The Bridge Flashcards
when did The Bridge begin?
- started in 2011
- set episode in 2015 (S3E1)
cultural contexts
- openness to international television and subtitled texts
- recreations of the series in other cultures (eg. ‘The Tunnel’ in France)
historical contexts
- oresund bridge unites denmark and sweden
economic contexts
- established TV show - secure funding from international companies
political contexts
- scandinavian politics tends to be more leftward leaning and progressive - reflected in the bridge’s modern ideologies
social contexts
- modern audiences tend to be more more accepting of progressive LGBT and gender representations
what genre of TV and what are the conventions of this genre?
crime drama
- linear narrative
- male dominated
- sexualised females
what type of TV style is utilised and what are the conventions of this style?
nordic noir
- monochrome
- mysterious
- eery music
- chiaroscuro lighting
- flexi narrative storyline
- realism settings - verisimilitude for the domestic audience
how does the bridge conform/subvert the genre conventions of crime dramas? [GENRE THEORY - NEALE]
conform:
- similar structure - crime -> investigation -> solved
- looking for clues
- perpetrator has a motive
subvert:
- strong female lead
- introduction of a range of characters - following their individual stories
binary oppositions in the bridge? [STRUCTURALISM - LEVI-STRAUSS]
- culture: sweden vs denmark
- characters: saga vs hanne
- family: nuclear vs non-nuclear family
- neurodivergent vs atypical
how was the bridge season 3 funded?
- the copenhagen film fund - more danish crew members than on last series
- creative europe MEDIA (1 million euros) - helped maintain high production costs and quality
who produced the bridge season 3?
co-production between (swedish) film lance international and (denmark) nimbus film
how was the bridge season 3 marketed?
- online interviews
- advertisements on the bbc showing clips from the show
- saga’s actress sofia helin featured on a front cover of radio times - trying to appeal to an older audience that buys this magazine
what platforms distributed the bridge season 3?
- bbc iplayer - must conform to remit (educate, inform, entertain) and royal charter, aiming to expose audience members to a range of different cultures
- 9 years later, audiences must purchase the bridge season 3 on amazon prime - paywall as a result of digital convergence
how was the bridge season 3 regulated?
- ofcom - regulates uk broadcast
- nature of crime genre - gruesome, talk of violence, sex
- broadcasted after watershed
why was star factor an interesting factor in the bridge season 3?
- the actors are not well known to an international uk audience - but this hasn’t impacted it’s popularity
- nationally known cast in sweden and denmark may result in synthetic personalisation for domestic audiences
how did the bridge season 3 conform to bbc 2 remit and royal charter?
remit:
- informs and educates uk audiences about real swedish settings (episode 1 set in malmo)
- entertaining - supplies audience with element of escapism
charter:
- exposes uk audiences to different cultures
- danish or swedish people in the uk can recognise own culture on uk broadcast
why might uk audience consume the bridge season 3? [USES AND GRATZ - BLUMLER AND KATZ]
- entertainment: nature of crime dramas are to entertain audiences with a suspenseful narrative
- social integration: people can discuss the show and make predications/speculate
- escapism: nordic noir represents reality through a creative lense - unlike reality especially for international audiences
- personal identity: danish / swedish, gender, autism - can identify with TV show, unlike other shows that would represent characters stereotypically
- education: educates international audience about different cultures
how would fans act towards the bridge season 3? [FANDOM THOERY - JENKINS]
-
what would gauntlett suggest about the bridge season 3? [IDENTITY THEORY - GAUNTLETT]
- audiences can identify with the range of demographics portrayed in the series
what ideologies/messages is the bridge season 3 trying to cultivate? [CULTIVATION THEORY - GERBNER]
- cultivate progressive views and challenge traditional, stereotypical roles
how is saga being neurodivergent shown in the bridge season 3 - how she acts?
- masking - perhaps trying to act more masculine to be respected in the workplace or generally due to insecurity around her social behaviour
- unaware of some social cues
how does the nature of crime subvert or conform to patriarchy?
subvert
- saga is clearly a dominant force in her job - ordering her male coworkers to do this that contribute to the case she is working on
- saga is not actively sexualised - she changes shirt int he middle of the office, but the regular shot does not romanticise this scene
- hanne confidence in her approach to the job - walking with sureness
conform
- male dominated workplace (eg. hans is saga’s superior despite her devotion to her job)
- could be argued the decision to film her changing shirt aims to reaffirm her sexuality - despite her masculine traits she is still a woman with a female body capable of being sexualised
- henrik going to the art show and sleeping with another woman that isn’t his wife - his wife being submissive to his desires?
why could it be suggested that henrik and saga ‘swap’ traditional gender roles?
- saga does not have a family and children vs henrik has a wife and children
- saga spends most of her time at work vs henrik completes domestic chores whilst his wife is working
how does hans subvert or conform to gender stereotypes?
conform
- superior role in workplace despite his lack of drive and turning up to work late
subvert
- empathetic man who displays his feelings
how does hanne subvert or conform to gender stereotypes?
conform
- shows emotive character trait when comforting helle anker’s wife when saga tried to immediately question her
subvert
- strong solitary figure
- almost competes with saga when working with her - challenging saga because she turned martin in
how is swedish culture represented and how does this juxtapose the representation of danish culture?
swedish culture
- politically correct
danish culture
- more direct and less pc - hanne calls saga ‘a bit swedish’
