Gcse Media Crime Drama
Media Practice Paper
1a) The ever increasing popularity of crime dramas is a result of the programme being voyeuristic and escapist in terms of representations, as people often seek the thrill and danger without being involved in the programme itself. An example of this would be in ‘Sherlock’, as the protagonist ‘Sherlock’, is shown to be an intellectual genius, solving the crimes mathematically by using his own unique technique. This is important, as the audience almost want to spy on the character to find out how they solve the crime, which is one of the audiences needs. Also, he finds himself in a lot of risky and action fuelled situations, which would appeal to the audience in contrast to their day to day lives, and emphasises the fast pace of the programme. ‘Sherlock’ can also be viewed as a method of escapism, as many women find his quirky and intelligent character attractive. Crime dramas are also popular because the audience can also make connections between real crime and crime fiction, as often the locations in which they are set in are familiar with the audience. For example, in ‘Scott and Bailey’, the prime location is Manchester, which reflects the typical working class audience of the programme, therefore the audience would share similar values and be able to relate to real crime that has taken place. Also, the script and dialogue would be important, as the language used in ‘Scott and Bailey’, for example ‘You are under arrest…’ would also be spoken by real policewomen. Equally, the equipment such as handcuffs as seen in ‘Scott and Bailey’, would also be a part of real crime cases, therefore allowing the audience to make connections. The demand for crime dramas is increasing, as the audience are kept sustained and interested throughout the whole series, by showing a wide range of storylines, and not being repetitive. This is shown in ‘Whitechapel’, where each week the murder scene changes. For example, one week it could be focusing on several
1a) The ever increasing popularity of crime dramas is a result of the programme being voyeuristic and escapist in terms of representations, as people often seek the thrill and danger without being involved in the programme itself. An example of this would be in ‘Sherlock’, as the protagonist ‘Sherlock’, is shown to be an intellectual genius, solving the crimes mathematically by using his own unique technique. This is important, as the audience almost want to spy on the character to find out how they solve the crime, which is one of the audiences needs. Also, he finds himself in a lot of risky and action fuelled situations, which would appeal to the audience in contrast to their day to day lives, and emphasises the fast pace of the programme. ‘Sherlock’ can also be viewed as a method of escapism, as many women find his quirky and intelligent character attractive. Crime dramas are also popular because the audience can also make connections between real crime and crime fiction, as often the locations in which they are set in are familiar with the audience. For example, in ‘Scott and Bailey’, the prime location is Manchester, which reflects the typical working class audience of the programme, therefore the audience would share similar values and be able to relate to real crime that has taken place. Also, the script and dialogue would be important, as the language used in ‘Scott and Bailey’, for example ‘You are under arrest…’ would also be spoken by real policewomen. Equally, the equipment such as handcuffs as seen in ‘Scott and Bailey’, would also be a part of real crime cases, therefore allowing the audience to make connections. The demand for crime dramas is increasing, as the audience are kept sustained and interested throughout the whole series, by showing a wide range of storylines, and not being repetitive. This is shown in ‘Whitechapel’, where each week the murder scene changes. For example, one week it could be focusing on several