Evolving Media Long form TV Drama: consists of an in-depth study requiring learners to explore television as a media form. This section also gives learners the opportunity to draw together elements from their full course of study, including different areas of the media theoretical framework and media contexts. As an in-depth study, television must be studied in relation to:
all four areas of the media theoretical framework (LIAR including all related theories)
all relevant contexts.
In this section, learners will be required to complete a comparative study of two contemporary long form television dramas:
one of which must be from the set US long form television drama list below;
AND
one of which must be from the set European (non-English language) long form television drama list below.
You will be using the following
House of Cards, series One episode 1
Deutschland 83, series One episode 1 (available on More 4)
04/02/2019
Aim:Analyse the media language and historical context of Deutschland 83. Know: the contextual significance of this period drama. Do:
analyze the story line synopsis
produce a synopsis
Show:
evidence of knowledge of the cold war era with regards to the context of the drama
evidence of analysis
Tasks
Join Channel4.com and access Deutschland 83 (Season 1, Episode 1, October 2015) BBFC 15.
watch Deutschland intro video and Deutschland 83 series 1 episode 1
create a blog post entitled "Long Form TV Drama Deutschland 83"
construct a first level analysis of the video identifying significant aspects of the TV drama through editing, sound, mise en scene and camera work
write a synopsis of the film
view the set link to gain a contextual understanding of "The cold" and its historical significance.
Taken against his will to the West, East German soldier Martin Rauch has intensive training to become a spy and assumes a new identity as Moritz Stamm, an officer working for a top West German general https://www.channel4.com/programmes/deutschland-83/on-demand/63264-001 Set against the real events, culture wars and political realities of Germany in the 1980s, this epic drama series is a stylish coming-of-age story, framed within a suspenseful Cold War thriller Aim: To understand the success (or lack thereof) of 'Deutschland 83' and to appreciate the historical context of Germany in the 1980s.
'Deutschland 83' was originally broadcast on the German channel RTL. But whilst the story of the young East German spy left the German's cold, it has been a hit abroad. Now 'Deutschland 83' is the most successful start of a foreign-language series on British TV. The first episode reached 1.24 million viewers at a record rate. In the following seven days, the number of viewers increased to around 2.5 million.
A potential reason for its limited success in Germany could be due to the historical context that it draws upon and the representations within the show. Read the following articles to learn more about the context of the show and the representations within it:
The video below gives a (very) quick overview of the Cold War: TAKE NOTES (task 6) ON THE EVENTS THAT UNFOLDED AND DISCUSS IN YOUR BLOGGER WHY THE ERA WAS CHOSEN AS A HISTORICAL DRAMA.
As we watch the first episode of 'Deutschland 83' make notes on how the tensions of the Cold War are represented. Think about:
