TV: The rise of foreign-language television

TV: The rise of foreign-language television

The rise of foreign-language TV: Blog tasks

To continue our work on Deutschland 83, we need to read a range of articles on the foreign-language TV phenomenon. When answering the questions, consider the issues from both an audience and industry perspective.

Independent: British viewers can't get enough of foreign-language dramas

Read this Independent feature on foreign-language dramas. It features an in-depth interview with Walter Iuzzolino who curates Channel 4's Walter Presents programming. Answer the questions below:

1) What does the article suggest regarding the traditional audience for foreign-language subtitled media?

Fifteen years ago you'd be considered "pretentious , dull and possibly a little odd" however nowadays the audience is part of the mainstream.

2) What does Walter Iuzzolino suggest is the key appeal of his 'Walter Presents' shows?

He says that you develop a love for the foreign world, as you're enveloped in the language and culture.

3) The article makes an interesting claim for the popularity of subtitles in the multi-screen age. What does it suggest?

It suggests that subtitles force the viewer to put all their focus into watching the show, as you can't multitask in order to understand the plot. "When you read subtitles, you have to be glued to the screen,That concentration gives a particular intensity to the viewing experience. "

4) What are the other audiences pleasures of foreign TV drama suggested by the article?

Shows usually explore the cultures of their countries, as well as the general setting and language appealing to audiences.

Now look at the bonus article - on Sherlock and how viewers are steering their favourite shows.

5) What examples are provided of how TV companies are increasingly using audiences to inform the production process?

Sherlock was influenced by the massive Chinese fan base by referencing and acknowledging their nicknames. Sherlock's internet presence is huge, and so producers are finding ways to acknowledge their fans.


Film School Rejects: The foreign TV dramas you're missing out on

Now read this Film School Rejects feature on the foreign TV dramas you're missing out on. This contains some particularly useful background on Deutschland 83's reception internationally. If the website is blocked, you can access the article text here. Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article tell us about Deutschland 83's release schedule?

"Premiering on AMC Network’s Sundance TV in June 2015, the show was the first German-language TV series to premiere on a US network. The fact Germany’s commercial RTL channel received Deutschland ’83 five months after the US both signifies the series’ global appeal as well as foreshadows where the German crime thriller was (and is) to find its audience."

2) The article contains important statistics on viewing figures in different countries. What were the German viewing figures for the first and last episode? What were Channel's 4's viewing figures for Deutschland 83?

The German viewing figures for the first episode was 3.19 million viewers and the last episode was 1.63 million, and Channel 4's viewing figures for Deutschland 83 was 2.13 million viewers.

3) Who are the two production and distribution companies behind Deutschland 83 and what did they announce in October?

SundanceTV and FremantleMedia finally announced in October that there will be a second series of Deutschland called Deutschland 86.

4) What does the article suggest was the driving force behind the series being renewed for a new season (and possibly two new seasons)?

The US critical reception and the UK's record breaking viewership.

5) How does Walter Iuzzolino use social media to engage audiences in new international TV dramas? How does he suggest this has changed the reception of foreign productions in the UK?

Iuzzolino posts a "Weekend Pick" on his facebook page and engages with viewers on twitter. This engrosses the audience in experience.

IndieWire: The rise of international television

Now look at this IndieWire feature on the rise of international television. If the website is blocked, you can access the text from the article here. Answer the questions below:

1) What does the article suggest regarding the difference between TV and film?

It suggests that TV is constantly evolving and tends to be specifically tailored to domestic tastes. Films don't have such obligations.

2) What cultural differences are highlighted in the article - for example in turning 'Prisoners of War' into 'Homeland' when remade in the US?

The original series focused on an “open wound in Israeli society,” but for the U.S. the emphasis was on the agent investigating the returned soldier, on a more American issues of distrusting the government and of a fears of agents among us.

3) Why do you think Deutschland 83 was able to rise above these cultural differences to be successful in the US and UK? Did this inadvertently make the drama fail in Germany?

I believe that the fact that there were cultural differences meant that for Uk and US audiences, the dramatisation of the events were easier to be entertained by as it doesn't hit as close to home as it would a German audience.

4) What does the article suggest about subtitling?

"People's perception of subtitle films , let along subtitle TV shows, is that they're really hard work - and somewhat obscure"

5) What does Sopranos actor Steven Van Zandt suggest is the appeal in foreign television drama?

Steven Van Zandt suggests that the appeal in foreign television drama is that you learn how other people live, and people love that.


The Guardian: How tech is changing television

Finally, read this Guardian feature on how tech is changing television. This has some particularly useful aspects from an industry perspective - how TV is made, the different formats of TV drama and more. Answer the following questions:

1) What are the traditional lengths for TV drama and what dictated these programme formats?

The three most frequent lengths of TV and radio programming - referred to on commissioning forms as 60', 30', 15' - arose from grid schedule designed around hours and half an hours to make programmes easy to find.

2) How have streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime changed the way TV drama narratives are constructed?

Importance of hooks at the end of the episodes have increased importance, due to the fact that audiences can choose to watch the entire show right away. Narratives in general have changed in order to anticipate streaming; things like recaps at the beginning of episodes aren't present for streaming video on demand.

3) Why has the rise in streaming led to more complex storylines and an increase in cliffhangers?

Commissioners used to have this idea that the audience was so fragile and fickle that you had to be careful how complex your story was. Now you can binge narratives in one go so engaging the audience is even more important.

4) How have the "economics of production" kept TV drama largely sticking to the 45- or 60-minute episode format?

In order to maximise the use of time, and minimise the cost of actors and crew, while part of a drama is filming, another team is prepping the next section.

5) How has "permanent 24/7 connectivity" changed both the production and consumption of TV drama?

"Permanent 24/7 connectivity has radically altered viewer responses. Live-tweeting by audiences has usefully democratised criticism, but the downside of this new media interaction has been in giving the old media a stick with which to beat broadcasters. Stories about alleged outrage over incomprehensible actors or violent action often turn out to be based on the fact that, from among millions of viewers, a tiny handful tweeted disagreeably."

TV: Postmodernism and Deutschland 83

TV: Postmodernism and Deutschland 83

Postmodernism & Deutschland 83: blog task

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #54: Introduction to Postmodernism. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets - you'll need to save the factsheet to USB or email it to yourself in order to complete this at home. Read the factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) Read the section on Strinati's five ways to define postmodernity. What examples are provided of the breakdown of the distinction between culture and society (media-isation)?

The characters Bruno and Borat

2) What is Fredric Jameson's idea of 'historical deafness'? How can the idea of 'historical deafness' be applied to Deutschland 83?

He argues that as mediaization increases so the culture finds itself losing a sense of historical context. History is now reduced to ‘talking heads’ documentaries and historical knowledge is often based on media representations. This can be applied to Deautschland 83 with how many foreign audiences are presented with a dramatised version of 1980s Germany and make sense of it exclusively from the show's representation of it.

3) What examples and theories are provided for the idea of 'style over substance'?

Logos and packaging will influence a buyer to the point where it becomes more important than the product itself.

Programmes such as Big Brother celebrate style over substance due to many celebrities spawned from that show are now "famous for being famous" rather than having an identifiable talent or identity.

4) What examples from music are provided for the breakdown of the distinction between art and popular culture? Can this be applied to Deutschland 83?

Advertising (low art) often makes reference to visual art (high art) or uses classical music (high art) to help sell its products

Pop music (low art) often samples classical music (high art)

In postmodern culture Andy Warhol created multi-coloured prints of the Mona Lisa (high art) and Campbell’s soup cans (low art)

5) What is bricolage? What examples of bricolage can be found in Deutschland 83?

Bricolage refers to the process of adapting and juxtaposing old and new texts, images, ideas or narratives to produce whole new meanings. One example could be that Deutschland 83 uses iconography from the spy genre, reminiscent of James Bond, and mixes it with contrapuntal pop music.

6) How can the audience pleasures of Deutschland 83 be linked to postmodernism? Read 'The decline of meta-narratives' and 'Media texts and the postmodern' to help answer this.

Deutschland 83's exploration of meta narratives such as communism reflects a postmodern perspective as it denies single truths/realities in favour of a more dramatised story. The series focuses less on positioning itself on the side of one ideology, instead focusing on diversion for the audience through it's entertaining narrative and
personal identity in the show's relatable characters.


7) Read the analysis of media concepts and postmodern approaches on page 3 of the factsheet. Choose three of the concepts and write an example from Deutschland 83. Clue: genre, representation, ideology and audience would all be good options for this task.

genre
83 uses traditional codes and conventions associated with the spy genre, although somewhat parodies them.

representation

Deutschland 83 approaches both the East and West sides with integrity, taking on a post-modern approach and somewhat deconstructing stereotypes of each side.

The conventional approach would have been to create one dimensional characters based on stereotypes that are easy to predict whereas Deutschland 83 tries to humanise both the East and West.

audience
Deutschland 83's audience is encouraged to engage with the text and form different perspectives.

8) Now look at page 4 of the factsheet. How does Deutschland 83 demonstrate aspects of the postmodern in its construction and ideological positioning?

Deutschland 83 has a morally grey ideological position, with our protagonist and his allies doing things like assassinations and spiking a woman's drink to dispose of her.

9) Which key scenes from Deutschland 83 best provide examples of postmodernism? Why?

The spy training montage - something seemingly obligatory in the genre.

10) Why might audiences enjoy the postmodern aspects of Deutschland 83? What audience pleasures might elements of bricolage or pastiche provide viewers?

The audience gets nostalgia from the 80s music and iconography reminiscent of pop art. Some may see the dramatisation of the divide between east and west Germany as appealing as it makes the narrative digestible to a wider audience.

There is a lot of challenging work here - you will have over a week to complete it so take your time, read around the subject and re-watch the scenes from the first episode on All4 to help develop impressive academic answers to these questions.

DEUTSCHLAND 83

Introduction: Reviews and features

Read the following reviews and features on Deutschland 83:

The Guardian - Your next box set: Deutschland 83
The Guardian - Deutschland 83 Pity the Germans don't like it

1) Find one positive aspect and one criticism of Deutschland 83 in reviews.

Well shot
Full of stereotypes 

2) Why does the second Guardian article suggest the Germans didn't like the show?

It allowed for audiences to sympathise with a corrupt regime and it's overall fairly lighthearted portrayal of such serious issues had German audiences disengaged.

3) Find three 'below the line' comments from either of the Guardian articles. What did the audience think of Deutschland 83? Do you agree with the comments?

"The whole series was something of a learning experience for me. I think that's why I loved it so much. Always happy to have my knowledge topped up!"
'I lived in East Germany in 1981 and I can say that Deutschland 83 captured the atmosphere perfectly.'

"Great series, Greater country"

I agree, the series was very atmospheric and provided a entertaining take of life at the time.

Interviews and behind-the-scenes video features

Channel 4 News: Matt Frei interviews Jonas Nay


1) What does Jonas Nay say about growing up in a united Germany? 

He values his freedom and  mobility more as he grew up having those things, being born in 1990 where as he had to play a character who didn't.

2) The Channel 4 News interview is conducted in German with English subtitles. How does this reflect Channel 4's remit as a public service broadcaster and their target audience? (Clue: revise your work on Channel 4 and Public Service Broadcasting here!)

It targets a diverse audience, who would be interested in other cultures and historical dramas.

3) Interviewer Matt Frei asks about the current political situation in Germany. Why might this interest the Channel 4 News audience?

It engages with the audience and encourages engagement with political views and broader stances.

Behind the scenes clips

The All4 website has a range of clips from behind the scenes of Deutschland 83. Watch the following:

Making Of: Why Should You Watch Deutschland 83
Watch this short promotional clip for Deutschland 83.

1) According to the clip, why should audiences watch Deutschland 83?

The production is beautiful, being well shot and informing the audience on past political issues and Germany's intense history.

2) Why is history an important aspect of the appeal of the show?

It isn't very often presented in schools.

3) What technical aspects are highlighted in the video?

The cinematography, the costume and the props and well executed.


Making Of: Set Design
Watch this interview with Production designer Lars Lange.

1) Why were the set design, costume and props so important for Deutschland 83?

They needed to create a realistic contrast between east and west Germany and the time period in general.

2) How historically accurate was the setting, costume and props?

Some of the scenes where filmed in the stasis museum, with the producers essentially trying to create as historically accurate a set as possible.

3) Why were the props, costumes and music such a key audience pleasure for Deutschland 83?

In order to encapsulate a sense of nostalgia and understanding of the time period.


Textual analysis: Audience pleasures and representations

We need to consider the audience pleasures of Deutschland 83 alongside various representations created in the first episode.

Type up your analysis from the lesson using the headings below. You may want to watch the key scenes again and develop your notes in further detail - the more specific and memorable your analysis, the better it will serve you when writing an essay on TV drama. Remember, you can watch the episode for free on the All 4 website or on Amazon Prime.

Scene 1: Garden/BBQ scenes (East & West Germany)

4.58 – 8.20 and 34.00 – 37.20

Make notes under the following headings:

• Technical codes – particularly mise-en-scene
• >over the shoulder: identification
• >props: instant coffee = desirable
• >aunt = smoking
• >music = 80s = nostalgia, personal identity
• >drab + dull colours on East side
• Representation of East & West Germany / Family / Gender
• East listening to western music
• Large divide between them
• Gender = male comes home to females
• East = no healthcare, ecenomic collapse
• Romance

Scene 2: Martin/Moritz first sees the West German supermarket 

14.30 – 20.25

Make notes under the following headings:

• Technical codes – particularly mise-en-scene
• Abundance
• POV = identification
• >high key lighting
• framing = boxed in, surrounded by abundance
• Colours, bright and colourful
• Shot on bench: facing the town from above on a cliff... Freedom?
• Andy Warhol-esque 1960s cambell soup - Pop art
• Fast paced editing
• Audio codes – particularly music
• Western music, 80s - Nostalgia
• Sweet dreams are made of thiiis - West is the dream.
• Representation of East & West Germany / Communism & Capitalism / Historical accuracy
• The west has items in abundance and are desirable
• PUMA = Branding, capatalism
• TV screens
• Audience pleasures
• Personal identity AND Personal Relationships - sympathy for main character
• Nostalgic feelings from 80s music

Scene 3: Training montage scene when Martin/Moritz learns how to be a spy

20.40 – 22.40

Make notes under the following headings:

• Technical codes – particularly camerawork and editing
• Montage editing, fast paced to compress time
• Jump cuts - developments
• Split screen: East vs West
• Audio codes
• Pop music, sort of contrapuntal to scene
• Voice over
• Audience pleasures
• Familiarity with spy genre
• Divergence: Recognition of training sequence
• Intertextuality
• Iconography of the spy genre > James Bond

Scene 4: Briefcase scene when Martin/Moritz is stealing the NATO nuclear plans

31.13 – 33.30

Make notes under the following headings:

• Technical codes – particularly camerawork and editing
• Audio codes – diegetic and non-diegetic sound
• Audience pleasures

You will do the majority of this textual analysis work in class - this section of your case study simply requires typing up your notes in an easy and memorable way (bullet points are fine).

Production and industry contexts

Deutschland 83 was produced by German production company UFA Fiction and distributed internationally by FremantleMedia International. It was broadcast on RTL (Germany), SundanceTV (US) and Channel 4 (UK) as well as many other broadcasters around the world.

1) What kind of company is UFA Fiction and what shows have they produced? 

UFA Fiction is a company for fiction film and television based in Potsdam-Babelsberg, and have produced shows such as "SOKO Munich", "SOKO Leipzig","A strong team" and the series "Sankt Maik"

2) What kind of company is Freemantle Media International and what do they produce?

Freemantle is a British international television content and production/distribution subsidiary of Bertelsmann's RTL Group. It resulted from a merge of German television company CLT-UFA, and their British rival Pearson TV. They have produced shows like Pop Idol and Family Feud and has licencing rights to shows such as Hole in the Wall and The Apprentice.

3) How does Deutschland 83 reflect the international nature of television production?

Deutschland 83 was more popular outside of Germany, and has American characters. It was produced by a German production company and was distributed internationally on many broadcasters around the world.

Walter Presents

Watch this Channel 4 trailer for their Walter Presents international drama.

1) How does Channel 4 introduce 'Walter'?

2) What audience are Channel 4 trying to appeal to with the 'Walter Presents' series?

3) How does the 'Walter Presents' series reflect the changing nature of television in the digital age?


Marketing and promotion

Trailer




1) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer? Think about Uses & Gratifications theory (Blumler and Katz).

2) How does the trailer use action and enigma codes (Barthes) to encourage the audience to watch the show?

3) The only words heard in the trailer are in English. Why do you think the UK trailer avoided subtitles or German dialogue?


Press pack

Read the Channel 4 press pack interview with writer Anna Winger. (If the link doesn't work, you can find the text from the interview here). 

1) How did she use the historical context and real-life events to create a successful drama?

2) Anna Winger discusses the use of music. Why might the soundtrack attract an audience?



Press release

Read this Channel 4 press release on the success of Deutschland 83. (If the link doesn't work you can find find the text from the article here).

1) List the key statistics concerning audience figures. Why is considered the most successful foreign language drama?

2) How does the news release describe the drama?


International marketing

Look at these two different marketing campaigns - the UK DVD release (left) and the American Sundance TV advert (right).




1) How does the UK DVD cover communicate the sub-genre of the drama?

2) How do these use font, colour and graphics to appeal to an audience?

3) Why might the distributors Freemantle Media International have used different marketing campaigns in different countries? 

TV: Capital - Marxism and Hegemony

TV: Capital - Marxism and Hegemony

Marxism & hegemony: blog tasks

Task 1: Mail Online review of Capital

1) Re-read the Mail Online review of Capital. Why does it suggest that Capital features a left-wing ideology?
At the end the reviewer criticises PC culture as well as making references to Jeremy Corbyn. He also believes that the portrayal of anything British came with a dose of loathing, and mocked the scene in which the union jack was burnt.

2) Choose three quotes from the review that are particularly critical of Capital and paste them into your blogpost. Do you agree with the criticisms? Why?

'Everything British came in for a dose of loathing.'
'Capital was as stuffed full with fashionable causes as Jeremy Corbyn’s function diary.'

'The crime was handed from one cardboard character to the next.'

I think the criticisms on the characters are valid, due to being fairly stereotypical, uninteresting and (in some cases) unflattering representations of British people. For example, Arabella and Roger are very materialistic and oblivious to their extreme wealth, pretty much being caricatures of the middle class. Positive/sympathetic representations of minority characters obviously isn't a negative, however the show has been interpreted as being very anti-British and overly PC due to how they handled the white British characters in comparison. I don't believe that this was what the show was aiming for, but if the characters were less one-dimensional it would have been easier to sympathise with them.

3) What scenes or characters from Capital could be read as promoting left-wing ideology?

The burning of the Union Jack by a Muslim character apparently being very anti-British.
The scene when the Zimbabwe immigrant gets taken into a cell frames the police negativity and antagonistically- and the show's portrayal of immigration can be read a left-wing as we are made to feel sympathy for her.

4) What about the other side of the argument - are there any aspects of Capital that reinforce the status quo in capitalist London?

The increasing house prices in scene transitions put an emphasis on money and wealth, and the character's lives are seen as desirable by a mysterious third party due (the sender of the post-cards) to said wealth.

Task 2: Media Factsheet - Applying Marxism 

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #66: Applying Marxism. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets - you'll need to save the factsheet to USB or email it to yourself in order to complete this at home. Read the factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What does Marxism suggest regarding power in society?

The elite/bourgeoisie has power and controls the proteliates.

2) Why is The Apprentice a good example of the media reinforcing capitalist values and ideologies?

Lord Sugar is a capitalist face that holds lots of power, with the participants of the show relying on him.

3) Come up with three examples of media texts (e.g. TV programmes, newspapers etc.) that either fetishise working class life (e.g. EastEnders presents quite a harmonious East End community which probably doesn't accurately reflect East London life) or demonise working class life or poor people (e.g. The Daily Mail and The Sun newspapers regularly demonise people living on benefits with headlines referring to 'scroungers'.)

4) Look at the bullet points on page 4 of the factsheet:

When making a Marxist reading of a text, look out for representations that:

• show the values of the power elite as beneficial to the mass
• show queries or challenges to the base as meaningless, foolish or anti-social via ‘failed revolt’
• show the subdominant position of the masses as a naturalised idea
• show the values of the power elite as ‘natural’ or ‘right’
• show that being a member of the mass is a good thing
• show the masses accepting the values of the power elite
• show the values of the power elite as being ‘for the good of the masses’ (even when unpleasant)

Now try applying those bullet points to Capital. Think about the setting, characters and narrative strands - how many of the bullet points apply to Capital? Does Capital reinforce or challenge the values of capitalism? Give examples from episode 1 to support your points.

Task 3: Media Magazine feature on BBC drama The Casual Vacancy and ideology

Finally, go to our Media Magazine archive and read the feature 'The Beeb, The Mail and JKR' in MM53 (page 20). This focuses on the politics of The Casual Vacancy, another BBC three-part drama based on a book by JK Rowling.

 


Answer the questions below:

1) Why did the Daily Mail suggest The Casual Vacancy promoted a left-wing ideology?

It mocks the middle class as the characters reinforce negative middle class stereotypes.

2) How does the article suggest characters, narrative and setting are used to promote a left-wing ideology?

Through "ridiculing the wealthier residents and shaming them for their

plot to sell off the local food bank and

rehab centre Sweetlove House."

3) What research is quoted regarding BBC bias and what did it find? Do you think the BBC is biased?

The most conclusive study of
the BBC’s output (conducted by Dr
Mike Berry of Cardiff University and
commissioned by the BBC Trust itself)
found that, if anything, the BBC veered
more to the right than to the left.

4) Gramsci's theory of hegemony suggests people are kept under control through active consent - the control of 'common sense'. How could you apply the Daily Mail or the BBC to the idea of hegemony and dominant ideologies in the UK media?

The BBC is meant to be an unbiased news source, so the portrayal of leftist or right wing ideologies in the BBC may be glossed over as being "common sense." It's also a reliable news source that many people rely on and so it could be easy to have audiences conform to their views.