Capital blog tasks
Reviews and Features
Read the following review and feature on Capital:
Guardian review by Sam Wollaston
London Evening Standard: five things you need to know about Capital
1) What positive points does the review pick out about Capital? What criticisms are made - either of the TV drama or the original novel?
"They have managed to squeeze an incredible amount into one street, one book, and then further squeeze into three hours of television. A lot of the important stuff, as well as what is most wonderful and most terrible about the place.
It shows sympathetic and unsympathetic characters and the representation of the neighbourhood in Capital is identical to how most neighbourhoods look like in London.
It captures modern day London by the bonkers housing market and increasing rate of gentrification across London. Capital offers a microcosmic metaphor for London at large, but it also feels real in the portrayal of its characters, from the financially-sound to the economically-struggling. The characters are relatable and well-drawn.
Trailer analysis
Watch the trailer for Capital:
- Ariel shot that shows the compact neighbourhoods of London
- long shot of the neighbourhood
- introduces the main characters with medium shots and what they do for their job
The trailer starts of with the text pure drama. It introduces the main characters of the series with what they do as a job and/or with short sequences of their private life and issues that happening which are unique to each character. It also shows multiple close up shots of the "WE WANT WHAT YOU HAVE" postcards which tells the audience that a group of people are getting these postcards. In addition, it shows the characters confused and worries about something happening which creates an enigma code since the audience doesn't know the thing they're worried about.
Capital offers a range of fascinating representations - from London and asylum seekers to capitalism and inequality. You need to be able to confidently discuss these issues in the context of 2015 London - with reference to key scenes from episode 1. Representations include: London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, capitalism, aging and more.
Scene 1: opening sequence 00:30 – 4.49
Scene 2: work in the City 6.28 – 8.10
Scene 3: “Which of those isn’t absolutely essential?” 14.00 – 15.35
Scene 4: asylum 18.03 – 19.42 AND 31.10 – 32.40
Scene 5: “What use is 30 grand?” 36.40 – 39.00
Scene 6: life at the corner shop 40.10 – 42.55
You can choose which aspects to focus on for each scene: e.g. London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, aging etc. Feel free to use bullet points for each scene.
Scene 1 (00:30 - 4:49)
London
-Dark, suggests manipulation - building the narrative
-Busy, scaffolding and people moving in and out
-Old, house prices going up each year
-Familiar and recognisable
FGER
-Muslims, seeks, Hindus, Pakistanis, West Indians, Indians all migrating to England
-Male + Female
-West asian, British.
-We see families still together and families apart because of death. Starts off in 1960’s to 2015.
-Ethnic diversity
-Subverting stereotypes
-Traditional gender roles
-Similarities between different ethnic groups
-“He’ll be volunteering for Syria next.”
CWIW
-Wealth, old lady says that everyone on the street are millionaires due to house price inflation
-Pakistani family - lower to middle class, entrepreneurial, stereotypical
-Animation to show the increase of house prices.
-Dynamic, constantly changing
IAA
-Immigrants moving to England, increasing population and demanding of housing, therefore increasing house price
-Houses aging start to increase in value, but everyone is slowly aging as well
-1960’s to 2015
-Colour saturation signified the past (bright and colourful).
Scene 2 (6:28 - 8:10)
London
-Busy
-Overpopulated
-Crowded
-Big buildings, expensive, bird’s eye shot of everything
-Noisy
-Contrasts from the suburbs
-London, the iconic representation of capitalism
FGER
-Distant because of work
-No diversity between gender
-Swiss boss
-diversity in the capital, before he goes into work
-White, privileged men
-Banking and finance, masculine
-Male driven
-Competitive
CWIW
-Cocky dialogue
-Big buildings
-Sense of high ground is established
-Sense of trying to be a better worker than someone else.
-Strong feeling of capitalism at play with the cocky dialogue and sophisticated language
-Suits and briefcases
-London, the Iconic representation of capitalism
-Global capitalism
IAA
-
Scene 3(14:00 - 15:35)
London
-
FGER
-Conflicting
-Seemed to be kept up for financial reasons
-Distant
-Pointless
-Roger thinks he can get cheeky with the breast after chatting that work money bollocks
-Middle-class family
-Comic
-Stereotype of middle class people
-His wife is a gold digger
-Loveless marriage
-Exploiting Roger: Robbing him off a great time
CWIW
-Work getting in the way of the relationship
-Cost of living is incredibly high
-Roger saying that “£1m isn’t enough to live off of these days”
IAA
-
Scene 4(18:03-19:42 and 31:10-32:40)
London
-Uninviting
-Too overpopulated
-Wanting to kick out people
-Lack of remorse
FGER
-Christianity is a big part in said characters life
CWIW
-
IAA
-Risky
-Threat of death, threat of rape
-Not safe
-An escape
-Not properly cared for
-Horrible management
-Lack of remorse
-Sympathy for said character
-Can’t earn the exact money made
-Threatened
-Exploitative (financially and sexually)
-Reinforces patriarchy,
feminist interpretation, male dominance
-Good person
-Innocent victim
-God-fearing Christian
One stereotype is towards the Pakistani family, which shows that Pakistani families or individuals often run corner shops. Another stereotype is towards Roger and his wife which reinforces traditional stereotypes of British white families and that they're are often wealthy. Another stereotype is towards Roger and the fact that he's a white British citizen that words in banking. A stereotype towards immigrants which is that they are often lazy and don't want to work, this stereotype is subverted by the traffic warden Quentina, the Pakistani family, and the Bogdan the Polish builder.
Industries and production context
Capital was produced by independent production company Kudos for the BBC. Look at the Kudos website and also read the Kudos Wikipedia page.
1) Who is the parent company for Kudos?
-Banijay UK
2) What was the breakthrough show for Kudos in 2002?
-Spy drama Spooks
3) Watch the showreel on the Kudos website. What other TV dramas have Kudos produced? What awards have they won?
-Then You Run
-New variations of the genre create interest
Marketing and promotion
Read the BBC Press Pack for Capital.
1) How does the programme information on page 3 make Capital sound interesting to audiences?
-Introduces the main character by their character name and real name and also mentioned that the star in *BAFTA-winning* Peter Bowker’s adaptation of John Lanchester’s critically acclaimed and bestselling novel Capital, produced by Kudos for BBC One.
The programme information does this because directors and producers have loyal audiences, therefore these audiences will be entitled to watch Capital as they've enjoyed the directors' and producers' other productions.
3) Who commissioned Capital for BBC?
4) Read the interview with Toby Jones. What does he say about the character of Roger?
6) Read the interview with Shabana Azmi (page 12). What does she say about Asian representations in Britain?
Question: Do you think that the Kamal Family is a fair representation of what it’s like to be an Asian family in Britain now?
7) Read the interview with Peter Bowker (who adapted Capital - page 14). What are his favourite scenes in the drama and why?
8) Read the interview with Derek Wax, the Executive Producer for Kudos (page 16). Why did he produce Capital and what does it say about the way we live now?
DVD packaging
Look at the DVD packaging for Capital. There are many marketing techniques employed here.
1) How does the packaging use other critically acclaimed TV dramas to promote Capital?
Displays at the top "From the makers of Humans and Broadchurch", which attracts the audiences of who enjoyed Humans and Broadchurch.
2) What does the use of design and images suggest to the audience about the drama?
3) How are review quotes used on the cover and what do they suggest to the audience about sub-genre, narrative and audience pleasures?
4) What representation of London does the DVD packaging offer?
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