victims and criminals
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
1/15
Victims and Criminals
Media Language
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
2/15
Victims
Crimes usually involve victims. There is usually
one or two main crimes per episode and new
victims are created with each new case, whilst
the cops stay the same.
We are occasionally shown the victims
background, in CSI : Crime Scene Investigation,
flashbacks are used.
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
3/15
Criminals
Criminals represent the opposition to the law.
They can be weak, misguided, stupid or clever.
In CSI: Miami, the criminals are often
portrayed as selfish, arrogant people who we
are meant to dislike. In other dramas, the
criminals are complex people who may have
suffered themselves in their past.
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
4/15
Theory
The theorist Vladimir Propp analysed character
types and came up with a list that include:
Hero who goes on a quest
Villain who is against the hero
Dispatcher who sets the hero off on their quest
Donor helps the hero
Princess the prize for the hero
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
5/15
Setting
Places are a key convention of any drama. Weassociate settings with crime dramas; NewYork City features in the title ofNYPD Blue and
CSI:NYand there are similar titles forSouthland(an area of LA) and Boomtown(another area in LA).
It is not only cities,H
eartbeatis set in theYorkshire moors and the fictional Midsomer isbased in Somerset for Midsomer Murders.
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
6/15
Narrative
Crime dramas tell us a different story in every
episode. We are taken on a journey and
elements combine to involve the viewer:
opening teaser quest
enigma clues
set pieces conflict suspense cliffhangers
dramatic irony resolution
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
7/15
Opening Teaser
We may see someone attacked, but we dont
see the perpetrator. Maybe there is a random
passer-by who finds a corpse and screams in a
close-up at the camera.
Every crime drama does it differently, but the
primary function is to draw you in and make
you want to watch. This is usually done in
combination with the enigma, the mystery.
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
8/15
Enigma
Roland Barthes described how stories use
different codes to control the way information
is given to the audience. One of these is the
enigmacodewhich sets up a riddle for the
viewer to solve.
The hero usually the forces of law and order
work hard to solve the mystery and we go
along with them on the journey or quest.
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
9/15
Clues
The story scatters cluesfor the detectives and
we follow. Some dramas dont reveal the
identity of the criminal until near the end, e.g.
Inspector Morse or Waking the Dead. This is
called a closed narrative.
In others we are shown the criminal at the
beginning, e.g. Columbo and Law and Order:
Criminal Intent. This is an opennarrative.
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
10/15
Set pieces
We are often shown scenes that we recognisefrom other dramas, these are set pieces. Forexample we may see a couple of detectives at
a crime scene, looking at a body, Or anautopsy or asking witnesses questions.
We may only follow a key detective, we seetheir viewpoint. A drama like Boomtown playswith the same scene through differentpeoples viewpoints to discover the truth.
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
11/15
Conflict
Whatever happens along the way there isalways conflict. A theorist called Claude Levi-Strausslooked at how stories involve conflict
between opposite forces, e.g. good v evil; copv criminal. These are called binaryoppositions. The opposites fight each otherfor dominance and audiences want to see
them resolved. It might not just be betweenpolice and criminal, it could be between policeofficers, the lawyers or their family members.
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
12/15
Suspense
Sometimes we see what the detective seesand other times they know the answer beforethe viewer does. Inspector Morse and
Columbo often crack the case in their mindsand we have to wait to find out what theyknow.
The steps along the way to solving the crimecreate suspense. Questions are usually raisedin your mind.
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
13/15
Dramatic irony & cliffhangers
If you are shown something the detective
hasnt seen, a suspect hiding a murder
weapon or a seemingly innocent witness up to
no good. When you know something the
heroes dont know, this is called dramatic
irony. This is often combined with
cliffhangers, when something dramatichappens and the viewer is left wondering.
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
14/15
Resolution
When all the questions are answered and the
quest comes to its natural conclusion: the
resolution. Successful crime dramas may
delay and delay the resolution and we want to
see the crime solved so we can relax. Until
next time
-
8/3/2019 Victims and Criminals
15/15
Todorov
This pattern of narrative where the story is
resolved has also been described by the
theorist Tzvetan Todorov. He reduced stories
to a simple formula:
Equilibrium
Disruption
Restored equilibrium
or Order/Chaos/Restored order