Capital: Case study 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?

"Its a brilliant allegorical portrait of London"

Its "adapted and directed excellently"

"Its more complicated  - and more interesting - than just wonderful and terrible."

"She's more accepting of it than her recently deceased Husband." - referring to Petunias stance on the influx of migrants and Muslims on her street.

 
2) What references can you find in the reviews and feature to the idea Capital is a 'state-of-the-nation' drama? How does it capture modern-day London?

It's described as the "modern metropolitan world", capturing the essence of modern day London 

"Second generation Pakistani immigrants" - migrants are a big part of British culture and contribute so much to the economy 

Trailer analysis

Watch the trailer for Capital:Capitol trailer

1) How does the drama use camerawork to capture London life?

When focusing on the streets of London the camera is never stationary, its always moving or zooming in. This coveys how busy life in London is, constantly moving , a city that is hardworking and forever changing. 

2) How does the trailer introduce the different narrative strands suggesting tension or enigma in the 40-second running time?

In the last couple seconds the pace of the trailer quickens as it shows the message "WE WANT WHAT YOU HAVE" 

Capital in Media Magazine

Issue 83 of Media Magazine has a feature exploring Capital as a media product. Read ‘We Want What You Have’ in MM83  (p10). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest about the 'state of the nation' genre and how Capital is an example of this?

The opening sequence draws on the crime genre, Capital shows this with the shadowy hooded figure along with a grainy handheld shot. 

2) What does the article suggest regarding the setting of Capital?

Some people in the UK argue that the show is too London-centric but  arguably it makes sense for a multi-strand narrative in Britain to be set in London. As London "sucks" in people from around the globe. 

3) What are the major themes in Capital and what does the article suggest regarding the impact of money on communities?

Some themes that are explored are house prices and immigration.

Money seems to be breaking up the community and by extension breaking up social bonds up and down the country.

4) What different representations in Capital are discussed in the article?

 

   Good Vs Bad, Rich Vs Poor, Industrious Vs Feckless

5) What does the final section of the article suggest regarding genre and overall message of the drama?  

It suggests that the genre is a crime and the overall message of the drama is to show us how money has significant influence over our lives 

Capital Media Factsheet

Use our Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) or on Google Drive here (you'll need your Greenford Google login) to find Media Factsheet #194 on Capital (BBC TV Drama). 

Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What does the factsheet say about the characters on the first page?

The characters demonstrate the state of the nation aspect of the drama and the interactions between the characters reflect the tensions between different cultures 

2) Focusing on the industrial contexts, how does Capital help the BBC meet its obligations as a public service broadcaster?

- Its reflects the United Kingdoms culture and values to the world 

 -To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the United Kingdom.

 - To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services.

 - Supports learning for people of all ages.

3) What do we learn about the ownership structure for production company Kudos? 

The ownership of Kudos reflects a horizontally integrated company. The parent company, Endemol Shine UK, own a range of TV production companies across different formats and genres. Endemol

Shine UK is owned in equal share by Apollo Global Management (an American public equity firm) and 21st Century Fox. 21st Century Fox is owned by the Murdoch family. 

4) How can David Hesmondhalgh's ideas in The Cultural Industries be linked to Capital and Kudos? 

Hesmondhalgh says that the Cultural Industries utilises vertical and horizontal integration  as Kudos is a horizontally integrated company 

He also says that the Cultural Industries is a risky venture, which is quite true in the case of Capital as it received mixed reviews amongst the public . As the Guardian saw it has "more complicated  - and more interesting - than just wonderful and terrible."

He says that cultural content has now become a commodity and a great example of this is Capital as it takes aspects of British culture that's relatively nuanced and makes it into a source of entertainment that's sold for profit. 

5) How does the factsheet suggest Capital meets the genre conventions of crime and social realism?

Many Kudos programmes include themes of diversity and difference, exploring the tension that cultural difference can create as well as more conventional crime drama. 

It also meets conventions such as: 

Conventions of crime genre - 

• Resolution of a mystery

• Verisimilitude – representations of ‘ordinary’ people in

everyday life are recognisable to audience.

• Question of morality.

• Power struggles

Conventions of social realism - 

• Strive to represent regions of UK with authenticity.

• Shooting on location to offer authenticity.

• Narratives explore social issues (such as economic

inequalities/immigration/Islamophobia).

6) How does the factsheet analyse the DVD packaging and what this communicates to the audience?

The DVD cover uses the same promotional images that feature in media pack, website and press coverage.This creates the recognisable brand for the audience. The silhouette skyline of London contains clear geographical markers that denote the setting, and also establish the themes of British culture and financial issues.

7) Look at page 5 of the factsheet. Choose one of the audience theories in the table and apply it to Capital.

 Gerbner's Cultivation theory can e applied here as the left wing agenda is pushed quite hard in the show, through its positive representations of immigrants and different cultures. Therefore those who watch the show are eventually influenced by its clear political stance. 

8) What does the factsheet suggest regarding binary oppositions in Capital?  

The multi-stranded narrative uses binary oppositions throughout to highlight the difference or inequality in Pepys Road, and then raise questions about inequality in London more widely.

Representations: close-textual analysis

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.

These notes from a lesson analysing these clips will help with this element of the case study. You'll need your Greenford Google login to access the document.

1) Write an analysis of the representations in each of the key scenes from episode 1 we studied in the lesson:

Scene 1: opening sequence 00:30 – 4.49

• Diversity of London - importance of immigration to London’s recent history

• Conventional representation of a British family life - working class / lower-middle class.

• “Not real millionaires” - does house value actually = wealth?

• Gentrification of London. 

• Eastern European immigration is shown in the opening scene when the builders walk past (also represented by the skip outside house for funeral

Scene 2: work in the City 6.28 – 8.10

• Lack of representation of women in the financial services workplace/environment.

• The conversation in Roger’s boss’s office is between three white men.

• Fast-paced editing emphasises the pace and excitement of London and working in London.

• ‘Under-the-armpit’ shot on the underground train emphasises the reality of commuting and working in such a busy, bustling city. 

• Roger’s boss is German - another aspect of London immigration in 2015 (Europeans moving to London to take high-paying jobs in financial services).

  “Bonus season” - and £75m profit - emphasises the crazy money in banking and therefore the inequality at the heart of London.

Scene 3: “Which of those isn’t absolutely essential?” 14.00 – 15.35

• Traditional gender stereotypes and family set up - Roger is main breadwinner, Arabella talking about how to spend the money. 

• “Now I’m no feminist…” 

• “You’d be surprised at how little £1m covers these days.” Shows how privileged the richest Londoners are. 

• “Name one of those things that isn’t absolutely essential.”

• “Maybe we should get Pinker Lloyd to pay Bogdan my bonus directly…"

Scene 4: asylum 18.03 – 19.42 AND 31.10 – 32.40

• Sound bridge while walking to church.

• Use of audio codes when Quentina is getting ready for work. So much noise that Quentina needs to put up with - loud music, baby crying, loud phone conversation, train going past. 

• Black female lawyer - representation subverts usual picture of lawyers in media.

• Why do people come to London - Quentina in contrast to Lothar. She is just trying to survive “If I go home I will be killed”

Scene 5: “What use is 30 grand?” 36.40 – 39.00 

• Drone shots of London - financial district.

• Editing - sped up commute to show Roger’s disorientation and losing touch with reality

• Roger completely destroyed by 30 grand bonus shows his white privilege laid bare. 

• “This isn’t how it works”

• “There is a context to this… Swiss subsidiary” - shows global nature of finance industry / global capitalism.

• Contrast with Quentina: “This is fundamentally not fair”.

Scene 6: life at the corner shop 40.10 – 42.55

• Scene with Arabella in corner shop - clear she has never been in that shop before, Ahmed doesn’t realise she lives in same street. Shows disconnect in London.

• Mise-en-scene of the dinner table scene - Kamal family all packed around a small dinner table and also including their mother in Pakistan using a video call. In contrast, we never see Roger’s family around a dinner table. 

• Working class values of community play against upper/middle class values of materialism. 

2) How does Capital use stereotypes? Do the characters and issues represented in Capital reinforce or subvert the stereotypes we typically see in the media?

It reinforces the stereotype that the upper classes are stuck up or snobbish people who care about no one but themselves but it subverts the stereotype that immigrants that seek asylum or immigrants in general are lazy and have no work ethic and therefore don't contribute to society. 

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? What changes of ownership have there been for Kudos? This is an example of conglomerate ownership.

Shine Group(2007-2015), Endemol Shine Group (2015-2018) , Banijay UK Products(2018- present) 

2) Watch the showreel on the Kudos website. What other TV dramas have Kudos produced and for which channels? What awards have they won?

This Town (BBC One), The Boy With The Topknot (BBC Two)

3) How does Capital help the BBC to fulfil its remit as a public service broadcaster? You may want to look back at our work on public service broadcasting last term. 

It entertains as well as educates those watching on the multiculturalism of London and how work life is here.