The Bridge: Media Language Flashcards
Narrative
- This is usually based on a crime that needs to be investigated and solved.
Structure
- In the Bridge, there are elements of a flexi-narrative.
- The characters are complex, storylines interweave, and the audience is challenged through enigma and engagement with complex characters.
- Narrative disruptions occur that change the course of the story, these can be events that happen or revelations that are made by characters.
- Sometimes, the audience are in a privileged spectator position whereby they know more than the characters within the story world.
Binary Oppositions
(Structuralism: Levi-Strass)
- Binary oppositions function as a narrative element including:
Good vs Evil
Police vs Criminal - As well as, in the case of The Bridge, the cultural differences:
Sweden vs Denmark
Saga vs Hanne
The nuclar vs the non-nuclear family
Illusion vs reality. - The resolution of some of these binary oppositions may have an ideological signifigance, for example evil being punished and justice prevailing in a crime drama.
Plot
Genres of ‘The Bridge’
Noirdic Noir, crime drama
Crime sub-genre of ‘The Bridge’
Cop show (police procedural)
According to Glenn Creeber (2015), these are the defining conventions of Noirdic Noir
- Multi-layered storylines, slow and melancholic pace, dimly-lit aesthetic, interest in uncovering dark underbelly of contemporary life.
Typical settings in Noirdic Noir works
- Cold
- Gloomy
Typical mood of Noirdic Noirs
- Dark
- Morally complex
Type of language typically associated with Nordic Noirs
- Plain
- Deliberately avoiding metaphor.
Type of character frequently featured in Nordic Noirs
Challenges
Female protagonist
Typical issues in Scandinavia
Immigration, drugs, asylum seekers and economic crimes
Far-Right
- This political branch saw an increase in ideas since Scandinavian reccession.
Recurring situations in the series
Supports
- Crimes, investigations, violence/death, interviews with suspects, examining CCTV/ photos for sus pect identification, tense standoffs.
Elements of narrative in the series
Supports
- Investigations, solving crime, romance, enigma codes in the form of a ‘whodunit?’ and ‘why the crime scene has been so meticulously staged?’, driven by binary opposities.
Colour scheme used throughout the series
Supports
De-saturated
Iconography of the series
Supports
Oresund Bridge, Police unifomrs, guns, police cars (falshing lights, PCs/ Laptops/ Moblie phones, evidence bags, handcuffs, investigative jargon.
Settings in the series
Supports
Police station, crime scene, Nordic landscape, the bridge joining two cities/countries, incident rooms, prison, interview room, lab, bleak mountainous landscapes. leafless trees.
Stock Characters
Scandinavian Sherlock
Supports
- The Bridge clearly follows the codes and conventions of a Nordic Noir crime drama.
- Plain clothed detectives (with personal issues), unlikely partnership, anti social genius, strict police chief, and so on.
The Serial and Linear narrative
Supports
the nature of the series as a continous case, each episode merely representing a chapter in the larger story which is typical of modern crime dramas.
Style of The Bridge
Supports
Chiaroscuro lighting, closed frames signifying entrapment, eerie choral soundtrack, emphasis on windows and reflections.
Themes of The Bridge
Supports
Guilt, justice, conscience, crime, punishment, moral dilemmas and so on.
Restricted nature
Supports
The restricted nature of the narrative allows the audience to uncover the truth via the clues along with the main protagonists of the drama. The audience also has limited knowledge initially of Saga’s background or about what troubles Henrik.
Lead Characters and personal issues
- These characters are plagued with guilt or issues which affect their judgement and therefore make for not only more interesting and nuanced characters but unpredictable situations/scenarios.