media (luther )

• The set product is the first episode of Series 1, broadcast in May 2010
• Luther


  A police procedural crime drama and an example of an inverted detective story
• Luther


  • Produced by BBC Drama
  • Distributed by BBC Studios
  • Broadcast on BBC1
  • Also available on iPlayer and Amazon Prime
• Neil Cross


  Creator and writer of Luther, drew inspiration from Sherlock Holmes and the American detective Columbo
• Luther has had 5 series, the most recent being in 2019
• Semiotics


  Can be used to analyse aspects of media language
• Settings and location


  • The urban setting of Luther immediately connotes realism with intertextual references to other gritty crime dramas
  • Zoe's office is large and modern but lined with books suggesting her important role and her intelligence
  • Luther's workplace is darker and more claustrophobic with a lack of natural light connoting his troubled persona
  • Alice's initial rural, comfortable setting misleads us to accept her as the victim
  • Alice's flat later in the narrative establishes her power within the narrative with its view across London suggesting she is in control and omniscient
• Codes of clothing


  • Alice has long red hair, she wears red lipstick and dresses in suits or tightfitting clothing connoting intertextual links with the femme fatale character
  • Luther's clothing suggests his rank within the police, but he is often dishevelled, connoting that he does not always conform to expectations and may be more of a maverick
• Codes of gesture and expression

  • Luther's gesture and expression often connotes his inability to control his emotions, he can be violent and behave unpredictably
  • Alice's gestures reinforce her need to control and her psychopathic tendencies
• Technical codes


  • Camera shots, movement and angles work together to communicate messages and 'show' the narrative
  • Close-ups advance the relationships between characters and establish tension and a dynamic
  • The camera also establishes enigmas, for example the repeated shots of the murdered dog
• Genre: Crime dramas


  Have a recognisable set of conventions including a narrative based on a crime that needs to be investigated and solved, binary oppositions that function as a narrative element, a set of recognisable character types, settings and locations to establish realism, iconography related to the genre or to the character, and audio codes including non-diegetic mood music and dialogue incorporating lexis specific to the genre
• Narrative


  • The set episode has a pre-title sequence which establishes tension from the start and sheds light on Luther's character
  • The episode then follows the conventional narrative of a police procedural crime drama adopting a linear structure with key moments where the narrative is advanced
  • Action codes are typical to this genre and in Luther they set in motion elements of the narrative
• Propp's narrative theory


  Characters influence a narrative and communicate meanings through cause and effect, the narrative progresses as a result of their actions
• Characters in Luther


  • Luther demonstrates attributes of the hero figure but also traits of the anti-hero
  • Both Alice and Henry Madsen perform as villains
  • Zoe both conforms to and subverts the role of princess
  • DC Ripley assumes the role of the helper/sidekick
• Cinematography, framing, and shot composition

  • The first shot of Zoe is a bird's eye view of her office where she is several floors up and surrounded by windows, connoting power and prestige
  • Luther in the initial chase sequence is in darkness and is indistinguishable from the villain, Henry Madsen
  • Alice's first shot portrays her as vulnerable and afraid as she cowers, blood-stained in her home
• Paradigmatic choices


  Regarding the characters and their settings and what this conveys about their role and power within the narrative
• Technical codes in character interactions

  • The choices of elements of media language including gesture codes, expression and technical codes show the audience the change in Alice from one of a vulnerable victim, to a potential villain who can manipulate the situation
• Genre theory


  • Genres have a repertoire of elements that places them within the genre, fulfilling audience expectations
  • Genres are dynamic, developing over time to reflect social and cultural change
  • Genres also use intertextuality to engage with audiences
• Representation


  The ways in which the media re-present (rather than simply present) the world, and construct representations of reality
• Technical codes in representation


  • Camera shots, angles, movements and editing combine to construct representations
  • Audio codes including diegetic and non-diegetic sound contribute to the construction of representations
  • Iconography, especially clothing, contributes to the construction of representations
• Social and cultural significance of representations


  Representations of ethnicity, masculinity, and women reflect changes in society
• Representations of ethnicity


  • Luther as a black detective challenges stereotypical representations of black men in the genre
  • Zoe is a mixed-race woman who is a human rights lawyer, reflecting social change
• Representations of masculinity


  • Luther demonstrates stereotypical masculine traits but is also emotionally controlled by both Alice and Zoe, demonstrating a more complex representation
  • Mark is a more metrosexual representation of masculinity which Luther finds hard to accept
• Representations of women


  • Alice both supports and challenges typical representations of femininity
  • Zoe's representation is more ambiguous, she is a successful lawyer but also vulnerable and in need of protection
  • Teller is in a strong position and reflects changes in women's roles in the police force
• When analysing markets, a range of assumptions are made about the rationality of economic agents involved in the transactions
• The Wealth of Nations was written

  1776
• Rational


  (in classical economic theory) economic agents are able to consider the outcome of their choices and recognise the net benefits of each one
• Rational agents will select the choice which presents the highest benefits
• Consumers act rationally by


  Maximising their utility
• Producers act rationally by


  Selling goods/services in a way that maximises their profits
• Workers act rationally by


  Balancing welfare at work with consideration of both pay and benefits
• Governments act rationally by


  Placing the interests of the people they serve first in order to maximise their welfare
• Groups assumed to act rationally


  • Consumers
  • Producers
  • Workers
  • Governments
• Rationality in classical economic theory is a flawed assumption as people usually don't act rationally
• Marginal utility


  The additional utility (satisfaction) gained from the consumption of an additional product
• If you add up marginal utility for each unit you get total utility
• GCSE Media Studies - Set Product Fact Sheet
• LUTHER (Series 1 Episode 1, 2010)
• Factsheet 2 - Media Industries, Audiences & Media Contexts
• All images BBC