| CATEGORY | SIMILARITIES | DIFFERENCES | THEORY |
| CHARACTERS | the detective who has a ‘natural’ instinct for law and order the victim is young and a female, which emphasises that the younger generation are more vulnerable then the older generation the storyline focuses on a female detective and her story as the hero investigating a murder. | the Killing, “The Missing” has the main detective as female, whereas males usually take on a detective role as it is seen as a more masculine job. | PROPP |
| NARRATIVE | the first episode often introduces a lot of different characters the narrative also sets the scene, as shown by the pathetic fallacy of the rain signifying darker elements of the plot and sunshine signifying the more happier elements of the plot. | “The Killing” starts with an episode that dives straight into the dilemma that will be resolved in the series, whereas the first episode of TV series, it is usually just to set the scene | TODOROV |
| THEMES | the use of binary oppostions around familiar themes: family, community, law and order, justice. | there is a setting of both an urban and rural area, thus emphasising thatb the rural areas are dangerous, whereas the urban areas can be seen as a place of safety. | LEVI-STRAUSS |
| REPRESENTATION | reactionary representations of police, family, law and order, urban/rural. through the way a female is used as the victim, it shows the vulnerability of females | “The Killing” represents all minorities in the modern world, which attracts a wider audience and shows inclusion and diversity. the use of a female going against the dominant ideology represents females as equal to men and shows that they too are able to have some power and authority. | SEMIOTICS |
| TECHNICAL CODES / LANGUAGE OF MOVING IMAGE (music, setting, props, lighting, use of camera, editing etc) | opening montage sequence that often gives clues as to the whole series – themes, locations, characters, events etc. this Tv series follow the rules and conventions of the mystery genre, as suggested by the use of a detective and clues that are left, as well as the detective using the account of witnesses and close family members in order to solve the mystery of this murder. | there are a lot off “over the shoulder” camera shots, which makes it feel as if the audience is in the scene and is living like they are in the TV programme. |
