PEAKY BLINDERS MEDIA LANGUAGE Flashcards
(23 cards)
What is a genre in media?
A genre is a type of media product with recognizable codes and conventions that offer specific audience pleasures. It is favoured by producers as a relatively risk-free investment.
What genres does Peaky Blinders blend?
Peaky Blinders is a hybrid genre, blending gangster, historical drama, and Western elements.
How does Peaky Blinders follow gangster genre conventions?
Focus on family loyalty, antihero protagonist (Tommy), law enforcement antagonist (Campbell), power struggles, and archetypal characters like Aunt Polly and Arthur.
How does Peaky Blinders follow historical drama conventions?
Set in 1919 Birmingham, lavish production design, and explores political/social issues like post-war trauma and class conflict.
How is the Western genre referenced in S1E1?
Tommy’s horseback ride - tracking (occasionally low angle shot) of him riding through the city, people making way for him.
Western-style hero iconography - such as intense standoff like tensions (between Freddie and Tommy) and the setting of lawless, smoky and gritty post-war Birmingham reflects the “Wild West”.
Visual storytelling reminiscent of Westerns - slow-motion close up shot of Tommy opening the doors of the pub.
What did Steven Knight say about mythologising working-class lives?
Knight wanted to mythologise British working-class people like Americans did with cowboys, turning them into heroic figures.
Describe Tommy Shelby as a character archetype.
A quiet, strategic antihero who uses both cunning and violence. He fits the gangster/Western ‘man of few words’ archetype.
Who is the antagonist in Season 1, Episode 1?
Inspector Campbell, a lawman who is righteous but brutal, sent to retrieve stolen guns.
How does Aunt Polly fit genre conventions?
She is the matriarch of the Shelby family, wielding influence and guiding family dynamics.
What role does Arthur Shelby play?
Arthur is the violent, less intelligent sibling, creating a binary opposition with Tommy’s calm intellect.
How does Peaky Blinders use Todorov’s narrative theory?
Equilibrium: Shelby control. Disruption: stolen guns, Campbell’s arrival.
Recognition: Shelby’s learn about Campbell.
No resolution in E1, typical for long-form drama and a flexi narrative. Plots such as Danny’s punishment are somewhat resolved, however the PB’s vs Police is not.
How does Peaky Blinders use enigma codes?
Enigmas like Grace’s identity, Tommy’s trauma, and stolen guns create suspense and drive interest.
What does Steve Neale say about genre?
Genres rely on repetition and difference.
Peaky Blinders uses familiar gangster tropes but adds historical context and emotional depth.
Name three intertextual references in E1.
The Godfather (family crime)
The Untouchables (lawman vs mob), Westerns (Tommy as cowboy figure).
What visual codes define the show’s style?
Dark, industrial setting, fiery lighting, period costumes, understated acting, and Western-inspired camera work.
What does Tommy’s costume communicate?
Suits and flat caps signal power, control, and a modern take on masculinity in a historical setting.
How are female characters visually coded?
Polly: matriarch, Ada: rebel, Grace: innocent with a secret.
What is unique about the show’s music?
Modern punk/rock in a period setting creates anachronism and modern emotional connection.
For example, theme song “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - its lyrics surround corruption, relating to the PBs and create an eerie feel.
How does dialogue shape character?
Tommy: minimal, calculated; Campbell: verbose, authoritative.
What is the ‘black hole’ Knight refers to?
The lack of Midlands representation in media. Knight addresses this by setting the show in Birmingham.
What is the ‘anti-Downton Abbey’ idea?
To show the gritty, working-class reality of the same era as Downton Abbey, with political and social depth.
In what ways is the narrative linear?
The crime and investigation is seen chronologically.
In what ways is the narrative non-linear?
Flashbacks to the robbery or WW1
