Series 3 Episode 1

Genre

A1. To what extent are your chosen texts typical of their genre?

Conventions of Television Crime Drama

The genre of television crime drama is extremely large. There are many different examples of the genre with many different styles, formats and sub-genres. Not all conventions will apply to all texts. This is merely a list of typical characteristics of crime dramas. It is unlikely that any one text will exhibit them all but many of them will be present in many examples of the genre.

A Touch of FrostThe WireMiss MarpleMidsummer MurdersDexterLutherCrackerLewisMonkDiagnosis MurderIronsideColumboKojakCSIScott and BaileyPoirotBoardwalk EmpireThe SopranosSherlockLife on MarsAshes to AshesStarsky and Hutch

CharactersThe lead character will often be a detective or some sort of police investigator. They will usually be a white male - 40 years old plus. The lead character will have some sort of major personality defect or flaw such as a failed marriage, alcoholism, gambling addiction etc, sometimes there may be a physical one as well eg Ironside is confined to a wheelchair whilst Columbo has a glass eye..

There will often be a sidekick character - a younger and more inexperienced individual. This is sometimes a woman though women are usually in scientific advisor roles. If there is a woman there will usually be some sort of sexual tension between the two.

There will often be a group of support characters or 'gang' who help the lead character in their investigation.

There will often be a superior officer or 'police chief' who the lead character must report to and will often be in trouble with.

Format: Episodic but usually with stand alone episodes.

Iconography

Police cars, blue flashing lights, crime scenes, police tape (do not cross), murders, dark lighting, guns and weapons. Flashlights in dark places.

Sound

Serious and dramatic non-diegetic music. Often this is very sombre and brooding during dark moments and fast-paced and bombastic as action sequences occur.

Settings

Interview rooms, urban settings, police stations, crime scenes, forensics labs, morgues, the killer's lair - often dark, ominous and threatening.

GenreSignifiers – Look specifically for markers in your texts which demand your analysis: what are the messages and how are they being communicated? Signifiers do not have to be visual, there could be an overall message or theory which is communicated through a text e.g. a political view or a sub-cultural motif. Explore the signifiers in your text (Try for 5).

Conventions – What are the generic elements of your text? Consider conventional characters, narratives, cinematography –how does your text represent this genre? Does it support dominant ideologies or challenge them? (200-250 words)

Iconography – How does your text create memorable imagery or symbols? How important are specific icons within your text? Again, is your text supporting dominant ideologies or challenging them? (100-150 words)

Luther: Series 3, episode 1

Conventions Conformed to:

The show is named after the protagonist.Luther is a detective with personal problems - he has a failed marriage and is emotionally unstable, perhaps even suicidal.He has a younger, more inexperienced sidekick who looks up to him.He has a group of allies who help him.

What other conventions does this crime drama conform to? Think about the examples stated above.

Conventions Subverted:

John Luther is not a white man though he is in all other ways a fairly conventional crime drama protagonist.

Are there any other ways that you think Luther subverts or challenges the generic conventions?

Sample response

There’s nothing particularly original about a police drama built around a lead character who gives his name to the show. But this isn’t Morse, or Bergerac. Luther, the show, is more a psychological thriller than a cop show, there’s far more emphasis on outwitting people than on chasing them in cars and shooting them.

Luther the character is a Chief Inspector in a serious crime team, he’s an extremely good investigator, using intelligence to keep a step ahead of the criminals. Unfortunately he’s not exactly what you’d describe as entirely on the up-and-up. He’s one of those characters with a ‘strong sense of justice’ which is slightly troublesome for a police officer, because sometimes his methods for finding information and evidence won’t exactly hold up in court.

The relationship with his estranged wife is the best developed of the series, possibly even the only relationship that makes any sense. Although there are excellent reasons why they are no longer together, they have a long history and both remember that their relationship used to be good. Even when she is angry with him, she understands him and is firm in her beliefs of what he would and wouldn’t do. Likewise through it all, he wants her to be safe and happy, and he can understand and accept that those two conditions may not be possible with him.

To counterpoint that complicated but generally positive relationship is the altogether less healthy connection that develops between Luther and a murderer that he couldn’t catch. Luther seems to respect her ability to elude prosecution and gradually uses her more and more to gain insight from a mind just as sharp as his, but wired an entirely different way. How and why this relationship develops is as much a mystery to Luther as it is the audience

BBC’s police drama, ‘Luther’ is a strongly typical of the police drama series. Set around the life of police detective John Luther, the series follows many of the conventions used within this genre, reminiscent of similar texts such as ‘Cracker’ and ‘Silent Witness’. Firstly, the series adheres to the crime series genre by using the familiar narrative of the police force catching the criminal. Throughout the series, new criminals are introduced only to be brought down by Luther and his team, creating peace, equilibrium, taking Todrov’s theory into account. Interestingly Propp's idea of the hero character, here clearly defined as John Luther himself, is portrayed by black actor Idris Elba, subverting the stereotype that the hero must be a white male. However, the hero soon begins to display stereotypes and conventions visual to the television crime series, as we discover that John Luther is a troubled man, has anger issues and recently split up with his wife.

This trait, the troubled cop, is heavily used throughout the series, drawing similarities to other crime dramas, such as Cracker, where the hero Fitz, played by Robbie Coltrane, has problems with alcohol and gambling.

The good cop, bad cop stereotype is played upon in the form of good policeman Justin Ripley, playing off Luther’s bad cop temper. Most characters speak with working class accents, DCI Rose Telser utilising a slightly dodgy cockney twang, which is a convention of most crime dramas, adding a gritty, realistic tone shying away from unnatural Received Pronunciation. Finally, the series lead setting, the police station, connotes to the audience that they are watching a police drama and not a romantic comedy, providing sufficient realism whilst enabling the writers to fill in any holes simply by pointing to a chart in the meeting room.

Narrative

Narrative and Theme

The narrative will usually be centered around a detective trying to solve a crime - often a murder. There will be an investigation taking place which involves clues and red herrings. The killer's identity will often be revealed at the end of the episode.

There will often be chase scenes present. There may also be an interrogation scene. There will usually be a teaser or 'hook' sequence at the start which shows the crime being committed or maybe the body being discovered. Its purpose is to draw the viewer into the narrative.

The theme of justice and good vs evil will be prevalent in the narrative.

NarrativeStructure – Linear/non-linear narratives, flash-backs, flash-forwards, tales told in reverse or in non-sequential episodes. Is the meaning tied down with a narrator leading the audience through? Also consider hyper-reality, dream sequences, enigma codes, etc. Write 100-150 words on the narrative structure of your texts.

Conventions – What are the conventions of narrative in your text? Is your text doing something new? Consider post-modernism and how your text fits with that. (200 words)Is there evidence of inter-textuality? (200 words)How engaged and aware does the audience have to be? Does the age of the audience have a bearing on this? (200 words)

Key Codes – What are the key codes of your texts’ narratives? Is there any narrative theory you can research? Consider Barthes, Todorov, Propp and Levi-Strauss.

Representation

Explore how typical Luther is representative of TV Crime Drama?

• Typical genre codes & conventions

• What is represented?

• What meanings are derived from these codes?

• How typical?

Luther

• Does Luther target an active or passive audience?• Identify how Luther is encoded to gratify the

passive audience• Justify one point/technique/convention that

would force Luther audiences to decode the text actively in order to gain gratification

• Explain how Luther has been encoded to gratify both a passive and active audience

• Why does the use of a score appeal to a more passive audience

Alice MorganAlice Morgan went to Oxford University aged 13, a celebrated child genius. She completed her PhD in astrophysics at the age of 18.She met Luther after the murder of both of her parents, whom she was suspected but never proven to have killed.

In Luther, she found a worthy foe and a great friend. Before, Alice had seen human existence as insignificant compared to the universe, with its vast galaxies and black holes.

But when her philosophy came into direct conflict with Luther’s belief system, she discovered what it is to care for someone else.

Still volatile at times, cold and emotional at others, she is Luther’s greatest ally, and greatest temptation.

DSU Martin Schenk’s universally feared steel-trap mind and intuition have been transferred from Complaints to the Serious and Serial Unit, where he heads a successful and formidable team.Schenk always dreamed of such a unit but never pursued his ambition for the sake of his wife’s peace of mind. After she passed away he finally accepted his calling.

Remaining always suspicious, always pragmatic, he plays the game. Simultaneously his loyalty to his team and to Luther is unwavering.

Though Luther’s unorthodox methods and disregard for personal safety continue to challenge Schenk, he knows his team is stronger with Luther back in the fold.

DS Justin RipleyRipley’s dogged loyalty to Luther has made him the constant in Luther’s life – he is Luther’s colleague, partner and greatest friend.Ripley’s high regard for Luther is unwavering; confident that Luther’s intent is to be on the side of the angels. However, his regard is polluted by the knowledge that working for the angels can bring you too close to the devil. Under pressure from Stark and Erin Gray, Ripley is forced to confront the truth behind Luther’s secrets. Ripley starts to wonder if he can keep on turning a blind eye to Luther’s methods or will he be forced to challenge Luther’s decisions. Has he been in Luther’s shadow for too long?

RepresentationPeople – age/gender/race/ethnicity. Write about how your texts represent people –(200-250 words.)

Places- regional identity/ cultural customs/ stereotypes. Write about how your text represents places – 200-250 words.

Events/issues – Corruption, riots, protests, sexism, racism, drug culture, immigration, the Royals, Europe, the Arab Spring, sports, political scandals, public events.

Analyse Series 3 Episode 1

How have the representations been mediated.

Consider all the micro-elements.