representation in Les Revenants

REPRESENTATION- how the producers portrays a group of people, single person, place, country extra....

Representation is a construction by the producer to get across there ideology of eg. gay, welsh, famous people

Representations construct reality 

the stereotypes come from the media, reinforced every single day 

Representation is the study of...

1.     The group, place or issue on which a media product is focusing.

2.     The media language the media product uses in order to present these groups or issues.

3.     The ideological perspective about the group or issue being created within the product.

4.     The impact of this ideological perspective on the target audience.

(Horror the genre is very unpopular in France)

• Camille represents middle class french teenage girl (15)
• long auburn hair, no makeup, European young style of dress 
• Costumes suggests purity and youth as it is conservative, virginal
• pale complex symbolise hardworking
• complex representation- innocent but confident 
• impact on the target audience being allowing them to negotiate there own reading of her

• Simon presents young, groomed men (20s)
• typically tall dark and handsome 
• tussled, longish hair

• Claire represents a modern french mother
• middle aged women (early 40s)
• very simple style of dress, chic and stylish
• minimal to non makeup with tousled casual looking mid length hair 
• stereotypical representation of European mothers 

A promotional image for the show

range of ages

different occupations 

presented in a rural setting 

subtel zombie genre conventions -hored- neutral expressions- pale

All white cast- ethnically homogenous 

representation of french rural life/community 

One allegorical aspect is the relationship between a community 

Another is the dealing with greif and how people cope with loss

In a typically zombie film the focus is on survival but within this it is the opposite about coming to terms with normality again 

Abjection- idea of two things being together that shouldn't 

DOES MEDIA NUMB THE IDEA OF DEATH?

Exam structure- Les Revenants

Exam structure- Les Revenants

Start with an argument

• definition 
• argument
• context
• point
• evidence 

Define key terms 

INTRO- DAC 

PARAGRAPHS- PEA

evidence comes from the product eg. key scenes 

stick to the same argument over and over again....

GOOD TERMS:

Negotiation- the way the audience read and respond to the product 

Polysemy- interpreted to have multiple meanings 

Hegemony- the stereotypical conventions, the rules we all follow 

Ideology- the views and beliefs of the producer encoded in the product

Intersexuality- when one media text references another 

"In the 21st century it is essential for TV shows to offer multiple meanings" 

evaluate this claim with references to Les Revenants 

• to reach a large and diverse audience 
• to bring in a devoted audience- cult audience

KEY SCENE- Camille comes home 

sound that does not go with the visuals- contrapuntal 

colour grading- post production to make the visuals 

MOGWAI- Glaswegian rock band, made the music for Les Revenants

Yes, polysemy is an absolute essential concept

The non-diegetic soundtrack establishes a creepy and oppressive atmosphere 

The range of close up shots emphasis the mix of confusion and shock of the mother

Shot reverse shot presented hightens the tension with the contrast of the characters 

A binary opposition is established creating conflicted responses for the audience  

As the mother climbs up the stairs this scene deliberately forces the audience into a negotiated reading of did she imagen Camille, this is further reinforced with Mogwais music

Presents a confusing and potentially polysemic narrative intended for a cult audience 

The family home is familiar to Camille and the target middle class audience however a binary opposition is established though Camilles comftable behaviour in contrast to the mothers terror

Low key lighting is paradigmatic of a horror genre 

The mothers thoughts and feelings are not made explicit to the audience forcesing them to make there own response 

The post production colour grading favours muted colours, which symbolise depression and the horrific nature of Camille return 

Key theme of the show is mortality and the inevitability of death

Existentialist philosophy 

Les Revenants genre

Les Revenants Genre:

The Returned (French: Les Revenants) is a French supernatural drama television series created by Fabrice Gobert, based on the 2004 French film They Came Back (Les Revenants), directed by Robin Campillo. The series debuted on 26 November 2012 on Canal+ and completed its first season, consisting of eight episodes, on 17 December. In 2013, the first season won an International Emmy for Best Drama Series.^[1]

The second season, also comprising eight episodes, premiered on 28 September 2015 on Canal+.^[2][3] It premiered in the UK on 16 October 2015 on More4,^[4] and in the US on 31 October 2015 on SundanceTV.^[5]

FRENCH SUPERNATURAL DRAMA TV SERIS 

Alive vs dead- binary opposition 

pleonastic- when one sound is exaggerated 

Classic example of Genre Hybridity

DEBED NOVEMBER 2012 IN FRANCE

on Canal+ (French BBC)

Canal Produced 'I, Daniel Blake'

Broadcast in the UK on channel 4 

Channel 4 acts as the distributor

International distributor in Universal  

Based on the French film 'They came Back'

HORROR- people coming back from the dead

SUPERNATURAL- could be seen as ghosts rather than zombies 

DRAMA- slow paced family drama, soap opera aspect 

AVANT-GARDE- experimental in showing 

ZOMBIE- not a typical way of portraying zombies 

FRENCH- set in a typical French setting

Cult TV Show

questions are asked 

there is a fan base 

restricted narration- dialogue of one character

omniscient narrator- audience know everything, third person reading   

STEVE NEALE- theories around genre 

Camille's outfit is Atypical of a zombie genre, she is clean and tidy

Typical reaction from Adel to Simon to seeing her dead lover

The creepy, tension filled, keyboard heavy music is typical of a horror film

WHAT MAKES A ZOMBIE FILM- mise-en-scene

• wooden barricades
• old fashioned house 
• slow movement of zombies
• hoarding 
• moaning and groaning

Textual poaching

Textual poaching 

Theory 18) Fandom- Henry Jenkins 

-fandom refers to a particularly organised and motivated audience
-unlike the genetic audience or classic Spector, fans are active participants in the construction and circulation of textual meaning
-may dress up and attend conventions, read material on franchise, buy the merch and altogether be devoted to the media

regulation of humans

Humans has a cult following 

-theer is devoted fans that will go online and discuss the show: https://www.reddit.com/r/HumansTV/

REGULATION
- rules and restrictions media products have to conform to eg. film regulation- age rating 

Tv has an open audience

Mass Media  
TV has no gatekeeping, hence the timings of programs- day TV being more pc compared to what is shown in the evening.

Water-shed (8-9pm) more explicit content is aired 

OFCOM https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-codes

'Ofcom is required to assess the likely hood of material encouraging or inciting the commission of crime or of leading to disorder'

SCREEN SHOTS OF MOMENTS WITHIN THE FIRTS EPISODE THAT MAKE IT A CERTIFICATE 15

COULD CAUSE OFFENCE OR HARM

The show does not come to conclusion and questions our morals eg. brothal scene, is consent involved or is it rape 

Practise Questions

Q: How have Ownership and Economic factors shaped the TV programs you have studied 

• Britishness, Channel 4 is British owned therefor cameos of eg. Kings cross, supermarket and the middle class, formal accent reinforce this
• The lexis used (choice of language) is specifically very English 
• The style and look, some actors are TV ugly eg. Pete detective and Max the black synth friend 
• washed out colour, emphasise British weather 
• British stereotypes eg. hard working mum, bitchy daughter, sick old man, similar to other British sitcoms, intellectuality of Outnumbered 

• One American character- George 
• to reach out to American audiences
• to add diversity to characterisation  

Pan-Atlantic programming- commissioned by both C4(UK) and aMC (US)

Independent ideology- themes of rebellion, culture and identity 

relatively high production values 

TARGET AUDIENCE:

Sarah Green

Female

45

English

White

Heterosexual 

Middle class 

Lives in Oxfordshire 

Nurse 

Has two young children

part of the school PTA

Enjoys pilates

IN WHAT WAYS DOES THIS SCENE TARGET AND MAINTAIN AUDIENCES?

ANNITA AT BREAKFAST:

-comedy as well as dark humour- polysemic reading- funny/creepy

-snide comment from Matty 'she's not a slave...thats exactly what she id' cutting and makes the audience consider Annitas role- challenging concept

-high key lighting-promotes wealth and comfort- audience can relate to home situation 

-mise-en-scene of breakfast table- 'this is what what breakfast is mea n to be like' dad comments- dig at mum- aspirational for middle class- hyper real representation

-stereotypically British- drinking coffee/tea in the morning 

-costume of PJs and dressing gowns showing the morning routine- stereotypical    

 

Imagine: And Then There was Television

THE BEGINNING OF TELEVISION: DOCUMENTARY

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-wTcZTzKNw&list=PLD511F39E7FF8C5BC&index=3

John Logie Baird- engineer, obsessed with the idea of moving picture  
John Reith- broadcasting empires stared up 1922

both took classes in engineering in Edinburgh 

First demonstration- Selfridges London 1925 

1938- Reith leaves BBC

Gerbols- German propaganda minister saw TV as advantage 

British Tv broad casts from Alexander palace 

Story captures in film: 'The Fools on the Hill'

INTRODUCTION:

'television is a specialised industry' 

TV in the 21st Century-

television industry is a fractured industry

The way in which we watch TV is totally different being able to 'binge' watch a series

Shows that used to be made to be watched weekly are now streamed and are able to download to watch at once

-all thanks to digital technology 

BBC: To inform, to educate, to entertain

HBO completely different business model, they by pass regulation therefore can show more explicit content eg Game of Thrones     

WE ARE LIVING IN A WORLD OF DIGITAL CONVERGENCE

Consumer- enjoys the product, watches the videos 

Prosumer- makes the product, eg you tubers 

-co production between channel 4 and AMC 

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster that began transmission on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA),^[1]the station is now owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation, a public corporation of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,^[2] which was established in 1990 and came into operation in 1993. With the conversion of the Wenvoe transmitter group in Wales to digital on 31 March 2010, Channel 4 became a UK-wide TV channel for the first time.

The channel was established to provide a fourth television service to the United Kingdom in addition to the licence-funded BBC One and BBC Two, and the single commercial broadcasting network ITV.

Channel 4 original selling point was being the intellectual arty site compared to BBC and ITV

All4

More4

Film4

E4

4seven

4Muisc

VICE

KISS

Magic 

Transnational production- Humans is made by AMC and Channel 4

Humanity in Humans

What is Humanity?

What is the difference between a sinth and human?

Allegore- where a media product uses a characters, place or event to represent real world issues 

Gender performativity- KEY THEORY 10) HUDITH BUTLER:

-Identity is a performance, constructed through a seris of acts 

-biological differences is sex but gender is defined in the ways we walk, talk, dress etc

-outlined and reinforced through dominant patriarcale ideologies

-Therefore there is no gender identity behind theses expressions  

Gender= the conventions of your gender, hegemonic norms of what it means to be male and female  

How is gender constructed in HUMANS

When Laura comes home and finds the house tidy, she instantly assumes that her husband has not tidied up so raies her suspicions  

Tobys attention to Anitas figure reinforces the male gaze theory and how as a woman she is sexualised

bell hooks = Feminism is not just about gender and equality but it is for and effects everyone  

Where is partriarcl oppression in HUMANS

Bloke in the brothel, portentously rapes Niska 

Anita being shouted at because she is a robot, female and not white 

Joe has dominets over Anita coz he is the primary user 

The sales man is selling a woman 

Simon is super masculine replacing Pete the detective