PAPER 2A Crime Drama : LUTHER AND OTHER EXAMPLES

Apply the genre codes of  crime drama ( the chart in the  previous post ) to  Luther , with examples from any episodes you have seen, explaining how it matches or subverts the basic genre  and narrative conventions. 

LUTHER SERIES 2 EPISODE 1  LINK

EPISODE 2  LINK   analyse how the narrative is resolved and which  enigmas are solved

LUTHER:  Knowledge organiser  LINK  ( more detailed information )

OTHER CRIME DRAMAS

Complete this short quiz on TV crime drama

Explore the Crime Drama section on BBC player ( LINK)  and find examples of three different programmes in three different crime subgenres. Use the list of categories in crime below

• The Detective or investigative  crime drama s a subgenre of crime fiction and drama   in which an investigator or a detective—either professional, amateur, or retired—investigates a crime, often murder.
• The cozy mystery is a subgenre of detective fiction in which profanity, sex, and violence are downplayed or treated humorously.
• The whodunit, the most common form of detective fiction, features a complex, plot-driven story in which the reader is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed at the end of the book.
• The historical whodunnit is also a subgenre of historical fiction. The setting of the story and the crime have some historical significance.
• The locked-room mystery is a specialized kind of a whodunit in which the crime is committed under apparently impossible circumstances, such as a locked room, which no intruder could have entered or left.
• The American hardboiled school is distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of sex and violence; the sleuth usually also confronts danger and engages in violence.
• The police procedural is a story in which the detective is a member of the police, thus the activities of a police force are usually convincingly depicted.
• Forensic crime drama is similar to the police procedural. The investigator whom the reader follows is usually a medical examiner or pathologist; they must use the forensic evidence left on the body and at the crime scene to catch the killer. 
• In a legal  or courtroom crime drama  the major characters are lawyers and their employees, and they become involved in proving their cases.
• In spy novels, the major characters are spies, usually working for an intelligence agency.
• The caper story and the criminal novel are stories told from the point of view of the criminals.
• The psychological thriller or psychological suspense, a specific subgenre of the thriller, also incorporates elements from detective fiction, as the protagonist must solve the mystery of the psychological conflict presented in these stories.
• The parody or spoof uses humor or sarcasm.
• The crime thriller has the central characters involved in crime, either in its investigation, as the perpetrator, or less commonly, a victim.
• the rural crime drama is set in the countryside rather than the city and may also be a cozy or parody crime drama
• The prison crime drama uses prison as the setting and the focus is usually on a prisoner

There are others...see if you can find ones that subvert or don't fit into these categories !

PAPER 2 A CRIME DRAMA

       BASIC  CRIME TV GENRE CONVENTIONS

Genre Convention	Stereotypical (Repetition)
Subgenres/links to other genres Characters see presentation below for more information	e..g  forensic , prison,investigative , whodunnit conventions from horror/action etc.      Investigator /Detective – Maverick ,troubled past, expert in solving crime unconventionally  Supportive / Conventional/ Antagonistic  Boss Supportive /Conventional Sidekick Supportive/ Conventional/ Antagonistic colleagues  Psychological expert , IT expert, forensic expert Villain ( usually murderer )    Nemesis ( long-term equal or flipside of detective)
Locations/Settings	City – more people = more crime Industrial spaces /dark side of city Interrogation Room Criminal dwellings Crime scenes Morgue  Domestic settings
Iconography (objects/props/ clothing etc) often used symbolically to indicate power, authority , morality etc.	e.g Police uniform Police badge Police cars Technology  e.g survellience,recording Weapons Informal clothing ( superior status of  investigators)
Narrative Structure	Began with a crime  Criminal identity revealed ? Search for evidence Crime solved  Enigmas ?  All solved within episode /series ? Usually linear Single strand plotline or multiple strand with subplots ?
Technical and Audio Codes (camera shots/angles/ editing/filter/ sound effects/ dialogue/ sound track etc)	Fast paced editing for chases Close-up to medium shots of characters when interrogating (intense camera shots) Low and high angles used to show status Police siren Police jargon – technical dialogue  Sound track to match pace or emotion of scene At times there is no sound and left in silence for tension or to hear dialogue

Applying  Neale's genre conventions to stock characters