pb media lang

• how does PB implement genre hybridity?

  -has many characteristics of the gangster sub-genre in that it often focuses on the personal lives of

  a criminal family

  -could also be classed as historical drama -> it uses lavish production design to evoke a specific period and location concentrating on Birmingham in 1919, while exploring many of the social and political issues of that time
• what genre did SK say season 1 was particularly inspired by?

  -western genre

  -Knight said he wanted to 'mythologise' British working-class lives in the way 'Americans took 19th century agricultural workers and called them Cowboys and made them heroes of Westerns
• gangster conventions of pb? (theme)

  -importance of family loyalty -> it doesn't matter who the enemy is, the Law or other gangs, the Shelbys are devoted to protecting and securing their family

  -this focus on family dynamics (an element familiar from soap opera) is also reminiscent of the US crime drama The Sopranos.
• gangster conventions of pb? (protagonist)

  -Tommy embodies the typical cool, quiet but ambitious antihero who uses intelligence and cunning, as well as brutal violence, to ascend the ranks of a criminal family/organisation; 'That's what I do, I think'

  -his plan to inflate the value of the racehorse, despite Arthur's concerns, illustrates his ingenuity
• gangster conventions of pb? (antagonist)


  -The antagonist is a lawmaker who is investigating the hero and his family/ organisation -> unusual in crime drama as here the investigator threatens the status quo, established by the criminals, rather than seeking to preserve it.

  -in episode 1, his ride through Birmingham, righteous sermon to the police and his torture of Arthur, clearly establish him as a binary opposition to Tommy.
• gangster conventions of pb? (matriarch)

  -within the criminal family there is usually

  an older patriarch/matriarch around whose power the other characters orbit. Aunt Polly plays this role in Peaky Blinders
• gangster conventions of pb? (narrative)


  -the power of the criminal family is threatened - by other gangs, by the law, and from threats within - and the main characters must pull together (or sometimes betray each other) to survive

  -e1s1 establishes a number of plots around these themes:

  ->tommy's robbery (hidden from Arthur) has backfired and brought Campbell to Birmingham

  ->communists, the IRA and rival gangs from different ethnic groups are referred to as threats to manifest later in the season

  ->Grace, an undercover agent, catches Tommy's eye, opening a possibility of both romance and betrayal
• examples of intertextuality?


  -numerous references to the Western genre in the first 15 minutes of the opening episode:

  ->Tommy's ride through the city streets

  ->the townspeople who dash to hide when he arrives and then linger to watch the drama

  ->the peaceful living room that hides a bustling gambling den etc.

  -the 'ruthless enforcer vs mob boss' set up, as well as the 1920s setting and costume (especially flat caps), recall The Untouchables.

  -'rise of the foot soldier' (w/c to mob boss) references the Godfather 2
• visual codes: clothing


  -suits and waistcoats show their high status position despite still being w/c

  ->also highlights masculinity (even in Polly)

  ->flatcaps turning into weapons displays violence of masculinity

  -Polly's suits establish her status as matriarch; strong, confident etc

  -Grace's green dress contrasts industrial, dingy setting and also represents her Irish origins
• visual codes: iconography and setting

  -Knight was often told tales from this era by his relatives

  -when he created Peaky Blinders, he 'visualised the story through the eyes of a young boy growing up in this environment, so there's a sense of heightened reality: the horses are bigger, the men taller, the pubs more glamorous'

  -also wanted the production design to reflect the narrative tone: '...set within industrial poverty but full of energy, vigour, and excitement, not despair.'

  -when Tommy rides through Small Heath, Western iconography, (tall man on a horse) is used to establish Tommy's reputation and the environment is full of 'vigour
• visual codes: gesture and expression

  -while the rest of the cast have an intense dramatic energy, Cillian Murphy's performance as Tommy is extremely under-stated by comparison.

  -his stillness and lack of emotion link to the Western cowboy archetype; strong, silent, but ready for action

  ->his backstory of PTSD following ww1 adds an emotional backstory to this performance
• visual codes: tech


  -tracking shots are used to follow the characters through the streets and other locations

  ->eg. tracking tilt shot reveals Tommy's position and horse before face - mysterious, tense, build up

  -low angle shot of Tommy opening pub door - dominance

  -dark lighting, stingy basement reflects dark mood
• audio codes


  -dialogue: Tommy uses very few words but chooses them well 'that's what I do, I think' - perhaps reflective of military background

  -music: use of punk and rock songs, often released sixty years after the events of the

  show, establishes a modern feel to a period drama

  ->the music supervisor Amelia Hartley also added that the angry, but energetic punk songs also indicate the simmering emotion beneath Tommy's calm exterior
• how does todorov's theory of narratology apply to pb?

  -the opening scenes establish Tommy as a man of great status ->show the day-to-day running of the Shelby's gambling operation, but the disruption (the mistaken theft of the guns) has already occurred and further disruption (Campbell's campaign) is already beginning

  -long form drama- almost every character has their own arc

  ->we see Arthur's equilibrium, more firmly disrupted by his ordeal with the police

  ->only a few disruptions are resolved in ep1 (eg danny whizzbang), which encourages viewers to watch rest of series (enigma codes)
• how does neale's genre theory apply to pb?

  -argues genre is defined by repetition, but alsovariation->PB does this by offering greater depth and complexity to the typical ‘tough guys’->does this by rooting their violence in historical and socio-economic context (especially PTSD)->eg. set design and location; it is not only industrial but also hellish – fire explodes or glimmers in almost every scene in this episode->offers a distinctly different aesthetic to other period dramas like Bridgerton.-> genre subversion also through positioning audiences to situate with the criminals; they are explored in greater depth and is in line with Knight’s desire to focalise w/c communities (links to institutional mediation/ contextual effects)