Peaky Blinders: Media Language

Answer 1

• Clothing
• Iconography
• Production design
• Gesture and expression
• Tracking shots
• Shot and editing
• Editing and mise-en-scene
• Dialogue
• Music

Question 2

Clothing

Answer 2

• The costumes have been one of the most impactful elements of the show, leading Knight to starting his own fashion brand.
• Despite their working class status, the suits of Shelby brothers connote the power and respect the characters hold, giving them a sembalance of group identity.

Question 3

Iconography & Setting

Answer 3

• Knight was often told tales from this era by his relatives.
• When he created Peaky Blinders, he ‘visualised the story through the eyes of a young boy growing up in this environment, so there’s a sense of heightened reality: the horses are bigger, the men taller, the pubs more glamorous.’

Question 4

Production Design

Answer 4

• Steven Knight wanted the production design to reflect the narrative tone: ‘…set within industrial poverty but full of energy, vigour, and excitement, not despair.

Answer 5

• Camera shots and editing used to establish tension between Arthur and Tommy, Tommy and Freddie (especially the scene in the pub) and Tommy and Polly through standard editing techniques of shot reverse shot and over-the-shoulder shots.
• Closeups and longer cuts are used to ratchet tension between characters. If both characters faces (two shots) are onscreen at the same time at either end of the frame the drama reaches a peak within the conversation.

Question 6

Dialogue

Answer 6

• Tommy is a man of very few words but what he says is well-chosen.
• It fits with his character’s backstory as a plotter and leader of men within World War 1.
• Tommy is a survivor - and his intelligence enables him to fulfill this role.

Question 7

Music

Answer 7

• The anachronastic use of punk and rock songs, often released sixty years after the events of the show, establishes a modern feel to a period drama.
• Knight has said he wanted to ‘emphasise the idea of people in the period with modern emotions, aspirations and expressions.’ - VERY postmodern as a concept.

Question 8

Relevant Theory: Tzvetan Todorov, Narrative Theory

Answer 8

• The equilibrium: the opening scenes establish Tommy as a man of great status. They also show the day-to-day running of the Shelby’s gambling operation, but the disruption (the mistaken theft of the guns) has already occurred and further disruption (Campbell’s campaign) is already beginning.
• As befits a long-form drama, almost every character has their own narrative arc, e.g. we see Arthur’s equilibrium, more firmly disrupted by his ordeal with the police. Only a few of these are resolved in the first episode, and this encourages
  viewers to watch the entire series. Not all of them make it to the end of the series - others not even to the end of the episode.
• There are some recognitions hinted at in the focus episode, e.g. the Shelbys know Campbell’s identity and reputation before he even arrives. The audience are given unrestricted access to the narrative here, as they know more than the Shelbys.

Question 9

Relevant Theory: Hermeneutic Codes

Answer 9

• Enigma codes often drive long-form drama by constantly introducing new characters and narrative twists – some of which are answered with others leading to further enigmas.
• Some enigmas set up in episode 1 of series 1 include: will Tommy’s long term plan (the haorse racing scam) succeed? Will Campbell find the stolen guns? Will the Italians relaise Danny ‘Whizz Bang’s’ execution was faked?

Question 10

Relevant Theory: Steve Neale, Genre Theory

Answer 10

• Gangster films and historical dramas have a recognisable array of conventions that
  produce audience pleasures.
• These include narrative ingredients like anti-heroes, scenes of suspense and violence, but also more aesthetic pleasures like spectacular
  locations and costumes.
• However, Neale would say they also need to display something original to set them
  apart from other examples. Evolution is essential to sustain a genre, and Peaky Blinders does this by offering greater depth and complexity to the typical ‘tough guys’.
• It does this by rooting their violence in historical and socio-economic context (especially PTSD). When consideringthe set design and its location, it is not only industrial but also hellish – fire explodes or glimmers in almost every scene in this
  episode. There is a very different aesthetic to other period dramas like Bridgerton.