TV: Assessment

“Realism is a vital component of television drama”. To what extent does an analysis of your television close-study products support this view? [25 marks]

Realism is a vital component of television drama as it “is a representation of how things really are, or being practical and facing facts.” It allows audiences to see the quality or fact of representing a person or a thing in a way that is accurate or true to life. Capital (the first close study product) is a complex mainstream television product in which the codes and conventions of the crime drama are intertwined with aspects of social realism. The drama also uses narrative realism that is through the usage of recognisable places, people, cultures and events. There is explicit reference to recent events and social contexts throughout Capital such as the financial crash, increased fear of terrorism, debates about immigration and London house price inflation. Furthermore, Capital being a Kudos production for the BBC, an independent company which also produces successful programmes for other broadcasters, showcases both left wing and right wing ideologies and what happens when these two ‘meet’ in a sense. Contrarily, Deutschland 83 (the second close study product) is part of a cultural phenomenon of the early twenty first century which for the first time saw TV series not in the English language become part of mainstream UK broadcasting. The drama also focuses on the past which may or may not be a reference to the present and essentially, the hero is an East German, reflecting values associated with communism and socialism nonetheless, the focus on the cold war is a reference to actual historical and political events.

Capital was promoted specifically as a ‘state of the nation’ series, reflecting the BBC’s status as an institution with a unique remit to represent the country. Many features of realism can be explored in Capital. It was commissioned for the BBC (a public service broadcaster) which aimed to reflect on the ways Britain had changed in recent years. This explains the way the series focuses on both Roger and Arabella Yount (the wealthiest people in the street who have links to the world of capitalist high-finance) and the Kamal family (where there is a tension between Shahid and Usman’s Muslim fundamentalist-tinged politics and Ahmed’s integrated pragmatism. The series looks at the way London has become very polarized; with extremes of rich and poor, has become multicultural (with an immigrant underclass) and how working class areas have now become gentrified and expensive. The idea of realism is represented more precisely through the Kamal family and Quentina, a Zimbabwean asylum seeker as well as the Polish builders. An example of this comes from a long shot in which we see Quentina pursuing her job on Pepys Road outside number 92 whilst the Polish builders Bogdan and Piotr walk past her. Through this shot we see a big expensive car in the foreground (emphasising the way money dominates the city) with Quentina, the traffic warden centrally placed but partially obscured. Her clothing and gesture may indicate she has power but she is actually doing a job that most English people avoid as being a traffic warden is often looked down upon. This is reinforced by the Polish builders Bogdan and Piotr whose clothing signifies their role as builders (another group working for low wages in an expensive city). The open door behind them is in the facade of No 92 which is the most opulent of all the houses in the series but coming out of the door is the child-minder carrying the Yount’s youngest child. This motif, someone other than the babysitter taking care of the child, builds a theme in the episode where the Younts use their money to add luxuries to their lives which they have begun to see as necessities and cannot imagine coping without despite their close proximity to far poorer people. 

Throughout the first episode of Capital we see people like the Younts and the German boss represented as part of the elite class whose right wing ideologies are on the most part demonised in comparison to people like Quentina, the Kamal family and Petunia who are represented as part of the working class wherein left wing ideologies are largely fetishised. This is when the idea of being ‘working class’ or part of the mass is romanticised and shown to be a positive thing. An example of this comes from the Kamal family’s dinner scene which shows the family eating dinner on the dinner table together in peace which heightens the fact that they are a very family-orientated group. The atmosphere is seen as quite strong in which there is a clear support group within the family. This representation of the working class opens doors for questions like does Capital lean towards promoting more left-wing ideologies? And this can also be due to the fact that the nature of the BBC means that they promote content to meet their guidelines in order to fit their remit. 

According to Gramsci who used the term Hegemony to describe the dominance of one social class over others, dominant ideologies are normalised, accepted and natural as nobody questions them therefore, anyone who does not fit into mainstream society is discredited. When applied to Capital, we see that in the first episode, left wing propaganda with dominant capitalist ideologies are represented: to succeed in Britain, one must work hard and this is completely evident through the character of Roger Yount who still works on his laptop late at night when he should really be spending time with his family but all in all although bankers are demonised in Capital, they are people who are working hard in order to provide for their families. Additionally, the Kamal family’s corner shop is usually seen to be open till late too which also demonstrates how they work hard as well, therefore, Marxists would argue that this is a crucial factor in the elite maintaining control and influencing what is seen as ‘common sense’.

The idea of realism in Deutschland 83 however is completely different. As it is a historical period drama, many members of the audience have not actually experienced the political past of Germany that the drama portrays and so although this is based on true events that took place in the past, it can be difficult to create a media product that accurately documents such events. However, this is a useful product to explore the vital issues of how nations explore their past through popular culture and how this is a way of commenting on contemporary society. In relation to realism, It is actually a look at the way Germany was a divided nation until quite recently and the way the two Germanys are not fully reconciled with each other. It also acknowledges the way that U.S. and U.S.S.R conflict played out through events in Germany (culminating in the near-nuclear war resulting from the Able Archer NATO exercise in 1983 – which is the key event in the whole series). The series is visually interesting, constructing a stylised representation of ‘real’ places which transmit meanings about characters, places and issues. This is evident through the supermarket scene where a long shot captures a super-saturated colour palette of the stacked shelves of tins and vibrant fresh fruit that displays Andy Warhol’s tin art and effectively promotes Deutschland 83’s postmodern aspect. Furthermore,  the choice of music signifies to the viewer the life-changing event that is occurring. Martin (the protagonist) is dramatically learning the difference between capitalist West Germany and his home in the DDR. This reinforces the audience understanding of his status as an under-prepared, and so atypical, spy-hero. The use of the Eurythmics 1983 “Sweet  Dreams” reinforces the motif of superabundant consumer products to build the theme of temptation as well as creating an audience pleasure of nostalgia as it accurately represents the time period the drama is set in. Furthermore, the spy montage scene is a great example of pastiche which refers to media products that imitate the style of another text, artist or time period. Pastiche is also an example of intertextuality and takes a positive view of the original source which happens to be the Bond movies therefore, the spy montage gives off a very cliche and classic spy drama feel to the series and so does the opening sequence that contains archived footage as well as bricolage and hyperreality shown by the text on screen when introducing a new location.

The narrative of Deutschland 83 has been controversial particularly in Germany through its use of binary oppositions to contrast East and West Germany. This is because the protagonist is a Stasi officer and Stasi are still hated. Usual narrative of spy stories focuses on the West and NATO however, in Deutschland 83 we see both East and West parts of Germany geographically as well as what life is like on both ends. This also, a lot like Capital fetishises the working class and in a sense, glorifies them through creating a much more informal atmosphere in the East (poorer side of Germany) where there is a sense of life and community and everyone sings together at parties as opposed to the formal and intense atmosphere of the West where parties are grand and affluent and there is hardly a sense of congregational solidarity. This clear divide between both East and West Germany is evident through the contrasting party scenes on both sides as i've mentioned above. This idea of creating a more natural tone to the drama adds to the element of realism which Deutschland 83 successfully captures. Applying Blumer and Katz uses and gratifications theory to Deutschland 83, a sense of surveillance is present from the historical aspect of the drama which educates and informs audiences about this real life event as well as a sense of personal relationship as we want to care for the characters. Additionally, due to the spy/thriller genre audiences may find pleasure out of Deutschland 83 and view the product as a source of entertainment and diversion from reality. Taking all of these into account emphasises the realism of Deutschland 83.

In conclusion, I agree that realism is a vital component of television drama because then the product becomes more relatable and pleasurable to watch if it is accurate or true to life. Linking Deutschland 83 to Postmodernism (a mixing of different artistic styles and media) and Capital to Marxism and Hegemony, there are a couple of points to address especially in relation to realism. Baudrillard argued that audiences view the ‘copy’ of reality in the media as more real than the original and as Jameson discussed, the idea of ‘historical deafness’ by suggesting the mediatisation of history means we only understand historical events through their media representation. I think it is safe to say that when historical events are adapted to movies or shows, we are all quicker to understand it better than from textbooks or what teachers teach in school however, can how the media presents such events be truly reliable and believable? The archival footage throughout Deutschland 83 shows a sense of reliability of the historical events being presented however, there is always room for bias information especially when trying to portray them through media and so one may question the reliability of Deutschland 83s use of realism. In Capital however, the social realist aspect which we see through Quentina for example attempts to realistically represent society and social problems. Capital successfully does this as we really get to see what life is like for asylum seekers and immigrants just trying to fit in a Westernised mainstream community. This is the side of realism we see in Capital. Finally, Capital really focuses on issues facing society as a whole whereas Deutschland 83 shows this divide between East and West Germany and explores the political past of Germany. Both close study products showcase realism in different ways, but it is there.