TV: Capital case study

 Read the following review and feature on Capital:

Guardian review by Sam Wollaston

London Evening Standard: five things you need to know about Capital

1) What positive points does the review pick out about Capital? What criticisms are made - either of the TV drama or the original novel? 

The review states that  it started with a brilliant display and that the tv drama  had a lot of potential 

2) What references can you find in the reviews and feature to the idea Capital is a 'state-of-the-nation' drama? How does it capture modern-day London?

While the English residents of Pepys Road were grasping (Lesley Sharp) or deceitful (Robert Emms) or just plain awful (Stirling)

Trailer analysis

Watch the trailer for Capital:

1) How does the drama use camerawork to capture London life? 

the camerawork  uses  medium shots of character  sort of like an interview that allows for you to se characters  personality's this allows you to already build interest in characters.

2) How does the trailer introduce the different narrative strands suggesting tension or enigma in the 40-second running time?

The  trailer  introduces multi strand  narrative by  cutting to a lot of key parts  in the story from lot of different characters  to show the different story's being told.

Capital in Media Magazine

Issue 83 of Media Magazine has a feature exploring Capital as a media product. Read ‘We Want What You Have’ in MM83  (p10). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest about the 'state of the nation' genre and how Capital is an example of this?

on a ‘state- of-the-nation’ they try to represent an entire country at a particular moment in time.

2) What does the article suggest regarding the setting of Capital?

Some people in the UK argue that the show is too London-centric but  arguably it makes sense for a multi-strand narrative.

3) What are the major themes in Capital and what does the article suggest regarding the impact of money on communities?

Money is causing problems in the London community

4) What different representations in Capital are discussed in the 

 

Asylum seeker vs  resident

upper class vs working class

5) What does the final section of the article suggest regarding genre and overall message of the drama? 

It  show us how money has significant influence over our lives and how people will go crazy over money no matter how big or small

Capital Media Factsheet

Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or on Google Drive here (you'll need your Greenford Google login) to find Media Factsheet #194 on Capital (BBC TV Drama). 

Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What does the factsheet say about the characters on the first page?

state of the nation aspect of the drama 

2) Focusing on the industrial contexts, how does Capital help the BBC meet its obligations as a public service broadcaster?

Its reflects London and its values 

3) What do we learn about the ownership structure for production company Kudos? 

The ownership of Kudos reflects a horizontally integrated company. The parent company, Endemol Shine UK, own a range of TV production companies across different formats and genres

4) How can David Hesmondhalgh's ideas in The Cultural Industries be linked to Capital and Kudos?

Hesmondhalgh says that the Cultural Industries utilises vertical and horizontal integration  as Kudos is a horizontally integrated company 

5) How does the factsheet suggest Capital meets the genre conventions of crime and social realism?

Kudos programmes include themes of diversity and difference, exploring the tension that cultural difference can create as well as more conventional crime drama. 

It also meets conventions such as: 

Conventions of crime genre - 

• Resolution of a mystery

• Verisimilitude – representations of ‘ordinary’ people in everyday life are recognisable to audience.

• Question of morality.

• Power struggles

6) How does the factsheet analyse the DVD packaging and what this communicates to the audience?

The DVD uses  the image from  the media pack this create a brand awareness for the audience. 

7) Look at page 5 of the factsheet. Choose one of the audience theories in the table and apply it to Capital.

 Reception theory – Hall

Preferred reading? The preferred  reading of capital is that  it's  a social commentary  on the rapid  increasing of house prices in London and accurately y represents the state  of London  from the  different characters in the tv drama. 

Negotiated reading? The negotiated reading of the tv drama  capital is that  the show represent the social inequality  accurately but paints the middle and upper classes in negative light that isn't 100% fair 

Oppositional reading? The portrayal of  the upper class is not fair as they are painted from the perspective  of someone on the left wing who is typically against the upper and middle class 

8) What does the factsheet suggest regarding binary oppositions in Capital?  

The multi-stranded narrative uses binary oppositions throughout to highlight the difference or inequality in Pepys Road, and then raise questions about inequality in London more widely.

Representations: close-textual analysis

Capital offers a range of fascinating representations - from London and asylum seekers to capitalism and inequality. You need to be able to confidently discuss these issues in the context of 2015 London - with reference to key scenes from episode 1. Representations include: London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, capitalism, aging and more.

These are our notes from this year analysing the episode in class. There are also these notes from a previous year analysing the clips in case this is useful. Use this to help with this element of the case study. You'll need your Greenford Google login to access the document.

1) Write an analysis of the representations in each of the key scenes from episode 1 we studied in the lesson:

Scene 1: opening sequence 00:30 – 4.49

•  Authentic London accent  creates representation  of the capital" Usman- if he goes north of the river. 
•  Usman - "my duty as a Muslim"  -ethnicity represented positively  through change but negatively  by other people 
• the world is changing- negative representation  of immigration   

Scene 2: work in the City 6.28 – 8.10

•  Cramped trains- busy London life 
• no women in scene suggest banking dominated by men  
• inequality at work- young tires to overstep his mark 

Scene 3: “Which of those isn’t absolutely essential?” 14.00 – 15.35

• Traditional gender roles - Roger  as main bread winner, Arabella stay at home  mother    
•  "you be surprised  how little  a million pounds actually  cover these days"- social difference and understanding  
• "I'm no feminist"

Scene 4: asylum 18.03 – 19.42 AND 31.10 – 32.40

•  black female lawyer  -reflecting  modern diversity  of London 
•  Quintenia   exploited  by people  trafficker- how hard she  has to work  
• Difficulty of asylum seeker -not permitted  to work  but Quintana wants to work  regardless

Scene 5: “What use is 30 grand?” 36.40 – 39.00 

• Tine lapse- sped up editing  get across roger disorientation after getting only a 30 thousand pound bonus   
•   "What use is 30 grand to anyone"- Reflects how out of touch banker are  contrast with Quintenia  
• "Fundamentally not fair"- reflects debate in Brittan over bank bonuses 

Scene 6: life at the corner shop 40.10 – 42.55

•  Arabella clearly never been in a corner shop before and Ahmed doesn't know she live in on  the same street as him -Difference between social classes 
• unification of family- reinforces south Asian stereotype  
• "where do you live" 

You can choose which aspects to focus on for each scene: e.g. London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, aging etc. Feel free to use bullet points for each scene - a summary of your notes is fine.

2) How does Capital use stereotypes? Do the characters and issues represented in Capital reinforce or subvert the stereotypes we typically see in the media?

Characters in Capital both reinforce and and subvert stereotype  such as Traditional gender roles which are being reinforced. - Roger  as main bread winner, Arabella stay at home  mother  but characters like Quintenia  subverts stereotype as she wants to work which shows  the Britain sprit 

Industries and production context

Capital was produced by independent production company Kudos for the BBC. Look at the Kudos website and also read the Kudos Wikipedia page.

1) Who is the parent company for Kudos? What changes of ownership have there been for Kudos? This is an example of conglomerate ownership.

Shine Group(2007-2015), Endemol Shine Group (2015-2018) , Banijay UK Products(2018- present) 

2) Watch the showreel on the Kudos website. What other TV dramas have Kudos produced and for which channels? What awards have they won?

Grantchester ITV 

Utopia, Channel 4

 Tin star a sky one show 

  

3) How does Capital help the BBC to fulfil its remit as a public service broadcaster? You may want to look back at our work on public service broadcasting last term. 

It entertains  and informs  people about the social  status of the UK and the world as whole with many historical Tv show.