No Offence (Series 1, episode 1) and The Killing (Series 1, episode 1)

No Offence

A group of police officers try their best to keep the streets of Manchester free of crime. When all else fails, they decide to use unconventional methods to teach the perpetrators a lesson.

Language	-the codes and conventions of the police procedural crime drama are intertwined with aspects of social realism -analysis of the process through which media language develops as genre y to understand and reflect on the dynamic nature of genre -analysis should include: mise-en-scene, semiotics
Narrative	-Which narrative techniques are used to engage the audience -How the use of the narrative conventions of the crime drama – use of enigmas, restricted narration etc. – positions the audience -The ways in which the narrative structure offers a range of gratification to the audience -Narratology including Todorov
Genre	-Conventions of the TV drama series and the way in which this form is used to appeal to audiences. -Definition of the series as a hybrid genre, belonging to the drama, social realism and crime genres -Genre theory including Neale
Representations	-Negative and positive use – or subversion – of stereotypes, particularly around the representation of women and the police. – unusual in popular television series due to the dominance of female characters. -Representation of place – Manchester – by implication the nation? -Representation of issues – series 1 deals with the disappearance and murder of children with Down’s Syndrome and raises questions about attitudes to and treatment of people with disabilities. -Analysis of how the representations convey values, attitudes and beliefs about the world -Theories of representation including Hall
Industries	– AbbottVision production, an independent company founded by the writer Paul Abbott who also wrote Shameless. -a critical and commercial success in the UK, it was also a ratings success in France where it was shown on the national broadcast channel, France2. -Channel 4 uses series such as No Offence to add value to the channel through the availability of the ‘box set’ on All4. -channel 4 – 90% income is from advertising – £934m in revenue – however gets reinvested into company
Audience	The production, distribution and circulation of No Offence shows how audiences can be reached, both on a national and global scale, through different media technologies and platforms, moving from the national to transnational through broadcast and digital technologies. No Offence was broadcast on Channel 4, can still be accessed on All4, it was also broadcast in France. The way in which different audience interpretations reflect social, cultural and historical circumstances is evident in the analysis of No Offence which is explicitly linked to contemporary issues. Audience positioning through the construction of characters who are morally ambiguous. The advertising campaigns (trailers, websites at home and abroad) for the series demonstrate how media producers target, attract and potentially construct audiences. Cultivation theory including Gerbner Reception theory including Hall
Social, Political, economic, cultural contexts	-police force is used as a microcosm of society through which to examine changing gender roles -focus of the case which features children and adults with Down’s syndrome examines the position of people with disabilities in the wider society -Political contexts are evident in the nature of the approach to police work which refers to a history of corruption and the role of police power in society -The economic context can be explored through patterns of ownership and production and how the product is marketed nationally and globally

The Killing

Inspector Sarah Lund thought she was going to work one last day in Copenhagen before moving to a remote Swedish town with her boyfriend and young son. She was wrong. When a teenage girl’s body is found in a car with links to a mayoral candidate’s office, Lund begins what becomes a 20-day investigation into the murder.

Language	-use of a noir visual style, conventions of the police procedural and multiple narrative strands – Mise en scene -Semiotics
Narrative	-use of the narrative conventions of the crime drama – use of enigmas, binary oppositions, restricted and omniscient narration etc. – effects the position of the audience -analysing the appeals of the structure as reassuring and predictable – even when dealing with difficult subject matter -multiple plot lines related to the central crime -Narratology including Todorov
Genre	-Conventions of the TV series (The Killing had three series which had links but were also stand-alone series) and the way in which this form is used to appeal to audiences; how it is distinct from, but related to series and serials -belonging to the drama and crime genres -Analysing the current popularity of the crime genre -Genre theory including Neale
Representation	-f gender: The woman as police detective, representation of marriage, gender stereotypes etc -Feminist debates – Violence and the representation of gender. This could include the controversy around using violent crime against women as popular entertainment -national identity – Denmark including issues of multiculturalism. -Theories of representation including Hall -Feminist theories including bell hooks and Van Zoonen
Industries	-catalyst for the wider distribution of foreign language crime programming on UK television, its unexpected success influencing BBC4’s scheduling but also that of other UK channels -Danish national public service broadcaster DR, providing the opportunity to study PSB in a different national context. -The regulatory framework of contemporary media, with the focus on PSB -e specialised nature of media production, distribution and circulation within a transnational and global context -The Killing personifies a successful transnational, contemporary media product with long duration (it was broadcast in the UK nearly five years after its success in Denmark) -remade by Turkish and US TV (AMC) -Cultural industries including Hesmondhalgh
Audience	-The production, distribution and circulation of the Killing shows how audiences can be reached, both on a national and global scale, through different media technologies and platforms -different audience interpretations reflect social, cultural and historical circumstances is evident in the analysis of the series which are explicitly linked to contemporary issues – often related to gender and feminist issues -New types of characters to construct alignment for the audience/audience positioning -The advertising campaigns for the series demonstrate how media producers target, attract and potentially construct audiences. -Audience behaviour in response to the series – the interest in Scandinavian culture and lifestyle -Cultivation theory including Gerbner -Reception theory including Hall
Social, political, cultural and economic contexts	-e first time saw TV series not in the English language become part of mainstream UK broadcasting -dominated by the crime genre was part of a wider cultural phenomenon which saw the crime genre become the key form for exploring social contexts – particularly changing gender roles -key factor in the surge in interest in Scandinavian culture in the UK -uses the crime genre to explore contemporary political contexts of multiculturalism and debate the effects of immigration -The economic context can be explored through patterns of ownership and production and how the product is marketed nationally and globally.