P2: TV Drama

Long Form TV Drama
L/O: To explore the content of the unit

• Long form TV drama is normally characterised by in-depth, lengthy narratives
• The story unfolds over approximately 10 episodes, allowing for plot and character development
• 'Long form TV drama is a term coined to describe the recent shift of interest towards television series of high quality that many consider to have replaced the cinema as a locus of serious adult entertainment. Unfolding over multiple episodes, hours, and even years, these TV shows are seen to provide a content, often dark and difficult, and an innovative style that strain against the conventions of cinema as well as network television. It now attracts some of the best and most innovative writers, directors, and even actors.' - CineAction
• The inception of this form has emphasised cinematic qualities and complex flexi-narratives
• Flexi-narrative represents a complex story-telling form with the following features:
• Central characters whose motives develop with them
• A main storyline with interwoven subplots
• A combination of complex characters that are ambiguous or enigmatic, creating tension and questions for the audience

How Sherlock uses the characteristics of a flexi-narrative:

• The two main protagonists, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson both develop as central characters throughout each series, both in terms of their friendship and their jobs. 
• In each episode, there is a main storyline with interwoven subplots. For example, in series 3 episode 2 'The Sign of Three', the main storyline is John and Mary's wedding day, and one of the subplots is looking back on one of the cases both Sherlock and John had worked on, as a part of Sherlock's best man speech. This subplot then links back to the main plot, as when he finishes his speech, he realises there is a murderer among the guests at the wedding, which Sherlock and John then solve. Another subplot in this episode is the subtle hints throughout that Mary is pregnant, which we then find out at the end of the episode.
• In each series of the show, there is a combination of complex characters that are ambiguous or enigmatic, creating tension and questions for the audience. A central character who has appeared in every series is Moriarty, the main antagonist, who displays both ambiguous and enigmatic qualities throughout and constantly creating an element of tension for the audience. In the final series, the character of Eurus Holmes creates the same tension and questions, and arguably involves the biggest plot twist the show has ever seen.

Homeland

• Developed by cable channel Showtime, which is a part of CBS, produced by Fox 21 TV Studios
• The first season won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Drama Series - showing the critical acclaim the show received
• The Pilot episode received 1.08 million viewers, becoming Showtime's highest rated drama premiere in 8 years. The episode received a total of 2.78 million viewers with additional broadcasts, on demand, and online viewings. In the UK, the show aired on Channel 4, drawing in 3.1 million viewers to the first episode.
• The first episode was made available online more than 2 weeks before the TV broadcast - viewers had to complete game tasks to gain access to the episode.
• It was also distributed in Canada, Ireland, India and Pakistan
• Homeland's genre is American Spy Thriller

Overview of Season 1:

Follows Carrie Mathison, a CIA operations officer who, after conducting an unauthorised operation in Iraq, is put on probation and is reassigned to the CIA's Counterterrorism Centre in Langley, Virginia. In Iraq, Carrie was warned by an asset that an American prisoner of war had been turned by al-Qaeda. Carrie has also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a fact that she conceals from the CIA. She surreptitiously receives medication for the disorder from her sister.

Carrie's job grows complicated when her boss, Director of the Counterterrorism Centre David Estes, calls Carrie and her colleagues in for an emergency briefing. Carrie learns that Nicholas Brody, a US Marine Sergeant who had been reported as missing in action since 2003, has been rescued during a Delta Force raid on a compound belonging to terrorist Abu Nazir. Carrie comes to believe that Brody is the American prisoner of war whom her asset in Iraq was talking about. However, the federal government and her superiors at the CIA consider Brody a war hero. Later, another marine captured at the same time, Tom Walker, is also found to be still alive, casting doubt on which of the marines is the suspected spy. 

Realising it would be nearly impossible to convince her boss to place Brody under surveillance, Carrie approaches the only other person she can trust, her mentor, Saul Berenson. The two must now work together to investigate Brody and prevent another terrorist attack on American soil. Eventually, Brody plans to assassinate the Vice President with a suicide vest but falters at the last moment after an emotional conversation with his daughter Dana. Carrie becomes more paranoid that Brody plans to carry out a terrorist act.

Carrie Mathison - Main protagonist, CIA operations officer

Nicholas Brody - A rescued al-Qaeda prisoner of war

Saul Berenson - CIA Middle East Division Chief and Carrie's mentor


L/O: To explore the narrative, theme and characters in set episode

Main narrative quest/conflict set up: How is the main narrative introduced and what sets up the initial conflict/problem that will drive the rest of the series?
The discovery of Brody is made aware of very early on in the episode, and we are aware that Carrie thinks he could be a terrorist. This storyline is carried throughout the episode, with interrogations and interactions between both Carrie and Brody, and the suspicions throughout, along with the cliffhanger at the end of Brody looking at the White House.
Enigma codes: What questions are created that the audience will want to discover the answers to and will have to keep watching to find out?
The audience will mostly be wanting to know whether Brody is a terrorist, making them want to continue watching
What will happen surrounding the family and Jess and Mike's affair
Why was Brody lying about his experiences to several people?
Individual character narratives: How are these set up/introduced and what are they?
Carrie's narrative begins at the start of the episode, and we are made aware of her intentions to keep an eye on Brody and that she knew he could be working for Abu Nazir after David Estes announces Brody's finding.
The narrative between the family and their dynamic is set up, and Jess' affair with Mike is made clear
We discover the pills Carrie is taking is for her bipolar disorder - a key part of the storyline of the whole season


Homeland: Industry and Context:
L/O: To explore the production, social and political context of set products

Industry Context:

• TV Video On Demand (VOD) systems can either stream content through a set-top box, allowing viewing in real time, or download it to a device such as a computer.
• Showtime, as a cable TV-based television provider offers both VOD streaming and free content.
• Homeland is a great example of how a successful cable TV show has been distributed as VOD using digitally convergent devices, and it illustrates how the internet provides a wider and global reach to online audiences.

Political Context:

• September 11th 2001 still stands as one of the most shocking, dramatic and traumatic days of recent history.
• Attacks were targeting symbolic locations in America (Twin Towers, Pentagon and The White House). They were symbols of political power.
• The loss of life, the physical scaring of the city and the realisation that the US was not 'untouchable' had a devastating effect on Western culture.

9/11: The Impact

• Impact on individual lives
• Internal and international security legislation
• Declaration by America of a 'war on terror'
• Subsequent conflicts in the Middle East
• Feeling of fear and unease caused by the unforeseen attack
• Religious/cultural dimensions including racism, religious intolerance and fear of outsiders/others
• 'September 11th terrorist attacks have changed the world dramatically, that nothing will be the same as the world enters into a new and frightening 'age of terror''. - Noah Chomsky, American Philosopher
• This is what is known as the post 9/11 period. We are still in it.

Post 9/11 era: The Media

• At first, apart from on the news, American media tended to ignore the event and several mainstream media texts set in New York show this.
• The producers of Spiderman (2002) withdrew a promotional trailer as it featured the Twin Towers.
• The biggest sitcom at the time FRIENDS (1994-2004), made an active decision not to include references to the event.

These decisions were evidently very difficult for media producers to make, however not making reference to the event in their products could've helped some people, as they would've used those TV shows and movies in order to take their minds off of those events. However, having to withdraw a promotional trailer for a movie must have been a blow to the movie producers' budget and money towards promoting the film, reinstating that the decision must have been a difficult one.

The impact made itself known in other ways:

• Sex in the City (1998-2014)
• Presented no repercussions of the wild ways and lives of four women carving amazing lives out for themselves in New York. After 2001, the character Samantha dealt with breast cancer, Charlotte found out she could not have a baby and Miranda had a baby, which destroyed her career.
• In short, bad things never happened to the characters before 2001.
• 24 (2001-2010)
• Complex thriller dealing with internal threats to America as well as global political issues.
• Reinforced the values of the 'war on terror' and justified torture as a means to fight that war.
• Reflected President Bush in prioritising the war on terror. Human rights suspended for the 'greater good'.

• Post 9/11 the city of New York was usually presented positively. The big budget The Day After Tomorrow showed New York with its culture and its history under attack but the films use of The Statue of Liberty in the promotional material shows the city representing hope after near devastation.

Analysing the Context:

• This may be in:
• The way the text is produced, its media language choices, the construction and representations
• The way it challenges or supports dominant ideologies at the time of production
• The way audiences interpret and react to the media text
• While considering the context of Homeland, it is important to look at how the dominant values of the day have potentially influenced the construction and representation of the media text.
• Midway through the decade, there were attempts to deal with the events of 9/11 itself in films such as United 93 (2006) and World Trade Centre (2006) where 9/11 drove the narrative of the films.
• Then I Am Legend (2007) and Cloverfield (2008) showed New York as a post-apocalyptic location.

A decade on... Homeland

• Homeland was based on an Israeli programme called Prisoners of War, Homeland took the story of the return home of a long term prisoner of war and located it in the post 9/11 American context.
• Although Bin Laden had been found and killed earlier that year, it had already been written and filmed.

How has Homeland tapped into post 9/11 themes and anxieties 10 years on?

Homeland explores the historical trauma of 9/11 in America: Carrie is haunted by her failure to prevent the terrorist attack, the returning 'hero' Brody could represent an American culture struggling to come to terms with faith-based terrorism. The episode also shows the influence of American culture's reaction to terrorism and international conflict - overt patriotism, militarism and the search for heroes.

How important is the 9/11 context to Homeland as a media text?

Homeland as a series with its 9/11 context suggests realism by representing real life events. It reflects upon the severity of the event and makes audiences think about how devastating the event was.


Homeland: Characters
L/O: To explore the narrative and characterisation in set products

Starter:


Carrie Mathison

• The lead protagonist in Homeland is Carrie, a CIA agent. Our first encounter with her shows her in the field in Baghdad.
• In the first scene, a lot of tension is created, especially through the way Carrie is acting. She seems flustered and stressed, and desperately needs to find who she is looking for. The cutaway scenes to the cars speeding through the streets and the prison cell enhance this tension. There is also a sense of ambiguity in the way Carrie is speaking, we don't yet know who this 'he' is, but we know there are suspicions about an attack in the US.
• Carrie is presented in an active and dynamic way, arguing with an authority figure and attempting to persuade a prisoner to pass on some information. You could describe her as:
• Fearless
• Determined
• Will go to any lengths for the truth

Carrie Mathison: Opening Scene

What happens in the scene: In Baghdad, Carrie seems flustered as she is driving a car through the streets, talking to Estes about a prisoner she needs to find, as he has been given a death sentence. Carrie needs to find this prisoner so she can talk to him. She needs to find out information about Abu Nazir from him, and as she is being taken away by the guards of the prison, the prisoner whispers something in her ear, presumably about Abu Nazir.

How is Carrie first represented? Stereotype/countertype? Media language choices?

Carrie is represented as determined in this scene to find out the information she needs. After being told no by Estes, she still continues on her search for the prisoner, even bribing people in order to gain access to him. It is unconventional for a female character to show this level of determination and be willing to break the rules in that situation.

How are the Middle East and Middle Eastern people represented? Media language choices?

In this scene, Middle Eastern people are represented as bad people, especially as most of the scene is focused on the prison and the prisoner.

Discuss the representation of Carrie and the Middle East in the opening scene of Homeland S1E1.

Refer to the post 9/11 context in your answer.

In the opening scene of Homeland, the representation of the Middle East and Carrie is important to the first scene of the show. In the opening scene, we see Carrie in Baghdad, searching for a prisoner that she needs information from. She finds him, but is pushed for time, so there is tension as to whether she will get the information she needs. In terms of representation, Carrie is represented as a determined and dedicated character, as she will do anything it takes to get the information she needs, including bribing people with money in order to get to the prisoner, which could have been fatal for her job. It is unconventional for a crime drama to have a female protagonist who holds a certain amount of power, and Carrie very often goes against typical stereotypes of crime drama protagonists. On the other hand, the representation of the Middle East in this opening scene is very stereotypical, and focuses on the prisoner, and stereotyping that Middle Eastern people are bad. Overall, Homeland are very stereotypical about the Middle East, and represent the people as terrorists throughout the series.


Carrie Mathison: Scene 2

• Back in Washington and her representation subverts the conventional ideas about feminine roles and behaviours. Why?
• The way in which Carrie is represented in this scene subverts conventional ideas and stereotypes about feminine ideals, as she is not behaving in the typical 'graceful' and 'feminine' way. We also see her take a pill, making the audience think she is struggling with something. We then find out later in the episode that she struggles with bipolar disorder, unconventional for a powerful female protagonist to struggle with.

Carrie Mathison: Analysis Points

• Carrie represents a non-conventional and highly flawed hero - She struggles with bipolar disorder, which is her main flaw as a protagonist.
• Not only is she a female who represents authority, a role usually taken by a male, she is also fiercely independent and has grit, determination and is happy to ignore the chain of command. She is a maverick who is her own worst enemy.
• This alienates her from authority male figures within the CIA. - Especially David Estes, who very often doesn't believe in her and tells her not to do certain things in her job.
• Carrie alienates herself further by refusing to follow procedure and lying to her mentor, all in the name of her pursuit of the truth. - Carrie sets up cameras in Brody's house even when Saul told her not to.
• She has an obsessive attention to detail. - When she is questioning Brody, she is very specific with her questions and presses him for an answer.
• In addition she is psychologically damaged - She suffers from bipolar disorder
• Carrie makes several decisions within the narrative that cause the audience to question her judgement
• As a woman she is represented as highly emotional - She very often has outbursts in front of her colleagues and she is very often looked down on because of these.
• She uses her sexuality as a tool

Compare and contrast the techniques used to represent Carrie Mathison in episode 1 of Homeland.

Carrie is represented in a very specific way in episode 1 of Homeland. She is shown as an unconventional female protagonist, going against common stereotypes. Firstly, Carrie is the protagonist of the show, which in itself is unconventional, as the majority of protagonists in TV dramas like Homeland are stereotypically male. She also holds a certain amount of power in her job, being a CIA agent, she is very often in charge of certain things, however she does also have authority figures that she needs to obey, who are all male, showing an uneven divide in gender throughout the show. Carrie also has bipolar disorder, which is her main flaw, and very often brings her down in the show. She hides it from everyone she knows until her mentor, Saul, finds out, and this discovery makes Saul think of her in a different way. Despite her bipolar, Carrie is a very independent, powerful character in the show. She very often makes her own decisions and goes against what the higher powers tell her to do, for example, she sets up cameras in Brody's house to get to the bottom of the issue as to whether he is working for Abu Nazir, when she was told by Estes and Saul that she was not allowed to do that. This is also unconventional to see a female character standing up for herself and being determined to achieve what she wants to achieve. 

Homeland: Characters
L/O: To explore the narrative and characterisation in set products

Starter:
What is the difference between an antagonist and an anti-hero?
Antagonist - A person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something
Anti-hero - A central character in a story, film or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes
You could argue that Brody is the antagonist of the show, as he is very often hostile and does wrong in the show. Then, you could also argue that Carrie is the anti-hero of the show, as she somewhat lacks heroic attributes and a personal downfall in that she struggles with her mental health throughout the series.

Nicholas Brody
Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody is the lead antagonist in Homeland. Brody is clearly disturbed by his experiences as a prisoner of war and the programme parallels his struggles in setting back in to a normal family life.
We first see Brody at 5:22 mins from being 'rescued' by armed forces from apparent captivity for the last 8 years.
When we first see Brody, he has been made to look like a very stereotypical prisoner of war. We see him looking rough, with long hair and a beard, covered in scratches and cuts. It is clear that they worked a lot on his appearance when making the audience aware he was a prisoner of war.

• As a man and a soldier, he would be the most traditional character to play the 'heroic' role.
• However, we see him very much from Carrie's perspective.

In this scene when Brody returns home, we see Brody's family waiting for him nervously at the airport, when Brody is in a jet on the way to them, obviously nervous too, as he is sick. When the plane lands and Brody sees his family, there is a lot of shock, as no one really knows how to react. The Vice President is represented as somewhat unconventional, as he is very relaxed and not what the audience would expect. Brody's professionalism almost surprises him.

Overall, Brody is represented as the hero in this scene, and there are only positive representations of him. Whereas, Carrie's first scene is the opposite, she is represented as unprofessional and stressed about the situation.

Nicholas Brody: War Hero

• As mentioned, Brody fits the traditional role of hero.
• Carrie rejects this view of Brody and whilst the audiences see him as a heroic character in episode 1, they do see enough of his behaviour to join Carrie in being suspicious.
• So the audience have to reject the reassurance a conventional hero can provide. As an audience - we are positioned. We are shown certain viewpoints and given enough information to see him from a specific perspective.
• Sergeant Brody's Islamic 'turn' is represented as a precursor to becoming a terrorist. While Islam may provide Brody with therapeutic comfort, he is a Stockholm syndrome convert, coerced into his Islamic faith and its associated terrorist politics.
• Homeland exploits the viewers initial surprise associated with seeing a white US Marine worshipping Allah in his garage by anticipating and refuting the stereotypical assumption that Brody's faith is evidence that he is a terrorist. Of course we learn that he is in fact a terrorist.

In the extended trailer, two different representations of Brody are created. One in that he is portrayed as a war hero for being rescued and coming back home, but the other in that he is portrayed as a terrorist and as working with Abu Nazir, that he is a villainous character.

The trailer also creates doubt in the heroic nature of Carrie's character, as they only really show the parts where she wants to catch Brody out, where she is talking to Saul, which portrays her as being slightly insane and going against the rules for her job.