TV Drama

Revision
Pack
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Textual Analysis and Representation

Revision of TV DRAMA
The exam:
2hr exam paper:

30 mins viewing/note making time

45 mins answering TV Drama question

45 mins answering Film Industry Question

Making sure you leave enough time for each question is KEY to success

Technical Areas:

Camera shots, movement, angle & composition

Editing
Sound
Mise en Scene

You have to address all 4 of these areas in the exam

Representation Areas:

Gender
Age
Ethnicity
Sexuality
Class and status
Physical ability/disability
Regional identity

The exam question will specify which ONE area you have to write about in your
answer

What should you be looking for when you analyse TV

drama?

What kind of realism is being attempted by the programme?

Who is being represented in the drama (who is present), and how?
Who is not being represented in the drama (who is absent) and why?
Can we identify any characters that are stereotypical
representations?
Is there a dominant view of the world represented in the drama, or
are there several different views to choose from?
What different responses might audience members make to these
representations?

Stereotypes, binary oppositions and television

drama
Representation is based on STEREOTYPES and its important that you refer to
stereotypes in your answer. Stereotypes are used as an easy device for the
writers of TV drama to condense character information because they understand
that we have preconceived expectations about stereotyped characters and how
they will behave and act.
Regional Identity is one of the more tricky areas of representation that you may
come up against on the Media Studies exam. On one level it is about the
geographical area in which the TV drama is set. However, more importantly, it is
about local people Vs the OTHER. This is a binary opposition.
In TV dramas, the drama is often created by an outsider coming into an existing
established situation and causing tension. The characters in the existing location
are the norm, the ordinary and established. The outsider character is the
other. They are seen as different and usually have a different viewpoint, different
norms and values than the local people. Watch any sequence from Doc Martin
and you will see this at play.

Top tips for exam strategy:

Make a lot of notes. Divide your double page answer book into 4 boxes
1 for each technical area. You could focus on just one or 2 technical areas
per viewing

Give lots of examples from the clip you are watching

Make sure you cover all 4 technical areas in the exam!

DO NOT write about the TV Drama genre just produce a technical

analysis which relates to representation

Make sure that you are relating what you are writing to the area of
representation cited in the exam question.

DO NOT produce a lengthy introduction go straight into the analysis

DO talk about stereotyping: all TV dramas fall back on this to introduce

easily recognisable character types

Dont forget to write about editing its often the weakest part of the
answer and so the examiner will be looking closely at this part of your
analysis

Know terminology: the question is marked out of 50 and divided up like

this: explanation, analysis & argument (20 marks), use of examples (20
marks), Use of terminology (10 marks)

Remember to PEE.. (make a point, exemplify this with an example

and finally explain)

Things to look for when analysing

representation:
Gender: very obviously there should be some contrast between male and
female. Look out for very stereotypical representations of the male as strong |
dominant | career-focused | unemotional compared to a female representation of
being very domesticated | weak | obsessed with appearance | subordinate. But
beware you could be shown a clip that challenges these stereotypical
representations and so you must be prepared for this too. It could be that you are
shown a woman in a position of power or a man in a subservient role.
Age: typically you should look for contrasts between old and young: stereotype
of the old being nosey | moany | technophobes | afraid of the young | frail | weak |
needing help versus stereotypes of the young being wild | technophiles | rude | fit
| more knowledgeable. Of course you could also be presented with stereotypes of
teachers | parents as fulfilling the older stereotype. And there could of course be
a challenge to expected stereotypes where you may find a younger character
being represented as very responsible | caring | knowledgeable.
Regional Identity: as discussed on the previous page, representations of
regional identity are likely to be based around one or two characters clearly being
outsiders or others in comparison to everyone else. It doesnt matter if you
dont know where the TV drama is set you arent being tested on your
knowledge of regional geography but you will need to be able to draw out
stereotypes between locals and outsiders and what this says about both.
Ethnicity: in many TV dramas representations of ethnicity are tied together with
representations of nationality so you see ethnic groups being represented as
being foreign and different to anyone who speaks with an English accent,
regardless of their ethnic background. As with regional identity you will
endeavour to identify how people or groups of people are represented as being
other or different to others on screen. Watch the Hotel Babylon clip on the blog
and observe how the illegal immigrant workers are represented, regardless of
their ethnicity (as we see a wide range of different ethnic groups in this clip), as
being out of their comfort zone and set up as being different to the British hotel
workers (who also represented many different ethnic groups). It is accent that
sets these ethnic groups apart. Its been a long while since this was examined.
Prioritise this for your revision.
Sexuality: binary oppositions and negative stereotypes will likely play a big part
in the analysis of sexuality in tv drama. We are conditioned by the stereotypes
that are demonstrated on tv to see heterosexuality as the norm and anything
else as other or different. Hopefully if sexuality comes up in the clip again you
will be presented with a more positive representation of sexuality, just like the
Fingersmith clip, that allows you to explore binary oppositions and social
comments on sexuality.
Class and Status: As with regional identity, ethnicity and sexuality you need to
be looking out for a character or characters who are represented as being other
or different because of their class or status. This could be because they have a
higher or lower status compared to the rest of the characters in the clip. Make

sure that you look closely at how these characters are represented through the
technical areas. Going back over the Downton Abbey clip will help you prepare
for this area of representation.
Physical ability | Disability: this has come up in a previous years clip and it
focused on a character or characters being defined as different or other to the
rest of the group. How are these characters filmed? What comments is the
director giving about them? Look back at the Coming Round the Mountain clip
from a previous summers exam to help you with this.