The Bridge Flashcards
Music and sound
- Score is driving & foreboding- building suspense and maintaining energy helps to evoke an emotional response of suspense in the audience
- Use of musical stings or heighten moments of shock and discovery to heighten the emotional impact of the scene
- Diegetic sounds effects e.g. explosion are used to create a realistic and authentic environment
Cinematography
- Influenced by film noir (pessimistic crime films from early Hollywood)
- Focus on gritty, urban environments
- Smoke, rain, stream and grey skies all create a sense of tension & suspense
- Conventional camera techniques for modern crime dramas e.g. handheld for chase scenes, establishing shots of city environment & ‘shot reverse shot’ for dialogue scenes
- Mise en scene is often sparse- only a few key visual components to create a lonely, isolated mood
Characters
- utilises the detective drama genre convention of a pair of detectives with different personalities trying to work together as a partnership
- Intentional reversal of gender stereotypes in Saga’s character who embodies traditionally masculine traits and behaviours.
- protagonist are shown to be flawed and damaged to make them more relatable and complex
- The antagonist is only hinted at, received limited screen time, thereby acting as an enigma code for future episodes
Semiotics- Barthes’ codes
Enigma codes- the murder, the identity of the bearded man, why Morten rigged his shack to leave the audience guessing and to get them to watch the next episode
-Action codes: the explosion that nearly kills Hanne, Henrik being reassigned to the case- act as driving forces of the narrative, hinting at further actions to come in future episodes
Narrative structure
- Episode 1 establishes that there is an overarching series arc instead of an episodic structure
- Multiple narrative threads e.g. murder, Saga’s family past, Henrik’s infidelity) are introduced and set up
Narrative theory- Todorov
- Equilibrium- Martin is now in jail, Saga is focused on work, Pettersen and Lillian are married.
- Disruption- discovery of the body of Helle Anker
- Recognition- we don’t fully know yet
- Resolution- again- this is the beginning but it’s a 10 episode series so there is no resolution yet.
- Equilibrium- unlikely to occur until the final episode of the series when the killer is caught.
Structuralism- Strauss
‘Nordic Noir’- requires audience understanding of the greater structures of the world, specifically world culture and what the word ‘Nordic’ connotes
- Sweden political correctness (dans) v Denmark
- Saga v Hanne
- Illusion v reality
Steven Neale
Repetitions:
-Police procedural / detective crime thriller conventions
-Nordic noir elements
-Gender representations – stock characters and representations we expect in a crime drama – but strong female roles
Differences:
-Saga’s representation – an unusual heroine
-Setting and style, intensity of mood
-Psychological thriller – slow pace and use of silence/ -lack of dialogue
-Technical codes – lighting, use of profile shots and intense close-ups, closed frames with isolated figures
-Unique setting – the Bridge represents the other-worldly – neither one place nor another
-Stylised murders – “art”
-Themes which are wholly contemporary and reflect current debates and ideologies – gender neutrality, eco-terrorism, PTSD
Nordic Noir elements
- Sub genre: visually and narratively influenced by the social issues and culture of Danish/ Swedish society
- Hybrid genre of film noir and crime drama with cynical mood and focus on social commentary such as homophobia
- Gritty visual style that emphasises the harsh desolate landscapes against the cold modern cities, desaturated colours and low-key lighting design
- Multilayered narratives that emphasise distrust and hatred of modern life
- Stylised murders
- Psychological thriller – slow pace and use of silence/ lack of dialogue
- Technical codes – lighting (chiaroscuro lighting), use of profile shots and intense close-ups
- Landscape shots e.g. the Bridge
Talent behind the show
Hans Rosenfeldt- lead writer and series creator
Thure Lindhardt- Danish actor who played Henrik- played in small minor TV series and films
Sofia Helin- Saga Noren: received critical acclaim for her performance e.g. in Snowman film- co-production w/ London & United Kingdom, United States, Sweden, and Japan
Ownership
- Co-financed & production- utilising synergy by merging two big conglomerates
- Danish & Swedish public service broadcasters operates on a vertically integrated model (own other companies in the chain of production)
- broadcasted on DR1 & SVT1 & Norway, Finland and Iceland
- These PSB organisations have limited global distribution outside of Scandinavia
- joint commission w/ different TV networks in Denmark & Sweden
- Produced by Nimbus Films (Denmark) & Filmlance International (Sweden) with funding from Copenhagen Film Fund-> due to the recognition of the show’s cultural importance
- Nimbus: major figure in the Danish independent cinema scene, producing over 30 features by Danish directors-> gave cinematic aesthetic quality, benefitting the ‘prestige’ television label.
Distribution
- Distributed by BBC four & series 1 was broadcasted in 2012
- Series 3 broadcasted in 2015- screened weekly at 9pm on BBC4
- Increased popularity- Series 4 being broadcasted on BBC Two to larger viewing figures
- Broadcasted by Sky & Sky Atlantic UK-> prestige television channel
Public service broadcasting
- PSB means a non-corporate media company paid for by the taxpayer e.g. BBC remit inform, entertain and educate
- Scandinavian countries have higher television licence frees/ taxes
- The higher license fee allows public service broadcasters like DR and SVT to invest higher production budgets
International franchising
- British French remake- ‘The Tunnel’ & Mexican, Russian-Estonian remake
- Highly successful premise overseas
- Filmlance & Nimbus films sold the premises to broadcasters in UK, France, USA, Mexico, Germany & Austria
- The original series was distributed in 188 countries alongside remakes & adaptions.
Global nature of the TV industry
- rise of non-English programming
- the rise of international co-production
- the rise of international remakes
