Exam Style Questions:
Why was the pre-watershed scheduling of 8pm significant in terms of representations they could offer? [3 marks]
Showing this series prior to the watershed is quite significant as the series itself deals with issues and subjects that are considered quite mature. Such subjects featured are the inclusion of homosexuality, suicide and nudity. Normally these would be considered shocking but when you think about it the nation is rather desensitised to such extremes. Gay marriage would've been legalised rather recently prior to the the release of the series, so it would've been commonplace in the news and people obviously wanted to appeal to all members of their audience by including a broad range of characters with different ethnicities and backgrounds. Suicide is also a prevalent subject within the first episode as two characters attempt it, this may upset most people, but it is important for people to understand that some people are incredibly upset and may want to hurt themselves. Nudity also appears in the beginning as a man's behind is exposed to everyone in the first few moments, which is not necessary at all but is used to reflect what Brighton is, a very liberated place.How were the following areas represented in the episode?;
- Ethnicity
- Gender
- Sexuality
[10 marks]
Such subjects include ethnicity, gender and sexuality. Ethnicity is shown to be something positive, after all one of the leading characters within the series is black, in the form of Ryan Draper, and this contradicts what prior shows have attempted to establish which have shown that all black people are criminals. However, the show does also depict a racial attack which almost ends in the death of a young indian boy. This shows that racial tensions are still high within Britain, despite society being more tolerant and accepting of people with different backgrounds.
Another subject which is covered happens to be gender. There are many female police officers depicted in the series, such as Donna Prager who appear to be very strong and powerful, after all Donna is a licensed taser officer showing that women are also strong. But on the other hand women are still presented as gossiping nitwits that can't do anything for themselves as at one point two women are discussing whether the new guy is hot and are helpless when a crime takes place.
One other subject that is depicted within the series is sexuality and features two homosexual main characters, Jake Vickers and Donna Prager. It is portrayed in a positive light as both characters are out and proud of it, in fact Jake Vickers tried to pick up a man he had never met before and was not entirely sure if they were gay in the first place. However homosexual's are still presented as being rather helpless and weak as jake Vickers did nothing helpful throughout the series apart from knocking out a racist. Albeit he did manage to help a bit more near the end.
In the end this series tries to show that people are far more tolerant than what Britain used to be, however there are still some ignorant people who are racist, sexist and homophobic.
