Capital: Case study blog tasks

 Reviews and features

Read the following review and feature on Capital:

Guardian review by Sam Wollaston
London Evening Standard: five things you need to know about Capital

1) What positive points does the review pick out about Capital? What criticisms are made - either of the TV drama or the original novel?

 Positive - It shows a clear insight as to what living in London is like.
- The representations of characters are quite accurate to reality.

Critisisms- The daily mail criticised the plot of Capital as it portrayed White British people in a negative way and Muslims in a positive light, which is the complete opposite of what they write about.

2) What references can you find in the reviews and feature to the idea Capital is a 'state-of-the-nation' drama? How does it capture modern-day London?

- Birds-eye shots of the gurking and the cheese grater

-Corner shops (usually owned by immigrants)

-London- riven by inequality and quickened diversity

-Financial struggles

Trailer analysis

Watch the trailer for Capital:

 

1) How does the drama use camerawork to capture London life?

-Crane shot of London- the houses are closely packed together. Council estates are on one road and when you turn the corner to the next road, the houses are owned by millionaires.

-Constant cuts to emphasise the contrast between lives in London (rich vs poor, English vs immigrant).

2) How does the trailer use mise-en-scene to capture the family element of the drama?

At 0:17 the family is sitting around the table eating food. A computer is in the middle of the table and Skype is being used. 

3) How does the trailer introduce narrative strands suggesting tension or enigma in the 40-second running time?

The trailer uses cuts to emphasise the contrast between lives in London- tension between rich-poor/English-immigrants.

Watch the Episode 1 preview for Capital:

 

1) What does this preview clip suggest about the potential sub-genres for Capital?

Crime, drama,realism,social,urban, and political

2) What elements of the clip might suggest this is a 'state-of-the-nation' drama?

The young boy hinting the inequality towards immigrants. He suggests that according to the police force, white people come first- "because white people have complained?"

3) Analyse the mise-en-scene in this clip. How does this provide realism and familiarity for audiences?

The scene is set in a local corner shop. This setting is very familiar to audiences because most people have a local corner shop in their area. The local corner shop in the preview has the same content that local corner ships usually have around London. 

4) How is the audience positioned to respond to the different characters in this particular sequence?



Watch the Episode 2 preview for Capital:

 

1) How does this clip represent upper-middle-class family life?
This represents an upper-middle-class family as they have a nanny. 

2) What narrative strands are suggested in this sequence?

Roger: rich but lonely.
Nurse: poor but happy. 
Arabela: rich but grumpy. 

3) How is the audience positioned to respond to Roger Yount, the main character (banker and father to the two boys)?

In this preview, the audience are positioned to feel sympathy for Roger Yount.

Representations: close-textual analysis

Capital offers a range of fascinating representations - from London and asylum seekers to capitalism and inequality. You need to be able to confidently discuss these issues in the context of 2015 London - with reference to key scenes from episode 1. Representations include: London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, capitalism, aging and more.

These notes from your feedback in the lesson analysing these clips will help with this element of the case study. You'll need your Greenford Google login to access the document.

1) Write an analysis of the representations in each of the key scenes from episode 1 we studied in the lesson:
Scene 1: opening sequence 00:30 – 4.49:

The Pakistani family own a corner shop- stereotypes are shown in this corner shop because the men in the family were working while the woman of the family was looking after the kids.

In the montage, the man was counting the money and he was doing active things like driving for example. However, the woman was making tea and was looking after the baby. She was doing quite passive activities.

Scene 2: work in the City 6.28 – 8.10:

Roger is seen on the central line- a very crowded central line. There was a shot of Roger framed by an armpit and this creates authenticity. This is a normal representation of what it's like travelling on London transport. 

There is an areal shot of Canary Wharf- London's business sector. 

Scene 3: “Which of those isn’t absolutely essential?” 14.00 – 15.35:

"You'd be surprised how little a million pounds actually covered these days" -Roger Yount

"What use is thirty grand to anyone" -Roger Yount

White, upper class British men are portrayed pretty negatively. 

Scene 4: asylum 18.03 – 19.42 AND 31.10 – 32.40:

refugees, asylum seekers

"You do know if I go back I would be killed" "perhaps you'd be lucky" "yes, perhaps i'd only be raped" -Quentina

The man she was working for wanted a kiss- exploitation.

Gender stereotyping is seen when Quentina worked but the man got the money- women do the work but men get the money.

Scene 5: “What use is 30 grand?” 36.40 – 39.00:

"What use is thirty grand to anybody" -Roger is relying on his bonus to pay his debt. There is a sharp contrast between Roger and Quentina because this scene happened just after the Quentina scene

"fundamentaly not fair" -Roger. This illustrates entitlement of a white upper class worker and reinforces a negative representation of the British upper class

Scene 6: life at the corner shop 40.10 – 42.55:

Arabela had never been to her own corner shop because she usually gets the shopping delivered to her home. However, when Arabela decides to go into the corner shop for coriander the Pakistani family gives it to her for free. This is a positive representation of muslims (Pakistani's). Arabela however is presented as unsympathetic.

You can choose which aspects to focus on for each scene: e.g. London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, aging etc. Feel free to use bullet points or notes for each scene.

2) How does Capital use stereotypes? Do the characters and issues represented in Capital reinforce or subvert the stereotypes we typically see in the media?


Industries and production context 

Capital was produced by independent production company Kudos for the BBC. Look at the Kudos website and also read the Kudos Wikipedia page.

1) Who is the parent company for Kudos?

Endemol Shine Group

2) What was the breakthrough show for Kudos in 2002?

Kudos came to international attention with the BAFTA Award-winning spy drama Spooks, which debuted on BBC one on 13 May 2002.

3) Watch the showreel on the Kudos website. What other TV dramas have Kudos produced? What awards have they won?

v dramas produced:

-Humans

-Troy: Fall Of A City

-The Boy With The Topknot

-Gunpowder

-Tin Star 

-Man In An Orange Shirt

-Grantchester

-Apple Tree Yard

-Broadchurch

-Flowers

-The Tunnel

-Capital

-River

-Utopia

Awards won:

Broadchurch- best drama series (TV choice awards), best crime drama 2017 (national television awards 2018)

4) What audience pleasures does the showreel suggest Kudos productions offer? 

The audience will constantly be intrigued by the dramas shown on Kudos.

Marketing and promotion

Read the BBC Press Pack for Capital.

1) How does the programme information on page 3 make Capital sound interesting to audiences?

-It names the actors, the movies/TV shows they've starred in and the awards that some of them have won

-The mention of the anonymous postcard "We Want What You Have?"

2) Why does the programme information mention the other shows that the director and producer have worked on?

The programme mentions other shows that the director and producer have worked on to bring in familiar audiences- audiences that have previously watched shows produced by the same director and producer that made Capital (a loyal fanbase)

3) Who commissioned Capital for BBC?

It was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Controller of BBC One and Ben Stephenson, Controller of BBC Drama

4) Read the interview with Toby Jones. What does he say about the character of Roger?

"Roger isn’t an evil banker, he’s a slightly complacent banker. He’s become used to a certain way of life and has a self-imposed pressure to live that way. He spends a lot of money on things that other people don’t spend money on – for example fixtures and fittings - but that is normal to him and his wife. He is not totally in charge of his life or his work."

5) Read the interview with Adeel Akhtar (page 10). What does he suggest Capital says about the fictional Pepys Road and the sense of community (or lack of it) in London?

-"We’re living in a strange time now. I think we’re at a crossroads and a lot of things are slowly happening, socially, economically and culturally. Pepys Road is a manifestation of this. It’s an example of what is happening on a lot of roads in London and Britain."

-"It looks at the idea of a community, and what it means to belong to the community from whatever background you’re from. One of the problems is that some people within a community, such as Ahmed’s brother Usman, feel ostracized from it. They feel like they don’t belong and are on the outside looking in. Capital looks at that concept and also that they are all part of something bigger than themselves."

6) Read the interview with Shabana Azmi (page 12). What does she say about Asian representations in Britain? 

"If you look at the subject of Capital, and the number of communities that are being represented, there’s awareness that the world is shrinking, and becoming a global village. We are absorbing cultures, and understanding them, or at least trying to understand them within their own paradigms."

7) Read the interview with Peter Bowker (who adapted Capital - page 14). What are his favourite scenes in the drama and why?

"Christmas morning where Roger has been abandoned and left to look after his two 15 children is one that Euros (Director) has done brilliantly. Roger realises that his life is changing but it’s done with such comedy! It is one of those glorious Basil Fawlty moments where the farce is working at one level and the emotional farce is working at another. I also love the Kamals’ chaotic family meals. They are quintessentially archetypal family scenes that everybody lives through, but played with great comedic panache. And when Bogdan the Polish builder talks to Matya the Hungarian nanny about the affluent Londoners they are working for, it’s fascinating. Capital has a wonderful scale but is all about the minute observations of human nature."


8) Read the interview with Derek Wax, the Executive Producer for Kudos (page 16). Why did he produce Capital and what does it say about the way we live now?

-"The novel really spoke to me as it has a sweeping Dickensian ambition to it, all life in one street. I loved the sense of this big, expansive panorama of life as well as the small details of human behaviour. The whole of London seen through the microcosm of one street. And the characters are so complex, real and believable. Sometimes big ‘state of the nation’ novels use characters to illustrate political points, but Capital is far more subtle and nuanced. John gets inside their heads and allows us to engage with their thoughts and feelings, observes them with insight, humour and humanity, allows the story to breathe."

-"It definitely speaks to me about where London and the country is now. The obsession with property, the fact that London house prices have risen extraordinarily, has only intensified the sense of a society of haves and have-nots. Your home becomes the thing by which you are defined at some level, and in Capital we go from Bogdan's bedsit to Petunia's home untouched for 60 years, to Roger and Arabella with their multiple homes and constant refurbishment, which is a fascinating way of entering the psychology of these characters. Everyone’s connection to money is explored but then the novel expands to ask what life’s real value is, and it does this with a very deft, light touch. I’d say the novel is profound but never overtly polemical."

DVD packaging

Look at the DVD packaging for Capital. There are many marketing techniques employed here.

1) How does the packaging use other critically acclaimed TV dramas to promote Capital?

"From the makers of Humans and Broadchurch" 
This helps to promote Capital because the loyal fans of Humans and Broadchurch will want to watch Capital because the same producers who produced Humans and Broadchurch produced Capital.

2) What does the use of design and images suggest to the audience about the drama?

-The use of the images of the characters suggest that Capital has a diverse case.

-The use of the sentence "someone wants what they have" in bold would make a buyer interested. Who wants what who has? This makes the drama seem interesting.

-The reviews from newspapers are in bold. Loyal readers of the newspapers would watch Capital because the reviews are from their newspaper. The reviews from newspapers like "the sunday times" suggest that this drama is for people who are interested in issues such as politics and economic issues.

3) How are review quotes used on the cover and what do they suggest to the audience about sub-genre, narrative and audience pleasures?

The reviews from newspapers are in bold. Loyal readers of the newspapers would watch Capital because the reviews are from their newspaper. The reviews from newspapers like "the sunday times" suggest that this drama is for people who are interested in issues such as politics and economic issues.

4) What representation of London does the DVD packaging offer?

-The cast of a diverse background suggests that London is a mulitcultural city. 

-At the top of the DVD packaging, there is a silhouette of famous buildings in London. This creates a good and well known representation of the famous city of London.