The Killing

produced by DR and ZDF enterprises

broadcast on DRI - a mainstream national broadcasting channel in Denmark

Denmark 2007
very popular with Danish audience

over 200 around the world and was remade for American audiences

BBC 4 in 2011 - a nice BBC channel with a specific target audience and brand identity.

- a niche BBC channel with a specific target audience and brand identity
- BBC 4 launched in 2002 as a digital channel
- began broadcasting in HD in 2014 as a pilot for new broadcasting format
- BBC 4 programmes include:
- specialist documentaries
- non-English drama
- arts + history programming
- 'slow tv'
- brand identity is based on intelligent programming for intelligent people
- target audience value challenging in-depth content that offers intellectual applications regardless of the subject. audience likely to value their own intellectual development and so may select to watch programmes covering a range of topics
- BBC 4 audience generally adults

- Enigma codes are the "revelation of truth"
- The whodunnit nature of a crime drama is based on enigma (Barthes). - The plot of The Killing shows the twists and turns in the investigations as the protagonist (officer Lund) follows leads.
- The plot of no offence also shows twists and turns in relation to the murder investigation (crime + killer)
- This type of masterplot that is largely based on enigma has the ability to hook an audience in as they will wish to find out who the killer is and how the police will discover their identity and capture them

- slow burn storytelling - one case over whole season, each episode is a day in the case
- nordic noir - darker themes, bleak atmosphere (not lighter entertainment)
- cultural elements from Danish society - potentially limiting appeal to international audiences who may not be familiar with the cultural context - foreign language, subtitled
- BBC 4 bought it - niche audience, reformers, formal education, not mainstream narratives

- the media often use stereotypes (e.g. women as mothers, carers and housewives and men as big, strong and powerful)
- stereotypes reduce a group of people down into oversimplified clichés
- stereotypes are often negative (e.g. BAME community as criminals)
- native slave entertainer (race)
- stereotypes result from an inequality of power - hegemonic groups (tends to me white heterosexual middle class men)
- representations of 'other' are stereotypical
-> therefore stereotypes within the text may be due to who owns / created it

- typical narrative follows a 3 part structure (equilibrium, disequilibrium, new equilibrium)

- genres are made up of repetition and difference
- a genre is often made up of repeated elements - codes and conventions
- audiences enjoy familiarity of repeated conventions due to it being easy to understand and what they expect
- audiences also enjoy innovation and difference from conventions to keep the text original and engaging

- repeated constructions / representations in the media cultivate/ grow and change our perceptions of the world
- this creates the mainstream and hegemonic ideological discourse

- mainstreaming - Television content tends to homogenize individuals' perceptions of reality aligning more closely with the representations
depicted in the media resonance - effects of media are amplified for
viewers whose real-life experiences align with the portrayals and messages depicted onscreen.

- resonance occurs when media content resonates with viewers' experiences reinforcing their ideologies

- mean world syndrome - where viewers perceive the world as more dangerous and hostile than it actually is. repeated exposure to
negative portrayals of violence and crime on television, leading to heightened fear and anxiety about personal safety.

- cultural industries need to minimise risk and maximise profits to be successful, this can be done through:
1. horizontal / vertical integration
2. variety of media platforms + technologies - technological convergence
3. popular genres, stars + formats
4. controlled release schedule
5. detailed marketing campaign

- feminism is the struggle to end patriarchal oppression
- feminism is a political commitment (actively fighting for feminism)
- intersectionality in discrimination (not all women are discriminated against in the same way or to the same extent depending on ethnicity and class)

- we get our ideas about gender from the hegemonic ideological discourse of gender roles
- this means it's based on the social and cultural context of the tune
- women are presented in the domestic sphere - passive and objectified, men are presented in the public sphere - ruthless, combative, powerful and dominant
- representation of the male body as a spectacle
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