Social Values

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]

Within the show Cuffs, many things previously seen as negatives are in fact portrayed as positives as well as things that have been improved thoroughly over time, but were formerly seen as being terrible.
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.

Cuffs Review

Shackled in the slammer! New BBC One Police Drama is a raving success!

The BBC have created a brand new drama focused on police life in Brighton, which has recently aired on BBC One.

The series follows the exploits of new recruit PC Jake Vickers and veteran of policing Ryan Draper. Their interactions start off very tense as Draper only believes that Vickers got onto the force because of his father, due to him being the Chief Superintendent of the force. This creates a rift between the two characters which is resolved through the episode when Jake knocks-out a racist criminal. This causes their rickety relationship to be healed over and they go training together with the other members of the force, but Jake quickly fails the exercise and gets the lawyer's number because they are both gay.

Cuffs Case Study

Cuffs Series 1 Episode 1

Main Characters:

• PC Ryan Draper (played by Ashley Walters) is Jake's tutor constable, he is also a widower with a son and daughter. He is black.
• PC Jake Vickers (played by Jacob Ifan) is the son of the Chief Superintendent and is struggling as a new recruit. He is also gay.
• DS Jo Moffat (played byAmanda Abbington) is an investigator having an affair with Chief Superintendent Vickers. She is divorced and lives alone with her ageing German Shepherd.
• Chief Superintendent Robert Vickers (played by Peter Sullivan) is Jake's father and his wife is suffering from cancer.
• DC Carl Hawkins (played by Shaun Dooley) is from Yorkshire, has a wife and a child and wants to try for another one.
• DI Felix Kane (played by Paul Ready) is a mysterious and stoic senior investigator with a troubled personal life.
• PC Donna Prager (played by Eleanor Matsuura) is Lino's partner, and an authorised taser officer. She is also a lesbian, and has a wife.
• PC Lino Moretti (played by Alex Carter) is an out-of-shape cop who is proud of his Italian heritage. He is also Donna's partner.

Storylines:

• Jake Vickers is new on the force and must be inducted and trained on his first day. He is monitored by Ryan Draper, someone who is skeptical of how he got onto the force in the first place because his father is Robert Vickers, chief superintendent.
• The Brighton police must deal with a racist who stabbed a young Indian boy which leads to Jake's first successful arrest.
• The force must also locate a father whop kidnapped his daughter because he wanted to spend more time with her, the father is dealing with mental issues and was successfully talked out of killing himself.

Setting:

• Brighton, the "gay capital" of England.

Overall Tone:

• Realistic

Television in the 2010s

Society in 2015:

• David Cameron legalised gay marriage.
• Immigration levels increased.
• UKIP gained a lot traction because they promised to get rid of immigrants.
• Terrorist attacks in Paris.
• Post 911 Islamophobia.
• Wars in Syria.
• Conservative government.
• 3 protests - Austerity (the conservatives increased their pay by 11%), Global Warming
• Trumps election campaign.
• BREXIT.
• Third Wave Feminism
• blacklivesmatter
• oscarssowhite

These events are overwhelmingly negative as it is full of violence and dumb decisions. This means when people look back at this decade they will consider it as being very idiotic.

Britishness in The Avengers

How was Media Language used to show Britishness in The Avengers?:

In The Avengers, Britishness is portrayed in a multitude of ways. One of those ways is through the use of mine-en-scene and camerawork. The first shot we see involves a low angle low shot of a small deserted street in a little village, something that is rather British, and to further push this stereotype, it shows us an old brick-work pub which is most usually associated with being a British commodity of small towns. Another way they portray Britishness within The Avengers is through the way the villagers behave and react to the newcomers Steed, Peel and Smallwood. Upon entering the pub everyone currently in there turns and stares at those who have just entered, which would be commonplace as most people who live in a small village and know all the inhabitants would be very interested in the actions and motivations of anyone new in the area. Every character within the pub is also shown to be incredibly British as they are all wearing things that are seen to be British. In the case of Steed it is his waistcoat and bowler hat, for Peel it's her odd cardigan that would've been fashionable in the 60's, Smallwood is wearing a fashionable suit and a bowtie. The villagers are wearing simple clothes that would be worn by farmers in the countryside. Some of them with higher positions in society are wearing suits, like the School Inspector. Piggy Warren, the pub owner has slicked back hair and a large moustache which would've been normal for someone in the military as out shows their rank.

Another method used to show the Britishness in The Avengers is through the use of sound and dialogue. The first thing heard within the scene is a non-diegetic sound cue which is eerie, not British but it shows that something odd is happening which fits with the spy theme that is often associated with Britain. Along with that is also diegetic sound which is the heavy wind that is blowing throughout the town, something that is usually considered to be British as we are only known for having horrid weather, something which further reflects this is the first piece of dialogue that we hear from the group as they enter the pub is "Ooh that's chilly" which shows the stereotype that all of us in Britain moan about the weather. Most people in The Avengers speak with a polite and high-class accent.

The final method used within The Avengers to portray the British stereotypes is through the editing techniques. Most of which is continuity editing to maintain the flow of the story. There are also sound bridges to get things to flow well with a unique blend of music. Eyeliner matches are used so we can see what other are staring at, an example this is the plane prop that dangles from the roof, and it is used as a minor plot point that is about how all of those who are British are obsessed with wars we have won and are full of pomp.

Avengers Characters

The Representation of Characters in The Avengers

Mrs Peel Representation:

• Costume: Emma Peel is usually seen wearing a skin-tight latex suit.
• Settings: Emma Peel is often seen in her apartment which is highly modern and contains very expensive decorations.
• Props: Emma Peel can be seen fencing quite often.
• Actions: Emma Peel would quite often flirt with her partner, John Steed.
• Dialogue: Speaks with a posh accent to prove she is of the upperclass.
• Stereotypes: Is quite often sexualised as a woman, but is in no way shown to be weak as she can beat others in a fight, however she does sometimes become damsel in distress as requires John Steed to come to her rescue.

Mr Steed Representation:

• Costume: John Steed is often seen wearing a suit and a bowler hat.
• Settings: John Steed is often found in places where the action is high, or a pace usually allocated to those oh a high class.
• Props: John Steed is seen carrying an umbrella quite often.
• Actions: John Steed is often seen flirting with Emma Peel. He is also quite good at hand to hand combat and will often be seen fighting.
• Dialogue: Speaks with a high-class accent.
• Stereotypes: Is an excellent combatant and can win in a fight against anyone, he will often come to the rescue of people such as Emma Peel.

1960's Stereotypes:

• Nationalities: At the time of filming majority of England would've been White British, and so the actors were White British so that way the audience could've identified further with the characters.
• Gender: Most of the lead roles were played by males, and females were minor side character apart from the aide of Steed.
• Job Roles: Females were always seen performing jobs which would've been considered womanly, so many females would've been teachers or nurses. Men would've been seen playing roles which required a lot of strength like soldiers or blacksmiths.
• Places: Seaside towns would often be the setting of episodes as they were associated with Britain.

How was media language used to show the social context of the 1960's?

How was Media Language used to show the social context of the 1960's?:

Consider:
Camera-work, Mise-En-Scene, Editing, Sound

Answer:

Many media devices are used thoroughly throughout The Avengers TV programme in an attempt to show that the programme was set in the 1960's. It does this by utilising many different devices such as mies-en-scene. One such instance is when Mr Steed wants to enter Mrs Peel's apartment and instead of using a small peep-hole to look out into the hallway Mrs Peel uses a large eye which is plastered in make-up which would've been a popular style at the time, showing that it's connected to the time period. Mrs Peel is also seen to wear a skintight leather catsuit which can be linked to the sexual expression of the times the contraceptive pill would've been newly released and women were then free to be as promiscuous as they wanted without having to risk pregnancy, and so Mrs Peel was the embodiment of that as she was being sexy and promiscuous.

Another media device used in The Avengers is the way that Camerawork was used. The camera shots used are to show that Steed in the more powerful out of the two agents as he is a strong male as a low angle shot is used to depict that the male is of a higher status. A high angle shot is used to show that the woman is the weaker of the two, but after they begin fencing Steed is quickly overpowered showing that Peel is in fact the stronger one of them as he is then shown using a high angle shot.

Another media device they have used is sound, they used ambient sounds such as door bells but the most important thing they used is non-diegetic sound, as it is sexy and will compliments the flirtatious nature and the flirtatious speech of Steed and Peel.

Another media device they have used that is pivotal showing that the show is set in the 1960's is the editing. At the time the easiest way to figure out who a British spy is, is to see which British person has an umbrella