Capital Flashcards

Question

What helps to sell the show (industry)?

Answer 1

Capital uses the status of the BBC to sell the product abroad in order to generate income. Use of internationally recognised talent (Toby Jones) helps sell the product.

Answer 2

Multi-stranded narrative

Answer 3

The opening sequence focuses on the narrative disruption, with clear enigma codes to engage the audience. We see a hooded figure taking photographs of the street, with a combination of point of view shots including on screen graphics to denote the use of a digital camera, and long shots to communicate the location to the audience. The use of nondiegetic music further anchors this crime genre representation, with an instrumental soundtrack to build tension. The camera pulls back and we see the hooded figure in extreme long shot, positioned centre frame with the houses of the street either side. The title appears on the screen in a red san serif font. This opening sequence clearly establishes the impact that this mystery figure will have on the entire street.

Answer 4

The montage sequence gives historical context for the audience, builds backstory and puts character at point of crisis

Answer 5

Dramatic Irony - Period drama. We know there is about to be a financial crash. Omniscient perspective - the audience see the unknown photographer) and the audience is asked to link the postcards to the surveillance. Audience also knows there are multiple postcard receivers before the characters do. Restricted narration - We are only given a fragmentary narrative. This often leaves out important exposition

Answer 6

- Three long episodes - Use of enigma codes - Usually have a higher production value and higher artistic values - Shown at prime-time - Many trailers and adverts

Answer 7

Use of narrative enigmas Restricted narrative Resolution of a mystery Question of morality Debates around innocence and guilt Verisimilitude - representations of 'ordinary' people in everyday life are recognisable to audience Power struggles (within different divisions of police or within community) Teamwork and pleasures in successful resolutions Corruption and betrayal often key theme within a narrative Villainy is evident through the characteristics of various characters.

Answer 8

Strive to represent regions of UK with authenticity. Narratives explore social issues (such as economic inequalities/immigration/Islamophobia) Triumph over adversity Shooting on location to offer authenticity Wide shots used to establish the location and setting as this is often key to understanding the narrative and themes Humour and seriousness intertwined in a narrative.

Answer 9

The interactions between the characters reflect the tensions between different cultures and costume

Answer 10

Roger is quickly established as a stereotypical banker (wealthy, outside of the community, sees himself above the rules). His costume includes the visual signifiers, but his reaction to receiving a parking ticket from Quentina also builds this stereotypical representation. Roger is rude, and makes it clear he holds Quentina and her job role in contempt. 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. The character of Roger Yount is a clear example of this. During his own narrative development, we see binary oppositions within his own character (the money driven banker starts to yearn for a life with more meaning).

Answer 11

Their initial highly stereotyped dialogue ("How do you feel about cedar wood cladding?") serves to position the audience to understand the change in society and the Pepys Road community from 'normal' residential street to million-pound properties.

Answer 12

The final sequence of episode sees Roger meet Machinko in a park. The camerawork establishes a binary opposition between the two men, who are literally at different ends of the social and economic spectrum - sitting at different ends of the bench. The dialogue, however, seeks to challenge these stereotypes about Roger. He reveals that he too feels poor by London standards. Machinko reveals he does not like the capital city, again another subversion of the negative stereotype often associated with immigrant workers perhaps.

Answer 13

The regular establishing shots (some aerial) help to make the street into an any-place. Peppy's road becomes a microcosm for the UK.

Answer 14

The show reminds the viewer of an earlier representation of London (still running), Eastenders. Both shows aimed to reflect the nation to itself (social realism).

Answer 15

The audience are meant to find her attitudes and behaviour awful. - It is interesting to see how different she appears in the scene where she visits the Kamal's shop for the first time. The fact that she has never been there shows the audience how isolated she is within her cossetted existence but she also appears genuinely moved when Ahmed and his wife give her a bunch of coriander for free from their kitchen. She is unfamiliar with a world where actions are not motivated by money or any other thought of gain

Answer 16

The montage sequence which depicts her married life puts emphasis on her domestic and maternal roles Again Van Zoonen's approach would focus on the way that Petunia is now surplus to requirements. Her functions of wife and mother in the discourse of domesticity have ceased and now she is waiting to die.

Answer 17

Do the Quentina's misfortunes that befall her stem from her gender, her race, her immigrant status, her poverty or a combination of all of them Note that she has taken on one of the most loathed public duties and that she finds solace in the church. At the end of the episode, despite the hope the audience have of her salvation through love, she is placed in a cell.

Answer 18

Capital was originally broadcast on BBC 1, Tuesday 24 November at 9pm. This primetime slot reflects the intended audience for the drama. It was also available to download and stream on iPlayer for a time. It can now be purchased on DVD, and some clips from the three episodes are still available to view on the BBC's mini-site.

Answer 19

The audience is positioned quickly to understand the location using the geographical markers. The non-diegetic soundtrack of Bastille's 'These Streets' offers a temporal marker and positions the audience in a contemporary society. The following medium shots of Quentina, Ahmed and Bogdan the builder and juxtaposed with a reverse track of Roger leaving his home. The encoded cultural signifiers (soft leather briefcase, large watch, mobile phone) denote his status quickly to the audience, and this is anchored by Petunia's voiceover. Instantly, an unequal binary opposition is established between the residents, one of working class and wealthy upper class, the shop keeper and the banker.

Answer 20

The silhouette skyline of London contains clear geographical markers that denote the setting, and also establish the themes of British culture and financial issues (as both the Houses of Parliament and the Gherkin are featured). The reference to Kudos' previous productions serves to give credibility to the TV drama and is designed to appeal to audiences who may not be familiar with the BBC The layout of the characters on the cover carries a connotation to the crime drama. The intertextual reference to a mug shot is evident here, and gently hints at the crime genre. The colour, however, seeks to draw the audience away from a stereotypical crime drama and as yellow is not associated with crime, but instead moves towards the contemporary state of the nation representation.

Answer 21

Audiences may use their viewing of Capital to inform them as to the "State of the Nation." In psychogeographic terms do they understand that this is a constructed product but see it as being truthful in the way it aims to represent the world. The social realist element of the show is important here. Additionally do they forget that this is a period drama and view it as a representation of the present (out by over a decade). If they do then pre-crash London is read as being contemporary London; which is not the case.

Answer 22

Readings by particular groups. Those who accept the preferred reading will accept the satirical "State of the Nation" representation. Negotiated readings will accept parts but view other characters as un-realistic or caricatured (Arabella?). Oppositional readings will reject the whole representational structure. Given the wide range of representations it would seem odd to find those who were able to produce an oppositional reading.

Capital Flashcards

(46 cards)