrative - part of the plan is hidden from the audience until it’s played out
- getaway driver
What are some examples of action codes in the episode?
- cleaners stop and look at the necklace - indicates they want to steal it
- gang holding Assane over balcony
- The policemen at the end suspects Assane may be taking the identity of Lupin, setting the plot for the next episode
- crashing of car into Louvre with dramatic special effects
How can Propp’s character theory be applied to Lupin?
- Hero - Assane - mission to steal the necklace. His superhero suit is him in the suit at the auction
- Villain - Pellegrini - causes Assane’s dad to kill himself
- Princess - Claire - Assane wins her over at the end once he has completed his quest. Could also be the son as he wins him over at the end
- Donor - Benjamin - gives Assane the fake necklace, Juliette - gives the necklace for the auction
- Dispatcher - Babakar - motivates Assane to get the necklace to get justice, Juliette - fuels the discrimination
- False hero - Mrs Pelligrini is nice to Babakar and Assane initially. However she fails to stop Babakar going to prison
What are the arguments that Lupin is a postmodern product?
- fragmented narrative where we don’t find out the truth right until the end
- self reflexivity - Lupin tells the audience about his own identity
- homage of the original book - reinforces there are no new ideas or texts, only old texts linked in new ways
What are the arguments that Lupin is not a postmodern product?
Postmodernists would argue for style over substance, meaning texts don’t need to have a hidden or deeper meaning. Barthes discusses the death of the author and the birth of the reader: all meanings are now in the hands of the reader and if the audience doesn’t decode meaning the creator wants to carry, then it’s meaningless. However, Lupin subverts this because it has deep cultural meaning as it tries to expose racism and poverty
In what way is Lupin conventional of heists?
- the how and why is discussed making us feel sympathy for Assane and wanting justice
- collecting the gang
- parts of the plan are gradually revealed throughout
-getaway car
In what way does Lupin subvert the heist genre?
- It’s highly conformative to the genre, but subversion could be on the emphasis on racial and class discrimination making the heist less feel good and more focused on social realism - although arguably this makes it more feel-good at the end when justice is achieved
How is family represented in Lupin?
- each family has their own secrets
- Assane from Clare and Raoul
- Pellegrini from his wife and daughter
- Each of the men is seen as the protector who provides economic stability and in each case they turn to crime to sustain family life
- Similarly Assane and Clare show the difficulty of family and how there is a divide between them
How can Butler be applied to Lupin?
- Pellegrinis enforce binary positions as they assume traditional gender roles
- Clare to some extent also conforms to Butler because he is the prime care giver although she is slightly more independent
- Throughout there is a lack of representation of gender fluidity with each of the families portraying heteronormativity
What role does Juliette play in the plot?
She doesn’t conform to the Cinderella myth because she doesn’t need saving, but instead could be seen to have elements of femme fatale as she has an element of control over Assane
What are some examples of racial discrimination shown in the programme?
- Black person as a cleaner shows stereotypical representation as black people are expected to take lower skilled jobs. Assane plays on the idea that as a black man, he is invisible, which allows him to get away with criminality - black people are seen as superfluous to society
- Juliette assuming black people can’t swim
- Discrimination against Babakar and arrest despite innocence
- They check Assane’s Wikipedia page to see his worth - we don’t see them checking anyone else
What is Alvarado’s theory on representation?
Black people are either presented either as humorous, exotic, pitied or dangerous
