Long form TV Drama – House of Cards
Theoretical framework:
Learners will develop their understanding
through the consistent application of the four areas of the theoretical
framework:
•media language: how
the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques
communicate
meanings
•media representations: how
the media portray events, issues, individuals and social
groups
•media industries: how
the media industries’ processes of production, distribution and
circulation
affect media forms and platforms
•media audiences: how
media forms target, reach and address audiences, how audiences
interpret and
respond to them and how members of audiences become producers
themselves.
Definitions:
Drama: What is TV drama? TV drama is a broad
genre. At its simplest, it is fictionalised
action in narrative form.
Long form TV drama: Long
Form Drama is a term coined to describe the recent shift of interest towards
television series of high quality that many consider to have replaced the
cinema as a locus of serious adult entertainment. Unfolding over multiple
episodes, hours, and even years, these TV shows are seen to provide a content,
often dark and difficult, and an innovative style that strain against the
conventions of cinema as well as network television.
Media convention: A code is a system of signs which can be
decoded to create meaning.In media texts, we look at a range of different
signs that can be loosely grouped into the following:technical
codes - all to do with the way a text is technically constructed - camera
angles, framing, typography etc. verbal codes.
A code: is a system
of signs which can be decoded to create meaning.
In media texts, we look at a range of
different signs that can be loosely grouped into the following:
•technical
codes – all to do with the way a text is technically constructed – camera
angles,
framing, typography etc
•verbal
codes – everything to do with language -either written or spoken
•symbolic
codes – codes that can be decoded on a mainly connotational
level
verbal codes
Genre: A genre is basically the category of any
type of art or literature, for example categories of movie would be comedy,
horror, thriller etc.
Genre Hybridity: Some media texts are
hybrid genres, which means they share the conventions of more than one genre.
For example Dr. Who is a sci-fi action-adventure drama and Strictly
Come Dancing
is a talent, reality and entertainment show. verbal codes ...
Synopsis: A
brief summary of
the major points of a written work
Roland Barthes:
Narratives like a ball of string
Roland Barthes was a semiologist.
If you imagine a text is like a ball of
string, can it be unravelled in
one way or in many ways?
Open or closed?
texts may be
• '
open ' (i.e. unravelled in a
lot of different ways) or
• '
closed ' (there is only one obvious thread to pull on).
Barthes also decided that the threads that you
pull on to try and unravel meaning are called narrative codes and that they
could be categorised in
the following five ways:
- Enigma code
- Action code
- Semantic code
- Symbolic code
- Referential code
Enigma Code:
• The Enigma Code refers to any
element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to
the reader.
•
The purpose of the author in this is typically to keep the audience guessing,
arresting the enigma, until the final scenes when all is revealed and all loose
ends are tied off and closure is achieved.
Action Code:
• The Action Code also builds
tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else
is going to happen, and which hence gets the reader guessing as to what will
happen next.
Action code - applies
to any action that implies a further narrative action. For example, a
gunslinger draws his gun on an adversary and we wonder what the resolution of
this action will be.
• The Enigma and Action Codes work as a pair to develop the story's tensions and keep the reader
interested. Barthes described them as:
• "...dependent on ... two
sequential codes: the revelation of truth and the coordination of the actions
represented….."
The Semantic Code:
• This code refers to connotation within
the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative
meaning of the word.
The semantic code - any element in a text
that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation
Main Characters:
-President
elect Garrick Walker
-Linda
Vasquez: The President’s Chief of staff, woman, Latino! ”tuff as a 2 dollar cheque”
-Frank
Underwood: narrator (t the camera) protagonist/anti-hero House majority whip –
“keep the sludge moving.”
-Claire
Underwood: (Owner of Charity Clearwater
Initiative) – dependant on
Frank
electoral success (Sandcorp)
-Zoe
Barnes: Journalist at Washington Herald:
-Michael
Kern: Recently elected secretary of state (frank’s rival)
-Peter Russo: drink driver,, solicitation, use of controlled substances.
-Doug: Frank’s sidekick.
-Walker: The President elect.
Season 1 Episode 1:
Set in Washington, it's a political drama. Opening scene sets tone (dog dies), shows how
the protagonist, Francis, has a cold side to him, shows how politicians can be
ruthless. Frank was promised secretary of state, yet he's denied the position after Walker
becomes president , every event taking place after is Francis trying to seek revenge. Russo
is also a politician, however he's done many offences and Francis knows about them so he
black mails him into loyalty and running errands for him. The dark and dingy scenes and
setting reflects the dirty aspects of the political world, there's a lot of juxtaposition within the
show, for example the church scene and the streets. Zoe tries seducing Francis.
Recap:
When Congressional Majority Whip Frank Underwood is denied the promised nomination to
Secretary of State by President-elect Walker, he nurses his wounds for roughly nine hours
and then sets an ambitious course. The end-game is not announced. But Frank is buoyed
by the notion that he is no longer fettered by any quid pro quo agreement that may have
been in balance in the past.
Team Frank’s inner circle consists of his wife Claire Underwood, his aide Douglas Stamper,
and security man Steve. Claire, is executive director of a large nonprofit organisation that
she wants to take international. Douglas Stamper, a polished yet shadowy operative,
available in the office by day and apparently throughout the night, whether it be dumpster
diving or meeting police commissioners at 4:00 in the morning to do Frank’s bidding.
The Chess Game “I almost pity him – he didn’t choose to be put on my platter.”
The President-elect may have taken away from Frank the promised position of Secretary of
State in favor of Kern, but Frank is going to say one thing (accept their decision and
take highly coveted inauguration seats as a consolation) and do another (begin whispering
in Catherine Durant’s ear that she would be a better Secretary of State).
If he can’t be Secretary of State then he’ll prevent Kern from getting the job and see to it that
Catherine’s interest in the position will put the nomination into play.
“Do you really think these things take care of themselves?”
Frank takes advantage (or could he have orchestrated?) the situation when Representative
Russo is pulled over and booked for solicitation, possession of controlled substances, and
drinking while under the influence. Frank owns Russo and lets him know that he was the
one that got the charges dropped. The more votes Frank can influence, the more powerful
he becomes.
The big mystery for me was the meeting of Zoe Barnes and Frank. Did they simply stumble
into one another’s orbits or did Frank somehow manipulate that meeting? As driven and as
smart as Zoe is, she is clearly out of her league when it comes to Frank.
Their paths cross at the symphony. Frank has wandered out front to avoid talking to
someone in the lobby just as Zoe and her date exit their cab. A photographer at the event
snaps a picture clearly showing Frank ogling her. Later on that evening, someone named
‘photogansta’ with a herald email account sends her the photo with the message “If you
want ‘em to take you seriously, wear more than a G-String.”
Zoe shows up on Frank’s doorstep. (What are the chances she would get by security Steve
unless Frank wanted her to?) Frank plays it masterfully. Being far more vague than is
necessary and deftly being extraordinarily familiar with her writing, “don’t be flattered I read
everything.” I suspect he is flattering her and embarrassing her at the same time – Zoe
quickly responds that capable of writing much better than that. At any rate, Zoe takes the
bate, and in mere days has her hands on a partially shredded version of Donald Blythe’s
education bill (thanks to Stamper digging it out of the (Watergate?) dumpster.
This gem of a document results in Zoe getting the byline in the Herald piece, while an
unhappy Herald Chief Political Correspondent Janine Skorsky is relegated to an “additional
reporting by” subhead.
Genres:
Thriller: What is a Thriller? ► Uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main
elements
► Includes many sub genres: Mystery, Crime, Psychological, Political and Paranoid. ►
Atmosphere of menace, violence, crime and murder. ► Society is seen as dark corrupt and
dangerous ► Literary devices like plot twist, red herrings, and cliff hangers 4
Political Thriller: A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political
power struggle. They usually involve legal plots, designed to give political power to enemy,
while protagonist has to try to stop the enemy. They can involve national or international
political scenarios. The common themes are: political corruption, terrorism, and warfare.
Political thrillers can be based on true facts such as the assassination of John F
Kennedy. In political thrillers there is usually a strong overlap with the conspiracy thriller. For
example in the 2012 film Argo, the protagonist has to rescue the American hostages from
Iran
Other genre hybridities include Family dramas
A popular and well-worn genre, the family drama centres on conflicts at the heart of family
life and family relationships. Not to be confused with family-oriented drama, family dramas
can touch on such adult topics as incest and political violence. Family drama links to the
Underwood family as Clare has a go at him and says they need to work together.
Steve Neale’s theory of Repetition and Difference:
•Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference, difference
is essential to the to the economy of the genre.
Neale states that the film and it’s genre is defined by two things:
–How much is conforms to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes. A film must
match the genre’s conventions to be identified as part of that genre.
–How much a film subverts the genre’s conventions and stereotypes. The film must subvert
convention enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing film.
TV drama conventions:
What do they have in common? You will find that TV dramas all have the following
ingredients:
•Characters – even particular kinds of characters: eg, at its most simple, ‘good’ and ‘bad’
characters.
• Stories – they all tell stories, whether those stories involve adventure, crime or romance
and they often, but not always, end happily.
•The stories are told against familiar backdrops: – eg, homes, police stations and offices (for
crime dramas), hospitals (for medical dramas) – most of which are created in studios.
However, most dramas also use outside locations to create particular effects.
•Camerawork – particular kinds of shots are used: eg, sequences involving establishing
shots followed by mid-shots of characters, shot/reverse shots to show character interaction
and, in particular, close-ups to show the characters’ emotions.
•Stories use dialogue to tell the stories. Occasionally, monologues are built in (as
voice-overs, a character telling a story).
• Music is used to punctuate the action, create effects (suspense, tension) and underline
emotional moments.
• Particular sub genres tend to have items which make them immediately identifiable –
police
cars, blue lights, operating theatres and scalpels, triage/reception areas in hospitals. Icons
of the genre, they symbolise the (sub)genre.©British Film Institute 2007 Page 2 of 2 TV
Drama
Codes and conventions:
A code is a system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning.
In media texts, we look at a range of different signs that can be loosely grouped into the
following:
•technical codes – all to do with the way a text is technically constructed – camera angles,
framing, typography etc
•verbal codes – everything to do with language -either written or spoken
•symbolic codes – codes that can be decoded on a mainly connotational level – all the
things which draw upon our experience and understanding of other media texts, our cultural
frame of reference.
•codes can create feelings to the audience through effects and techniques, for example rain
in a film and a woman looking upset can make the audience feel bad for the woman and be
emotional.
Conventions are what you would expect to see in a certain genre, for example: in a fantasy
genred film you would expect to see maybe unicorns, demons, hero’s/villains, strange
settings, basically things that are fictional and unreal in our world.
The codes and conventions in media can be separated into 3 groups
•Technical (e.g camera angles, movements & shots),
• Symbolic (e.g clothing, colours)
• Written and audio (music etc).
These three distinct groups give the text meaning and determine the response of the viewer.
Genres:
Thriller: What is a Thriller? ► Uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main
elements
► Includes many sub genres: Mystery, Crime, Psychological, Political and Paranoid. ►
Atmosphere of menace, violence, crime and murder. ► Society is seen as dark corrupt and
dangerous ► Literary devices like plot twist, red herrings, and cliff hangers 4
Political Thriller: A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political
power struggle. They usually involve legal plots, designed to give political power to enemy,
while protagonist has to try to stop the enemy. They can involve national or international
political scenarios. The common themes are: political corruption, terrorism, and warfare.
Political thrillers can be based on true facts such as the assassination of John F
Kennedy. In political thrillers there is usually a strong overlap with the conspiracy thriller. For
example in the 2012 film Argo, the protagonist has to rescue the American hostages from
Iran
Other genre hybridities include Family dramas
A popular and well-worn genre, the family drama centres on conflicts at the heart of family
life and family relationships. Not to be confused with family-oriented drama, family dramas
can touch on such adult topics as incest and political violence. Family drama links to the
Underwood family as Clare has a go at him and says they need to work together.
Steve Neale’s theory of Repetition and Difference:
•Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference, difference
is essential to the to the economy of the genre.
Neale states that the film and it’s genre is defined by two things:
–How much is conforms to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes. A film must
match the genre’s conventions to be identified as part of that genre.
–How much a film subverts the genre’s conventions and stereotypes. The film must subvert
convention enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing film.
TV drama conventions:
What do they have in common? You will find that TV dramas all have the following
ingredients:
•Characters – even particular kinds of characters: eg, at its most simple, ‘good’ and ‘bad’
characters.
• Stories – they all tell stories, whether those stories involve adventure, crime or romance
and they often, but not always, end happily.
•The stories are told against familiar backdrops: – eg, homes, police stations and offices (for
crime dramas), hospitals (for medical dramas) – most of which are created in studios.
However, most dramas also use outside locations to create particular effects.
•Camerawork – particular kinds of shots are used: eg, sequences involving establishing
shots followed by mid-shots of characters, shot/reverse shots to show character interaction
and, in particular, close-ups to show the characters’ emotions.
•Stories use dialogue to tell the stories. Occasionally, monologues are built in (as
voice-overs, a character telling a story).
• Music is used to punctuate the action, create effects (suspense, tension) and underline
emotional moments.
• Particular sub genres tend to have items which make them immediately identifiable –
police
cars, blue lights, operating theatres and scalpels, triage/reception areas in hospitals. Icons
of the genre, they symbolise the (sub)genre.©British Film Institute 2007 Page 2 of 2 TV
Drama
Codes and conventions:
A code is a system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning.
In media texts, we look at a range of different signs that can be loosely grouped into the
following:
•technical codes – all to do with the way a text is technically constructed – camera angles,
framing, typography etc
•verbal codes – everything to do with language -either written or spoken
•symbolic codes – codes that can be decoded on a mainly connotational level – all the
things which draw upon our experience and understanding of other media texts, our cultural
frame of reference.
•codes can create feelings to the audience through effects and techniques, for example rain
in a film and a woman looking upset can make the audience feel bad for the woman and be
emotional.
Conventions are what you would expect to see in a certain genre, for example: in a fantasy
genred film you would expect to see maybe unicorns, demons, hero’s/villains, strange
settings, basically things that are fictional and unreal in our world.
The codes and conventions in media can be separated into 3 groups
•Technical (e.g camera angles, movements & shots),
• Symbolic (e.g clothing, colours)
• Written and audio (music etc).
These three distinct groups give the text meaning and determine the response of the viewer.
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