The Bridge Flashcards
Where is The Bridge set?
Oresund bridge that connects the Swedish and Danish
How long did it run for?
2011-2018
How many seasons does it have?
4 seasons
How many episodes are there per season?
10
What season/episode do we study?
Season 3, episode 1
Who created/wrote The Bridge
Hans Rosenfeldt
What UK company bought the screening rights?
BBC
When was it screened?
Saturday 9pm “subtitled drama” slot
What channels was it shown on?
BBC 4 and BBC HD
What are the expectations of BBC 4
Cultural, diverse, arts, documentaries, international products and intellectually stimulating content
Why did the BBC want streaming rights?
BBC were called out for not being diverse enough
Had fired middle aged woman and employed younger women
Got the rights to counteract this
What is nordic noir?
A type of Scandinavian crime fiction and television drama that features dark storylines and bleak urban settings
Crepuscular gloom in The Bridge
Lack of bright colours
Lack of sunlight
Dim lighting
Damp and gloomy feel
Cold, bleak and oppressive
Over-cast skies
Lighting in The Bridge
Naturalistic low-key lighting
Muted and cool tones
Overcast, dull lighting
Investigations sets in dim lighting to create suspense
Saga is shown with minimal lighting on her
Musical score in The Bridge
Sun by Choir of the Young believers
Minimalistic atmospheric music
Electronic and industrial sounds to link with the theme and setting
Haunting melodies evoke a sense of loneliness and despair
Repetition
Cynical
Nordic folk influence
Dark, brooding and reflective of the emotion and moral ambiguity within the show
Unusual camera placements in The Bridge
Wide shot through a door positions the audience in a way in which they are peering into the scene. of a family
Creates suspense, mystery and an unsettling feeling
Invisible editing in The Bridge
Simple cuts
Smooth transitions
Long takes to allow the audience to follow the plot
Cross cutting to create links and tension
Seamless dialogue exchanges
Tracking shots
Establishing shots
Silence in The Bridge
When the two workers walk into the room full of the doll silence is uses to create suspense and a tense environment: creates drama and makes the audience feel on edge
When the trailer is blown up: impactful
Slow and melancholic pace in The Bridge
Deliberately slow
Focuses on detail
Sense of realism
Episodes build slowly and reveal things one by one to create suspense
Cold, bleak and inhospitable landscapes in The Bridge
Urban spaces
Empty industrial sites
Desolate rural landscapes
Moral ambiguity
Blurring the lines between good and bad
Saga challenging stereotypes
Neuro-divergent but seen in in a high up job
Her “differences” make her very good at her job but less socially aware
Breaks the “blond bimbo” type
Lisa challenging stereotypes
We see her showing her daughter how to fight back, physically which challenges representations of women and men are normally the violent ones
Constructs her as a potential suspect as she is seen as violent
Lisa conforming to stereotypes
As a protective mother