House of Cards- 27/03/2019

House of Cards
(focusing on 1 episode, episode 1 )


media language: how the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings. (LIAR) (language, industry, audience, representation) 

media representations: how the media portray events, issues, individuals and social groups.

media industries: how the media industries’ processes of production, distribution and circulation affect media forms and platforms.

media audiences: how media forms target, reach and address audiences, how audiences interpret and respond to them and how members of audiences become producers themselves.

Drama:  TV drama is a broad genre. At its simplest, it is fictionalised action in narrative form.

Long form TV drama: Long Form Drama is a term coined to describe the recent shift of interest towards television series of high quality that many consider to have replaced the cinema as a locus of serious adult entertainment. Unfolding over multiple episodes, hours, and even years, these TV shows are seen to provide a content, often dark and difficult, and an innovative style that strain against the conventions of cinema as well as network television.

Media convention:  A code is a system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning.In media texts, we look at a range of different signs that can be loosely grouped into the following:technical codes - all to do with the way a text is technically constructed - camera angles, framing, typography etc. verbal codes ...

In other words, media conventions are rules or generally accepted ways of constructing form and informing meaning in media products including story principles, form and structure, generic structures, character and story arcs, cause and effect, point of view, the structuring of time, elements of page layout, paper stock for print, titles and credits sequences, hyperlinking and mounting and framing of images.

A way in which something is usually done. Something you as an audience would expect to see from a specific genre of a media text/tv or film. Eg. in an action movie there would be violence & crime shown.

Semiotics- how the audience interprets signs and symbols. However, two different people watching the same media text, having two different interpretations due to different understandings. It relies on the previous experience of the people therefore the different experiences of audiences will result in them forming different interpretations of the same production. 

Genre: A genre is basically the category of any type of art or literature, for example categories of movie would be comedy, horror, thriller etc.

Genre Hybridity: Some media texts are hybrid genres, which means they share the conventions of more than one genre. For example Dr. Who is a sci-fi action-adventure drama and Strictly Come Dancing is a talent, reality and entertainment show.

verbal codes ...

Synopsis: A brief summary of the major points of a written work.

Codes

A code is a system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning  (system of signs which create meaning)
In media texts, we look at a range of different signs that can be loosely grouped into the following:

• technical codes- all to do with the way a text is technically constructed (camera work, camera angels, framing,  typography) where filmakers use equipment such as camera, or lighting to create a meaning. (shaking the camera to show an earthquake, show the audience that there is an earhtquake. 
• verbal codes- everything to do with language, either written or spoken.
• symbolic codes - codes that can be decoded on a mainly connotational level. Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. For example, a character`s actions show you how a character is feeling. (something that has a meaning attached to it, show a meaning to the audience)

Barthes` Narrative Codes

Narratives like a ball of string

Open or closed?

texts may be

• ' open ' (i.e. unravelled in a lot of different ways) or

• ' closed ' (there is only one obvious thread to pull on).

Barthes also decided that the threads that you pull on to try and unravel meaning are called narrative codes and that they could be categorised in the following five ways:

Barthes` Enigma Code 

Narrative Story

5 codes:

- Enigma Code

- Action Code

- Semantic Code

- Symbolic Code

- Referential Code

Enigma Code- The Hermeneutic Code refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the reader.

The purpose of the author in this is typically to keep the audience guessing, arresting the enigma, until the final scenes when all is revealed and all loose ends are tied off and closure is achieved.

Action Code- The Proairetic Code also builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the reader guessing as to what will happen next.

          Action code - applies to any action that implies a further narrative action. For example, a gunslinger draws his gun on an adversary and we wonder what the resolution of this action will be. 

          Semantic code- this code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the world. It is any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning. 

Main characters:

Frank Underwood- protagonist

Claire Underwood- partner of Frank 

Zoe Barnes- Journalist

Analysis of Episode 1 

Frank gets promised he will become the secretary of state, however he had to stay in Congress

Editing:

- Lots of music

- Juxtaposition of scenes:

Politics scene shown and then switches onto a scene where the trash is shown

In the beginning it opens up with Frank`s dog being runned over which is quite sad however the scene that it was followed up by is the politics scene- meeting which changes the mood. 

Mise en scene:

- Dark and dull mise en scene

Camera work:

Sound:

- Start is quite dramatic 

- Sound in the opening builds up suspension and tension, making the opening effective and exciting

Lightining: 

- Dark in the opening 

- Unsaturated colours in the lightning and atmosphere 

- Dark and dingy links to the dirty work and the fact that the genre is a drama

Representation of characters & PLOT

- Frank- speaks quite seriously throughout however includes humour as well

- Zoe: unrecognised character in the beginning and shown as being ignored by the other characters. However her progress is shown as she reaches to Frank and begins working for&with him. 

- Claire: Language used by Claire is quite formal suggesting she comes and is from a middle class background also emphasised by her clothing.

- Tesnsion is built up when Claire sees in their home.

- In the opening Frank- the protagonist is shown as an unsympathetic, ruthless and quite strong person. 

- Christina, secretary to politician Peter Russo. 

- Peter Russo- errend boy (dirty work to be done by Peter Russo)

Blackmailed by Frank, because he`s had:

- drugs

- solicitation

- driving under the influence of alcohol

Zoe is using her sexuality to seduce Frank. 

Doug fishes out education bill to and then gives it to Zoe.

Synopsis of House of Cards

The `House of Cards` is a television political drama series set in present-day Washington, America. The political thriller novel was written by the British author Michael Dobbs, however the television adaptation was written by Andrew Davies. 

The House of Cards is the story of the protagonist Francis Underwood, an ambitious Democrat from South Carolina`s 5th congressional district. He helped to ensure the election of President Garrett Walker, who promised to appoint him as Secretary of State, however the Chief of Staff Linda Vasquez announces that Walker will instead nominate Senator Michael Kern. Linda therefore informs Frank that their administration requires his help from within the House of Representatives, starting with working on an education reform bill with Representative Donald Blythe. Furious at the betrayal of Frank, him and his wife- Claire Underwood make a pact to destroy Walker, starting with Kern. 
When the troubled Representative Peter Russo (who has a history of drug and alcohol abuse) is arrested for drink driving with Rchel Posner, a prostitute, in his car, Frank offers him a reprieve in exchange for his loyalty, covering up the incident by bribing the police commissioner. 

Frank then encounters Zoe Barnes, a younh political reporter to the Washington Herald newspaper. The two come to an agreement in which Frank will leak inside information to incriminate his political opponents while Zoe advances her career by publishing this information. Frank therefore leaks a copy of the first draft of Donald Blythe`s education bill, which proposes massive increases in governement control of education, promptly causing a scandal on the very first day after the Presidential inauguration.

What are the genre conventions of a thriller?

Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television, having numerous, often overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety, which are the main elements used. However, it also includes sub genres such as political which directly links to the House of Cards as The House of Cards is a political drama/thriller. Thrillers are also associated with violence and crime which can be seen in Episode 1 of the House of Cards when the protagonist Frank throws the table on the floor which shows he was frustrated at what has happened- that he didn`t get nominated for becoming the Secretary of State but, Senator Michael Kern did. And lastly, the mise en scene of a thriller is dull with unsaturated colours which can be seen throughout the whole episode 1 in the House of Cards. 

What are the genre conventions of a political thriller?

A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle. They usually involve legal plots, designed to give political power to enemy, while protagonist has to try to stop the enemy. They can involve national or international political scenarios. The common themes are: political corruption, terrorism, and warfare. Political thrillers can be based on true facts such as the assassination of John F Kennedy. In political thrillers there is usually a strong overlap with the conspiracy thriller.

What are the genre conventions of a political drama? (genre hybridity)

Political dramas, mirror interactions that affect the whole world. We get a glimpse into the fact that much of our fate is determined by people who have the same demons as us, meaning that they are both fallible and relatable. In short, this is the combination that perfectly grabs our attention and refuses to let go.Therefore through these dramas, we learn that politicians go through the same range of emotions as anyone else. In fact, it is really up to the writers to determine the range of emotions explored and shown through the conventions and codes. The impact that this genre has on its audience is that it encourages its audience to take up an action of struggle against a presented inustice or to ally with a particular viewpoint. 

Neales Theory 

Steve Neale’s theory of Repetition and Difference.

•Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference, difference is essential to the to the economy of the genre, as the audience does not want to see the same plots but different, exciting and unique plots. 

•Neale states that the film and it’s genre is defined by two things:

- How much is conforms to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes. A film must match the genre’s conventions to be identified as part of that genre. (repetition) 

- How much a film subverts the genre’s conventions and stereotypes. The film must subvert convention enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing film. (difference/ different). 

Relationship/ link to the House of Cards

As the House of Cards is classified as having the genre of a political thriller it very much conforms to the genre`s individual conventions and stereotypes, so it can be easily identified as part of this genre. This is clearly shown as the conventions of a political thriller which can be seen right in the first episode of the House of Cards where a political power is tried to be given to the enemy in our case Michael Kern and therefore his opponents try to stop him- Frank Underwood. Also another convention of this genre identified in the House of Cards is the political corruption between the protagonist Frank and Peter Russo where Frank corrupts the police commissioner to let Peter Russo out after he was arrested for drink driving, however he does this favour to Russo only because he would get loyalty back from him in exchange. Also the political thriller- House of Crads is to some extent linked to true/real events- Margret Thatcher which is a very typical convention for a political thriller. And lastly, the technical codes used in the political thriller such as camera work & lightning conform very much as for example the lightning is quite dark and the mise en scene throughout the whole episode one is with unsaturated colours portraying the atmosphere as being negative and dull. 
However, on the other hand the House of Cards also subverts the genre`s convetions and stereoypes by 

Ideology