This week I watched an american hybrid crime tv drama called Ghost Whisperer. It is a cross between a crime tv drama and a supernatural drama.
Ghost Whisperer follows the life of Melinda Gordon (played by Jennifer Love Hewit) who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. While trying to live a normal life, she attempts to solve any problems that the earthbound spirits have, so that they can cross over into the light.
The episode I watched was "Birthday Presence", the 86th episode and first of the fifth season.
The plot of that episode was:
Melinda gives birth to a baby boy the night that The Book of Changes predicted. At 11:48pm, time stops and then ticks forward again. Melinda sees a tide of blood seeping onto the floor and then a pair of ashen feet. Then everything is normal again and her baby is okay even though the doctors are puzzled by the fact that when he was delivered he was blue but his color came back before he even took a breath. The episode then cuts to five years later when Aiden is planning his birthday party with Melinda and Jim. Aiden can see ghosts & they try to be as open as they can with him even though Melinda is still wondering what sort of powers Aiden is going to get. She's also worried about his birthday as every year something happens to him - his birthday curse. This year Melinda sees a figure of a woman who warns her to check on Aiden. She runs to him and finds him completely blue & once again at 11:48pm time stops and resumes as color floods back into him. Melinda works to find the ghost that warned her and what is happening to Aiden. She discovers that when she was in labor, another woman was also giving birth but there were complications and she died. Now a ghost, she believes that her baby also died and his spirit went into Aiden's body. Melinda finds out that the baby is still alive, having been adopted by the father, with whom the woman had an affair. Melinda gets to the ghost just as she corners both Aiden and her now grown 5-year old on a jungle gym and convinces her the boy is doing great with his family. In the aftermath, Melinda confronts Carl the Watcher, knowing now that she and Aiden have a connection - visions come from him and go through her and that he's an empath who can share others' feelings and experiences.
Flashbacks were used when the ghost was talking about her past and how she died
This hybrid is different from typical crime dramas as it does not have the conventional characters such as police or detectives. However Melinda acts as the good cop/detective who tries to get justice for both the ghosts and their friends and family.
Monday, 12 March 2012
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Narrative
Give examples of opening teasers in the shows you've seen (and explain why they're important)
What examples of enigma's have you seen?
How would you describe the 'quests' of they key protagonists of crime drama?
How have shows you've seen used either open or closed narratives?
Opening teasers are exteremely important in shows as now there is a wide range of channels from which the audience can choose another programme. Therefore, shows like CSI:Miami show the crime taking place within the first few minutes of the show and after that, they show the opening sequence. This is to catch the audience's attention so that they watch CSI rather than changing the channel to watch a different TV show.
An enigma is a puzzle. Enigmas are used throughout shows such as Luther and Sherlock that use the skill of deduction and mind games to solve the criems. In Sherlock, A Study In Pink, Sherlock notices the spray of mud on the back of a woman's leg which leads him to create a puzzle about what happened to the woman. These enigmas create a sense of mystery which attract the audience's attention.
The quests that the key protagonists engage in involve many 'hicups' which are made using features such as red-herrings, multiple suspects and false evidence. All of these twists and turn lead a sense of mystery thoughout the show and therefore make for a surprising and creative ending to the episode. These conventions throughout the quest are what keep the audience intregued throughout the episode and make them want to carry on watching that show.
In CSI:Miami, they use a closed narrative where the criminal is only found at the end of the episode. However, in Luther, the criminal is found near teh begining, however the rest of the episode is about capturing enough evidence to be able to convict the criminal. Both of these techniques are used to capture the audience's attention throughout the episode.
What examples of enigma's have you seen?
How would you describe the 'quests' of they key protagonists of crime drama?
How have shows you've seen used either open or closed narratives?
Opening teasers are exteremely important in shows as now there is a wide range of channels from which the audience can choose another programme. Therefore, shows like CSI:Miami show the crime taking place within the first few minutes of the show and after that, they show the opening sequence. This is to catch the audience's attention so that they watch CSI rather than changing the channel to watch a different TV show.
An enigma is a puzzle. Enigmas are used throughout shows such as Luther and Sherlock that use the skill of deduction and mind games to solve the criems. In Sherlock, A Study In Pink, Sherlock notices the spray of mud on the back of a woman's leg which leads him to create a puzzle about what happened to the woman. These enigmas create a sense of mystery which attract the audience's attention.
The quests that the key protagonists engage in involve many 'hicups' which are made using features such as red-herrings, multiple suspects and false evidence. All of these twists and turn lead a sense of mystery thoughout the show and therefore make for a surprising and creative ending to the episode. These conventions throughout the quest are what keep the audience intregued throughout the episode and make them want to carry on watching that show.
In CSI:Miami, they use a closed narrative where the criminal is only found at the end of the episode. However, in Luther, the criminal is found near teh begining, however the rest of the episode is about capturing enough evidence to be able to convict the criminal. Both of these techniques are used to capture the audience's attention throughout the episode.
Settings
How is the setting significant to crime dramas that you have seen? E.g. Miami, London, Whitechapel.
- What does this setting connote - what do we associate with the settings
- what opportunities arise from using the setting?
Settings are very significant to crime dramas as each setting gives of a different vibe. For example, CSI: Las Vegas is set in Las Vegas, Nevada which is well known for things such as casinos, burlesque bars etc. Also, Las Vegas is surrounded by desert which gives a sense of isolation to the show. This setting gives many oppertunities for plots surrounding prostitution and gambling. Vegas is also known for being run by large, well-known mobs who would control everything and take the law into their own hands. This is because Las Vegas is a small town which is essentially in the middle of nowhere and therfore the american police decide to let them deal with the crimes themselves.
Differently, Sherlock is set in the upper-class area of Baker Street, near places such as Marlebone. These settings connote wealth and social heierachy. The wealth in the area is portrayed by the fact that Sherlock does not have a proper job with a salary, and instead does voluntary work for the police and detectives. The upper-class setting gives oppertunity for plots surrounding the ideas of money and social heierachy therefore there would be themes such as revenge included in the show.
Alternatively, Luther is set in working class London, showing scenes of terrace houses and council estates. These connote the corrupt side of London and remind the audience of the August Riots which give a sense of fear to teh show. The setting gives oppertunities to film scenes in abandoned flats or alley ways.
- What does this setting connote - what do we associate with the settings
- what opportunities arise from using the setting?
Settings are very significant to crime dramas as each setting gives of a different vibe. For example, CSI: Las Vegas is set in Las Vegas, Nevada which is well known for things such as casinos, burlesque bars etc. Also, Las Vegas is surrounded by desert which gives a sense of isolation to the show. This setting gives many oppertunities for plots surrounding prostitution and gambling. Vegas is also known for being run by large, well-known mobs who would control everything and take the law into their own hands. This is because Las Vegas is a small town which is essentially in the middle of nowhere and therfore the american police decide to let them deal with the crimes themselves.
Differently, Sherlock is set in the upper-class area of Baker Street, near places such as Marlebone. These settings connote wealth and social heierachy. The wealth in the area is portrayed by the fact that Sherlock does not have a proper job with a salary, and instead does voluntary work for the police and detectives. The upper-class setting gives oppertunity for plots surrounding the ideas of money and social heierachy therefore there would be themes such as revenge included in the show.
Alternatively, Luther is set in working class London, showing scenes of terrace houses and council estates. These connote the corrupt side of London and remind the audience of the August Riots which give a sense of fear to teh show. The setting gives oppertunities to film scenes in abandoned flats or alley ways.
Monday, 20 February 2012
Independent Research Analysis - Criminal Minds: North Mammon
During thr half term, I watched Criminal Minds (Season 2, episode 7: Noth Mammom).
It is a well-known American crime tv drama about a group of profilers/detectives who analyze the nation's most dangerous criminal minds in an effort to anticipate their next moves before they strike again. However in this episode they work on a kidnapping case in a small town in Pensylvania as a favour to a fried of JJ (a detective).
Judy, a mother of a teenage girl, pleads her old friend J.J to help her find her daughter, Polly and her 2 best friends, Kelly and Brooke.
The three teenage girls were the stars of their school soccer team and are kidnapped after the boys soccer pep rally. JJ eventually convinces her team to take on the case after two identical voice messages from Polly and Kelly are left to their parents saying that they are going on a roadtrip. The team finds the messages unrealistic and travel to Pensylvania to find the girls.
Meanwhile, the girls have been locked in a basement and Brooke becomes seriously weak and ill. They are starving, thirsty and extremely cold.
The team of investigators work with the local sherrif to track down the girls (whose mobiles have been mysteriously turned off) and find evidence such as several cigarette buds with the same DNA, right outside Brooke's house which lead them to believe that the Soccer coach (whose DNA matches the buds) has kidnapped the girls. It soon comes out that the soccer coach was also once arrested for having a under-age prostitute. This leads the team of detectives and the audience that he must be the kidnapper, however the coach has an alabi as he was caught on video at the pep rally when the girls went missing, therefore it could not be him.
Here red-herrings and multiple suspects have been used effectively to lead the audience in the wrong direction, keeping them intregued.
After finding other pieces of evidence such as the girls soccer shirts, it becomes clear that the evidence has been planted to try and make it seem as if other people had kidnapped the girls.
During this time, the girls are starving and Brooke's health is slowly deteriorating. The girls have been told that only two of them can leave and the third will be killed. They must choose which two are able to leave. Brooke overhears Kelly planning to leave Brooke behind and tells Polly.
Kelly finally convinces Poly that it's best if they go and leave Brooke behind as she is very weak and will die soon anyway.
Once they decide this, the kidnapper throws two hammers into the basement, making it clearthat the two girls must kill Brooke themselves if they want to leave.
Back at the police station, the team are trying to find out who the kidnapper is then become aware that their collegue has tracked the girls cellphones and one was outside the station.
The audience see two girls being dropped off outside the station but you can only see Polly's face, which makes the audience assume that the second girl is Kelly.
To our surprise, the second girl is Brooke and it seems like she killed Kelly as she was aware of Kelly's plans to sacrifice her.
After this, the team figure out that the kidnapper wanted to hurt the parents by turning the girls against each other. It seems like the kidnapper is someone who was on the football team with the Dad's when they were in highschool.
JJ takes a photograph to Polly who points out a man in it. This is the same man (a garbage collector) who gave the investigators the 'tip-off' of where the evidence was to make it seem like he was innocent and other people were the kidnapper.
The team go to the rubbish man's basemeant and find him in there with Kelly laying dead on the floor.
They arrest him while he explains how the rest of his football team mates were successful while he was a rubbish man and how he kidnapped the girls in order to get revenge on their fathers.
The clever use of red-herrings and multiple suspects makes this programme intreguing to watch. It was the first time I had ever seen Criminal Minds, and now I would like to watch it again as I can appreciate the conventions that it uses to make it a crime drama e.g evidence, but can also seem unique compared to other crime dramas.
Typical scenes would be the interrogation room, the police office, the lab ad the crime scene (in this case, the basement).
The motive was revenge.
It is a well-known American crime tv drama about a group of profilers/detectives who analyze the nation's most dangerous criminal minds in an effort to anticipate their next moves before they strike again. However in this episode they work on a kidnapping case in a small town in Pensylvania as a favour to a fried of JJ (a detective).
Judy, a mother of a teenage girl, pleads her old friend J.J to help her find her daughter, Polly and her 2 best friends, Kelly and Brooke.
The three teenage girls were the stars of their school soccer team and are kidnapped after the boys soccer pep rally. JJ eventually convinces her team to take on the case after two identical voice messages from Polly and Kelly are left to their parents saying that they are going on a roadtrip. The team finds the messages unrealistic and travel to Pensylvania to find the girls.
Meanwhile, the girls have been locked in a basement and Brooke becomes seriously weak and ill. They are starving, thirsty and extremely cold.
The team of investigators work with the local sherrif to track down the girls (whose mobiles have been mysteriously turned off) and find evidence such as several cigarette buds with the same DNA, right outside Brooke's house which lead them to believe that the Soccer coach (whose DNA matches the buds) has kidnapped the girls. It soon comes out that the soccer coach was also once arrested for having a under-age prostitute. This leads the team of detectives and the audience that he must be the kidnapper, however the coach has an alabi as he was caught on video at the pep rally when the girls went missing, therefore it could not be him.
Here red-herrings and multiple suspects have been used effectively to lead the audience in the wrong direction, keeping them intregued.
After finding other pieces of evidence such as the girls soccer shirts, it becomes clear that the evidence has been planted to try and make it seem as if other people had kidnapped the girls.
During this time, the girls are starving and Brooke's health is slowly deteriorating. The girls have been told that only two of them can leave and the third will be killed. They must choose which two are able to leave. Brooke overhears Kelly planning to leave Brooke behind and tells Polly.
Kelly finally convinces Poly that it's best if they go and leave Brooke behind as she is very weak and will die soon anyway.
Once they decide this, the kidnapper throws two hammers into the basement, making it clearthat the two girls must kill Brooke themselves if they want to leave.
Back at the police station, the team are trying to find out who the kidnapper is then become aware that their collegue has tracked the girls cellphones and one was outside the station.
The audience see two girls being dropped off outside the station but you can only see Polly's face, which makes the audience assume that the second girl is Kelly.
To our surprise, the second girl is Brooke and it seems like she killed Kelly as she was aware of Kelly's plans to sacrifice her.
After this, the team figure out that the kidnapper wanted to hurt the parents by turning the girls against each other. It seems like the kidnapper is someone who was on the football team with the Dad's when they were in highschool.
JJ takes a photograph to Polly who points out a man in it. This is the same man (a garbage collector) who gave the investigators the 'tip-off' of where the evidence was to make it seem like he was innocent and other people were the kidnapper.
The team go to the rubbish man's basemeant and find him in there with Kelly laying dead on the floor.
They arrest him while he explains how the rest of his football team mates were successful while he was a rubbish man and how he kidnapped the girls in order to get revenge on their fathers.
The clever use of red-herrings and multiple suspects makes this programme intreguing to watch. It was the first time I had ever seen Criminal Minds, and now I would like to watch it again as I can appreciate the conventions that it uses to make it a crime drama e.g evidence, but can also seem unique compared to other crime dramas.
Typical scenes would be the interrogation room, the police office, the lab ad the crime scene (in this case, the basement).
The motive was revenge.
Monday, 6 February 2012
Independent Research Analysis- Rizzoli and Isles
This weekend I watched the first episode of season one of Rizzoli and Isles.
It is an American crime drama based on a series of novels following a police detective, Jane Rizzoli (played by Angie Harmon) and Dr Maura Isles (played by Sasha Alexander).
The name of the episode is "See One, Do One, Teach One" and starts out with Rizzoli and Dr Isles investigating the murder of a married couple in the wealthy and prestegious home. The evidence to prove who the killer is seems to be a signature of the same murderer that once harassed and traumatized Rizzoli.
Rizzoli then gets very afraid and decides to stay the night at Isle's home to stay safe and the next day, she finds out that the murderer has left the hospital he was at right before his opperation. She is then made aware that her apartment has been ransacked and goes home to see what has happened. Rizzoli is lured into a van by a man pretending to be a coroner. A man comes put of the body in the van and surprises her while the first man (dressed as a coroner) injects her with a substance. She later wakes up with her hands and feet tied up, but soon escapes and eventually kills the first man who injected her. She then seeks revenge from the second man.
Detective Jane Rizzoli seems quite tough and tomboy-ish however it is made clear that her tough act comes from the fact that she experienced a brutal kidnapping and attack and still has scars on both of her hands. Her kidnapper is the same man that killed the wealthy couple and seems to be fixated with Jane.
She is a very strong-willed and stubborn woman but also very intelligent and independent.
Dr Maura Isles, however is slightly more held back and prefers to go with the rules. She likes clear answers and doesn't like to guess seeing as she is the Boston Cheif Medical Examiner.
Isles brings the forensic factor to the show and we then see evidence such as signatures. Isles is reffered to as "Queen of the dead".
Iconic scenes would be the crime scene where we see Items typical to crime dramas such as police tape.
There are also members of the press involved.
I have enjoyed watching this as it is unique to see two female leads. Also their opposite personalities make the show interesting to watch as well as the mystery as to why the murderer is after Rizzoli which keeps viewers interested.
It is an American crime drama based on a series of novels following a police detective, Jane Rizzoli (played by Angie Harmon) and Dr Maura Isles (played by Sasha Alexander).
The name of the episode is "See One, Do One, Teach One" and starts out with Rizzoli and Dr Isles investigating the murder of a married couple in the wealthy and prestegious home. The evidence to prove who the killer is seems to be a signature of the same murderer that once harassed and traumatized Rizzoli.
Rizzoli then gets very afraid and decides to stay the night at Isle's home to stay safe and the next day, she finds out that the murderer has left the hospital he was at right before his opperation. She is then made aware that her apartment has been ransacked and goes home to see what has happened. Rizzoli is lured into a van by a man pretending to be a coroner. A man comes put of the body in the van and surprises her while the first man (dressed as a coroner) injects her with a substance. She later wakes up with her hands and feet tied up, but soon escapes and eventually kills the first man who injected her. She then seeks revenge from the second man.
Detective Jane Rizzoli seems quite tough and tomboy-ish however it is made clear that her tough act comes from the fact that she experienced a brutal kidnapping and attack and still has scars on both of her hands. Her kidnapper is the same man that killed the wealthy couple and seems to be fixated with Jane.
She is a very strong-willed and stubborn woman but also very intelligent and independent.
Dr Maura Isles, however is slightly more held back and prefers to go with the rules. She likes clear answers and doesn't like to guess seeing as she is the Boston Cheif Medical Examiner.
Isles brings the forensic factor to the show and we then see evidence such as signatures. Isles is reffered to as "Queen of the dead".
Iconic scenes would be the crime scene where we see Items typical to crime dramas such as police tape.
There are also members of the press involved.
I have enjoyed watching this as it is unique to see two female leads. Also their opposite personalities make the show interesting to watch as well as the mystery as to why the murderer is after Rizzoli which keeps viewers interested.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Audience/Crime Drama
Audiences
Types of audiences
There are three main types of audiences:
Family audiences – programmes are shown wither in the evening or during the day. The content is appropriate for older children as well as adults. E.g. The Bill, Heartbeat, Sherlock, Midsummer Murders.
Nice audiences – programmes are shown late at night. They are not at all suitable for children as they contain scenes of sex and violence as well as inappropriate or bad language. They often attract cult status (they are not widely popular), however attract significant audiences. E.g. Dexter, The Shield, The Wire.
Educated audiences – programmes can be shown at any time, however they involve high levels of specialised language and concepts which are aimed at an educated viewer of social class ABC1. There will be use of scientific jargon in shows such as CSI and legal terms in shows like Law and Order. However, some may say that it is not necessary to understand all of the language in these shows as most viewers would take pleasure in the characters and the plot, rather than the language.Audience Pleasures
There are many reasons why audiences find pleasure in watching TV Crime Dramas. Some of the reasons are:
· It’s a challenge for your mind
· Crime dramas are like a puzzle that needs solving and you feel good about yourself when you figure out who the culprit is
· We find it interesting even though crime is a bad thing in society
· It’s exciting to see the crimes being committed and solved within the comfort and safety of your own home
· Watching crime dramas is a guilty pleasure because you know it’s wrong but so fascinating
· The fact that it’s a crime drama, rather than just a documentary takes the pleasure a step further by allowing us into the hidden lives of the victims and criminals as well as things like the flaws or corruption of the police world
· The characters are complex and intriguing as we can experience their emotions as well as feeling our own: surprise, dread, terror, relief.
· Audiences are able to experiment with their own fears within a safe environment
Audience Theory
The Uses and Gratifications Theory:
Entertainment - escape from ordinary life, problems or boredom; able to release emotions, like laughter or crying; relax and enjoy engaging your mind with something.
Relationships - understand how other people think and feel; create relationships with people in th emedia as a substitute for 'real' ones and feel like you belong to a community; talk about the media with others.
Identity - see yourself reflected in the media; help you to understand yourself.
Information - find out about the world and learn new things; get advice and feel secure through being knowledgeable.
Problems with Popularity
The Effects Debate:
Many people think that the media does effect behaviour. particularly for children. They believe that children will become desensitised to violence if they see violent scenes regularly.
Television crime drama depicts violent crimes. Some people think that people could copy what they see on these programmes. For example, Jamie Bulger's case apparently had something to do with 'video nasties' and in August 2010 his mother complained to Law and Order: UK, saying that they episode was a 'copycat' crime almost identical to the murder of her son.
To conclude:
- audiences could become desensitised to these situations and think that murder and crime is normal and forgivable.
- they could copy the acts shown on TV, thinking that there's nothing wrong with them or wanting to act like a character on the show.
Popularity of Case Studies - Sherlock, CSI:Miami & Luther
I believe that these shows are so popular because they help to engage the audience through the use of mystery and enigma. They are all popular for different reasons and attract different types of audiences. For example, CSI is glossy whereas Luther is gritty and dark. I think the unique way of using the skill of deduction in Sherlock is different to the evidence and DNA samples used in CSI:Miami and intregue the audiences.
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