P2: TV Drama

Diegetic Sound and Non-Diegetic Sound

Diegetic sound is 'realistic sound' where the source is visible on screen or where the source is implied to be present in the action even if the sound source is out of shot (e.g. a door slamming in another room or sirens in the distance) common examples of diegetic sound include: 

- Dialogue (characters voices)

- Sounds made by objects 

- music coming from instruments shown on screen

- ambient sound (background noise that would be present)

N.B. this links to what we discussed last week in terms of TV Drama's needing to create a realistic believable 'diegetic' world for the viewer - sound is part of the verisimilitude.

Non-diegetic sound is sound where the source is not present in the action nor looks like it is meant to be; common examples include:

- Mood music

- Dramatic sound effects that do not match the sound anything on screen would make.

- Narrators commentary.

Sound Terminology

Inside these two categories there are a number of specific terms for different types of sounds that you must be able to use in the examination when you analysis, make note on and write about the extract in terms of representation they are as follows:

Non-diegetic

Title music: theme tunes (connote genre/represent TV drama).

Score/incidental music: orchestral music used to connote tone/atmosphere.

Sound motifs: sounds associated with certain character (often a villain like the shark in Jaws) that connote something good/bad is about to happen.

Sound effects: used to connote atmosphere.

Voice over: often used to give the viewer an insight into the thoughts of a character (creating a bond between the audience and character), set the scene or progress the narrative.  

Diegetic

Synchronous sound: sounds that match what you see on screen.

Sound effects: realistic sounds that match the action on screen creating realism and/or connoting atmosphere e.g. gun shots, door opening/closing.

Dialogue: characters speaking (dialogue progresses the narrative and reveals the character's personality/views to the viewer). 

Ambient sound: natural background noise you would hear if the scene on screen were real - this is vital when creating realism. 

Mise-en-scene

the arrangement of the scenery, props, etc. on the stage of a theatrical production or on the set of a film.

- Props

- Set design

- Lighting

- Costume

- Composition

- Makeup and Hair

Continuity Editing

Continuity editing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yR-i82mb_o

Eye line match: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruoPT9JeYHA

Parallel editing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8lmdPUXWgs

Graphic match: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atjhOhH-V3E

Homeland - Episode 1

How does Episode 1, Season 1 of Homeland follow or disrupt Todorov's narrative theory?

Todorov's narrative theory consists of five different parts that the narrative should follow according to his theory, the five parts include an equilibrium, followed by a disruption, followed by a disequilibrium, then a resolution and finally the establishment of a new equilibrium.

In episode 1, season 1 of homeland, at some points disrupts Todorov's theory but also at some points follows it. Episode 1 of homeland begins in a flashback of the main character Carrie who bribes her way into a prison in Iraq to speak to somebody who is soon to be executed, she then gets caught by the guards and as she is being dragged away the man in prison whispers something in her ear, this disrupts Todorov's theory as the episode does not begin on equilibrium, instead it begins in a flashback to give the audience a bit of back story on what Carrie knows so when it goes back to present day the pieces start to come together and the flashback also foreshadows what will happen in the present day. 

After the flashback it goes to present day equilibrium and is therefore following Todorov's theory as it is all normal and there has not yet been a disruption by an outside force. The disruption occurs when the equilibrium is broken by the CIA announcing that they have rescued a Marine sergeant, Nick Brody, in Iraq after being missing and presumed dead for 8 years, during a raid on the al-Qaeda compound. This follows Todorov's theory as the equilibrium is disrupted by them finding Brody and him returning home to his family, as this disrupts their normal life since Brody was assumed to be dead and the audience finds out that Jessica Brody (his wife) has been sleeping with Nick's best friend, Mike.

Homeland continues to follow Todorov's theory when Carrie starts to believe that Brody has been turned and the audience finds out what the man in the flashback whispered, which was that an "American prisoner of war has been turned", however no one believes Carrie's theory and so she decides to set up her own unauthorised surveillance system in his house so she can watch him from her home and find out if she is right about him being turned. This follows Todorov's narrative theory as it is a disequilibrium as the protagonist (Carrie) is acting on the disruption so everything can hopefully return to equilibrium and so she can find proof so that her co-worker Saul will believe her.

Todorov's theory however is then disrupted, as in the episode there is not a resolution, which is the fourth part to his theory, being that the disruption is resolved and the enemy is defeated and everything goes back to equilibrium, however this is not the case, Carrie still does not have any evidence to prove that Brody has been turned for it to be resolved. However while in a bar she notices on the news that in the interviews he is constantly tapping his fingers in a pattern. Carrie believes this is a code and he's trying to contact somebody through the media which then leads on to Todorov's final part to his theory which is the establishment of a new equilibrium.

Carrie is now believed by her co-workers and they believe the 'code' should be further investigated, this could be the establishment of a new equilibrium however there is still no true evidence that he has defiantly been turned, that Carrie knows about, however at the end of the episode the audience sees one of Brody's memories of him beating his friend, Tom Walker, who was captured along with Brody, to death under the orders of Abu Nazir after telling Walker's wife he was not present when he died so this now leaves the audience knowing that Brody is lying about his experiences while being captured. This could be the establishment of a new equilibrium however nothing is fully resolved so it does slightly disrupt Todorov's theory.

To conclude Todorov's narrative theory will rarely fit perfectly with a crime TV drama as the theory generally relates to film, it will rarely fit with a crime tv show because each episode will likely leave on a cliffhanger to do with the disequilibrium, rather than each episode ending on a resolution because if it did the audience are less likely to continue watching the show as they would have no reason to want to.

Homeland episode 1 summary

• The episode begins in a flashback of Carrie working for the CIA while in Iraq, she bribes herself into a prison to talk to one of her informants who is soon to be executed and as she is being pulled away by guards he whispers something to her.
• Back in the present Carrie arrives to a CIA meeting where they announce that marine sergeant Nick Brody, missing and presumed dead, has been rescues after 8 years.
• Carrie believes that he is the prisoner of war that has been turned which is what the informant in the flashback whispers to her. Saul her co-worker rejects this possibility.
• Jessica Brody is shown having sex with mike who is later revealed as Nick's best friend before he was captured. Jessica is shocked to receive a call from Brody announcing his return. she heads to the airport with their children Chris and Dana.
• While Brody is on his way home Carrie is preparing to conduct an unauthorised surveillance operation which she can monitor from home. They successfully complete this and Carrie begins watching his every move.
• The next day Brody is the subject of the CIA debriefing where Carrie is present, Brody is questioned by everyone about his experiences as a POW, Carrie asks if he ever had contact with Abu Nazir, he says no but he is lying as we see a flashback of Brody with Abu Nazir.
• Later Brody goes to meet somebody at the park, Carrie follows him, but Brody is meeting Helen Walker, the wife of Tom Walker who has also been missing for 8 years.
• Brody tells Helen that her husband was beaten to death, helen asks if Brody was present while this happened and he says no but again he is lying as Brody's flashback clearly shows him in the room while it happened.
• Carrie goes home and finds Saul very angry in her house as he has found out about her surveillance system, Carrie in desperation, makes a pass at Saul, he leaves in disgust.
• Carrie then goes to a bar looking for a one night stand, however she sees the news on the TV with Brody on it and suddenly notices that overtime Brody is on camera he is tapping his fingers together in the same pattern. Carrie suggests this is a coded message. She talks to Saul and he agrees that it needs to be investigated further.
• In the final scene. Brody is jogging and as he jogs we see more of his flashback memories and it is revealed that Brody is actually the one who beat Tom Walker to death, under Abu Nazir's command.

Homeland episode 2 summary

• Brody wakes up from a nightmare in which he was commanded to bury his friend Tom Walker.
• Jessica shows Brody her arm which has bruises all over it as he grabbed her arm and was shouting in arabic in his sleep.
• Jessica and the kids go out for the day and Brody is left at home alone all day, he sits n the corner all day as if he was still locked in his cell in Iraq while Carrie continues watching his from home.
• Saul vists a judge he knows and asks for a FISA warrant, this would make Carrie's surveillance system legal. The judge agrees to this.
• The CIA cryptography team were unable to decode Brody's coded message if this is what it was.
• Saul gives Carrie the warrant which is valid for four weeks.
• Carrie reports Brody's strange behaviour to Saul, who says that if he had turned he would be making the most of the media.
• Lynne reed interviews young girls for the prince's harem, she calls a 'spa' to make an appointment, the call is received by the CIA and is revealed that Lynne is working as an informant for Carrie.
• Brody spots a reporter in his backyard, he goes out to get rid of him, the reporter does not leave so Brody violently strikes him in the throat while his son Chris watches in horror.
• Brody wonders off, eventually arriving at the mall, he enters a store and browses until he then buys a small carpet. He was being followed by someone working for Carrie. Brody arrives home and puts the bag in the garage, this is the one place Carrie does not have a camera.
• Brody declares his days of taking orders from the US government are over.
• Carrie gives Lynne a device so she can copy data from the prince's phone.
• Carrie vists her sister who gives her her weekly dose of meds because if Carrie went to get them prescribed she would likely loose her job.
• We got shown a flashback of Brody watching muslim prayer. In the present Brody heads to garage, puts the carpet down and begins to pray.
• Later Brody gets into full uniform and goes out to talk to the press. Carrie is watching and calls Saul and says that now 'he is playing th hero card just like you said'.

Homeland episode 3 summary

• Prince Farid leaves the room after having sex with Lynne, while he's gone Lynne copies the data from his phone.
• The prince gifts Lynne with a diamond necklace.
• At the Brody household there are TV crews preparing for an interview with Brody and his family live.
• Dana considers sabotaging the interview and reveals to her mother that she knows about her affair with Mike and resents her for it.
• Brody conducts the first part of the interview. The host asks about his experiences being a POW.
• The second part of the interview also goes smoothly with his family.
• Later Carrie meets again with Lynne who presents her with the content on the Prince's phone.
• Lynne says that she is with the prince a lot and doubts the he would have any terrorist connections.
• Carrie gives the phone to a CIA analyst who finds nothing incriminating.
• Lynne is instructed to go and meet a new business partner of the prince, she is suspicious as she normally gets orders directly from the prince.
• Lynne calls Carrie to tell her, Carrie senses a potential need and its to Lynne by saying she has CIA protection watching her.
• Lynne leaves the club, while Carrie and Virgil drive to find and follow Lynne, however Lynne's 'driver' shoots her dead and takes the diamond necklace and leaves her body in the alley way.
• Carrie and Virgil get to the crime scene, see Lynne and then leave while Carrie feels very guilty.
• The prince is interviewed in the case of Lynne's murder and seems genuinely sad, casting doubt in his involvement.
• Carrie thinks the true connection to Abu Nazir might not be the prince ut someone in his entourage.
• Saul notes there is a diamond necklace missing as jewellery is often used as a conduit for financing terrorist operations.
• Latif (who instructed Lynne to go) negotiates the sale of the necklace, eventually getting $400,000 for it.
• The episode ends with a young couple purchasing a new home, they paid with cash and seem happy that the house is very close to the airport.

Homeland episode 4 summary

• Brody is now very popular after a string of public appearances.
• The vice presidents chief advisor is thinking about recruiting Brody to run for public office but is questioning his mental stability.
• Brody gets a lift home with Mike and they begin talking about Brody and his family, Brody then makes a comment about Mike being there for Jessica which implies he knows about the affair to Mike and the audience.
• Carrie has one day left until her warrant runs out and still has no solid evidence on Brody.
• The next day while Brody and his family is at church, Carrie goes to his house to remove the surveillance cameras, she also takes the chance to search the house and finds nothing.
• Carrie delivers a briefing where she explains nine hours after Lynne's death, Latif was seen at a laundromat, since then there have been 51 customers who could be the recipient of the money transfer, the CIA have to investigate these 51 people.
• Raqim, the man who bought the house by the airport, is one of the 51 people on the list, Carrie turns her attention towards him after learning he made three recent trips to Pakistan. She looks into his past and agrees to surveil him the next day.
• Carrie and Danny follow him the next day, Aileen who is home receives a call telling him to stay clear of the traffic she then puts an american flag through the window signalling Raqim to stay away from the house for a while so he keeps driving.
• Carrie and Danny keep following him for a while but nothing comes up and they take him off the list of suspects.
• The Brody's are hosting a party at their house, gunshots are heard in the backyard. People rush to see what has happened and see that Brody has killed a deer who their son Chris had previously taken a liking to, Jessica unloads her frustration on Brody and demands he seeks some kind of counselling.
• The next night Brody tells Jessica he will go to a veterans support group. Carrie follows him there and pretends to bump into him, Brody recognises her from the CIA debriefing, Carrie then leaves.
• Brody then follows her outside, they then have a brief, flirtatious conversation in which they connect over their mutual wartime and both agree with how hard it is to talk to people about it who weren't there.

Homeland episode 5 summary

• Carrie vists her father with the intent on taking some of his pills (He also has bipolar disorder), she manages to get some but her fist is cut short as she gets a call telling her that the CIA has Afsal Hamid in custody. 
• Meanwhile Saul is at the airport picking up his wife Mira as she returns from India, Saul also gets a call about Afsal Hamid and immediately has to leave not being able to take Mira home.
• Carrie and Saul arrive for the interrogation of Hamid, Brody is also there as he recognises Hamid as his guard when he was in captivity. Flashbacks are shown of Hamid severely beating Brody.
• Saul conducts the interrogation alone with Carrie and Brody watching who are also able to talk to Saul through an earpiece.
• Brody gives Saul information of his captivity so he seems all-knowing. Hamid is then left in the interrogation room alone with the lights blinking, air conditioning on full and intermitted blasts of loud metal music are played. After many hours of this, Hamid is seemingly ready to cooperate.
• He says he doesn't know much but gives up an email address to which he once passed along a message, this address is eventually traced back to previously investigated Raqim's university in which he is working. A short time later Raqim's home address is ascertained.
• Brody asks to have a face to face with Hamid and it is agreed.
• With guards present in the room Brody sits across from Hamid, after some taunting by Brody, Hamid spits in his face, Brody then grabs Hamid and starts to wrestle him, this is however quickly broken up.
• Brody goes home to realise he missed Chris' karate match however Mike was there to give Chris a lift.
• After a tense confrontation with Mike, Brody goes into Chris' room to find him praying he says that for 8 years they prayed for Brody to still be alive but now they pray that he will be okay.
• Saul calls Carrie to inform her that Hamid is dead, he had somehow got hold of a razor blade and killed himself.
• Carrie and a team of agents raid Raqim and Aileen's house but it is now empty, Carrie initially suspects a tip-off from someone working with the CIA especially with now that Hamid is dead.
• Saul is at home with Mira who is tired of her life revolving around Saul and his work, as this conversation Carrie shows up and talks about Brody's meeting with Hamid and has the camera footage.
• Carrie is angry that Brody had contact with Hamid and points out that when Brody started wrestling Hamid he pulled him into the blindspot of the camera giving him opportunity to pass Hamid a blade. Saul refuses to take up Carries theory as there is no hard evidence that Brody did it.
• Carrie says that she will take it up with Estes whether Saul likes it or not and he says that if she does then she will be fired and Carrie storms out.
• Carrie goes to clean out her office and then shows up at her sisters house, the episode ends with Carrie unable to sleep and contemplating her future.

Homeland episode 6 summary

• Carrie arrives at work seemingly rejuvenated, everyone is in disbelief that Hamid was able to kill himself.
• Carrie proposed that a polygraph test should be administrated to everyone who came in contact with Hamid, Carrie is excited as this means Brody will be on the list and she's confident that he won't pass.
• Carrie takes her polygraph test first and passes every question except when she's asked if she has taken illegal drugs while being employed with the CIA .
• Meanwhile Saul interviews a neighbour of Raqim's and learns that he was living there with a woman.
• Raqim and Aileen, now on the run, arrive at a safe house however Aileen spots a booby trap on the door, Raqim thinks they should turn themselves in, but Aileen refuses. 
• At Langley they managed to identify Aileen Morgan and check her background and its discovered that she lived in Saudi Arabia for 5 years when she was a child.
• Saul is called in for his polygraph test, he is agitated at the beginning and the polygraph indicates that he is lying when he said he didn't give Hamid the razor. He stands up and leaves the test saying he's too busy and will finish it tomorrow.
• A memorial service is held for Tom Walker, Brody delivers a speech while fighting back memories of beating Walker to death.
• After, Carrie finds Brody and tells him about the polygraph test and they schedule it for the following day.
• At the reception Brody and Mike are talking with some other Marines, One of them, Wakefield, is drunk and angrily asks Brody why he came home fine while Walker was killed, Brody says that he was lucky.
• Wakefield then says that all of the men wanted to have sex with Jessica while he was gone but only one of them did, at this point Mike attacks Wakefield. Brody then pulls Mike off and starts punching him without hesitation saying "you were my friend!". He then gets in his car and leaves.
• That night Carrie gets a call from Brody who is at a bar and wants someone to talk to after his day, Carrie soon arrives and they once again hit it off, after having several drinks and getting to know each other, both drunk they walk out to the parking lot. 
• Carrie tells Brody that Hamid killed himself and the purpose of his polygraph test is to see if he gave him the blade or not. They start kissing and end up having sex in Carrie's car.
• Raqim and Aileen are staying in a motel, their room is suddenly sprayed with machine gun fire, Raqim in killed while Aileen escapes.
• Saul takes the polygraph test once again and passes.
• Brody is now next to take his test, Brody easily passes on every question including the one about the blade, Carrie is frustrated at this so tells the interviewer to ask Brody if he has been unfaithful to his wife. Brody looks straight into the camera which Carrie is observing and says "no" and this is shown to be the truth however Carrie knows this is a lie.
• Saul tells Carrie to accept he passes and forget about him as a suspect.
• Carrie goes outside. Brody drives up to her and tells her to get in his car. She does, and they drive off.

Homeland episode 7 summary

Homeland episode 8 summary

Homeland episode 9 summary

Homeland episode 10 summary

Homeland episode 11 summary 

Homeland episode 12 summary

Essay formula: theory question 

Success criteria: SPaG, theory, terminology, contextualise (political, cultural)

Intro: 

• 1-2 sentences, demonstrate you understand the theory 
• Demonstrate your argument relating to how the theory can be applied to case studies
• Say which case studies you are going to write about.

Paragraph 1:

• Discuss how equilibrium can be applied to TV drama, use references to show you have watched it.
• Show counter arguments.
• Discuss how it could be argued for each episode.
• Discuss how each episode could have equilibrium.
• Link it back to the question - is it useful to apply Todorov's theory.

Paragraph 2:

• Discuss how Todorov's theory of disruption can be applied in first episode.
• Discuss the pattern of disruption across season 1.
• Link back to question e.g how this differs from being able to apply it to a film 
• Use own opinion - does it make box sets better than films.

Paragraph 3:

• Discuss how Todorov's theory of resolution can be applied - What are they?
• How does this differ from films (Todorov's intended meaning for this theory).
• No resolution = No equilibrium.

Conclusion:

• Three main arguments showing which parts of the theory can be applied and which parts can't.
• Your opinion on how this works for genre/audience.
• Link back to question - theory can be applied to some parts.

How does Season 1 of Homeland follow or disrupt Todorov's narrative theory?

Todorov's narrative theory consists of three different parts that the narrative should follow according to his theory to move the narrative forward. The three parts include an equilibrium, followed by a disruption, followed by a resolution. Todorov's theory can be applied to Season 1 of Homeland and Season 1 of Trapped, however the theory was originally made to be applied to the narrative of films so the theory does not always work with TV dramas like Homeland and Trapped.

Firstly in episode 1 of Homeland it begins on an equilibrium of a flashback of Carrie in Iraq sneaking into a prison to talk to one of her informants who is soon to be executed, he tells her that there is an American prisoner who has been turned, The flashback gives the audience a back story on Carrie to help them understand what she does as a job and also it foreshadows what will later happen in the present. It could be argued that each episode of season 1 of Homeland begins on an equilibrium, for example episode 5 begins with Carrie going to visit her father, however as the show's narrative moves forward the beginning equilibrium of each episode gets more complex along with the narrative.
In Trapped, episode 1, it begins on a disruption to the narrative as it is a flashback to 7 years in the past where two teenagers sneak into a fish factory which then sets fire and one of the teenagers, Dagney, dies, this is then followed by present day equilibrium. The show beginning on a disruption will intrigue and excite the audience from the start as they will want to know how this will link to the story 7 years later and so will continue to watch this episode.

Secondly Todorov's second part to his narrative theory is a disruption of which can be identified in episode one of Homeland. The disruption in this episode is that Brody is found after 8 years and is coming home to his family, This is a disruption to the equilibrium as it disrupts the normal, everyday lives of the characters in the series as the audience also finds out that Jessica, his wife, has been sleeping with his best friend, Mike. In most episodes in season 1 there is a disruption in the narrative, for example in episode 3, Lynne, Carrie's informant, is shot dead by her 'driver', this disrupts the equilibrium as she was helping Carrie find out details about the Prince and without her Carrie will find it difficult therefore the narrative was disrupted. Throughout season 1 there are many disruptions to the narrative such as when Tom Walker is announced to be alive, disruptions like these are what keeps the narrative moving forward and the audience engaged with the show. However applying this part of Todorov's theory to Homeland is very different than applying it to a film because, in Homeland, the series has lots of disruptions to the narrative whereas in a film there is normally one big disruption to the narrative which then has to be resolved which does not happen in each episode of Homeland or within the whole of season 1 as if it was resolved the audience is less likely to continue watching to the next season.
After the present day equilibrium shown after the disruption of the fire, there is another disruption to the equilibrium, the narrative is disrupted by two fishermen finding a dead body with no limbs attached to it in the sea, because a ferry has just come into the port, the police suspect it could be someone on the ferry that committed the murder and so Andri, the chief of police, stops everyone on the ship from getting off so they can try to figure out who did it. This will excite the audience even more, as they will want to figure out how this present day body might link to the fire at the beginning of the episode.

Todorovs theory of resolution cannot be applied to the end of each episode or season 1 of Homeland in general as to keep the audience engaged there has to be a cliffhanger at the end of most episodes to make the audience want to watch on to the next episode. Although the episodes don't always finish on a resolution, there can be a resolution just before the end which is then followed by another disruption to create the cliffhanger so the audience watches on, for example in episode 7 just before the Brody is confronted by Carrie and he admits to meeting Abu Nazir and beating Walker to death but deny's being a terrorist to Carrie's accusations, this could be argued as a slight resolution to what was happening in that episode, this is then followed by Brody leaving while Carrie receives a call from Saul telling her that Brody is not the turned POW and it is Tom Walker who has been identified as the terrorist. This is a big disruption to the narrative as not only was Walker supposedly dead but is also a terrorist. This disruption creates a cliffhanger for the audience and makes the narrative more exciting so they carry on watching, however this does break Todorov's theory as the episode does not end on a resolution but ends on a disruption. Season 1 as a whole also does not end on a complete resolution as it ends on Carrie going into an ECT to treat her bi-polar disorder as she begins to figure out things about Abu Nazir and Brody however a side effect of the ECT is short term memory loss, this again ends on a cliffhanger which makes the audience want to watch on to season 2 therefore disrupts Todorov's theory as it is not ending on a resolution to the narrative which means the equilibrium will not return as there has to be a resolution for there to be an equilibrium after.
The first episode of Trapped also ends on a cliffhanger. The audience and Andri eventually find out that someone on board the ship is a suspect, Jonas Malakauskas, however they find out right after Andri lets everyone on board the ship get off of it, Andri eventually manages to spot him in his car as he drives away from the ferry, Andri gets in his car and follows him. However Jonas crashes his car and flees on foot with Andri following close behind. This is a very exciting cliffhanger for the audience as they don't know whether Andri will be able to catch him or not. The audience will also be curious as to who the two girls in the back of his van were and what there relevance to the narrative is. Like Homeland, however, Trapped does not follow Todorov's theory as there is not a resolution the the narrative, this is because Todorov's theory is relevant to films and not so much to TV shows as each episode needs to end with something to keep the audience watching rather than resolving it all as the audience will become less interested.

To conclude, Todorov's theory of equilibrium and disruption can be applied to the TV drama Homeland more so than Trapped because Trapped has a lot of disruptions to the narrative in one episode and doesn't start on a equilibrium like Homeland does. However his theory of resolution can't be applied to either as both end on a cliffhanger, this is because his theory was intended to be applied to the narrative of film rather than TV dramas. Having each episode/season not end on a resolution makes TV series in general a lot more exciting and intense for the audience which could be the reason why TV series are now a lot more popular than films as they are longer and include more excitement.

Is Homeland racist?

Exam Question plan:

Intro - say you are going to analyse homelands & link to the question.
P1 - Facts - Industries - who produced Homeland? Budget? audience - viewing figures?
P2 - Narrative - how it links to culture/social/political/economic context in the USA - How it would be received by Middle East? Link back to question.
P3 - Discussions of gender - Carrie - Middle East interpretation? - Brody and Jess
Conclusion - Link back to the question, how narrative is a mirror of USA, how gender links to social norms and social change.


Why do long form television dramas from different countries offer different representations? (15 marks)

In address to the question above I will be discussing the long form television drama Homeland and Trapped and addressing why it offers different representations of other cultures and countries, and how this might be interpreted by the audience of each TV show.

Homeland is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios on a high budget and was first broadcasted in 2011 and is still being produced today. The series is broadcasted in the US by Showtime, the American premium cable and satellite television network that serves as the flagship service of the Showtime network subsidiary of CBS corporation. The series has received generally positive reviews and has won several rewards including the Golden Globe award for Best Television Series in the drama category for its first two seasons. The original broadcast of episode 1, season 1 'Pilot' received 1.08 million viewers, becoming Showtimes highest rated drama premier in 8 years. The episode later received a total of 2.78 million viewers from additional broadcasts and on-demand views, and the season 1 finale received 1.7 million views making it the most watched season finale of any first year Showtime series proving the show to be very popular as it has had a large audience since it first aired in 2011. Trapped on the other hand is produced by RVK studios and was first broadcasted in Iceland on RÚV in December of 2015. It was reported that Trapped is one of the most expensive television series to have ever been made in Iceland, with a cost of  €6,500,000. The series received it's worldwide premier at the Toronto International film festival in September 2015. It has since been sold to many broadcasters across the world, including the BBC which began screening it in the UK on BBC four in February 2016.

Homeland follows the narrative of Carrie, a CIA officer with bi-polar disorder working to uncover terrorist plots. Throughout season 1 she suspects ex marine and POW for 8 years, Nick Brody as being a terrorist and following orders from Abu Nazir, In episode 1, season 1 Brody is found and is going home back to the US with his family. The show links to the social context of the time as 9/11 had just happened not long before the air date and so at this time the audience would have been more likely to get hooked on the show as they would have just experienced what the show focuses on and they can relate to it. As a whole the show focuses very much on the differences and war between the USA and the Middle East and as it is an American show it portrays the Middle Eastern countries and culture to be bad and portrayed Muslims to be a single-minded group of people whose only purpose is to hurt Americans. This portrayal of people from the Middle East would clearly not be and wasn't received well by a Middle Eastern audience As a result of this, in 2012 the Lebanese government was reportedly planning to sue the show's producers due to the misrepresentation and lies the producers throughout the narrative. In terms of this, Homeland has offered different representations of different countries, however the Middle Eastern countries in the series have been very misrepresented negatively while the USA has been represented very positively creating a lot of controversy around the show. Trapped follows the narrative of

Homeland also explores the representations of gender through the lead character, CIA agent, Carrie Mathison who's has bi-polar disorder, having a strong female protagonist subverts conventions as in the crime genre the protagonist is generally male especially if the protagonist is a detective or police officer, However in Carrie's case they have also represented her as being somewhat weak due to her bi-polar disorder and is described as a 'loose cannon' at times during the show which is not completely breaking the stereotype that women aren't as good at men, A stereotypical woman can be represented by Jessica Brody as she is the typical house wife married to Nick Brody, in episode 1 Jessica is seen with her two kids, Dana and Chris, welcoming Brody home, although she is seen as a stereotypical woman it also will relate to many women in the audience with a family. However, later in season 1 the audience see that Carrie is correct with her theories that Brody is a terrorist in episode 12 when Brody almost carried out a terrorist attack to kill the vice president although no one believed her. Although they have subverted conventions in terms of the protagonist they challenge this with the characters of Jessica and Nick Brody. In the show we see Jessica being the typical 'house wife' and the army pushing Nick to be the very masculine 'hero'. This links with Van Zoonen's gender theory about gender being performative ("The way women's bodies are represented as objects is different to the representation of male bodies as a spectacle").

To conclude Homeland explores many different representations such as cultural and gender representations through the characters and countries portrayed in the series.The narrative of Homeland is very much a mirror of the USA as the show portrays the American values and image. Also the gender representation, shown through Carrie breaks social norms and also instigates social and cultural change within society, and creates conversation on these representations.

Trapped episode 1 summary

• Hjörtur and his secret girlfriend Dagney go to a secret hideaway in an abandoned factory where they go to drink, smoke and have sex. When Hjörtur goes downstairs he discovers a fire has broken out. He desperately tries but fails to rescue Dagney from the flames.
• Seven years later, a mutilated torso is caught in fishing nets just off the local harbour, shortly before the arrival of the ferry from Denmark. 
• Andri, the towns chief of police, starts the investigation with his staff of two junior officers, Hinrika and Ásgeir, while a blizzard sets in which prevents detectives from Reykjavík from reaching the town.
• They think the torso is linked with someone on board the ferry and so Andri orders that no one must leave the vessel until the detectives from Reykjavík arrive.
• The passengers get frustrated with the delay of getting off the ship and are eventually allowed off after the captain shuts off the heating to avoid a police investigation on board.
• Once Andri had decided to let the passengers off the ship he receives a call telling him that Jonas Malakauskas is on the ship, a Lithuanian criminal involved in human trafficking.
• Jonas escapes the ship driving a camper van, where he has imprisoned Joy, a Nigerian girl, and her younger sister Nishadi. However Andri follows him.
• Jonas crashes the camper van and flees on foot through the snow while the two girls also flee the camper van.
• Andri then follows his footsteps through the snow in the blizzard.

Trapped episode 2 summary

• Joy and Nishadi find refuge at Hinrika's home.
• Local officials, led by former police chief, Hrafn and politician Friorik try to tempt locals to sell their land with a view to Chinese investment in the port, but are met by strong opposition from Guomudur, an old fisherman and hunter.
• Meanwhile the torso is stolen from the fish factory where it was being stored.
• Jonas escapes from the police cell, and traps police officer, Ásgeir in the cell instead and Jonas leaves with the police car.

Trapped episode 3 summary

• Andri and Hinrika arrive at the police office and find the police car gone and Ásgeir locked in he cell, they get him out and later they find Jonas dead after crashing the police car.
• After a photo of the torso is posted on twitter, Hjörtur is arrested.
• Hjörtur admits to posting the tweet however denies taking the body.
• Later another body part is found in a bag in the water with a jacket with it and inside is a receipt showing that he was in a shop in iceland 3 days before the ferry arrived which shows that the dead man was never on the ferry.
• Hjörtur is then released.

Trapped episode 4 summary

• The police manage to determine the identity of the dead man.
• Guomundur warns Hrafn about the likelihood of an avalanche happening soon.
• Guomundur sets off with dynamite to draw the snow down safely while his son, Sigurour, tries to stop him, and Andri follows.
• Meanwhile Hinrika goes to the house of Rögnvaldur, a disabled man, who spends a lot of his time watching people through a telescope.
• Initially Guomundur's plan is successful however it then sets off another avalanche which engulfs all three men.

Trapped episode 5 summary

• Guomundur dies of heart failure after the avalanche while locals attempt a rescue, however both Andri and Sigurour survive.
• The avalanche results in temporary loss of power to the community.
• Hinrika, cut off by the weather, is stuck at Rögnvaldur's house who tells her that he has seen Hrafn beating his wife.
• Later, Hrafn is burned to death in his garden shed, with the door locked from the outside.

Trapped episode 6 summary 

• Hinrika questions Hrafn's widow, Kolbrún, who admits she did not get on with her husband.
• Ásgeir comes across a camera containing a short film Sigurður quarrelling with a man named Geirmundur, who is believed to be the murder victim.
• When Andri tries to question Sigurour, he runs away.
• Andri follows follows him to his boat in the harbour, where he finds the missing torso in the hold.

Trapped episode 7 summary

• Sigurour apparently in a catatonic state offers no explanation.
• The weather clears enough for the Reykjavik detective team to arrive, and the investigation is taken over by Trausti, a former colleague of Andri.
• Trausti refuses that Sigurour should see a doctor and forces a confession from him and announces that he has solved the murders.
• Sigurour is taken by helicopter to Reykjavik, but suddenly opens the emergency exit door and jumps to his death.
• Andri writes a report for his superiors about the errors made during Trausti's investigation, Ásgeir leaks the contents of this report to a journalist resulting in an enquiry, to be led by Andri.
• Meanwhile Hinrika continues investigation into the human trafficking operation, and Captain Carlsen is arrested.

Trapped episode 8 summary

• Confidence wanes over the Reykjavik police's conclusions and so Andri is given the reins over the murder investigations.
• The ferry captain reveals that he is being controlled by the engineer, and agrees to cooperate with Andri providing that his family in Denmark is given police protection.
• The engineer is captured, and warns Andri that the murders are nothing to do with him. Implying that there are bigger criminals operating in the town.
• It becomes apparent that Guoni, the hotel manager, is acquainted with the engineer and involved in the trafficking.
• Andri later is shocked at the chance discovery that his father-in-law, Eirikur, has in his possession the key to Hrafn's shed padlock, evidently tying him to the murder.

Trapped episode 9 summary

• On being confronted with the evidence, Eirikur confesses to having set fire to the shed when he found out that Hrafn and his colleagues had conspired to cause the fire in which his daughter Dagny had dies so that they could claim the insurance payout.
• Andri and Hinrika learn from Rögnvaldur that Geirmundur had a car, they eventually find it.
• By finding the car it leads to the discovery that Geirmundur was the absent father of Maggi, who is the grandchild of Leifur, the proprietor of the fish factory.

Trapped episode 10 summary

• Andri deduces that seven years earlier, Geirmundur had raped Maria, but in exchange for not pressing charges Hrafn made a deal with Geirmundur to burn down the fish factory.
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Trapped character analysis

Andri Olafsson

Chief of police 

Hinrika 

Police officer

Ásgeir

Police officer

Agnes Eiríksdóttin

Andri's ex-wife

Eiríkur Davidsson

Agnes's father

Hjörtur

Jonas Malakauskas

Lithuanian prisoner 

Trausti Einarssson

Chief of the Reykjavik bureau of Investigation

Gerbner's theory

Gerbner’s Theory	Homeland	Trapped
“Mean world syndrome” – A cynical mistrusting attitude towards others – following prolonged exposure to high levels of television violence.	There is a lot of violence in the show such as the war happening, the torturing of Brodie, and a paranoid Carrie which leads to the audience feeling mistrust towards the government.	Mistrust of authority figures- The mayor of the town got someone to burn down the fish factory so they could collect insurance money and beating his wife. -The Reykjavik detective, Trausti, falsely arrested Siguroar. Shows male, middle/upper class as murderers, leading the audience to mistrust them in general.
People more likely to use labels/stereotypes.	-Homeland stereotypes all of the middle east to be terrorists and this might influence the way other people think about the middle east. -Carrie is stereotypical in the way she looks, but subverts this in the way she is the main character playing a CIA agent and how she acts with her bipolar – creates a distrust within the government and the officials that work within it.	Women stereotyped as weak and febal – Hrafn’s wife, Dagney, and Hinrika break the convention as Hinrika works for the police which shows her to be a strong character.
Audience more likely to describe themselves as politically moderate.	Actions of the government within Homeland create distrust e.g. the cover up of the drone strike and Carrie hiding her mental illness from her colleagues.	Not useful to apply the theory to this because it isn’t a mainstream TV drama. Viewers of the show are likely to be political activists.

How can Gerbner's theory be applied to TV drama?

Gerbner's theory states that long exposure to television cultivates standardised roles and behaviours. For example people who are more exposed to television are more likely to develop 'mean world syndrome' (A cynical mistrusting attitude towards others), these people are also ore likely to use labels and stereotypes and are more likely to describe themselves as politically moderate. Gerbner's theory can be applied to both Homeland and Trapped.

The part of Gerbner's theory that says people with long exposure to television are more likely to develop 'mean world syndrome'; this is where the audience will have a cynical mistrusting attitude towards others following prolonged exposure to high levels of violence seen on television, this can be applied to both Homeland and Trapped. In Homeland the audience is likely to develop 'mean world syndrome' due to the high levels of violence in the show. The show includes very violent scenes including the torturing of Brodie and Tom Walker, people getting shot, bombings, and the war that is going on between the Middle East and America. The protagonist Carrie is also very paranoid in the show as she is convinced Brodie is a terrorist throughout the first season of the show. All of this violence, according to Gerbner's theory is likely to leave the audience having a very mistrusting attitude towards others. This part of Gerbner's theory can also be applied to Trapped. In the first season of Trapped there is a lot of violent and gruesome scenes such as scenes showing the dead torso, when Hrafn gets burned alive and in episode 10 when Ásgeir gets shot. The audience of Trapped is likely to develop a mistrusting attitude especially towards authority figures, due to the mayor, Hrafn getting someone to burn down a fish factory with people inside to collect insurance money and beating his wife, and the Reykjavik detective, Trausti, falsely convicting Sigurour. This shows upper class, white males as secretive and murderers which will create a mistrusting attitude in the audience towards these kind of people in general.

The part of Gerbner's theory that says people who have prolonged exposure to television are also more likely to use stereotypes and labels can also be applied to both Homeland and Trapped.

In Homeland the audience are more likely to use stereotypes and labels due to the large amount of them displayed within the TV show. Homeland itself stereotypes all Middle Eastern people to be terrorists which could influence the way others may view these people. The characters of Jessica and Carrie are also very stereotypical as Jessica is a typical 'housewife' while Carrie looks very stereotypical, however this is subverted as she is the main character in the show and plays the role of a CIA agent which breaks the typical view of women that Jessica portrays in the show.

The audience of Trapped, according to Gerbner's theory are also likely to use stereotypes of women. The show stereotypes women to be weak as Kolbrun gets beaten by her husband, Hrafn and Dagney dies in the fire at the fish factory and Maria also got attacked by her husband. However Hinrika, like Carrie in Homeland, subverts this stereotype as she works for the police and is shown as a strong, independent woman.

Finally Gerbner's theory also says that the audience's are more likely to describe themselves as politically moderate after long exposure to television shows, in this case the shows Homeland and Trapped. In Homeland the fact that Carrie hides her bi-polar disorder from her colleagues while working for the CIA which is not allowed while working for the CIA, and also the cover up of the drone strike, will create a mistrust towards the government and will make the audience wonder if this could be happening within the real government. In Trapped this part of the theory cannot be applied as it is not a mainstream TV drama.

To conclude Gerbner's theory can be applied to both Homeland and Trapped, however more so to Homeland. Both shows could influence peoples opinions on different things and could create a mistrusting attitude from the audience awards others due to the large amount of violence shown according to Gerbner's theory. 

Gilroy's Theory TV drama exam question

Evaluate the relevance of Gilroy's ethnicity theory to long form television drama.

Gilroy's ethnicity theory states that the African diaspora caused by the slave trade has now constructed a transatlantic culture that is simultaneously African, American, Caribbean and and British, The Black Atlantic. Britain has created 'post colonial melancholia', an attachment to an airbrushed version of British colonial history, which expresses itself in criminalising immigrants and an 'us and them' approach to the world founded on the belief in the inherent superiority of white western civilisation. This theory can be relevant to the long form television dramas Homeland and Trapped and can be applied to both, however, the theory is not particular to long form TV dramas as it is a general theory which is targeted to British culture which neither Homeland or Trapped are a part of.

Homeland is relevant to Gilroy's theory of ethnicity. The show came out in 2011 and completely supports Gilroy's theory. Homeland supports Gilroy's theory as it obviously is very racist towards the middle east and makes out as if they are all terrorists. The audience is made to sympathies with one of the main characters, Nick Brody, who is a POW who is later proved to be a terrorist to the audience. The way Homeland has made the audience sympathise for Brody through the use of flashbacks to when he was getting tortured, but completely shows people from the middle east to be terrorists shows the racism within the series as Brody is a white American male.

Trapped is also relevant to Gilroy's theory but not as much as Homeland. Trapped could be argued as being a racist show as well through the lack of black people shown in the show, there are only 3 people of colour in the show and 2 of them are seen as being weak as they are being used in human trafficking which could be seen as racist, although this can also be argued the other way by saying that they are not being racist as its just showing the general population of Iceland which is generally white.